Cai, whom she was taking a class from on Di Zi Gui and virtues.

A short story on the virtue of trustworthiness.

A short story on the virtue of trustworthiness.

—Katharine Hepburn Previously, we learned about the virtues of filial piety, carefulness, and trustworthiness These all serve as stepping stones to the highest virtue: Pure Love. This kind of Pure Love is probably hard for most of us to relate to because our virtues are not highly They didn't know morality and virtues. Nobody taught them. Thus we cannot blame them." Of course, that requires us to first cultivate our virtues first, which is why the Guide to Happy Life

chosen the word "Cultivated Person" to convey that Junzi are people who have actively cultivate their virtues and have attained a certain level of cultivation, whereas common folk do not cultivate their virtues When things do not go the way I wish, it's because my virtues are not cultivated enough to influence Hence, I need to cultivate the virtue of humility to counteract arrogance.

Image Source: Unsplash I am a novice at the ashram, and we’ve been dropped off in a village with no money and no food, with the mission to find our way for thirty days. The weather is decent, and we’ve been given a warehouse for shelter. We leave our mats there and venture into the village. There are simple huts from which people sell food, spices, and sundries. Laundry is strung between the huts. Most people travel by bike or on foot—some of the children are barefoot. Untethered, without a plan, the first thing we feel is fear, which provokes us to do whatever it takes to survive. We ask for handouts—people in India are generous and often give bread, fruit, or coins to people in spiritual dress. We visit the temple where pilgrims are given free food called prasad—this is sanctified food that is offered to God, then handed out. Anxious about our survival, we resort to selfishness and hoarding. By the second week, we’re in better shape. We’ve figured out that we can earn our provisions by offering help to people in the village. We start assisting people with heavy loads or peddlers who could use a hand with their carts. We soon learn that opening our hearts and souls encourages others to do the same. The donations we receive aren’t dramatically different from the ones we got when we first arrived, but the exchange gives us a warm sense of communal compassion and generosity, and I feel like I’ve absorbed the lesson of our journey. We thought we had nothing, and indeed we barely had any material possessions. but we were still able to give people our effort. However, by the final week, we’re well-fed and secure enough to notice something deeper. Though we had come with nothing, we still had a certain kind of wealth: we are stronger and more capable than a lot of the people in the village. There are seniors, children, and disabled people on the street, all of them in greater need than we are. “I feel bad,” one monk says. “This is short-term for us. For them it’s forever.” “I think we’re missing something,” I add. “We can do more in this village than survive.” We recall Helen Keller’s refrain: “I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.” This is, unfortunately, no exaggeration. In India, you often see people with missing limbs. I realize that now we have found our way, we can share our food and money we have received with those who aren’t as able as we are. Just when I think I’ve learned the lesson of our journey, I come upon a revelation that affects me profoundly: Everyone, even those of us who have already dedicated our lives to service, can always give more. --- Source: Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty Commentary: How many of us are still living life the way the monks lived in the first week? There's a Chinese idiom that goes, "Giving is more joyous than receiving." No matter what our situation is, we can still give. Even if we have no material possessions to give, we can give our time, energy, and knowledge. We can also give others comfort and positivity with a smile or with our listening ears.

A story about expanding our heart and perspective. Image Source: Unsplash “What brings you to me?” asked an old, wise woman of the young man who stood before her. “I see joy and beauty around me, but from a distance,” the young man said. “My own life is full of pain.” The wise woman was silent. She slowly poured a cup of water for the sad young man and handed it to him. Then she held out a bowl of salt. “Pour some in the water,” she said. The young man hesitated, then took a small pinch of salt. “More. A handful,” the old woman said. Looking skeptical, the young man put a scoop of salt in his cup. The old woman gestured with her head, instructing the young man to drink. He took a sip of water, made a face, and spat it onto the dirt floor. “How was it?” the old woman asked. “Thanks, but no thanks,” said the young man rather glumly. The old woman smiled knowingly, then handed the young man the bowl of salt and led him to a nearby lake. The water was clear and cold. “Now put a handful of salt in the lake,” she said. The young man did as he was instructed, and the salt dissolved into the water. “Have a drink,” the old woman said. The young man knelt at the water’s edge and slurped from his hands. When he looked up, the old woman again asked, “How was it?” “Refreshing,” said the young man. “Could you taste the salt?” asked the wise woman. The young man smiled sheepishly. “Not at all,” he said. The old woman knelt next to the man, helped herself to some water, and said, “The salt is the pain of life. it is constant, but if you put it in a small glass, it tastes bitter. If you put it in a lake, you can’t taste it. expand your senses, expand your world, and the pain will diminish. Don’t be the glass. Become the lake.” --- Source: Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty

In ancient China, the country of Zhao was second in power to the country of Qin. The Emperor of Zhao recently appointed a new minister named Lin Xiangru (蔺相如) to his personal council of advisors. General Lian Po (廉颇) was very unhappy with this decision because he felt Lin didn’t deserve the position. General Lian earned his position in the council by rising his life out on the battlefield, whereas Lian simply studied books. General Lian would often publicly show disrespect to the Lin, such as by having his horse carriage purposefully bump into Lin’s horse carriage. Lin always yielded to General Lian. One time, Lin’s servant asked, “Why are you always yielding to General Lian? Isn’t that cowardly?” Lin replied, “Today, the country of Qin is the most powerful. Why do they not invade our country? It’s because they know the country of Zhao has two powerful and wise people: General Lian and myself. If they knew that General Lian and I have conflict, then they wouldn’t hesitate to invade us.” When General Lian heard about this, he felt extremely ashamed and said, “I act in the heat of the moment, but Lin is able to remain calm and think of the whole country’s citizens!” He wanted to express his sincere apologies to Lin, so he took off his coat and got a bramble branch*. He carried the branch full of thorns to Lin’s house. (Note: the act of bring a bramble branch to someone was a customary way of showing humble apology. General Lian taking off his coat was also a sign of sincerity.) Image Source When Lin saw General Lian carrying the bramble branch, with thorns cutting at his skin, he immediately rushed to his side and helped him carry the branch. Later, they became extremely good friends who would die for each other.

A young boy named Zeng Zi (曾子) heard Confucius talk about the importance of filial piety, and how if our parents scold us, we ought to listen respectfully. Further, if our parents get angry and even hit us, we should accept it calmly. Later at home, the boy made a big mistake that resulted in his father getting very angry. The father scolded him and even started hitting him*. (*Context: In ancient China, back in the time of Confucius, it was acceptable and normal for parents to use hitting as a way of discipling children. They usually did it as a last resort and out of good intentions for their children, wanting them to learn an important lesson and remember it.) Image Source While being hit, the boy thought about Confucius's words, and he remained there. The dad was not careful and accidentally hit his son on the head, which knocked him unconscious. Later, when Confucius heard about this, he said the boy was not filial. His students were confused. A student asked, "Didn't you say we should accept scolding and even beating from parents calmly?" Confucius explained, "If a child gets hurt, who is most upset? Of course it's the parents. If you see your parent angry and therefore not thinking clearly, you need to be careful. If it's a small stick, then you can accept the discipline calmly. If it's a big stick, run." Commentary: From this story, we see the importance of understanding the principle behind rules so that you don't blindly follow them inappropriately.

I just watched a two-minute video of Obama answering a question from a fourth-grader: “Why do people hate you?” Obama’s answer was very admirable and inspiring, and it reflects his deep humility, tolerance, and love for all people. He starts off by assuring the little boy that not everyone hates him since he was voted President after all. This little boy clearly looked up to Obama, and he was saddened to see people say bad things about his hero on TV. From Obama’s first words, I could see Obama’s sensitive heart towards other people’s emotional needs. Next, he explains that when you’re elected President, the other political party will poke you to keep you on your toes. This comment shows his humility. He doesn’t feel anger, resentment, or annoyance towards the opposing party for criticizing him. In fact, he views it as their job to keep him careful. Third, he explains that many people are worried or frustrated about various things in life, whether it be losing a job, a home, healthcare, and as President, he has to take on part of that blame. Again, he’s being humble and accepting responsibility that others don’t want to accept. Finally, he ends with resilience, which is based on love for all his people. He said, “You just gotta keep on going even when folks are criticizing you as long as you know you’re doing it for other people.” His set a great example of humility and loving kindness for us to follow! If you're interested, you can watch the short clip here.

This past week, I was talking to a friend about the virtues of yielding and humility. I explained that sinology focuses on morality and virtue education, which is highly needed in the business

A big company interviewed hundreds of people for an important job. In the final round, the CEO personally held a group interview for the last 10 finalists. The CEO was about to sit down and begin the interview, when he suddenly got interrupted by his assistant about some urgent matter. The CEO told the 10 people to please wait in the meeting room, and that he will be back shortly. The 10 finalists sat there for around 2 minutes, then some of them started walking around the room and flipping through documents on the shelves and tables. Not long after, all of them were doing it. The CEO came back and told them none of them passed the interview. The 10 finalists were shocked. One asked, “We passed the company interviews round after round, how can you reject us without even giving us an interview?” The CEO replied, “I was only gone for less than 10 minutes, and I passed by a security camera computer, where I saw all of you started looking through documents without my permission. It’s clear that none of you know respect and carefulness. If I can’t trust you with such small matters that shouldn’t even need to be said, how can I trust you with such an important job?”