緇門警訓 7.7

7.7

If jade is not carved, it does not become a vessel; if a person does not study, they do not know the Way. For a child who leaves home, having fortunately separated themselves from the net of dust to reside in spacious halls and grand mansions, they must never let food and warmth satisfy their ambition. If in their youth they do not study diligently, do not investigate the principles of meaning, and do not correct their respiration, how can they make declarations before the holy ones, or converse before literati? If they do not learn to write a single word of ceremonial essays, how can they compose letters in correspondence with literati? How can they answer as people who have left home? Only when the ancient and modern run through their breast and clouds and mist arise beneath their brush can they resolve the body, resolve nature, and ultimately resolve life. If they are lazy and excuse themselves by saying that by endowment they lack the capacity to receive the Way, they ruin their entire life. Moreover, take monkeys: they are beasts, yet they can still be taught artistic skills; mynas are birds, yet they can still be taught to sing. Humans are the spiritual crown of the myriad creatures; if they do not study, they are inferior to birds and beasts. One who acts as a master should naturally value strictness; when the master is strict, only then is the Way respected. Rather than being overly lenient in early years and inviting resentment in later times, it is better to be excessively strict and invite gratitude in later times. The sons and younger brothers of common families leave their fathers to serve a master; if the master is not strict and indulges their laziness, then when their time passes and they miss out on learning, their speech will be clumsy, their chanting sluggish, their administrative tasks sloppy, and their writing unpolished. When they realize that they are incapable in all matters, only then do they regret it and lay the blame upon their master. What is meant by utmost gratitude? In early years, when one shaves the head and follows a master, the master guides with extreme strictness. Only after public tasks are finished does one dare attend to private affairs. Wandering out without cause is forbidden; reading must be memorized; writing must be standard; principles must be thoroughly understood; thoughts on the Way must be upright. Day by day and month by month of polishing, one returns to the innate heaven and enters the penetrating wonder. Thereupon the ocean of nature becomes clear and pure, and the wish-fulfilling jewel of the mind shines bright and penetrating. Those who study transcendence set foot on Penglai; those who study buddhahood rest their bodies in the Land of Bliss. When one arrives at such a time, one feels grateful indeed for the efficacy of the master's strict instruction.