..續本文上一頁ny people also think not stealing is the hardest. Actually, not lying is even more difficult! Why
Because while most people who live in this society are relatively careful about avoiding major evils such as killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct, and they are also pretty cautious about drugs and alcohol, they overlook the importance of not lying. Thinking that lying doesn”t endanger anyone or cause any harm, they carelessly blurt something out or crack a joke--and end up breaking the precept against lying. However, while we should generally tell the truth, sometimes the overall situation or the real meaning of honesty requires us to tell a white lie. Honesty is judged by one”s underlying motivation. If a doctor, to keep a patient from losing the will to live, tells him that what he has is not cancer, that is not considered a violation of the precepts.
古希臘有個大政治家撤士德塔兒。一天，他正在花園散步，忽然自外頭跳進一個滿身血汙的青年。起先他還以爲是小偷，可是那青年卻「撲通」一聲跪倒，急切地哀求他﹕「我因爲和人打架，失手把對方打死，別人追著要我償命；不得已，我才跳進牆來躲，請您務必救我的命。」青年一邊說，一邊哭著連連磕頭。撤士德塔兒看他太可憐，就答應救他這一次，把他帶到地窖藏起來。
One day, a great political leader in ancient Greece was strolling in the garden, when suddenly a lad covered with blood jumped in from outside. At first he thought it was a burglar , but the lad knelt down before him and beseeched him, "I accidentally killed someone in a fight. Now people are demanding my life. I jumped over the wall to hide from them. Please save me." Crying as he spoke, the lad bowed down to the ground. Seeing what a pitiful sight he was, the man promised to save him and hid him in the cellar.
不料，過了一會兒，許多人擡了具死屍來，死者正是撤士德塔兒的兒子，他救的青年正是凶手。撤士德塔兒想了一下，表示不知情，就叫人把兒子屍體擡出去料理。到了夜晚，撤士德塔兒把青年自地窖帶出，交給他一匹黑馬，說﹕「我本該把你交給那些人，因爲你打死的正是我的兒子，但我已答應救你，不能不守信用。你趕快騎這匹馬逃罷 ！」
A little later, some people carried in a corpse-it was the man”s son. He had saved his son” s murderer. After thinking about it, he indicated that he didn”t know where the killer was and told the people to take his son”s corpse to be buried. When night fell, he took the lad out of the cellar, gave him a black horse, and said, "I should have turned you over to those people, because the one you killed was my son. But because I”d promised to save you, I couldn”t break my promise. Mount this horse and flee quickly!"
各位善知識！撒士德塔兒爲守信用，不惜說小謊，救了殺子凶手；您或許認爲他是個傻瓜，一點也不值得這樣做吧？但是，話說回來，死者既已無法複生，何必再賠上第二條命呢？能挽救一個悔過人的命，豈不等于是延續了自己兒子的生命？這樣于私情難舍能舍，于公信難守能守，不是有非凡魄力的人，是做不到的。他之所以能成爲一個非凡的政治家，不正因爲他有這種不自私和堅守信用的非凡美德嗎？真正有德之士，做任何事都發乎肺腑至誠，根本是連「值不值得」的那一念都沒有的。
Good and wise advisors! In order to keep his word, that Greek leader lied to save the killer of his own son. You may consider him a fool for having acted that way. However, since his son could not have been brought back to life, what would have been the point of taking another life
Saving the life of a repentant lad-isn”t that equivalent to prolonging his own son”s life
Being able to relinquish personal affections and maintain trustworthiness with a stranger is not something an ordinary man would be able to do. He was such an extraordinary political leader precisely because of his unselfishness and firm integrity. A truly virtuous person acts out of wholehearted sincerity and never asks whether his deeds will bring him any advantage or not.
因此中國古聖人以「仁義禮智信」爲五常──五種必須奉行于日常的不變真理。曾子每日都拿叁事做自我的反省檢討﹕爲人謀而忠，與人交而信，學而時習之。孔子也說﹕人而無信，就像兩個車輪間沒了鎖住車轅的關鍵，車子還可以帶得動嗎？可見誠信對人的重要。
Therefore the ancient sages of China considered humaneness, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness to be five constants- five invariable truths that must be upheld in daily life. Zeng Zi examined himself on three points every day: whether he faithfully conducted his business with others, whether he was trustworthy in his friendships, and whether he reviewed what he had learned. Confucius also said that an untrustworthy person is like two wheels without the …
《弟子規淺釋 Standards for Students 第五章﹕信 Chapter Five: LEARNING TO BE TRUSTWORTHY - 1》全文未完，請進入下頁繼續閱讀…