心、眼|mIND, eYE

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心、眼|mIND, eYE

打開心眼,你想看到的是什麼視野?
Open your eYE of mIND, what vISION do you want to sEE?

《禮記》中《大學》—— 第七章:
“Great Learning”*2 in “Book of Rites”*1 – Chapter 7:

所謂修身在正其心者:
身有所忿懥,則不得其正;
有所恐懼,則不得其正;
有所好樂,則不得其正;
有所憂患,則不得其正。
心不在焉,視而不見,聽而不聞,食而不知其味。
此謂修身在正其心。
The so-called “sEIF- cULTIVATION consists in cORRECTING own mIND” person:
If there’s aNGER in mind – then the mind is not right;
If there’s fEAR in mind – then the mind is not right;
If there’s pLEASURE in mind – then the mind is not right;
If there’s sUFFERING in mind – then the mind is not right.
Just to be aBSENT-mINDED, turn a bLIND eye, turn a dEAF ear, eat wiTHOUT kNOWING its taste.
This is called “self-cultivation consists in correcting own mind”.

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水|wATER

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水|wATER

向水致敬!
Salute to water!

《道德經》—— 第八章:
“Tao Te Ching”*1- Chapter 8:

上善若水。
水善利萬物而不爭,處眾人之所惡,故幾於道。
居善地,心善淵,與善人,言善信,政善治,事善能,動善時。
夫唯不爭,故無尤。
The highest vIRTUE is like being wATER.
wATER is gOOD to eVERYTHING and does not fight for any fame and fortune, it is staying at the place that others do not like, thence it is the closest to tAO*2.
(wATER is gOOD at) Staying at any place with eASE; having qIETNESS like in an abyss in the heart; being kIND to others; talking hONESTLY; governing with iNACTION; being cAPABLE of handling things; acting at rIGHT tIMING.
As there’s nO fIGHTING against the world, therefore there’s nO rESENTMENT.

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惡、善、賢、德|bAD, gOOD, wISE, vIRTUOUS

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惡、善、賢、德|bAD, gOOD, wISE, vIRTUOUS

學為,不如辨善惡之難。
Learning dOING is not more difficult than dISTINGUISHING between gOOD and bAD.

陳壽 ——《三國志・蜀書二・先主傳》:
Chen Shou*₁- “Records of the Three Kingdoms, Book of Shu II, Biography of the Former Lord”:

劉備臨終前告誡其子劉禪:「勿以惡小而為之,勿以善小而不為。惟賢惟德,能服於人。」
Liu Bei*₂ admonished his son, Liu Shan*₂, before his death: “dON’T tHINK the bAD thing is just sMALL mistake then dO, dON’T tHINK the gOOD thing is just sMALL kindness then nOT dO. oNLY by being wISE and vIRTUOUS cAN one cONVINCE others.”

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孝、敬|fILIAL, rESPECT

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孝、敬|fILIAL, rESPECT

子曾曰:「夫孝,德之本也,教之所由生也。」
誰教乎?是親是老,是師是長。
惜如今,人緩失敬忘尊。
孝無敬,非德也。
Confucius*₁ once said: “fILIAL pIETY is the rOOT of mORALITY, eDUCATION eXISTS because of it.”*₂
Who eDUCATE? They are pARENTS, sENIORS, tEACHERS and eLDERS.
uNFORTUNATELY, nowadays people slowly lOSE and fORGET the rESPECT for those who eDUCATE.
fILIAL pIETY without rESPECT is nOT a vIRTUE.

《論語》的第二書《為政》——第七章:
“The Analects”*₃, Book 2 – Chapter 7 (original written in Classical Chinese):

子游問孝。
子曰:「今之孝者,是謂能養。至於犬馬,皆能有養;不敬,何以別乎?」
Ziyou*₄ asked about fILIAL pIETY.
Confucius said: “What today’s fILIAL people really mEAN is they can fEED (their parents or relatives) only. As for dOGS and hORSES, all can be fed. wITHOUT rESPECT, what is the dIFFERENCE?”

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陋、德|sHABBY, vIRTUE

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#陋、#德|#sHABBY, #vIRTUE

靈魂沒有軀殼與思想之分,最重要是靈魂本身如何。
sOUL does not make distinction between the bODY and the mIND, the most important thing is just how the sOUL is.

劉禹錫(七七二年至八四二年,詩人,哲學家,作家,唐代文學的代表人物之一)-《陋室銘》:
Yang Xiong (772-842, poet, philosopher, author and one of the representative person of Tang literature) – Epigraph for “A Shabby House” (original written in Classical Chinese):

山不在高,有仙則名。
水不在深,有龍則靈。
斯是陋室,惟吾德馨。
苔痕上階綠,草色入廉青。
談笑有鴻儒,往來無白丁。
可以調素琴,閱金經。
無絲竹之亂耳,無案牘之勞形。
南陽諸葛廬,西蜀子雲亭。
孔子云:「何陋之有?」
mOUNTAIN, no matter how hIGH, will be well kNOWN if sAGE dWELLS there.
lAKE, no matter how dEEP, will have aURA if aquatic dRAGON lIVES there.
This is a sHABBY house, I only wish that I have great vIRTUE.
The mOSS cOVERED the steps and turned them into gREEN, the colour of gRASS that sHINES through the curtain is green.
Here, the people who talk and laugh are eRUDITE and the people who hang out together are not vULGAR.
Here one can play the uNADORNED zither and read the bUDDHIST texts.
Here there is neither aNNOYING instrumental playing nor eXHAUSTING official work.
Here is like the Zhuge’s*₁ cottage in Nanyang or the Yangxiong’s*₂ pavilion in Western Shu.
Confucius*₃ said, “Is it tHAT sHABBY?”*₄

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樹、人|nURTURE, tALENTS

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樹、人|nURTURE, tALENTS

育英才,乃生之業,且為之難也。
It’s a lIFELONG and dIFFICULT task to nURTURE tALENTS.

《管子》的第三書《權修》——第十一章:
“Guanzi”*₁, Book 3 – Chapter 11 (original written in Classical Chinese):

一年之計,莫如樹穀;十年之計,莫如樹木;終身之計,莫如樹人。
一樹一穫者,穀也;一樹十穫者,木也;一樹百穫者,人也。
我苟種之,如神用之,舉事如神,唯王之門。

If planning for a yEAR, it’s better to cULTIVATE gRAINS;
If planning for tEN years, it’s better to pLANT tREES;
If planning for a lIFETIME, it’s better to nURTURE pEOPLE.

The hARVEST after a year of cultivation are cROPS;
The harvest after ten-years of planting are trees;
The harvest after hUNDRED-yEARS of nurturing are tALENTS.

If we can nurture the talents, they can hANDLE things wISELY with their iNGENUITY, that is the only wAY for them to bECOME the people in pOWER.

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道、謀|pRINCIPLES, wORK

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道、謀|pRINCIPLES, wORK

最誠實的尊重,就是儘管共存,也可原則不同,亦不強求改變,真誠表達自己,然後各走各路。
The most honest rESPECT is that even if people cOEXIST, they can have their own dIFFERENT principles and not force others to cHANGE, just express themselves tRULY, then go their oWN way.

《論語》的第十五書《衛靈公》——第四十章:
“The Analects”*₁, Book 15 – Chapter 40 (original written in Classical Chinese):

子曰:「道不同,不相為謀。」
Confucius*₂ said, “When the pRINCIPLES are dIFFERENT, people cANNOT wORK together.”

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柔、堅|dELICATE, sTRONG

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柔、堅|dELICATE, sTRONG

平衡,就是若剛能制柔,柔也能克剛。
BALANCE, that is, if the sTRONGNESS can rESTRAIN the sOFTNESS, then the sOFTNESS can also rESTRAIN the sTRONGNESS.

《道德經》—— 第七十六章:
“Tao Te Ching”*₁- Chapter 76 (original written in Classical Chinese):

人之生也[柔弱₁],其死也[堅強₂]。草木之生也[柔脆₃],其死也[枯槁₄]。故堅強者死之徒,柔弱者生之徒。是以[兵₅]強則[滅₆],[木₇]強則[折₈]。強大處[下₉],柔弱處[上₁₀]。
People are [sOFT and dELICATE₁] when born, and they become [hARD and sTIFF₂] after death. When the plants and trees are alive, they are also [sOFT and fRAGILE₃], once they are dead, they become [wITHERED and dRY₄]. So the hardness and stiffness are on the side of dEATH, while the softness and delicacy are on the side of lIFE. Therefore, the [sOLDIERS₅] will be [aNNIHILATED₆] as they are strong, the [tREES₇] will be [cUT dOWN₈] as they are strong. The sTRONG one will be in the [lOW₉] position, the dELICATE one will be in the [uP₁₀] position.

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兄弟|bROTHERS

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兄弟|bROTHERS

若命運早注定,人活著已精彩,真心兄弟定在。
If one’s fate is destined and one lives wonderfully, the real brothers must be around.

《論語》的第十二書《顏淵》——第五章:
“The Analects”*₁, Book 12 – Chapter 5 (original written in Classical Chinese):

司馬牛憂曰:「人皆有兄弟,我獨亡。」
子夏曰:「商聞之矣:[死₁][生₂]有[命₃],[富₄][貴₅]在[天₆]。君子[敬₇]而無[失₈],與人[恭₉]而有[禮₁₀]。四海之內,皆兄弟也。君子何患乎無兄弟也?」

Sima Niu*₂ worriedly said: “All other people have bROTHERS, just I don’t.”
Zi Xia*₃ said: “I have heard: [dEATH₁] and [lIFE₂] are [fATED₃], [wEALTH₄] and [hONOR₅] depend on [pROVIDENCE₆]. A rEAL man is [dEDICATED₇] to work without making [mISTAKES₈], [rESPECTS₉] others and is [cOURTEOUS₁₀]. Within the Four Seas*₄, all are brothers. Should a real man worry about having no brothers?”

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孝、欽|fILIAL , rESPECT

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孝、欽|fILIAL , rESPECT

家教,就是家庭中的終身言行身教。
fAMILY eDUCATION is the whole lIFE teaching by pRECEPTS, bEHAVIORS and eXAMPLES in the family.

林逋(九六七年至一零二八年,北宋儒家詩人)-《省心錄》中一話:
Lin Bu (967-1028, Confucian poet of Northern Song Dynasty*₁) – A quote of “Record of self-reflection”:

[孝₁]於親則子孝,
[欽₂]於人則眾欽。
Be [fILIAL₁] to your parents, your children will also be fILIAL to you.
[rESPECT₂] others, others will also rESPECT you.

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