Jin Xin I

Jin Xin I

1

Mencius said: "He who has fully exercised his mind knows his nature. Knowing his nature, he knows Heaven. To preserve one's mind and nurture one's nature is the way to serve Heaven. Not to stand apart from one's allotted span, but to cultivate oneself and await what is appointed—this is the way to establish one's destiny."

2

Mencius said: "There is nothing that is not destined. One should accept what is correct and proper. Therefore, the one who knows destiny does not stand beneath a crumbling wall. To die having exhausted one's proper way is a correct destiny. To die in fetters and chains is not a correct destiny."

3

Mencius said: "'Seek and you will obtain it; relinquish and you will lose it'—in this case, seeking is conducive to obtaining, for what is sought lies within oneself. 'There is a way in seeking, and obtaining depends on destiny'—in this case, seeking is not conducive to obtaining, for what is sought lies outside oneself."

4

Mencius said: "All the ten thousand things are complete within me. When one turns inward and examines oneself with sincerity, there is no greater joy. When one forces oneself to act through sympathetic understanding, there is nothing closer to benevolence."

5

Mencius said: "To practice something without understanding it, to be accustomed to something without examining it, and to follow something throughout one's life without knowing its Way—this is the case with the multitude."

6

Mencius said: "A person cannot be without shame. The shame of being without shame is truly to be without shame."

7

Mencius said: "Shame is of great importance to a person. Those who are clever at scheming and contrivance have no use for shame. If one is not ashamed of falling short of others, how can one measure up to them?"

8

Mencius said: "The worthy rulers of antiquity delighted in goodness and forgot their power. Were the worthy scholars of antiquity any different? They delighted in their Way and forgot the power of others. Therefore, if kings and dukes did not pay the utmost respect and observe the fullest courtesies, they could not have frequent audiences with them. If even an audience could not be had frequently, how much less could such scholars be made subjects?"

9

Mencius said to Gou Jian of Song: "Are you fond of travel? I shall tell you about travel. When others understand one, one is content and at ease. When others do not understand one, one is likewise content and at ease."

Gou Jian said: "What must one be like to be content and at ease in this way?"

Mencius said: "Honoring virtue and delighting in righteousness—in this way one can be content and at ease. Therefore, when scholars are in straits, they do not abandon righteousness; when they are successful, they do not depart from the Way. Because they do not abandon righteousness in straits, scholars find fulfillment in themselves. Because they do not depart from the Way when successful, the people are not disappointed in them. Among the ancients, when their ambitions were realized, they extended their bounty to the people; when their ambitions were not realized, they cultivated their own character and made their mark upon the world. In straits, they cultivated themselves alone; when successful, they cultivated the world as well."

10

Mencius said: "Those who needed the stimulus of King Wen before they rose to action are ordinary people. As for the heroic and outstanding, they rise to action even without King Wen."

11

Mencius said: "If one were to attach the households of Han and Wei to oneself, yet one regarded oneself as wanting and inadequate, then one would far surpass others."

12

Mencius said: "If the people are employed through the Way of giving them rest, though they labor, they do not resent it. If the people are put to death through the Way of giving them life, though they die, they do not resent those who put them to death."

13

Mencius said: "The people of a hegemon are full of gladness and joy; the people of a true king are expansive and content. They are put to death without resentment and benefited without feeling indebted. Daily they progress toward goodness without knowing who brings it about. What the noble person passes through, he transforms; what he preserves, he renders spirit-like. Above and below, he flows together with Heaven and Earth. How could this be called a small improvement?"

14

Mencius said: "Words of benevolence do not penetrate the people as deeply as a reputation for benevolence. Good governance does not win the people's hearts as effectively as good instruction. The people stand in awe of good governance; the people love good instruction. Good governance obtains the people's wealth; good instruction obtains the people's hearts."

15

Mencius said: "What people are able to do without learning is their innate ability. What people know without deliberating is their innate knowledge. A babe in arms—there is none that does not know how to love its parents. When it grows older, there is none that does not know how to respect its elder brothers. To be affectionate toward those close to one—this is benevolence. To respect one's elders—this is righteousness. There is nothing else: these extend throughout the world."

16

Mencius said: "When Shun lived in the deep mountains, dwelling among trees and stones, roaming among deer and wild boars, the difference between him and the rude rustics of those mountains was very small. But when he heard a single good word or witnessed a single good deed, it was like the bursting of a great river—nothing could hold it back."

17

Mencius said: "Do not do what you should not do; do not desire what you should not desire. That is all."

18

Mencius said: "Those who possess virtue, wisdom, insight, and knowledge are often found among those afflicted with hardship. It is the orphaned minister and the disinherited son whose anxious hearts are ever vigilant and whose thoughts of peril are ever profound—therefore they attain understanding."

19

Mencius said: "There are those who serve a ruler: they serve that ruler in order to curry favor and win approval. There are those who bring peace to the state: they find their joy in bringing peace to the state. There are those who are the people of Heaven: they act only when their Way can be put into practice throughout the world. There are the great men: by rectifying themselves, they rectify all things."

20

Mencius said: "The noble person has three sources of joy, and ruling the kingdom is not among them. That one's parents are both alive and one's brothers are free from misfortune—this is the first joy. Looking up, one is not ashamed before Heaven; looking down, one does not blush before others—this is the second joy. To obtain the finest talents of the world and to educate them—this is the third joy. The noble person has three sources of joy, and ruling the kingdom is not among them."

21

Mencius said: "Vast lands and a numerous people—the noble person desires them, but his joy does not lie in them. To stand at the center of the world and bring peace to the people of the four seas—the noble person rejoices in this, but his inborn nature does not lie in it. The inborn nature of the noble person is such that even when it is greatly put into practice, it is not augmented; even when he is in straits, it is not diminished—for his lot is settled. The inborn nature of the noble person is such that benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom are rooted in his mind. These manifest in his countenance: they appear pure and lustrous on his face, and they fill his back. They extend to his four limbs, and his four limbs understand them without a word being spoken."

22

Mencius said: "Bo Yi fled from Zhou and lived on the shore of the northern sea. When he heard of King Wen's rise, he said: 'Why not return and follow him? I have heard that the Earl of the West is good at nourishing the aged.' Taigong fled from Zhou and lived on the shore of the eastern sea. When he heard of King Wen's rise, he said: 'Why not return and follow him? I have heard that the Earl of the West is good at nourishing the aged.' When there is one in the world who is good at nourishing the aged, the benevolent consider him their home. With a homestead of five mu, planting mulberry trees beneath the walls and having the wives of the people tend silkworms, the aged would have sufficient silk to wear. With five hens and two sows, raising them at the proper times, the aged would not lack for meat. With a hundred mu of farmland, tilled by each household, a family of eight mouths would not go hungry. When we speak of the Earl of the West being good at nourishing the aged, it means he regulated their lands and dwellings, taught them planting and husbandry, and guided their wives and children so that they might nourish their elders. At fifty, without silk one cannot keep warm; at seventy, without meat one cannot be satisfied. To be neither warm nor satisfied is to suffer from cold and hunger. Among the people of King Wen, there were no aged who suffered from cold and hunger—this is what was meant."

23

Mencius said, "If the fields are well tilled and the taxes light, the people can be made prosperous. If they are fed at the proper times and expenditures are governed by ritual, resources will prove more than sufficient. The people cannot live without water and fire. If at dusk one knocks at another's door seeking water or fire, none would refuse to give them—so abundant are they. If a sage governed the world and made grain as plentiful as water and fire, how could the people fail to be benevolent?"

Mencius said, "When Confucius ascended the Eastern Mountain, Lu seemed small; when he ascended Mount Tai, the whole world seemed small. Thus, those who have observed the sea find it hard to appreciate mere water; those who have wandered in the school of the sage find it hard to appreciate mere words. There is a method in observing water—one must observe its surges. The sun and moon radiate light, and every crack is sure to be illuminated. As for flowing water, it does not move forward until it has filled the depressions in the ground. The gentleman's resolve upon the Way is like this—it does not reach fulfillment unless it has attained completeness."

Mencius said, "He who rises at cockcrow and zealously does good is a disciple of Shun. He who rises at cockcrow and zealously pursues profit is a disciple of Robber Zhi. To know the difference between Shun and Robber Zhi, there is nothing else—it lies only between profit and goodness."

Mencius said, "Yang Zhu chose 'each for himself.' Though he might have benefited the whole world by plucking a single hair, he would not do it. Mozi chose 'universal love.' He would wear his head and heels to the bone to benefit the world, and he would do it. Zimo holds to the middle, and holding to the middle is nearer the right. But to hold to the middle without weighing circumstances is still to hold to one extreme. The reason I dislike holding to one extreme is that it injures the Way—it seizes upon one and discards a hundred others."

Mencius said, "A starving man relishes any food; a thirsty man relishes any drink. He fails to attain the true taste of food and drink—it is the hunger and thirst that harm him. Is it only the mouth and stomach that are harmed by hunger and thirst? The mind too is subject to harm. If a man can keep his mind from being harmed the way hunger and thirst harm it, then he need not worry about falling short of others."

Mencius said, "Liuxia Hui would not change his principles for the sake of the three high offices."

Mencius said, "He who has enterprise is like a man digging a well. To dig nine ren and not reach the spring is still to abandon the well."

Mencius said, "Yao and Shun acted from their nature; Tang and Wu acted from their persons; the Five Hegbors borrowed it. Having borrowed it for a long time and never returned it, how can one know they did not truly possess it?"

Gongsun Chou said, "Yin Yi said, 'I will not tolerate what is contrary to right.' He deposed Tai Jia at Tong, and the people were greatly pleased. When Tai Jia proved worthy and restored him, the people were again greatly pleased. When a worthy man serves as a minister, and his ruler is unworthy, may he then depose him?"

Mencius said, "If he has the intention of Yin Yi, he may; if he lacks the intention of Yin Yi, it is usurpation."

Gongsun Chou said, "The Odes says, 'He does not eat the bread of idleness.' Why is it that the gentleman eats without tilling the fields?"

Mencius said, "When the gentleman resides in a state, and the ruler employs him, there follows peace, wealth, honor, and glory. When the young follow him, they become filial, fraternal, loyal, and trustworthy. 'He does not eat the bread of idleness'—what could be greater than this?"

Prince Dian asked, "What is the business of the scholar?"

Mencius said, "To set his will on high."

"What do you mean by setting his will on high?"

"It is simply benevolence and righteousness. To kill an innocent man is not benevolence; to take what is not one's own is not righteousness. Where should he dwell? In benevolence. Where should he walk? In righteousness. Dwelling in benevolence and walking in righteousness, the business of the great man is complete."

Mencius said, "Chen Zhongzi would not accept the state of Qi if it were offered to him unrighteously—everyone believed this. But this is the same principle as refusing food from a basket or soup from a cauldron. A man's greatest failing is to lose sight of his relations between kin, ruler and minister, and superiors and inferiors. If one trusts him in small matters, how can one trust him in great ones?"

Tao Ying asked, "If Shun were the Son of Heaven and Gaoyao the Minister of Crime, and Shun's father the Blind Man killed a man, what would be done?"

Mencius said, "Arrest him, that is all."

"Then would Shun not forbid it?"

"How could Shun have forbidden it? The Blind Man had received the charge."

"Then what would Shun do?"

"Shun would look upon abandoning the world as casting away a worn shoe. He would secretly carry his father on his back and flee, to dwell by the seashore, rejoicing there all his life, forgetting the world in his happiness."

Mencius traveled from Fan to Qi. He caught sight of the king of Qi and sighed, saying, "A dwelling alters the spirit, nourishment alters the body—how great is a dwelling! Is not this man also a son of men?"

Mencius said, "The prince's palaces, carriages, and robes are much the same as other men's, yet the prince is like that—it is his dwelling that makes him so. How much more would he be transformed by dwelling in the broad dwelling of the world! When the Lord of Lu was in Song, he called out at the Ditze gate. The guard said, 'This is not my lord—why does his voice resemble my lord's?' There was nothing else—their dwellings were similar."

Mencius said, "To feed a man without loving him is to raise him like a pig. To love him without respecting him is to keep him like a beast. Respect and sincerity are what precede the presentation of gifts. If there is respect and sincerity without substance, the gentleman cannot be held by empty forms."

Mencius said, "The body and its appearances are our nature. Only the sage can fulfill his bodily form."

King Xuan of Qi wished to shorten the mourning period. Gongsun Chou said, "Would a year of mourning not be better than none at all?"

Mencius said, "This is like someone twisting his elder brother's arm, and you telling him merely, 'Gently, gently.' What he needs is to be taught filial piety and fraternal duty."

When a prince's mother died, his tutor requested permission to mourn for several months. Gongsun Chou said, "What do you think of such a case?"

Mencius said, "This is one who wishes to mourn fully but cannot. Even adding one day is better than having none at all. I was speaking of those who are not prevented yet still do not act."

Mencius said, "The gentleman has five methods of teaching: there are those upon whom his influence falls like the timely rain; there are those whose virtue he brings to completion; there are those whose talents he develops; there are those whose questions he answers; and there are those who privately cultivate themselves and take him as their teacher. These are the five methods of the gentleman's teaching."

Gongsun Chou said, "The Way is indeed lofty and beautiful—it seems like ascending to Heaven, as though it cannot be reached. Why not make it something they can almost attain, so that they may zealously strive each day?"

Mencius said, "A great carpenter does not alter his plumb line for a clumsy worker; Yi does not change his standard for a clumsy archer. The gentleman draws the bow but does not release the arrow—he stands in the middle of the Way, and those with ability follow him."

Mencius said: "When the Way prevails in the world, one sacrifices oneself for the Way. When the Way does not prevail in the world, one sacrifices one's life for the Way. I have never heard of sacrificing the Way to suit other people."

Gongduzi said: "When Teng Geng was at your gate, he seemed to be one who deserved courtesy, yet you did not respond to his questions. Why was that?"

Mencius said: "One who poses questions relying on his noble status, relying on his own merit, relying on his seniority, relying on past service, or relying on an old connection—to all such I do not respond. Teng Geng was guilty of two of these."

Mencius said: "As for one who stops where he should not stop, there is nothing he will not stop at. As for one who treats lightly what deserves to be treated generously, there is nothing he will not treat lightly. One who advances swiftly will also retreat rapidly."

Mencius said: "The gentleman's relation to things is this: he loves them but does not treat them with benevolence. His relation to the people is this: he treats them with benevolence but does not treat them as kin. He treats his kin as kin and treats the people with benevolence; he treats the people with benevolence and loves things."

Mencius said: "The wise man has no knowledge he does not seek, but what demands his attention takes priority. The benevolent man has no one he does not love, but caring for his kin and honoring the worthy is the urgent task. The wisdom of Yao and Shun did not extend to all things—they gave priority to what demanded their attention. The benevolence of Yao and Shun did not extend to all people—they gave priority to caring for their kin and honoring the worthy. To be unable to observe the three-year mourning period yet to be meticulous about the three-month and five-month observances; to gulp down one's food and drink yet to inquire about the proper way to bite with the front teeth—this is called failing to understand what is of primary importance."