禪林寶訓 2.49

2.49

Reverend Foyan Yuan said: "The bearing with which one oversees the assembly must be solemn even on days of leisure; the words with which one addresses guests must be strict even during private intimacies. When people of the groves utter words, handle affairs, initiate actions, or execute deeds, they must first deliberate and reflect, and only then carry them out; do not act in haste and violence. If one cannot make a decision oneself, one should consult the elders and widely inquire of worthy forebears to broaden one's knowledge and hearing, supplying what one cannot yet do and illuminating what one does not yet understand. How could one falsely make a show of force, exclusively indulge in haughtiness, and manifest one's own ugliness? If a single action goes amiss before, even a hundred good deeds cannot cover it up afterward." (Yu Zhenmu Shu)