Love and Hate– The Sixty-Eight of the Analects of Thoughtfulness

4.3 Zi Yue: "The benevolent can be good and the wicked (1). ”

【Notes】

(1) The benevolent can be good, can be evil: good is good (hào) good (hǎo), wicked is evil (wù) man's evil (è).

Jiao Xun's Analects Supplement: "What is good for the benevolent is good for the good, and what the wicked are evil for, so it is good and evil for the good." "It is said that the benevolent person shares the likes and dislikes of others, that is, the benevolent person has the same sympathy, which can be said.

Confucianism explains "good people" and "evil people" as only the benevolent can like people, hate people, do not understand, and are extremely ugly and unobtrusive.

【Translation】

Teacher Kong said: "Only benevolent people can appreciate the benefits of others and can also dislike the faults of others." ”

【Commentary】

"Li Ren" chapter: "Zi Yue: 'See the sages and think together, see the unwise and introspect within.'" "Seeing the wise and thinking together" means "good man", "seeing the unwise and introspecting oneself" is "evil man", and this righteousness has never been revealed for more than two thousand years.

The words "good" and "evil" in this chapter have three meanings:

One is discernment.

He Yan's "Collection of Interpretations" quotes Kong Anguo's note: "Only a benevolent person can judge people's likes and dislikes." ”

Moreover, Jiao Xun's Analects supplement: "We must first judge what is good and what is evil." ”

The above quotation and explanation reveal a "trial" word, which means discernment, discernment, and the premise of likes and dislikes is to be able to distinguish between good and evil, to discern the good or evil of others, and only the benevolent can.

The second is to raise and suppress.

"Good" and "evil" both have strong emotional overtones, love and hate are clear, and there are clear value judgments, promoting good and suppressing evil. The benevolent can be good and evil, and can fairly evaluate and judge where good is evil and where evil is.

The third is the trade-off.

Discernment and judgment ultimately depend on the trade-offs and implement them in one's own self-reliance, that is, practice or cultivation. To see the wise and think together is to be "good," that is, to take; to see the unwise and to introspect oneself is to be "evil," that is, to give up. The benevolent one can take the strengths of others and make up for his own weaknesses, give up the evil of others and be deeply vigilant, and change and move to the good.

These three righteousnesses are the only way for a benevolent person to become a benevolent one, and a gentleman to become a gentleman, the fundamental Dafa. In the Analects, Confucius did not hesitate to praise the benevolent and the wise, nor did he hide the transgressions of others, his heart was straight and fast, his love and hatred were clear, he knew that Confucius was a true benevolent person, and he also knew the teachings of Confucius, and the righteousness of likes and dislikes was very important.