..續本文上一頁But we should also respect the latter two kinds of people regardless of their character. Why

　　 There”s a proverb, "The trials and tribulations take up 80 or 90 percent of our life." You could say there”s more suffering than joy, more disasters than peace. If you think about how long our elders have struggled to be able to survive and be elders, wouldn”t you say they are worthy of respect

　　 Think about how much hard work teachers and high officials have put in to get where they are now. Don”t they deserve our respect

　　 What”s more, everyone will get a turn to be honored as an elder. Therefore, whatever you want to harvest, you first have to plant. If you explain it to your children like this, they will gradually understand and start to respect elders and worthy ones from their heart. You should never force children into putting on a false show of courtesy and turning into hypocrites. On the other hand, don”t be so lenient with then that they turn into wild kids with no sense of appreciation for all they have received.

　　“敬老尊賢”一直是中國的優良傳統。《周禮》所製定的〈鄉飲酒〉就是藉著鄉人一起宴飲的場合，一來敦親睦鄰，二來讓年輕人實習敬老尊賢。此外，古中國人尊重老師有如貴賓，坐時主人居東，請老師西向對坐，所以就尊稱老師爲“西席”或“西賓”。這種尊師之禮，就是在豪門貴族也不例外；甚至有很多皇帝、皇子在平居時，對老師都恭敬執持弟子之禮，不敢讓老師向自己跪拜。“程門立雪”，更是尊師之千古美談。

　　Reverence for elders and veneration for virtuous ones has always been a wholesome tradition in China. The Zhou Dynasty rite of "toasting," taken from the custom of the rural villagers, served to strengthen family bonds and neighborly harmony, and to allow young people to practice respecting their elders. Furthermore, in ancient times the Chinese people treated their teachers like honored guests. When sitting, the host would sit on the east side and invite the teacher to sit on the west side facing him. Thus the teacher came to have the honorific title "West-Seated One" or "Western Guest." Even the nobility followed these rules of etiquette for respecting teachers. Many emperors and princes, when they were living as civilians, would treat their teachers with the respect of a disciple, and would not let the teacher bow to them. The story of how "Cheng”s students stood while it snowed" is a wonderful example of respect for one”s teacher.

　　故事是這樣的；程頤、程灏兩兄弟都是宋朝有名的大儒，門下弟子都很多。哥哥程灏爲人灑脫風趣，時人稱譽他；聽其一席話，“如坐春風叁月”；弟弟程頤則嚴謹自持，弟子對他敬畏有加。有一天，兩位弟子陪侍著程頤，程頤忽然睡著，弟子沒得到吩咐，不敢退下，乃恭敬地侍立兩側；等到程頤醒來，弟子才告退，一看門外的積雪都快及膝了。所以“程門立雪”就成了後世禮敬嚴師的典故。現代的社會裏，我們雖然不必拘泥這些舊禮，但恭敬的誠心，應該是古今不渝的。

　　It goes like this: Cheng Yi and Cheng Hao were two brothers in the Song Dynasty who were both renowned Confucian scholars with many disciples. The elder brother Cheng Hao was jovial and quick-witted. People praised him and said that listening to his lectures was like "sitting in the spring breeze for three months." His younger brother, Cheng Yi, was solemn and serious, and his students held him in respect and awe. Once when two of his students were attending upon him, Cheng Yi suddenly fell a sleep. Since he had not bidden them to leave, the two students dared not do so, but respectfully continued to stand on either side of their teacher. When he woke up, the students took their leave and discovered that the snow outside the door was already knee-deep. This story has been passed down to later generations as an illustration of respect for a stern teacher. Although we need not rigidly hol to old-fashioned rules of etiquette in modern society, the attitude of sincere respect is something that never changes with time.

《弟子規淺釋 Standards for Students 第叁章﹕悌 Chapter Three﹕ FRATERNITY - 7》全文閱讀結束。