Selected Translations from "Role Model To The World" by Mr. Yuan, Part 2

(Clearwisdom.net)

Follow the course of nature and feel at ease wherever one goes

As soon as one learns how to feel and reason, one is faced with worries and unhappiness in this world. A baby cries because it's needs are not met. From a person's childhood, to his youth, adulthood, and old age, there are many more things that make him unhappy than happy. Even those who are filthy rich, whom everyone envies and thinks of as living as royalty, have their own problems and are just as unhappy as many ordinary people. It is only that his problems are of a different kind. This is why this world is called "an imperfect world". No one on earth can be happy all the time. The more deeply one understands this the better one feels when faced with difficulties.

One needs to know his own deficiencies and try to make up for them

Most people are born with some deficiencies in their moral character or disposition. An intelligent and well-disciplined person knows his deficiencies and will study hard to find remedies. He or she will then be turned into someone with wonderful moral character. Most people do not know their deficiencies, and are often controlled by these deficiencies and act without much self-discipline, therefore they commit many mistakes.

It says in "Shang Shu" that people have nine characters: tolerant, tender, forgiving, disorderly, straightforward, simple, inflexible, and strong. These are in-born characters. On the other hand, " upright, humble, respectful, persevering, moderate, honest, and righteous" are characters acquired through learning. These are things that make saints saints. In the later ages of "Shang Shu" some people who tended to be impatient wore belts to remind themselves to be resilient. Some who liked to procrastinate wore bowstrings to remind themselves to be decisive, like an arrow on the bowstring, ready to go at any time. Even so, people are often troubled by their inability to find their own deficiencies. They find that they need to ask others for help.

Chinese version available at http://minghui.ca/mh/articles/2007/6/29/157617.html

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