老人言

Pearls of Wisdom from the Elders

(Part I)

孟子見於梁惠王。王曰：「叟，不遠千里而來，亦將有以利吾國乎。」

Mencius got an audience with King Hui of Liang.  The King asked:  “Elderly sir, you came from afar, traveled a distance of one thousand li, you must have some counsel that will make my kingdom profitable?”

孟子對曰：「王，何必曰利？亦曰仁義而已矣。王曰:『何以利吾國？』大夫曰:『何以利吾家？』士庶人曰:『何以利吾身？』。上下交征利，而國危矣。未有仁而遺其親者也，未有義而後其君者也。」

Mencius replied: “Your Majesty, why mention profit? If I have anything to say, it will only be benevolence and righteousness! If a king asks:  ‘How to make my country profitable?’  The lords ask:  ‘How to make my clan profitable?’ The officials and commoners ask: “How to make me profitable?’ If the people, from the royalties to the commoners, all compete for profits, a country is in peril. A benevolent person would never abandon (neglect) his parents. A righteous person would never serve his Sovereign after himself.”

梁惠王曰：「寡人願安承教。」

King Hui of Liang stated:  “I am comfortable with this teaching and willing to accept it.”

選自《群書治要》卷三十七之《孟子》

Excerpted from A Compendium of Books on the Essentials of Governing, vol. 37, (Book of) Mencius.

【譯文】梁惠王接見孟子。梁惠王說：「老先生，你不遠千里而來，一定是有什麼對我的國家有利的高見吧？」

[Translation]  King Hûi of the Country Liang received Mencius (at his court).  The King asked: “Elderly sir, you travelled a thousand lî to come to my country (without a concern about the long distance); I presume that you must have some counsel to profit my kingdom?”

孟子回答說：「大王，何必說利呢？只要說仁義就行了。大王假若說：『怎樣使我的國家有利？』大夫也說：『怎樣使我的家得利？』士人和老百姓也說：『怎樣使我自身得利？』這樣上至國君，下到百姓，大家互相爭奪利益，國家就危險了。從來沒有聽說過仁愛的人卻拋棄父母的，也從來沒有聽說過行義的人對君王怠慢不敬的。所以大王只要仁義就行了，何必說利呢？

Mencius replied, “Why must your Majesty talk about profit?  My only counsel is benevolence and righteousness, which is sufficient (to rule a country).  If a king says, ‘What is to be done to profit my kingdom?’ The nobles will also say, ‘What is to be done to profit my clan?’  In addition, the officers and the common people would also say: ‘What is to be done to profit my person?’   If a country’s people, from the upper class of royalties to the lower class of commoners, all  compete for and pillage profits from one another, and the kingdom will be endangered.  I have never heard of a kind and loving person to abandon his parents.  Also, I have never heard of a righteous person who is insolent and neglects his duties to his sovereign.  Therefore, Your Majesty only needs to implement benevolence and righteousness.  It is not necessary to mention profit.”

梁惠王說：「我願意安心接受您的指教。」」

King Hui of Liang stated:  “I am comfortable with this teaching and willing to accept it.”

◎                   大道之行也，天下為公，選賢與（音舉）能，講信修睦。故人不獨親其親，不獨子其子；使老有所終，壯有所用，幼有所長；矜（音官）、寡、孤、獨、廢疾者，皆有所養。男有分，女有歸。

When the Grand Way was practiced, the world was just, the sage and capable was selected, aspired people to be trustworthy and to cultivate harmony.  Thus people would not be kind only to their parents, or love only their children; would ensure that the elderly were supported till they die, the capable (the able-bodied) employed, the youth nurtured; widowers, widows, orphans, the childless, and the mentally and/or physically disabled, were all provided for.  In short, males had a living and females had a home. 

貨，惡其棄於地也，不必藏於己；力，惡其不出於身也，不必為己。

It was repugnant to waste goods, or to see them perish on the grounds, but it was not necessary to hoard them for self-purposes.  It was distasteful to not be able to contribute one’s efforts, but it was not necessary to exert it for personal advantage.

是故謀閉而不興，盜竊亂賊而不作，故外戶而不閉。是謂大同。

As a result, scheming was repressed and found no development; robbery, thefts, or sedition was never committed; hence no one locked their front doors. This is the so called Era of Grand Comity.

（此言太古之世，風俗醇樸，人無爭心故，其氣象如此。）

(This excerpt is describing the way of the world in ancient times. The mores were pure and simple because people lacked the mentality to compete.  Such was the ambience during that period.)

選自《群書治要》卷七之《禮記·禮運》

Excerpted from A Compendium of Books on the Essentials of Governing, vol. 7, “Book of Rites, Operation of Rites.”

【譯文】在大道施行的時候，天下是人們所共有的。把品德高尚、能幹的人推舉出來共同治理天下，使百姓講求誠信，彼此和睦如同親人。

[Translation]  When the Grand Way was implemented, the world was shared by the people.  The virtuous and capable persons were selected and recommended to govern the world together.  They would make people aspire to honesty and trustworthiness, and to treat each other harmoniously as if all were kin.

因此人們不單單要贍養親愛自己的父母，撫養慈愛自己的兒女，還要使天下的老年人能終其天年，中年人能為社會效力，幼童能得到聖賢的教育，順利地長大成人。使老而無妻、無夫的長者、年幼喪父的孩子、沒有子女的孤老、身有殘障或疾病的男女都能得到社會的供養和撫恤。男人都有適合自己的職務，女子都能有好的歸宿。

Therefore, people would not only support and love their parents, nurture and cherish their own children, but also willingly ensured that all the elderly in the world would die in peace, all the adults contributed their talents to the society, and all the youths received the teachings of the saints and sages as well as to grow up properly.  The aged widows, widowers, and the childless, young orphans, and the physically and mentally disabled, all would be taken care of by the society.  In short, males would have suitable employments and females belonged to (married into) good households. 

對於財貨，物盡其用，人們憎惡浪費物命，更不會將它們隨便拋棄，而是將它們收藏好，以備布施給所需者。人們都爭先恐後為公眾之事竭盡全力，而不是為自己謀取私利。

With respect to properties, all material goods were utilized to the fullest extent.  People abhorred the waste of properties and would not throw them away carelessly, but rather to store them properly in order to give to the needy.  Wholeheartedly, people would rush to be the first, fear to lag  behind, to render their services for public welfare, rather than scheming for their own personal gain. 

正因如此，人們心中不會有奸邪之謀，盜竊、造反和害人言行更不會發生。故人們可以夜不閉戶，這就是所說的「大同」社會。

As a consequence, people had no shenanigans or cunnings in mind, and the society had no such crimes as robbery, theft, rebellion, or other harmful speech or conducts.  Hence people would not lock their doors at night.  This is the depiction of a society of “Great Comity.”

（淨空老法師：這段文字說的是華夏古文明太古的時代，祖先們的生活，風俗樸實，道德醇厚，人們沒有競爭嫉妒貪利的心態，因而有這樣美好的社會環境。）

(Venerable Master Chin Kung: This passage depicts the civilization of China in the archaic times.  It describes the lifestyle of our ancestors, their social norms of simplicity and honesty, the purity and depth of their virtues, and the lack of the mentalities of greed, jealousy, and competition; thus begets a social ambience of beauty and goodness.)

◎                   今大道既隱，天下為家。各親其親，各子其子，貨力為己。

Now that the Grand Way has fallen into obscurity, the kingdom becomes a family inheritance.  Every one loves only his own parents, cherishes as children only his own sons.  Goods are hoarded and strength is exerted only for self advantage.

大人世及以為禮，城郭溝池以為固。

Rulers believe, as propriety, that the order of succession belongs to their own families; as security, that the city walls, the ditches, and moats must be built and strengthened.

禮義以為紀，以正君臣，以篤父子，以睦兄弟，以和夫婦；以設制度，以立田里，以賢勇智，以功為己。故謀用是作，兵由此起。

Propriety and righteousness are regarded as codes of conduct (to maintain social order), to maintain the correct relationship between the ruler and his subjects, to maintain the loving-kindness between father and son, the harmony between the elder and younger siblings, the sentiment between husband and wife; to establish systems and measurements, to set up the boundaries of fields and counties; to adjudge superiority to men of valor and wisdom; all endeavors are for self-advantage. Thus, schemes and tactics are deployed; military and wars are instigated.

禹、湯、文、武、成王、周公，由此其選也。此六君子者，未有不謹於禮者也，以著其義，以考其信。

Because of this decline, Yü, Tong, Wan, Wû, King Tsan, and the Duke of Zhou obtained their distinction.  Of these six great men, none were ever not cautious in their adherence to the rules of propriety, in order to manifest their righteousness and to testify (exemplify) their credibility (trustworthiness).

著有過，刑仁講讓，示民有常。如有不由此者，在執者去，眾以為殃，是謂小康。

To expose wrongs, to sentence with benevolence, to aspire to yielding, and to show people the virtuous mores.  If not abiding by this course, rulers would be exiled, regarded as the pest (of society) by the public, this is the so called (era of) Small Tranquility.

（此正三代之治，乃中國極隆平之世也。）

(Such is the Reign of the Three Dynasties, which was the epoch of extreme prosperity and peace in ancient China.)

選自《群書治要》卷七之《禮記‧禮運》。

Excerpted from A Compendium of Books on the Essentials of Governing, vol. 7, “Book of Rites (Liji), Operation of Rites.”

　 【譯文】如今大道隱而不顯，國君將人主之位傳給子孫，而不是禪讓給賢人，成了一家之天下。人們只孝敬自己的父母，只愛護自己的兒女，生產財貨和付出勞力，都只為了自己而已。

[Translation]  Now that the Grand Way has fallen into obscurity, the king gives the throne to his son or grandson instead of abdicating it to the sage; thus, the world belongs to one individual family (instead of shared by all).  People only show filial piety to their own parents and only love and protect their own children.  The production of goods and the exertion of labors are all for self benefits.

諸侯將爵位傳給自己的子弟，成為固定的制度。又各自修建城郭溝池來鞏固防禦一己的領土。

The succession of the ranks of nobility becomes a fixed system and the descendants of the nobles inherited the noble ranks of the family.  In addition, the lords all built city walls, ditches, and moats to strengthen and defend their territory.

並且制定禮義作為綱紀，用來明確君臣關係，並使父子關係淳厚，使兄弟關係和睦，令夫妻和諧相處。

To maintain social order, propriety and righteousness were instituted as codes of conduct for the purposes of clarifying the relationship between the king and his subjects, as well as to make the relationship between father and son sincere and loving, the relationship between the elder and younger siblings friendly and respectful, and the relationship between husband and wife harmonious. 

由此而建立了國家、設立了各種制度，劃分田地和疆界，尊重有勇有智的人，為自己建功立業。這樣一來，一切陰謀詭計就產生了，而戰爭也由此而起。

As a result, countries were established, a myriad of systems were standardized, boundaries between fields and countries were marked, respects were given to men of valor and wisdom; all for self-advancement and the success of self-enterprises.  Thus, schemes and tactics are deployed; military and wars are instigated.

在此時期，唯有推行禮義來治理天下。夏禹、商湯、周文王、周武王、周成王和周公旦，皆能用禮義使國家社會達到致治，由此成為這個時期的傑出人物。

During this period, the only way to rule the world was to advocate Propriety and Righteousness.  This was the way of Yü of the Shia dynasty, Tang of the Shang dynasty, and a succession of royals during the Zhou dynasty, such as King Wan, King Wû, King Cheng, and Dan, the Duke of Zhou.  They all governed with Propriety and Righteousness to ensure the prosperity and peacefulness of their country and society; and thus they became men of distinction during this epoch. 

以上所舉的六位君子，無不謹慎奉行禮義來治國。他們彰顯禮義的內涵，確立行事的是非標準，養成百姓誠實守信的風氣。

Of the six great men mentioned above, none were ever not cautious in their adherence to the rules of propriety and righteousness when governing their countries.  They manifested the extent of propriety and righteousness, set up the standards of rightful and wrongful conducts, and instilled in the people the social mores of honesty and trustworthiness.