緇門警訓 1.41

1.41

玉不琢不成器。人不學不知道。余十有五而志于學。荏苒光景。倏忽老至。歲月既深。粗知其趣。翻嘆疇昔。殊失斯旨。限迫桑榆。學不可逮。因述十門垂裕後昆。俾務學以成功。助弘教而復顯云爾。

If jade is not carved, it does not become a vessel; if a person does not study, he does not know the Way. At fifteen I set my heart on study. The fleeting scenery passed by, and suddenly old age arrived. As the months and years deepened, I roughly came to know its purport, but in turn sighed that in past days I had utterly lost this aim. My time is pressed toward the mulberry and elm [of sunset], and study can no longer catch up. Therefore I have composed these ten gates to bequeath abundance to posterity, causing them to apply themselves to study to achieve success, and assisting in propagating the teachings so that they are manifested anew.