Chapter Five: LEARNING TO BE TRUSTWORTHY

凡出言，信为先，诈与妄，奚可焉。
话说多，不如少，惟其是，勿佞巧。
苛薄语，秽污词，市井气，切戒之。
见未真，勿轻言，知未的，勿轻传。
事非宜，勿轻诺，苟轻诺，进退错。
见人善，即思齐，纵去远，以渐跻。
见人恶，即内省，有则改，无加警。
凡道字，重且舒，勿急疾，勿模糊。
彼说长，此说短，不关己，莫闲管。
惟德学，惟才艺，不如人，常自励。
若衣服，若饮食，不如人，勿生戚。
闻过怒，闻誉喜，损友来，益友却。
闻誉恐，闻过欣，直谅士，渐相亲。
无心非，名为错，有心非，名为恶。
过能改，归于无，倘掩饰，增一辜。

如果你问﹕「人生在世，什么是最可宝贵的？」相信很多人都会说是金银珠宝、良田美宅，或者家庭和乐、事业顺利之类的。其实，人最可宝贵的资产是道德；唯有以德为宝，方能致力于德业；唯有致力于德业，方能修道成德；唯有修道成德，方能仰不愧于天，俯不怍于人。所谓「仁者不忧，智者不惑，勇者不惧。」

If you ask people, "What is the most important thing in life? " most would probably give answers such as gold, silver, precious gems, fertile fields and fine houses, or a happy family and a successful career. Actually, the most precious thing we own is our virtue. Only by cherishing virtue as a treasure can we devote ourselves to practicing virtuous deeds; only by devoting ourselves to virtuous work can we cultivate the Way and achieve virtue; and only by cultivating the Way and achieving virtue can we maintain a good conscience and have no cause for remorse before Heaven and people. As it’s said, "The humane are not worried; the wise are not deluded; the brave are not frightened."

究竟不忧不惑不惧什么？又为什么不忧不惑不惧？其实说穿了，这中间的关键，就是「名」、「利」二字。仁者安仁，不忧名利之有无；智者利仁，不惑名利之得失；勇者好仁，不惧名利之大小。这三种人都是以德为宝，发达时谦虚好礼，穷困时也怡然自得，一生做事堂堂正正，无求于名利；既无求于名利，自然也无所求于人，那么又有何可忧可惑可惧之事？

What is it that they are not worried, deluded, or frightened about? And why are they not worried, deluded, or frightened? Actually, fame and profit are at the bottom of it. The humane dwell in humaneness and don’t worry about whether or not they have fame or profit. The wise help the humane and are not deluded by the gain or loss of fame and profit. The brave admire the humane and are not afraid of whether their fame and profit are large or small. These three types of people all cherish virtue. When they are successful, they are modest and courteous. When they are in poverty, they remain peaceful and content. In whatever they do, they do it properly without seeking fame or profit. Since they aren’t seeking fame or profit, they naturally will not expect things from others, and so what could they possibly be worried, deluded, or frightened about?

像孔子的学生子路，就是个真正的勇者。史上说子路穿着破蔽的衣服，厕身于公卿之间，他也毫不忸怩畏怯。为什么？因为他操守正直，心胸坦荡荡，自然不会畏惧强权而卑微自伤。

Confucius’ disciple Zilu, for example, was truly a brave man. It is recorded in history that, dressed in ragged clothes, he mingled with lords and dukes without the slightest embarrassment or fear. Why was this? It was because his character was honest and straightforward, and so he had no reason to feel inferior to or afraid of powerful people.

孔子另一个弟子原宪，也是个清净守节，贫而乐道，不耻恶衣恶食的人。孔子在世时，他就已非常耿介清廉；孔子去世后，原宪也不做官了，就隐居在卫国的乡野间。虽然他住的房子是架茅草为顶，编蓬草为扉，不但风穿得进，雨也渗得透，吃的更是野菜淡水，还常常有一餐没一餐的；但是他照样正襟危坐，弦歌不辍。

Yuan Xian, another disciple of Confucius, was a person of virtuous purity who was poor yet delighted in the truth and was not ashamed of his humble clothing or food. When Confucius was still alive, Yuan Xian was already very resolute and incorruptible. After Confucius passed away, he resigned from his government post and became a hermit in the wilderness of the state of Wei. Although his roof was made of thatch and his door of raspberry vines, through which the wind could blow and the rain could seep in, and what he ate was wild vegetables and plain water, and he didn’t always have food for a meal, he continued to sit up straight and study.

子贡做了卫国的宰相后，就衣锦着缎地带了浩浩荡荡一堆人马，穿荒越野去到贫民户探望原宪这位老同学。子贡一看原宪衣冠破蔽，又形容枯槁憔悴，很不以为然，冲口而出问他﹕「你病了吗？」原宪说﹕「我听说『没有财产的，叫做贫穷；学了道而却不能去实践的，叫做有病 。』像我这样，只是贫穷，不是有病！」子贡听了，感到非常惭愧，闷闷不乐地走了；终其一生，子贡都以自己的言语失检为耻。

After Zi Gong became the prime minister of Wei, he went, dressed in satin and accompanied by a large retinue of mounted men, through the wilderness to where the poor peasants lived, to visit his old friend Yuan Xian. When Zi Gong saw Yuan Xian dressed in tattered clothes and looking gaunt and haggard, he asked in surprise, "Are you sick?" Yuan Xian replied, "I’ve heard it said that, “Those who own nothing are said to be poor; those who study the Way and are unable to practice it are said to be sick.’ I am merely poor, not sick! " Upon hearing those words, Zi Gong felt very ashamed and left in low spirits. Throughout his life, Zi Gong always felt ashamed if he spoke carelessly.

其实子贡原就是口齿伶俐，长袖善舞的生意奇才，和原宪本就贫富悬殊；加上又做了官，既富且贵，子贡还能惦念老朋友而去看望，也是难得了！乍见原宪的清苦，子贡用「学而优则仕」的观点，对原宪表示不以为然，也是出于对人才的惋惜，我们倒不须对子贡太过苛责；何况子贡闻过则忏，终身耻之，这一点也不是常人的修养所能企及的。至于原宪的不慕富贵，甘苦如饴，则殊属难能可贵，值得敬佩。

Actually Zi Gong was a talented businessman who could express himself very eloquently. He and Yuan Xian were totally disparate in terms of wealth. As an official, Zi Gong was both rich and honored. It’s quite remarkable that he showed such concern for his old friend and went to visit him. Seeing Yuan Xian’s poverty, Zi Gong expressed his surprise from the point of view that "a learned person should become an official and serve the country" and out of grief that his talent was wasted. Therefore, we need not criticize Zi Gong too much, since he was one who would repent and feel lifelong shame whenever he learned of his own faults. This is not a quality found in ordinary people. Yuan Xian’s disregard for wealth and honor is also a rare quality worthy of our admiration.

唐朝的大诗人白居易，曾写了个续座右铭，其中有四句说﹕

勿慕富与贵，勿忧贫与贱；
自问道何如，贵贱安足云？

The great poet Bai Ju-yi of the Tang dynasty once wrote a poem containing the following lines:

Yearn not for wealth and honor.
Grieve not about poverty and low status.
Ask yourself how your cultivation of the Way is,
And that not be concerned with being noble or lowly.

这意思和《论语》上说的「君子谋道不谋食」一样，都是教人以进德修道为要务，毋须为衣服饮食等身外之物去伤神。俗话说﹕「山珍海味，不过日食三餐；华屋广厦，不过寝时数尺。」有什么好汲汲营营的呢？况且若为了口腹之欲而恣杀牲禽，那罪过又不只是一生一世的报应了！

This is the same principle as that expressed in the line from the Confucian Analects: "The superior person devotes his attention to the Way and not to food." These sayings tell people that cultivating virtue is the essential thing, and we should not waste our energy on externals such as clothing and food. An idiom says, "You may have all the delicacies of the world, but you cannot eat more than three meals in a day. You may have luxurious, sprawling mansions, but you only take up a few feet of space when you sleep." What’s the point of working so hectically for such things? And if you kill creatures just to please your palate, you may suffer the consequences for many lifetimes to come!