Delighted in doing good and tireless. (樂善不倦)
The Spring and Autumn and Warring States
periods in China were extremely chaotic, yet they were also a golden age of
Chinese thought.
Many famous thinkers lived during this
period, offering their own solutions to social and existential problems.
One such figure was the Confucian scholar
Mencius. He believed that a king should rule with benevolence and compassion,
and that his most important task should be to meet the needs of his people.
Mencius travelled tirelessly to various
kingdoms to promote his ideas to the kings.
In his writings, Mencius recorded a
dialogue with a scholar named Gaozi.
One day, Mencius suddenly said to Gaozi
with great emotion...
Currently, various kingdoms have a common
standard for obtaining a title. If a person is loyal to the state, has a kind
heart, a sense of justice and fairness, and is trustworthy.
They are delighted in doing good and
tireless.
Such a person would gain a good reputation
and earn the respect of the people, who would treat them with the same
reverence they would show a duke.
When a king discovers such a person, they
will be praised and awarded a dukedom.
This standard has been in effect for
hundreds of years, with countless people becoming dukes through this method.
While this standard still exists today, I
have noticed one difference.
This significant difference lies not in the
standard itself, but in the mindset of those who become dukes.
Nowadays, many people deliberately
demonstrate loyalty to the country, benevolence, a moral compass of justice and
righteousness, trustworthiness in their dealings with others and tireless
charitable deeds in order to obtain the dukedom bestowed upon them by the king.
Once they receive the dukedom bestowed upon
them by the king, they become extremely proud. They become lazy and neglect
their conduct and attitude. They slowly become disloyal, unkind, unjust,
untrustworthy and incapable of doing good.
Such behaviour is foolish and dangerous
because it ignores the fact that people respect and honour others for their
inner qualities, not an empty title.
This idiom translates as "Delighted in
doing good and tireless".
It is used to describe someone who
consistently does good.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
have you gained from this story?
Have you done any good deeds today? Do you
think the so-called nobles in your country truly possess respectable virtues?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
樂善不倦(Delighted in doing good and tireless.)
中國的春秋時代與戰國時代是一個極度混亂的年代，但那段間同時也是中國思想上的黃金時代。
有許多著名的思想家生活在那個年代，這些思想家針對當時的社會問題與人生問題提出了各自認為最好的解決的辦法和思想。
儒家的一位名字叫做(孟軻)的學者就是其中一個代表性人物，他認為一個國王應該要用仁愛與仁慈來治理他的王國，一個國王應該要把滿足百姓的生活需求當作最重要的任務。
孟軻持續地到各個王國中去向各個王國的國王宣傳他的想法。
在孟軻所寫的書中，紀錄了一段他與當時一個名字叫做告子的學者的對話。
孟子有一天突然很感慨地對告子說。
目前在各個王國中都有一套關於獲得爵位的通用的標準，如果一個人能夠對於國家忠誠、保持仁愛的心、具備正義與公義的道德觀、與人交往時保持守信的態度、這個人樂於行善且毫不疲倦，那麼這個人就會有好的名聲，這個人就會自然而然地受到百姓的尊重，百姓會用對待公爵的態度來尊敬他。
當一個王國中的國王發現有這種人時，國王就會表揚這個人並且賜與這個人一個真實的公爵的職位。
這套標準已經運行了好幾百年了，幾百年來有無數的人們通過這種方式來成為一個公爵。
這套標準現在雖然仍然在運行，但是我發現有一個地方已經跟以前不一樣了。
這個重大的差別不在於這套標準本身，而在於成為公爵的那些人的心態。
現在很多人為了獲得了國王所賜與得公爵的職位，他們會刻意的表現出自己對於國家忠誠、保持仁愛的心、具備正義與公義的道德觀、與人交往時保持守信的態度、樂於行善且毫不疲倦。
當這個人真正的獲得了國王所賜與的公爵的職位後，他們就會變得非常驕傲，他就會開始怠惰，他就會開始不注重自己的行為與態度，他會慢慢地變得不忠誠、不仁愛、不公義、不守信且不行善。
我認為這些人的行為事相當愚昧且危險的，因為他們不知道人們會尊敬且尊重一個人的真正原因是因為這個人的內在品質而非外在的虛空的頭銜。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是樂於行善且毫不疲倦。
這句成語被用來形容一個人持續的行善。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你今天是否有做了那些善事呢?你認為你的國家中的那些所謂的貴族是否真的具備令人尊敬的品德呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為孟子-告子上-9條