My understanding: "Li" can be used as a noun, which means "residence", or as a verb, which means "to live in." The "li" in the related word "neighborhood" is a quantifier. In ancient times, five households were neighbors, and five neighbors were a li. Therefore, the "li" still does not have the meaning of "residence". "Mei" now means "beautiful, beautiful". It first appeared in oracle bone inscriptions in the Shang Dynasty. The top is a feather-like headdress, and the bottom is a human figure. It should have similar meaning to today. However, when it evolved to the Western Zhou Dynasty, the upper part became "sheep" and the lower part was "big", which did not mean "beautiful and beautiful" at all. "Shuowen Jiezi" teaches: "Gan Ye. From sheep to big. Sheep in The owner of the six animals gives food. Beauty and goodness agree. "So the "beauty" here refers to the inner "goodness", the inner "goodness", rather than the "beautiful" appearance. Therefore, "benevolence is beauty" should be interpreted as: it is very beautiful for neighbors to be benevolent and virtuous.

Meaning of the words: On the surface, Confucius actually tells us to choose good neighbors. But what if we have no choice? It is impossible to understand the neighborhood before buying or renting a house, and it is also difficult to understand it after moving in. There are four, six, or eight households in a building. Neighbors basically do not know each other, and they may not even say hello, so how can they "choose a good place"? "? In ancient times, there must have been situations where there was a lack of choice. For example, poor people (including scholars and poor people) found it difficult to choose where to live. Even if you are a rich person, if you buy a villa, do your neighbors have to be "benevolent"? This is all unpredictable. I think what Confucius emphasizes here is not only the choice of neighbors, but more importantly, he warns future students that only by being "benevolent" in the heart can one be wise, and only by being "benevolent" and "knowledge" can one be a gentleman. On the contrary, if you are not benevolent in your heart, even if you choose "benevolence", the result may not be good. Therefore, we should understand Confucius's words from two directions: inwardly, we must "choose benevolence" and "benevolent" in our hearts; outwardly, we must pay attention to the impact of the external environment on people. The key point is to "choose benevolence" and "exercise benevolence" in the heart.

Unity of knowledge and action: Regarding the impact of the external environment on people, I think of three small cases. One is my hometown community. It should be said that the construction environment of this community is very good, with scenery everywhere, especially the pool under the seventh building where I am, which can be said to be a "feng shui treasure land". The construction of the community is very consistent with the name of "Wuyi International New City". But not long after moving in in 2014, the pool became a convenient pool for residents to wash their trash cans, electric vehicles, motorcycles, and cars. What’s more, every 27th of the twelfth lunar month, the demolished households of the six buildings would wash their hands on the lawn. A big pot was set up to kill chickens and ducks. The stench was so unpleasant that the management office was helpless. So I thought about whether I should give up this community? The second is the "example" my parents set to their two children. One day I took my two children out to play, and my son threw the tissues on the ground after using them. I asked him how he could do this, and he said, "Grandpa always throws away garbage like this!" I asked my father to stop throwing away garbage like this. My father also plausibly said: "Everyone else throws away, why can't I throw away?" I said: "We can't control others, but we can ensure that we don't throw away. The important thing is to set a good example for our children!" The third is my students' Family influence. We often say that "children are the shadow of their parents." As a teacher, home visits are essential. If the family environment is messy, the children will not look good, but in a clean family, the children will look better. Although there is no theory support, but this is a fact. As the saying goes, "Those who are close to vermillion are red, and those who are close to ink are black." Therefore, "benevolence is beauty" should not only pay attention to the external material environment, but also the impact of the ideological and behavioral environment is often more profound. Parents must not be cautious.

We often cannot choose the external environment, but whether we "choose benevolence" and "exercise benevolence" in our hearts is entirely up to me. The so-called "choosing benevolence" means determined to take "benevolence" as one's lifelong pursuit goal, and "exercising benevolence" means adhering to the ambition of "benevolence" throughout one's life, and eventually internalizing it into the blood of life naturally. Regarding the issue of determination, we will go into detail in the "Yong Ye" chapter, so I will skip it here. Let’s first talk about the “benefits” of “choosing benevolence” and “carrying benevolence” to our lives – don’t we all want “benefits”? From the current point of view, "choosing benevolence" and "exercising benevolence" will really lose some so-called "benefits" - many years ago, an "expert" once told me that the seat I was sitting in was not good, but the seat of my colleague was better. Let me find a way to exchange the following with him. I expressed my embarrassment, and he gave me another "strategy", asking me to place a pot of cactus or prickly pear on the window sill behind my colleague. He would feel "like a light on his back" every day, and after a while he would take the initiative to switch with me. When I heard this, my first reaction was: I can never do such a thing! Until I left that office, I didn't change or have any problems. On the contrary, it was smoother than before. Zengzi said: "People have good intentions, and although blessings have not yet arrived, disasters are far away." So there is no need to care about immediate benefits, distant disasters are blessings! There is no need to give more examples. There are many similar "aphorisms". What others say is ultimately what others say, and what others experience is ultimately what others have experienced. If you can really determine to "choose benevolence" and "exercise benevolence", you will definitely be able to "prove the truth" ". Confucius said, How can we be considered wise if we do not choose benevolence? There are countless negative teaching materials that can prove Confucius' views. Just go to "Baidu" yourself.

We only live a hundred years, and God doesn't give us many choices. As long as we have "benevolence" in our hearts, everything will be the best arrangement!