第五章 泛爱众

Chapter 5 On Cherishing All Living Beings

Chapter 5 Love All Equally

For all creatures throughout the world,

One should cherish a kind regard.

Human beings, regardless of nationality, race, or religion

- everyone - should be loved equally.

The sky covers all of us equally.

The earth supports all humankind.

We are all sheltered by the same sky and

we all live on the same planet Earth.

People whose conduct is fine

Are sure to have good reputations.

A person of high ideals and morals

is highly respected.

Good conduct is what we respect;

Fine looks cannot bring people honor.

What people value

is not based on outside appearance.

People who have great ability

Thereby enjoy great prestige.

A person’s outstanding ability

will naturally endow him with a good reputation.

Others will follow their lead,

But great talkers don’t earn much respect.

Admiration from others does not come from

boasting or praising oneself.

The abilities you yourself have

Should not be used to attain selfish goals.

If I am a very capable person,

I should use my capabilities for the benefit of others.

The abilities others may have

Should not be belittled and scorned.

Other people’s competence

should not be slandered.

It’s not right to flatter the rich

Or be arrogant towards the poor.

I will not flatter the rich,

or despise the poor.

What’s old need not be rejected.

What’s new is not necessarily good.

I will not ignore old friends,

only taking delight in new ones.

If you see a person who’s busy,

Leave him alone until he’s free.

When a person is busy,

I will not bother him with matters.

If you see that a person is upset,

Don’t annoy him with idle chatter.

When a person’s mind is not at ease,

I will not bother him with words.

Although you may know someone’s faults,

There’s no need to tell everyone.

If a person has a shortcoming,

I will not expose it.

The personal business of others

Should not be the subject of talk.

If a person has a secret,

I will not tell others.

Praising the virtue of others

Is itself a virtuous deed.

Praising the goodness of others

is a good deed in itself.

When people hear they’ve been praised,

They will want to improve even more.

When people are being praised and approved of,

they will be encouraged to try even harder.

There is never anything good

In talking of others’shortcomings.

Spreading rumors about the wrongdoings of others

is a wrongdoing in itself.

If they hear, they will surely resent it;

They will see you mean nothing but trouble.

When the harm done has reached the extreme,

misfortunes will surely follow.

We should urge each other towards goodness

And develop our virtue together.

When I encourage another to do good,

both of our virtues are built up.

If our faults are not corrected,

We will surely stray from the Way.

If I do not tell another of his faults,

we are both wrong.

The amount you give and you get

Should always be clearly distinguished.

Whether I take or give,

I need to know the difference between the two.

Make sure that your giving surpasses

The amount that you receive.

It is better to give more

and take less.

Before you begin to blame others,

First you should question yourself:

What I ask others to do,

I must first ask myself if I would be willing to do.

“Would I want to be scolded and blamed?”

If not, then don’t do it to someone else.

If it is not something I would be willing to do,

I will not ask others to do it.

Kindness must be returned.

Let enmity just fade away.

I must repay the kindness of others and

let go of my resentments.

Grudges are better forgotten;

Make kindness increase day by day.

I will spend less time holding grudges and

more time paying back the kindness of others.

Treat your employees with fairness.

Be proper and just with each one.

When I am directing maids and servants,

I will act honorably and properly.

And not only proper and just—

You should also be kind and forgiving.

I will also treat them kindly and generously.

If you try to rule others by force,

You will never win over their hearts.

If I use my influence to make them submissive,

their hearts will not be with you.

If you lead them with virtue and reason,

Then they won’t feel oppressed and apart.

If I can convince them with sound reasoning,

they will have nothing to object to.