Three establishments refer to establishing virtue, meritorious service, and standing up for words; the fourth refers not to act rashly, not to say nothing, not to ask for anything, and not to do anything in vain; and the three joys refer to having parents and brothers alive, to be a man with a clear conscience, and to be a gentleman. The Tao is preached to the world. The three virtues mean that the benevolent do not worry, the wise do not be confused, and the brave do not fear. The three precepts refer to abstaining from beauty, fighting, and greed. The three fears refer to fearing destiny, fearing adults, and fearing the words of saints. Stupidity means speaking when you shouldn't speak, not speaking when you should speak, and speaking without looking at people's faces. Some of these remarks were put forward by Confucius, some by Mencius, and some were handed down from ancient times.
Li De in the Three Lis refers to having good moral cultivation, meritorious service means enriching one’s life with meaningful things, and establishing one’s words means communicating with others with appropriate words and deeds. . The first of the four failings is that a gentleman should not act rashly, but must act in a proper way. A gentleman must be careful in his words and deeds, and every speech and action must be justified. The second thing is that a gentleman does not just speak, his words must be reasonable. Everything a gentleman says is not nonsense or meaningless. The third thing is not that a gentleman is unscrupulous in his demands, but he must be righteous in his demands. A gentleman will not harm the interests of others for his own selfish desires, nor will he covet fame and fortune. Once he seeks something, it must be for justice. Fourth, it does not mean that a gentleman does not act in vain, but that his actions must be righteous. Everything a gentleman says and does must be thought through and must be in line with justice. Everything he does and says must be based on the principle of justice.
The three joys come from Mencius’ remarks. One joy is when parents and brothers are alive. In this way, a gentleman will not be lonely in the world and can still be filial to his parents. The second happiness is that when a gentleman lives in the world, he is worthy of himself, others, and the world. The third pleasure is that a gentleman can not only get talented people, but also teach them and spread the gentleman's way to the world. The Three Virtues come from what Confucius said: a gentleman has three virtues: a kind man does not worry, a knowledgeable man does not be confused, and a brave man does not fear. A gentleman should treat the people around him with a kind heart, and should have the ability to face emergencies at any time, and at the same time, he should not be afraid of the dangers around him.
The Three Precepts also come from Confucius’ remarks, which means that a gentleman should abstain from beauty when he is young, abstain from fighting when he is in his prime, and abstain from coveting when he is old. When you are young, because your mind is not mature enough, you are easily tempted by beauty, but a gentleman should have the courage to resist beauty. When you are in your prime, you are full of energy and it is easy to get carried away, so you should face it calmly at all times. When you are old, you have already lived in the world for decades, and you should no longer bother pursuing fame and fortune.
The first of the three fears is the fear of destiny, which means to be in awe of the Buddha and God. The fear of adults refers to the awe of the respected seniors and parents, and the fear of the words of the saints. It is to have reverence for the words spoken by the saints. Three sins refer to speaking when you shouldn't speak, which is disrespectful to others. If you don't speak when you should speak, you will appear to be too introverted and not generous enough. If you don't look at other people's faces when you speak, you will look stupid and not smart enough.