will abound; those of a stingy disposition who treat themselves stingily will treat others badly as well and meanness will be all. Thus it is that the gentleman in his habits should be neither over-generous nor too parsimonious.
Pamper oneself and you will pamper others and all will be extravagance and luxury; treat oneself harshly and you will treat others harshly and all will be mean and stingy. Extravagance and luxury may well be enjoyable but they very easily unsettle the mind and lead to over-indulgence in pleasure; stinginess may well be economical but it easily saps the energy from life and renders it without interest. Hence, a gentleman will strike an appropriate balance between generosity and parsimony, neither the noisy commotion of luxury and extravagance nor the tedium of miserliness.
42. Others possess riches, I have humanity; others have rank, I have righteousness; a true gentleman should not be constrained by the power of others. A determined man may overcome circumstances and a resolute man may master his own temperament. A gentleman does not suffer himself to be molded by the movement of fate.
Mengzi wrote: “One should not be corrupted by wealth and honor, altered by poverty or bent by power.” A man of profound cultivation and a gentleman of parts will not be enticed by the external attractions of high office and a generous salary but will steadfastly maintain his inner integrity and righteousness in the face of riches and power. Mengzi also said: “A concentrated will may move the spirit and a concentrated spirit may move the will”—meaning that when will and spirit are combined one may control the inner workings of physical life. As the thought moves so the workings of the body move with it. In the same way, the internal workings of the physical body can further strengthen the concentration of the will and spirit. Zhuangzi said, “The gentleman may master the material.” A gentleman of determination may control the external world through mind alone and, in a state that transcends the external material world, remain impervious to the whims of fate.
43. If you do not stand tall when improving your character it is like dragging your clothing in dust or washing your feet in mud, how then are you to transcend the commonplace? If you do not withdraw a pace when engaging with the world and act like a moth drawn to a flame or a goat caught in a fence, how are you to achieve peace and happiness?
In the cultivation of character and spirit one should aspire to lofty ambitions before one can expand the horizons of one’s mind and transcend the commonplace and ordinary. Wallowing in the mire with people of mundane mind is akin to dragging clean clothing in the dust or trying to wash your feet in mud. To conduct oneself properly in engagement with the world requires an understanding of modesty and tolerance, space must be left in the conduct of affairs—this is the concept of “step back a pace to see the world’s extent” advocated in Chinese philosophy. To scurry about seeking favor or petty advantage in everything will put one in a position where it is difficult either to go forward or to withdraw. Where would there remain room for happiness and joy in life?
44. Learning requires one to gather one’s wits and concentrate the mind. If, in the cultivation of virtue, one remains wedded to fame and achievement in affairs, there can be no true attainment; to study but to interest oneself only in mere recitation will never achieve profundity of mind.
The acquisition of learning requires an effort of will and wholehearted concentration as well as the exclusion of external interference and distraction. Otherwise, to study with a mind filled with a strong sense of fame and profit is comparable to the way in which a man who considers himself to possess integrity but who, nevertheless, thinks of nothing but prestige and reputation, can never achieve true cultivation or progress. Failure to study in depth and merely seeking an elegance of literary style will neither achieve anything substantial nor gain anything of real value.
45. Each and every one possesses a charitable heart and even a butcher stands but a little distance from the pure, unsullied Weimojie (an early Buddhist hermit believed to have been born in India and to have achieved some wealth in early life); each and every place possesses its own interest and a straw hut and a palace of gold are not far apart. It is just that when caught up by lust and desire the very shortest distance becomes a vast gap.
The Buddhist Garland Sutra says: “Strange, all sentient beings are innately wise and virtuous but once in the grip of delusion they can no longer attain this wisdom and virtue.” The reason for the differences that exist between ordinary people and sages, sentient beings and Buddhas, is because within the heart of man there is avarice, hatred and obsession. Sweep away these delusions and it is possible to nurture a charitable heart and a true interest. Only arouse charity of heart and even a butcher or headsman can achieve instant enlightenment. Only mobilize this true interest and there will be no distinction between a straw hut and a palace of gold. If we allow passion to blind us, then we will lose much of the beauty of life.
46. The achievement of virtue and the cultivation of the way require a will as steady and firm as a tree or rock. Once one becomes enamored of the glittering splendor of the outside world, then that is to descend into desire; governing the state and helping the people requires a sense as simple as clouds and water. Once there is avarice and corruption then that is to plunge into danger.
Entangled in the bustle of the red dust of the mundane world, one is within an inch of the hounds of temptation. The ancients said: “Pretty lips and moth-like brows are the axe that hews both character and spirit.” Once people abandon themselves to the intoxication of a life of luxury and forget the way back, then both body and mind will suffer serious injury. Thus, the gentleman of wisdom in cultivating his character requires a will of stones and trees, unmoved by desire; those in high positions require a will of clouds and water, unaffected and at ease. Once the train of desire sets out, it is on the rails of no return and bound for the eternal abyss.
47. The upright man is calm in word and deed and brims with goodwill even in his dreams; the man of violence is evil in conduct and even his laughter is muddy with murderous intent.
Inner moral character can express itself through external speech and action. It is because of this that the Chinese people have always sought to “watch one’s words and gestures.” It is by the minute observation of facial expression and its changes that one may come to understand and discriminate amongst people and thus actively draw close to gentlemen and consciously shun rogues.
48. If the liver is sick then the eyes cannot see, if the kidneys are sick then the ears cannot hear. Illness takes hold unseen but appears for all to see. Thus, the gentleman who does not wish to offend in public must first not give offence in private.
The Confucians believed that a cultivated gentleman should above all act with sincerity and honesty. It is easy to present an appearance of honesty and urbanity in public but far more difficult to maintain unanimity of behavior in private. The nature and quality of someone’s moral conduct will only be apparent in all its reality when he is alone. Consequently, the Confucians emphasized the idea that: “The gentleman should exercise prudence in private.” Cultivating a virtuous character must start from the state of privacy. It is only by truly putting effort into prudence in private that one can achieve an openhearted sincerity and justness of mind.
49. Man has no greater joy than unhurried leisure and no greater disaster than anxiety and suspicion. Only the bitterly busy can know the joy of leisure and only the even-tempered can begin to know the calamity of anxiety and suspicion.
The ancient proverb says: “Good fortune is easy
