Chapter 538 The Last Lesson
“Zihou’s growth has exceeded my expectations. At that time, I thought you were a piece of rough jade that could be used to develop talents, but now it seems that raw jade is not enough to describe you. "Old Master Sun stroked his beard and looked at Zhu Ping'an nodded with satisfaction, and then continued, "Zihou wrote an inscription for this painting, which made me worry. I don't have any gifts for you, so I will give you the last lesson." .”
The last lesson?
Zhu Pingan was very surprised when he heard this. Why did Master Sun say it was the last class? Could it be that he had done something wrong and Master was going to kick him out of the door? But his sentence about "one hundred thousand dragons and grandsons circling the wind pool" made Old Master Sun feel that he was too unrealistic?
"The last lesson? One day is a teacher, and all living beings are fathers. From then on, students come to listen to the teacher's teachings." Zhu Pingan hurriedly stepped forward and bowed his hands.
Seeing Zhu Ping'an's anxious look, Old Master Sun couldn't help stroking his beard and shaking his head with a smile, "Zi Hou, your growth has exceeded my expectations. I have nothing to teach you anymore; besides, the so-called master leads you to practice, and from now on You have to walk your own path, Zihou."
"My mentor is knowledgeable and talented, and is far better than his students in both life and knowledge." Zhu Ping'an couldn't help but explain anxiously after hearing this.
However, before he finished speaking, he was interrupted by Old Master Sun gently waving his hand, and then looked at Zhu Pingan and continued:
"Zihou, you are talented, intelligent, diligent and studious. , and has high aspirations, like a sword, and his future achievements will be bound to be limitless. However, the official career is dangerous and bumpy. Zihou, you need to remember what I said today."
After saying this, Old Master Sun paused, picked up the tea cup and put it down again. He looked at Zhu Ping'an who was listening carefully and continued, "A man is like a sword, he is light. If you use its light, it will cause damage if you move it, so it is a murderous weapon; if it is hidden deep and clumsy, it can be used when the opportunity arises, so it is a sharp weapon. ”
The meaning of this sentence by Master Sun is that being a human being is like a sword. You cannot use its sharp edge easily. If the sharp edge is revealed, it will cause harm, and then the sword will become a murder weapon. You must learn to hide your clumsiness and know how to hide the sharp edge, so that the sword will become a powerful weapon. A sharp weapon.
After listening to Old Master Sun’s words, Zhu Ping’an understood Old Master Sun’s good intentions. Old Master Sun wanted to tell him that when doing things for others, especially in the dangerous official career, he must learn to restrain his sharp edges and keep a low profile. You can't just rely on your talent to know the north, south, east, and west, show off your talent casually, and be arrogant based on your talent. This will easily arouse the jealousy of others, and then bring disaster to yourself. Lest your talent become a murderous weapon.
As the saying goes: A gentleman hides his weapon in his body and waits for the time to move. Only by learning to hide one's weakness and bide one's strength and bide one's strength can one reveal one's strengths at critical moments and become a deterrent. Just as Sun Tzu said in The Art of War: Be as quiet as a virgin and move as fast as a rabbit. If you don't take action, you will hit. Once you take action, you will hit. Therefore, you must be good at hiding your clumsiness and recharging your energy in normal times, so that you can cut through the mess quickly at critical times.
"Thank you for your teachings, teacher. I will remember it, student." Zhu Ping'an stood solemnly, bowed formally to Old Master Sun, and thanked him in a deep voice.
Hmm.
Old Master Sun nodded, and then said, "Be a human first and then be an official. To be an official, you must first learn how to be a human being. Of course, I can rest assured about your conduct, Zihou. However, there are too many temptations and setbacks outside. , Peace, you must remember that no matter what situation you are in, you must persist in doing good, "prepare for good, and get rid of evil", especially when you enter an official career. It is related to the fate of thousands of people. We must not ignore it and we must adhere to it.”
“Follow the teacher’s instructions. Students should remember what their teacher said. No matter what situation they are in, students must persist in doing good. ." Zhu Ping'an nodded vigorously. Master Sun was afraid that he would lose his true self in his career, just like Liu Bei taught Adou, who taught him to do good deeds as the standard for doing things.
"I feel relieved that Zihou has this intention." Old Master Sun nodded slightly, and then continued, "It is the greatest joy to do good, not to ask others to know, and to have a clear conscience; to suffer the most from evil, Lest people know, Don't be anxious all day long. Do good and eliminate evil, and your heart will be invincible."
Doing good is the best, this is a sentence in "Zhuangzi. Outer Chapter. Great Happiness", written by Master Sun. Expanded explanation. Doing good deeds is the happiest, because you don’t ask others to know, and you have a clear conscience; doing bad deeds is the most painful, because you are afraid that others will know, and you will be in panic all day long.
What Master Sun said is very reasonable. If you do good things and not do bad things, you will not leave any excuses for your political opponents. If you have a clear conscience in your heart, you will naturally be invincible.
"Thank you for your teachings, master." Zhu Pingan bowed his hands again and thanked Old Master Sun.
Old Master Sun stroked his beard and shook his hand gently, then went to the pen, ink, paper and inkstone, dipped in ink and wrote a couplet on the rice paper. After the ink dried slightly, he gave it to Zhu Pingan.
The first couplet is: If you want to have a high family status, you must do good deeds.
The second line is: If you want good children and grandchildren, you must study.
The couplet is concise and concise and worth recalling. This can be regarded as the family motto given to Zhu Pingan by Master Sun, and it is also the expectation of Master Sun for Zhu Pingan. Throughout the ages, there have been champions from poor backgrounds, but they have rarely been able to lead a family. It is easy for a person to succeed, but it is difficult for a family to succeed. As the saying goes, one cannot be richer than three, which is an example of this.
Objectively speaking, the glory of wealthy aristocrats or noble families lasts much longer than that of the nouveau riche, from humble families or peasant families.
In fact, in addition to the relationship between social systems, family culture is also a big factor. Culture is the life tree of a family, the soft power of the family, and the soul of the family.
Compared with the nobles, the nouveau riche lack foundation. In the final analysis, it is about culture.
Zhu Pingan was admitted to the top prize, but after all, he came from a poor family and his family background was not strong. Old Master Sun gave this couplet to Zhu Pingan for this purpose.
If you want to have a high family status, you must do good deeds. The level of family status depends on people's hearts. If you don't have a kind heart and are domineering, even if you have a successful career, you won't be able to be called a noble family or a noble family. If you want to grow bigger and improve your family status, you must pay attention to doing good deeds. Throughout the ages, when famine and other natural and man-made disasters occurred, those families that could open warehouses to help the people were regarded as wealthy families in people's minds. After the famine is over, people will be grateful, business and relationships will develop smoothly, and the family will gradually become bigger and stronger. As time goes by, even if it is not a wealthy family, it will become a wealthy family.
"This couplet from my teacher is easy to understand, but has a profound aftertaste. The students have a lot of feelings, and I would like to thank my teacher for giving me the words. Students should pass it on as the family motto of the Zhu family and never forget their teacher's teachings."
Zhu Ping An took the couplet and put it away very preciously.
Zhu Pingan gained a lot from visiting his mentor, and learned a lot from Old Master Sun, which will be valuable assets in his future life. (End of this chapter)