The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classic says: "It is the sage who does not cure the disease, and does not cure the disorder, and the chaos is not chaotic. It is not too late to cure the illness of the husband, to cure the chaos, for example, to penetrate the well when thirsty, and to forge a cone. (The Yellow Emperor's Inner Classics and Su Qing)
This means that the saints do not cure the diseases that have occurred but advocate prevention before they occur; they do not govern the turmoil that has formed, but pay attention to the guidance before the chaos. If the disease is treated after it is formed, and then the turmoil is formed, it is like digging a well after thirst, and forging weapons only after a battle, is it not too late?
The Tang Dynasty also started from an early age. In the eighteenth year of Zhenguan, Tang Taizong said to his ministers: "In ancient times, there was a saying that the world was born, but I did not have time to consider this matter. But recently, since the establishment of the prince, he has been taught everything he encounters. When he saw that he was ready to eat, he asked him, 'Do you know how the meal came from?' The prince replied, 'I don't know. I said, 'All the agricultural work such as sowing and harvesting is very difficult and hard, and these tasks are all up to the peasants to work hard to cultivate.' Only if they do not occupy the time of their labor will they often have such a meal. Seeing him riding a horse, he asked him, 'Do you know what horses are used for?' The prince replied, 'I don't know. I said, 'This is something that can do for man, so that he can work and rest, and not exhaust his strength, so that he can always ride on horses.' Seeing him on a boat, he asked him, 'Do you know how the boat works?' The prince replied, 'I don't know. I said, 'The ship is like a monarch, the water is like the people, the water can float the ship, it can also overthrow the ship, you will soon become the monarch, can you not be afraid!' I saw him resting under the crooked tree and asked him, 'Do you know how this crooked tree can be upright?' The prince replied, 'I don't know. I said, 'Although this tree is curved, it can be straightened with ink thread.' Although it is inevitable that a monarch will sometimes do some absurd things, but humbly accepting the advice can be holy, this is the truth of Fu's words, and it can be used as a precept against his own behavior. ’”
The wood of the embrace is born at the end of the millimeter; the platform of the nine floors, starting from the soil. If a person wants to grow into a towering tree, the first thing is to lay a good foundation from an early age and consolidate the foundation. Perseverance on this basis is likely to be successful. 【Lei Yuan】