The Virtuous Person's Inner Ground

Contents

Text

English translation

Original Chinese text

English translation

Mencius said, “What distinguishes a gentleman from others is what he keeps in his heart. A gentleman keeps benevolence in his heart and keeps ritual there as well. The benevolent love others; those who observe ritual show respect. Those who love others are constantly loved by others, and those who respect others are constantly respected by others.”

Original Chinese text

English translation

“Suppose someone treats me with hostility and abuse. A gentleman first examines himself: ‘I must have been unbenevolent or discourteous; how else could this have happened?’ If he finds himself benevolent and respectful, yet the hostility continues, he examines himself again: ‘I must have been disloyal.’”

Original Chinese text

English translation

“If he finds himself loyal and the abuse still continues, the gentleman says, ‘This person is simply unreasonable. How does such a person differ from a beast? And what more could one expect from a beast?’”

Original Chinese text

English translation

“Thus a gentleman has concerns for his whole life, but no passing anxieties. There is indeed something he worries about: Shun was a man, and I too am a man. Shun became a model for the realm and his example was handed down to later generations, while I have yet to rise above an ordinary villager. That is a proper concern. How should I address it? By becoming like Shun.”

Original Chinese text

English translation

“As for the calamities a gentleman might fear, they do not trouble him. He does nothing that is not benevolent and undertakes nothing that is not ritual. Even if a sudden calamity comes, he does not let it become a cause for fear.”

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