Afraid Not that Others Know, But that I Know


By Qingyan

(Clearwisdom.net)

In the Yongzheng era of the Qing Dynasty, there was a person named Ye Chunren. He was a government officer for over thirty years and he was uncorrupted and disciplined. When he resigned from his position, his subordinates wanted to see him off by sending him a boat. However, the boat did not come until it was dark and the moon was high. It turned out that those officers prepared it as a parting gift for him. They deliberately waited until it was dark so that others would not see it. Ye Chunren turned down the gift and wrote a poem, saying

At midnight, with the moon bright and the wind cool
A farewell boat with gifts came late
I appreciate your caring, but I have to return the boat
Afraid not that others may know, but that I know

"Not afraid that others may know, but that I know" is the spirit of self-control. It tells people that one can control and behave oneself by following certain rules. In traditional Chinese culture people stress "not to misbehave in a dark room," meaning that even though nobody would know about it if we did a wrong deed, we should still follow our moral standards. People who believe in gods and heaven know that our every thought and every move are being watched.


Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2006/3/27/123696.html

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