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The Third The Way to Accumulate Kindness

Liaofan Four Lessons (in the vernacular)

( Principles and methods of transforming destiny )

Original author: Mr. Yuan Liaofan of the Ming Dynasty

The Third The Way to Accumulate Kindness

1. There must be more celebrations in a family of good deeds

The Book of Changes says: “A family that accumulates good deeds must have more celebrations.” In ancient times, there was a woman named Yan who betrothed her daughter to Confucius’ father. Accumulate great virtues, and his descendants will surely come to the fore. Later, a great man like Confucius was born. Confucius also praised Shun’s filial piety and said, “A great filial piety like Shun’s can not only be enjoyed by the ancestors, but will surely prosper in future generations.” These are all practical explanations, and now I will give some examples to prove it.

Fujian Gongqing Yang Rong, whose ancestors lived on ferry for generations. Whenever heavy rains cause disasters and destroy houses, people, livestock and goods will always go down the river, and other boats will always compete to get the goods. Only the ancestors of Yang Rong did not take any goods for the sake of saving people. People in the village laughed at them for being stupid . When Yang Rong’s father was born, the Yang family gradually became rich.

One day, a Taoist came to Yang’s house and said: “Your ancestors have accumulated evil virtues, and your descendants will surely enjoy wealth and glory. You can build ancestral graves in a dragon’s cave in a certain place.” This is what became known as the “White Rabbit Grave”. Later, Yang Rong was born, and he was admitted to the imperial examination at a young age. He was promoted to the rank of Sangong Shaoshi, and was awarded the official titles of great-grandfather and grandfather by the emperor. So far, the descendants are still prosperous, and there are many virtuous officials.

2. Everyone has a heart of compassion

Yang Zixun, a native of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, started out as a secretary in the county. He was very kind and law-abiding. Once, the county magistrate punished a prisoner until he fell to the ground bleeding, and the magistrate still did not appease his anger. He knelt down to intercede for the prisoner, and asked the county magistrate to appease his anger and forgive him. The county magistrate said, “This man is outrageous and has no law. How can he keep people from being angry?”

After hearing this, he kowtowed and said, “The people have been in disarray for a long time because of their failure to govern. Pity them for being ignorant and falling for the law.” What’s more, you shouldn’t be happy just because the case has been tried and ignore the reasons for their crimes. It’s not enough to be happy, how can you be angry?” The county magistrate was very moved when he heard this, and he immediately calmed down.

Yang Zixun’s family is poor, but he is honest and honest, and never accepts other people’s property. Sometimes when the prisoners were short of food, he tried his best to help them. One day, some new prisoners came, very hungry along the way. He happened to be short of rice at home. If it is given to prisoners, then the family members will have nothing to eat. He had no choice but to discuss it with his wife, who was not displeased after hearing this, and cooked some of the remaining rice into porridge for the prisoners.

Later, they had two sons, the eldest son named Shou Chen, the second son named Shou Zhi, who served as the Minister of the Ministry of Officials in the North and the South, the eldest grandson served as the Minister of the Ministry of Punishment, and the second grandson also served as the Minister of Justice in Sichuan; and now two famous figures Chu Ting and Dezheng, are their descendants.

3. God has the virtue of good life

During the Yingzong period of the Ming Dynasty, Fujian advocated chaos, and many people followed the thieves. The imperial court sent Chief Secretary Xie Dushi to hunt down the East Route Bandit Party. Xie was afraid of killing innocent people indiscriminately, so he tried to obtain the roster of the bandit party.

Those who did not join the bandit party organization were secretly given white cloth flags, and taught them to place the flag at the head of the gate when officers and soldiers entered the city, and warned the soldiers not to kill innocent people indiscriminately. , thus saving thousands of lives. Later, Xie’s descendants had the number one scholar in the middle school, became prime ministers, and Tanhua in the middle school, etc., and all the families enjoyed wealth and honor.

There is a family surnamed Lin in Putian, Fujian Province. Their predecessor, an old lady, is kind and generous. She often makes steamed buns for others to eat. As long as someone asks her, she will give them immediately, without any annoyance on her face. A fairy who turned into a Taoist priest came to test her, begging for six or seven steamed buns from her every morning. After three years like this, she didn’t give less or hate it.

The immortal knew that her sincere generosity was really rare, so he said to her: “I have eaten your steamed buns for three years, and I have not paid you back. I came here to tell you that there is a blessed land behind the house where I can build ancestral graves. In the future, my descendants and grandchildren will be worth one liter of pockmarks.” Afterwards, they were buried according to the words. In the first generation, nine people were admitted to the imperial examination. Since then, the generations have continued to be rich. There are still rumors in Fujian that “no forest will not open the list”.

The father of Feng Zhuo’an, an eunuch, was a scholar. One winter morning, on the way to school, I met a man who was lying in the snow and was about to freeze to death. So he hurriedly took off the leather robe he was wearing and put it on for the man, and helped him back home for treatment. As a result, in a dream that day, a god told him, “It was not easy for you to save someone’s life out of sincerity. Now I send Han Qi, a famous general from the Song Dynasty, to be born into your family as your son.” Then Zhuo’an was born, which was nicknamed him. For Qi, to commemorate.

4. A bright heart and a ghost

There is a Shangshu in Taizhou who studied in the mountains when he was young. At night, he often hears the noisy noise of ghosts and ghosts, which is very scary, but he is not afraid at all. One night, he heard a ghost talking: “There was a woman whose husband didn’t come back from visiting friends for a long time. Her husband’s parents thought her son was dead, so they forced her to remarry. This virgin woman refused, so she will hang herself here tomorrow night.” , I have found a substitute.” After hearing this, Mr. Ying immediately sold his field, pretended to be a woman’s husband and wrote a letter, and sent it to her home along with the money.

After the woman’s parents-in-law saw the letter, they noticed the handwriting was different and became suspicious, but then thought: “Even if the letter is fake, there is no reason to give away the money for free! The son should be safe and sound.” Therefore, the woman was not forced to remarry. Later, her husband also returned safely, and they loved each other as much as before. Yinggong heard the ghost say again: “I could have found a substitute, but I was wronged by this scholar!”

A ghost next to him said: “Then why don’t you harm him?” I have appointed him to be the Minister of Yin De, how can I harm him!” From then on, Ying Gong worked harder, doing good deeds every day, accumulating a lot of virtue, and when there was a famine, he would always donate for disaster relief. When others are in need, they try their best to help them. When encountering unsatisfactory things, they just accept it submissively, instead bow to introspection instead of complaining. So far, there are many people whose descendants are officials and enjoy blessings.

There is a Mr. Xu Fengzhu in Changshu, Jiangsu, whose father is quite rich. Once there was a famine, he would first donate all the land rent due to him, and set an example for the landowners in the county. Then donate your grain to the alms. One night, at the door, he heard ghosts singing non-stop: “Don’t lie, don’t lie, Xu Jiaxiu has become a jurenlang!” He sang non-stop for several days. This year Xu Fengzhu really won the Juren.

From then on, his father worked harder to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, and never slack off. He did everything he could to build bridges and repair roads, fast monks and receive people, and do everything that benefited the public. Later, I heard a ghost singing in front of the door: “Don’t lie, don’t lie, the Xu family will go all the way to the capital!” As a result, Xu Fengzhu became the governor of the two Zhejiang provinces.

5. Redressal of injustice and commutation of sentence in harmony with Tianxin

There was a Tu Kangxi in Jiaxing, who was the chief officer in the Ministry of Punishment at the beginning. He often stayed in the prison at night to chat with prisoners to understand why they committed crimes. As a result, many innocent people were found in jail. He did not make any meritorious service, but secretly reported the truth to the presiding officer. When the court was held, the presiding judge referred to his signature for the trial, and as a result, many unjust prisoners were released.

At that time, the people in Beijing all praised him for his insight and selflessness. Then he made a statement to his superiors and said: “In the capital where the emperor lives, there have been so many injustices. I think there must be more in our country. Therefore, a commutation officer should be sent every five years to all provinces to investigate The prisoner’s criminal case is to avenge the unjust prison.” As a result, the emperor allowed him to play, and he was also appointed as one of the commutation officials.

One night, I dreamed that the gods pointed out: “You were destined to have no children. Today’s commutation of sentence is just in line with Tian’s heart. The Emperor of Heaven specially bestowed on you three sons, and all of them will enjoy high-ranking officials and generous salaries.” That night, Tu Gong’s wife was born She was pregnant; later she gave birth to three sons, Ying Xun, Ying Kun, and Ying, all of whom became high officials.

Zhili’s father from Jiashan, when he was the secretary of the prison room, avenged the injustice of an innocent death row prisoner. The prisoner said, “Mr. Zhi is very kind to people. He is very sympathetic to what happened to me. He is willing to clear up my grievances. But we have nothing to repay him, so tomorrow you invite him to the countryside and marry him as a reward. He may If you remember this kindness, then I will have a chance to live.” Hearing her husband’s words, his wife agreed with tears. The next day, when the branch secretary arrived in the countryside, she greeted her kindly and told him her husband’s wishes. The secretary office categorically refused, but still tried their best to clear the case.

After the prisoner was released from prison, the husband and wife kowtowed at the branch secretary’s house to thank him and said, “Great kindness is rare in modern times. Now you have no son, but I have a daughter, and I am willing to give it to your concubine who sweeps the floor. It makes sense in terms of reason.” The branch secretary office married him with generous gifts. Later, he gave birth to a son, named Zhili, who was elected as a scholar at the age of twenty, and also became a Kongmu of the Imperial Academy. The descendants of several generations in the future will also be prosperous in official career.

6. Worship the gods and protect the Dharma for generations to come

Bao Ping was born in Jiaxing. His father was the prefect of Chizhou. He had seven sons, and Bao Ping was the youngest. He was recruited by the Pinghu Yuan family as his son-in-law. Although he was knowledgeable and talented, he failed to make the list many times. One day when I traveled east to Maohu Lake, I saw a broken temple in the village, and the Guanyin Buddha statue was wet and stained by rain and dust. I took out all the ten taels of silver on my body and gave it to the living temple for repairing the temple. Zhu Si said: “The fortification is too big. With only this little money, I am afraid it will be difficult to complete the work.”

So he took out a lot of valuable clothes and cloth from his travels and handed them over to the live attendant. The servant asked him not to send any more, but Bao Ping said, “As long as the holy image is not defiled, it doesn’t matter if I’m naked!” After hearing this, Zhu Si said with tears, “It’s not difficult to give away money and clothes. This kind of sincerity is so easy to get!” After the temple was completed, he and his father visited the temple again, and at night they dreamed that the guardian deity came to thank him and said, “Your son should enjoy the salary for generations.”

Later, his son Bian and grandson Tafang , all made high officials. As mentioned in the above paragraphs, although the plots and practices are different, they are all examples of one heart for good.

7. Do you not prosper if you do good, or prosper when you do evil?

To be more specific, there are true and false, straight and curved, yin and yang, right and wrong, right and wrong, half and full, big and small, There are difficult and easy ones, each of which has its own reasons, and should be carefully distinguished. If you do good without knowing the reason, you will often think that you are doing good, but in fact you are doing evil, and you will be wronged. [For example, ordinary people often say: “Someone does good, but his children and grandchildren will not prosper, and someone does evil, but his family prospers.” This is because they have misunderstood the concept of good and evil cause and effect. 〕

8. because there are truth and goodness and false goodness

How do you call it true and false? Once upon a time, a few scholars went to visit the eminent monk Zhongfeng of Tianmu Mountain and asked, “Buddhists say that good and evil are retributions that follow like shadows. Why do some people do good but their offspring are unhappy? Some people do evil but their family prospers?” Said Zhongfeng. : “Ordinary people are blinded by the world’s views. This spiritual heart has not been washed away, and the Dharma eyes have not been opened, so that they regard good as evil and evil as good. Why don’t you hate yourself for being upside down, but blame the heaven’s retribution for being wrong?” What about it?” They said again, “Good is good, and evil is evil, so what would be the opposite?” After hearing this, Monk Zhongfeng asked them to speak out what they thought was good and evil.

Some of them think that beating and cursing others is evil; respecting and saluting others is good. Some people think that it is evil to be greedy for money, and it is good to be honest and moral. He also mentioned all kinds of good and evil behaviors that he usually sees, but the monk Zhongfeng said that these are not necessarily correct! Monk Zhongfeng said: “Doing things that benefit others is good; doing things that benefit oneself is evil. If doing things that benefit others, even cursing or beating them, is also good; and doing things that benefit others is good.”

For selfish affairs, respecting others and treating others with courtesy are all evil. What benefits others is public, and public is true; selfishness is private, and private is false. And good deeds that come from conscience are true; However, it is false to do it as usual. Furthermore, it is true to do good deeds without asking for rewards and without showing any traces; but it is false to do it for a certain purpose and to get something. All kinds of things have to be tested in turn.”

9. there is a difference between uprightness and distortion

What is it called a straight song? People nowadays, when they see someone who is prudent and not stubborn, most of them call him a good person and value him very much; however, the sages in ancient times would rather appreciate someone who has high ambition and only moves forward, or who keeps his own position and refuses to act recklessly. As for those good people who seem prudent but useless, although the whole town likes them, the sage said that such people are weak, follow the crowd, have no ambition, and are thieves who harm morality. By extension, the views of saints and laity are quite different.

Therefore, if you want to accumulate virtue, you must not be used by the sounds that your ears like, or the colors that your eyes like, but follow your feelings; you must silently wash your heart from the subtle place where your heart is moving, and you must not let it go. Evil thoughts pollute the mind. Therefore, if there is a heart to help the world, it is straight; if there is some heart to please the world, it is crooked. If there is a heart full of love for others, it is straight; if there is a trace of resentment towards the world, it is crooked. If there is a heart that respects others, it is straight; if there is the slightest heart to play with the world, it is crooked. These should be carefully distinguished.

10. Yang, Shan and Yin are different

How is it called yin and yang? Being good and being known by others is yang goodness, but being good and not being known by others is yin virtue. Those who are virtuous will be bestowed with blessings and wisdom; those who are virtuous will enjoy worldly fame. Although the reputation in the world is also a blessing, it is tabooed by the heaven and the earth; because the reputation of the world exceeds the actual gain, many people suffer unforeseen misfortunes.

[Therefore, the ancients advised people: “Don’t let the name go too far, and keep the sage of the foolish.”] If a person has no faults, but is notorious and can accept it, he must be a person with great moral cultivation, and his children and grandchildren will often suddenly become angry. . From this we can see that the difference between yin and yang is very subtle!

11. The Influence of the Theory of Good and Bad

How do you call right and wrong? In the past, the state of Lu in the Spring and Autumn Period stipulated that anyone who was willing to pay money to redeem citizens from other countries who had been taken captive as concubines could receive a reward from the government. But Zigong redeemed the man without receiving a reward. When Confucius knew about it, he scolded him and said, “You are wrong about this matter. A gentleman can change customs and customs, and his behavior will become a model for the public. He does not just do it for his own satisfaction. Now there are many poor people in Lu State, and few rich people. “If receiving a bounty is greedy for money and disgraceful, would anyone still be willing to redeem people? From now on, the custom of redeeming people will probably disappear.”

Another example is Zilu who saved a man from drowning and accepted the man’s cattle in return. Confucius said with great satisfaction: “From now on, there will be more people willing to save people from drowning.” Because if one is willing to save and the other is willing to thank, it will become popular. Based on these two things, from a secular point of view, it is good for Zigong not to accept gold, but it is not good for Zilu to accept cattle. Unexpectedly, Confucius praised Zilu and blamed Zigong.

Therefore, when people do good deeds, they should not only look at the immediate effects, but also their disadvantages; they should not only look at the temporary results, but also their long-term effects; they should not only look at their personal gains and losses, but also their influence on the world. If the current situation seems good, but the result is enough to harm people, it seems good but is not good. If the current situation is not good, but the result is beneficial to the public, it is not good but actually good. This example can be used as a by-pass, such as undue forgiveness, excessive praise of others to charm the gods, ignorance of big things in order to keep small promises, petting children and raising serious troubles, etc. All of these need to be carefully judged and differentiated.

12. The results of the theory of favoritism and goodness

How do you call it biased? Once upon a time, Lord Lu Wenyi resigned from his position as prime minister and returned to his hometown, and the villagers still respected him like a big dipper on Mount Tai. Once, a drunk man scolded Lu Gong. Instead of getting angry, he said to his servant, “Don’t argue with drunk people.” A year later, this man committed a felony and was imprisoned. He said regretfully: “If I had quarreled with him a little at that time, sending him to the official for punishment would have the effect of a small punishment and a big punishment.

Today he may not be like this. At that time, I was trying to be kind and not quarrel with him, but unexpectedly Sponsored his evil deeds, backfired.” This is an example of doing evil things with good intentions.

There are also examples of evil beings but good deeds. For example, when a certain rich man encountered a famine, the poor would rob rice in the market in broad daylight; the rich man sued the county magistrate, but the county magistrate ignored him, and the poor became more courageous and rampant. So the rich man imprisoned and humiliated the rice robbers in private, so the situation had to settle down, otherwise there would be chaos. That’s why it is said, “Goodness is righteousness, and evilness is partiality.” Everyone knows this. And doing evil things with kindness is called “partial in the middle”; doing good with disgust is called “partial in the right.” This also has to know!

13. Half Kindness, Full Kindness and One Heart

How do you call it half-good and full-good? The Book of Changes says: “If goodness is not accumulated, it is not enough to become famous; if evil is not accumulated, it is not enough to destroy the body.” The Book of Books says: “Business crimes are full, like storing things in a container.” Just like storing things in containers If you are diligent and accumulate, you will be full, if you are slack and do not accumulate, you will be dissatisfied.

Once upon a time, there was a woman from a certain family who went to a Buddhist temple but had no money to give, so she handed over the only two coins to the host, who personally repented to the Buddha for her. Later, this woman entered the imperial palace, and after she became rich, she brought several thousand taels of silver to the Buddhist temple as alms. And the host just asked his apprentice to pay homage on her behalf. The woman asked, “I used to give only two taels of silver, and you, Master, repented for me. Now I donate several thousand taels of silver, but Master doesn’t even make a dedication for me. Why?”

The host replied. “Although the two coins are thin, the heart of giving is sincere and sincere; therefore, it is not enough for me to repent for you, the old monk, and it is not enough to repay your merits of giving. Although there is a lot of money now, it is not as real as before, so it is called people It is enough to repent on your behalf.” This is a donation of a few thousand taels of silver, which is only considered “half kindness”, while a donation of two cents is considered “full kindness”.

And Zhongli taught Lu Zu the art of “turning iron into gold” alchemy, in order to benefit the world. Lu Zu asked: “Will gold turn back into iron?” Zhongli said: “After five hundred years, it will naturally return to the essence of iron.” Lu Zu said: “This will harm people after five hundred years. I don’t want to do this This matter.” Zhongli said: “Cultivating an immortal requires accumulating three thousand merits, and with just this sentence, the three thousand merits are already complete.” This is another way of saying half-good and full-good.

If a person does good deeds without thinking about good deeds, all the good deeds he does can be fully accomplished. If you have goodness in your heart, even if you do goodness diligently throughout your life, it is only half-goodness. For example, if you donate money to others, you should not see the self who is giving, the recipient of the donation, and the object of the donation. If this kind of charity can be done, one penny can be enough to eliminate the sins of a thousand kalpas, and a bucket of rice can also plant boundless blessings. If you fail to forget your heart, if you give kindness and hope to repay it, and if you give up wealth and feel sad, then you are only half-kind.

14. the size is difficult to see the motivation

How can it be called great kindness and small kindness? Once upon a time there was a man named Wei Zhongda who was an official in the Imperial Academy. Once his soul was taken to the underworld by a ghost soldier, and the presiding judge of the underworld ordered people to send up his good and evil record books; there were many bad record books spread out all over the yard, but there were only a few good record books. That’s all. Then use a scale to weigh it, but the evil record book is lighter than the good record book. Wei Zhongda asked, “I’m not yet forty years old, so how could I have committed so many mistakes?”

The presiding judge said, “If you don’t think right, you have committed evil, and you don’t have to do it.” [For example, when you see a woman Color, moving bad thoughts, is a crime. 〕Wei Zhongda asked: “What is recorded in the Shanlu Book, and why is it heavier than the Bad Record Book?” The presiding judge said: “The imperial court once wanted to build a big project, to build a stone bridge in the Sanshan area. You go up Advise the imperial court not to revise it, so as not to waste people and money, this is the draft of your memorial.” Wei Zhongda said: “Although I have submitted a letter, but the imperial court did not accept it, it does not help the matter, why is this memorial so important?

The presiding officer said: “Although the court did not accept it, your idea is to save tens of millions of people from hard labor; if the court accepts it, the power of goodness will be even greater.” Reaching all peoples, the goodness is small but the merit is great; if the ambition is in one body and the kindness reaches one person, even though it is many, it is small.

How can it be called the good that is difficult to do and easy to do? In the past, learned scholars all said that to restrain one’s selfish desires, one should first overcome the difficult ones. And Confucius also said that we should work hard from the difficult places. We must be like Mr. Shu in Jiangxi, who used the salary he earned from teaching for two years to pay the government’s arrears on behalf of a poor family, so as to avoid the tragedy of the separation of their husband and wife. It is also like the old general in Handan County, Hebei, who redeemed his ten-year savings to redeem other people’s wives and children so that they could survive.

Another example is Mr. Jin from Zhenjiang, although he is young and childless, he does not want to marry the young girl next door, and miss his youth. This can be said to be unbearable but bearable. Therefore, the blessings bestowed on them by God are also very rich. For those who have wealth and power, it is easier for them to establish virtue than ordinary people; if they do not do it easily, they will give up on themselves. However, it is very valuable for poor and lowly people who want to be virtuous and able to do something difficult.

15. there are ten flavors of good deeds

Whenever we have an opportunity to do good deeds, we should cherish it and try our best to help others. The methods of doing good and accumulating virtue according to circumstances can be roughly divided into ten items: 1. Be kind to others; Wealth brings blessings; eighth, protect and uphold the righteous Dharma; ninth, respect elders; tenth, cherish material life.

What does it mean to be kind to others? When the late Emperor Shun was not yet a ruler, he saw fishermen fishing in Lei Ze Lake, and saw a deep pool of clean water rich in fish, all of which were occupied by the young and strong, while the old and weak fishermen, They all stayed in the rapids and shallows. So he felt very sorry for them, so he also went into the water to fish himself, but when he met others who came to snatch them, he deliberately behaved courteously and did not talk about their faults.

When he saw humble fishermen, he praised them everywhere and imitated them. After a year like this, everyone gave up the deep water and the fish. Just think about Shun’s talent, how can he not use words to persuade the public? But he doesn’t use words to teach, he prefers to teach by example, subtly and subtly transfer people’s atmosphere, really well-intentioned!

We are born in this end-time era where people’s hearts and customs are corrupt, and it is not easy to be a human being. Others are not as good as me, so don’t overshadow others with your own strengths. Others have bad things, so don’t compare your own kindness with others. The ability of others is not as good as mine, so don’t use your own ability to stump others. Even if you have talents and intelligence, you must restrain yourself and not show off. You should regard talents and intelligence as false as if you do not have talents and intelligence. If you see someone else’s fault, let’s cover it up for him.

Like this, on the one hand, it can give him a chance to change; [If his face is broken, he will have no scruples. 〕When you see some small strengths of others, you can learn from them; or you have small kindness and good deeds, you can remember them; you should immediately turn around, let go of your own ideas, and learn from other people’s strengths; and praise him and spread it widely for him . In our daily life, what we say, what we do, and what we do, we should not do it according to our own pleasure, but for the sake of the people in the world, and set a rule and example for everyone to abide by. Measured for the public. What is love and respect? A gentleman and a villain, from the appearance, are often easily confused, and it is impossible to tell the truth from the fake.

[Because the villain will pretend to be a gentleman and pretend to be a gentleman. 〕But this point is intentional, the gentleman is good, and the villain is evil, they are far from each other, their difference is like black and white, absolutely opposite and different. That’s why Mencius said, “The difference between gentlemen and ordinary people lies in their intentions!” The heart of a gentleman is only the heart of loving and respecting others. For although there are close and distant, honorable and lowly, wise and stupid, moral and indecent, there are thousands and thousands of different kinds of people; but they are all my compatriots, They both have life like me, have flesh and blood, have emotions and reason, which one shouldn’t love him and respect him?

To love and respect the people is to love and respect the saints and sages. To be able to understand the meaning of the people is to understand the meaning of the sages. why? Because sages and sages all hope that the world can live and work in peace and contentment and live a happy life. Therefore, we can love and respect others everywhere, so that people in the world can be safe and happy, that is to say, we can replace the sages and make people in the world safe and happy.

What is adult beauty? For example, if a stone with jade inside is thrown away carelessly, then this stone is no more than a tile and rubble, worthless. If it is well carved and polished, then this stone will become a very precious and heavy Guizhang. The same is true for people, and they all rely on guidance; so if you see someone else doing a good deed or this person is determined to make progress, and the aptitude is enough to cultivate, you should guide him well, promote him, and make him a useful person in society. or praise him, encourage him, and support him; if someone wrongs him, he will defend him and share the burden for him. It is necessary to make him stand in the society, and then I have exhausted my heart.

Ordinary people probably have a feeling of disgust towards those who are different from him. In a village, there are fewer kind people and more unkind ones. In the secular world, I am often bullied by wicked people, and it is difficult to stand up. What’s more, most heroes are upright and unyielding in temperament, and they don’t deliberately modify their appearance. Common sense is not high, and they only look at appearance, gossip and criticize casually; so doing good deeds is often easy to fail, and good people are often slandered.

In such a situation, only the benevolent elders can correct the evil and unrighteous people, teach and guide them to rectify their evil and return to the right; protect and help the good people to make them established; the merit of warding off evil and manifesting righteousness like this is really the greatest.

What does it mean to persuade people to do good? Since a person has been born into the world as a human being, how can he not have a conscience? But just because of chasing fame and fortune, the world is busy, as long as fame and fortune are available, if you do it without conscience and by any means, you will be the easiest to fall. Therefore, when interacting with others, one should always observe this person carefully, and if one sees that he is about to degenerate, one should remind him and warn him anytime and anywhere, so as to develop his confusion. For example, in a long night, if you have a nightmare, you must call him to wake him up quickly; or if you have been trapped in troubles for a long time, you must lift him up to make his mind cool.

Treating others with kindness like this, the merit is the most comprehensive and the most extensive. In the past Han Wengong once said: “Persuasion with words is only for a moment, and it is forgotten after the matter is over; and people in other places cannot hear it. Persuasion with books can be passed on for hundreds of generations, and can be spread throughout the world; therefore There is great merit in writing good books.”

In this article, we talk about persuading people with words, and using books to persuade people to be kind. Compared with the “be kind to people” mentioned above, although there are obvious traces of form, this method of prescribing the right medicine Things, often have special effects; this method is not discardable. And persuasion must be done properly. For example, if this person is too stubborn to persuade with words, you use words instead.

Not only is the persuasion in vain, but the words you persuaded have become nonsense, which is called a slip of the tongue. If this person has a gentle disposition, he can be persuaded with words, but if you don’t persuade him, you will miss the opportunity to persuade him to be kind. This is called losing people. Slips of speech and others are due to one’s lack of smartness and inability to distinguish them, so one should carefully reflect on one’s own;

What does it mean to save lives in a crisis? Tribulations and ups and downs are common in a person’s life. If you come across this kind of person by chance, you should look at his pain and try to relieve it as if you were your own. He has been wronged and oppressed by others, or uses words to help him explain, or uses various methods to relieve his hardship. Cui Zi once said: “It doesn’t matter how great a favor is, as long as you help others when they are in danger.” This sentence is really the words of a benevolent person!

What is the construction of Italy? If it is small, it is in a township; if it is large, it is in a county; if it is beneficial to the public, it is best to initiate construction, or open channels to irrigate farmland; or build dikes, prevent floods, or repair bridges, To make travel and transportation convenient; or to deliver tea and food, and to relieve the hungry and thirsty. Whenever you encounter an opportunity, you must persuade everyone to work together and contribute money and effort to build it; even if others are secretly slandering and hurting, you should not avoid suspicion Don’t do it, don’t be afraid of hard work, and don’t do it because you are worried that others will be jealous and resentful. These are all unacceptable.

What does it mean to give up money for good fortune? Of all the good deeds in Buddhism, giving is the most important. When it comes to giving, there is only one word, giving up everything, which is in line with the Buddha’s meaning. A person who truly understands the truth is willing to give up everything; just like his own eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind, there is nothing he is unwilling to give up. Forms, sounds, smells, tastes, touches, and dharmas outside the body can all be discarded. Everything that a person has, there is nothing that he refuses to give up. [If you can do this, then your body and mind will be pure and free from worries, just like a Buddha or Bodhisattva].

If you can’t give up everything, start giving money first. People in the world regard clothing and food as important as life; therefore, the giving of money is also the most important; if I can give money freely, internally, it can break my problem of being stingy and greedy; externally, I can Relieve others in need. However, money is not easy to see through. At the beginning, it will inevitably be a little bit reluctant. Once you get used to it, you will feel at ease in your heart, and there is nothing to be reluctant about. This is the easiest way to get rid of one’s greed and selfishness, and it can also get rid of one’s attachment and stinginess to money.

What is protecting and upholding the Dharma? The Dharma is the eyes of sentient beings from beginningless time, and also the yardstick of truth; if there is no Dharma, how can we consult the heaven and the earth? How to breed all things? How can one escape from the shackles of the world? How to maintain order in this world? How to get rid of the suffering of samsara?

Therefore, whenever you see temples of sages and sages, scriptures and classics, you must respect them; as for those that are broken or incomplete, you should repair them. As for promoting the righteous Dharma and reporting to the Buddha, we should encourage each other and work hard to implement it.

What does it mean to respect elders? Fathers and elder brothers in the family, kings and officials of the country, and all people of high age, morality, position, and knowledge should all obey and serve them with special care. To serve parents at home, you must have a heart of deep love for your parents, and a tactful and gentle appearance; you must also have a gentle voice and a calm manner; if you continue to become a habit, you will become a natural good disposition, which is how gentleness can move you. Tianxin’s fundamental method. When you go out and serve the king, no matter what you do, you should do it in accordance with the laws of the country.

You can’t do it recklessly because the king doesn’t know it! When dealing with a criminal, regardless of the severity of the crime, he must be carefully interrogated and the law enforced fairly; it is not allowed to be a king who does not know, so that he can act as a blessing and wrong people! Serving the king, as respectful as facing the sky, this is the norm set by the ancients, and this kind of place has the greatest relationship with yin and virtue. You see, all loyal and filial families, their descendants will not be underdeveloped for a long time and have a prosperous future, so you must do it carefully.

What is love borrowing life? The reason why a person can be considered a human is that he has a heart of compassion. To seek benevolence is to seek compassion; to accumulate virtue is to accumulate compassion. Having compassion is benevolence; having compassion is virtue. Zhou Li once said: “Every year in the first month [it is the time when animals are easy to conceive], don’t use female sacrifices.” Nearby”, that is, to preserve one’s compassion. Therefore, the predecessors have four kinds of prohibitions not to eat meat, that is, not to eat when they hear the sound of animals being killed; not to eat when they see animals being killed; not to eat meat that was raised by themselves; or not to eat meat that was killed specially for me. . Those of the younger generation, if they want to imitate the benevolence of the elders, they should follow the method of the elders and abstain from eating less meat.

[According to Buddhism, all living things are reborn as animals because of their sins in previous lives: when their debts are paid off, they can still be reborn as humans. All sentient beings are future Buddhas, so the meat we eat is not the flesh of future Buddhas? ! And they must have been humans in countless past lives; then they may have been my father, mother, wife, son, relatives, and friends in my previous life.

The meat I eat today may be eating me. The flesh of father, mother, wife, son, relatives, and friends in the previous life. But today I am a human being, he is an animal, and if I eat him, I will commit murder and form a murderous enmity with him. If the beast that I eat, in the next life his sins will be reincarnated as a human, but I commit crimes because of killing and committing crimes, I am afraid that he will also take revenge on me for killing him, and come to kill me and eat me. In this way, is it still possible to kill? Can you still eat meat? 〕

Step by step in this way, the compassion will continue to grow. Not only should we refrain from killing living things, we should not harm anything that moves and has spirit. Seeking silk to cook cocoons, hoeing the ground to kill insects, thinking about the origin of our food and clothing, we all kill them to feed ourselves. Therefore, the crime of wasting food and wasting things is actually equivalent to killing life.

As for the accidental injury with the hand, the accidental death of the foot, I don’t know how many, and we should try to prevent them. An ancient poem says: “A mouse always keeps food, but a moth does not light a lamp.” How kind and merciful this is! There are endless good deeds, and that can be exhausted; as long as the ten things mentioned above are promoted, then all the merits and virtues can be completed.