Thousand Characters

Chapter 38

[Original text]

He abides by the law, and Han cheats on punishment.Starting from Jian is quite animal husbandry, and using the army is the best.

【Note】

He: Xiao He, a famous politician and prime minister in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, together with Zhang Liang helped Liu Bang defeat Xiang Yu, the overlord of Chu, and established the Western Han Dynasty.Han: Han Fei, a representative of the Legalists during the Warring States period.Qi Jian Po Mu: Refers to the four famous generals of Bai Qi and Wang Jian of Qin State, Lian Po and Li Mu of Zhao State.The first two sentences of these four sentences talked about two very famous thinkers in history, Xiao He and Han Fei.Emperor Liu Bang of the Western Han Dynasty received warm welcome from the common people because he adopted Xiao He's suggestion and enacted three simple laws: murder for life, wounding and theft to be imprisoned.Similarly, Qin State gradually became stronger because of adopting Han Fei's suggestion and formulating many laws and regulations, and finally unified China.The above mentioned are all civil servants, and the last two sentences talk about famous military generals in history, namely Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Lian Po and Li Mu. They all made great contributions to the establishment and development of their country on the battlefield.

【Interpretation】

In the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, Xiao He followed the principle of simplicity, the great ancestor of the Han Dynasty, Liu Bang, and formulated various normative systems, while Han Fei, a legalist in the Warring States Period, eventually died under the cumbersome and harsh criminal laws he formulated.The four generals Bai Qi and Wang Jian of Qin State, and Lian Po and Li Mu of Zhao State, used the most skillful troops and the most brilliant tactics in battle.

【allusion】

Su Dongpo learned from his lessons to respect others. It is human nature to desire to be liked, respected, and admired, but only by giving will there be rewards. Therefore, if you want to gain the respect of others, you must first learn to respect others.Su Shi, a famous writer, calligrapher and painter in the Northern Song Dynasty, once learned a lesson for not respecting others.Su Shi, courtesy name Zizhan, nicknamed Dongpo, is one of the "Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties".He is familiar with poetry and books, has extensive knowledge of classics and history.At the same time, Su Shi also liked Buddhism. He had a deep friendship with the most famous Zen master Foyin in the Northern Song Dynasty at that time, and he was a confidant.Su Shi and Chan Master Foyin often talked about Buddhism and Zen. Chan Master Foyin was proficient in Buddhism and Taoism, and he always had the upper hand in every debate. Su Shi was unwilling to be inferior, but he had nothing to do.Once, Su Shi came to visit Zen master Foyin again, and Zen master Foyin took him to the temple to meditate.Su Shi sat quietly for a while, suddenly a flash of inspiration flashed in his mind, and he decided to compete with Zen Master Foyin again.Su Shi turned around and asked Chan Master Foyin, "What do you see me now?" Chan Master Foyin smiled and said, "You'd better tell me what you see me first!" Su Shi said triumphantly, "Use me From my celestial eyes, Master is a lump of cow dung." Chan Master Foyin was not angry, but said calmly as always: "With my celestial eyes, sir, you are the Tathagata.

Su Shi was secretly delighted.He returned home excitedly, proudly told his sister Su Xiaomei about the matter, and said that today Foyin finally got the upper hand.Su Xiaomei is talented and intelligent, and her talent and learning are not inferior to Su Shi. She laughed a lot and said: "Brother, you have lost miserably this time! For a person who has practiced Tao, everything external is the projection of his own heart. The heart is a cow. People who are dung see others as cow dung, and people who are Tathagata in their hearts see others as Tathagatas." After hearing this, Su Shi felt deeply ashamed and admired Zen Master Foyin even more.

(End of this chapter)