自由發展不是真正的自由

　　“Free”Development Is Not True Freedom

　　真自由發展，就要到山裏頭；電話也沒有，電視也沒有，

　　什麼都沒有，完全與世界隔絕了。

　　To really let children develop freely, you should take them deep into the mountains,

　　away from telephone and television, so that they are totally cut off from the world.

　　這個世界上特別的事情很多，是人想象不到的。雖然想象不到，可是，什麼事情一半是天造的，一半是人爲的。天造的，人若不爲，也不會成功；人若爲，而天不造，也是沒有一個根本。因此世間的事情都是對立的，有善就有惡，有陰就有陽，有是就有非，有好也就有壞，這是一種對待法。

　　In this world, there are many unusual things beyond our imagination. These things are created partly by people and partly by heaven. If people have no part in them, they cannot happen. If people contribute to them, but they don”t follow the will of heaven, they cannot happen either. Everything in the world is relative: if there is good, then there is evil; if there is yin, then there is yang; if there is right, then there is wrong; if there is good, then there is bad. These are all dualities.

　　這個對待法，你若會做的，壞又可以變成好；不會做的，好也可以變壞。會用功的人，陰氣最盛的，也可以把它調和得有一點陽氣。陽氣太盛的，也可以把它調和得有一點陰。陽是屬動，陰就屬靜；陽是屬剛，陰就屬柔。好壞是由人而養成的，因此說

　　Those who know how to work with dualities can turn bad into good. Those who are inept turn good into bad. Intelligent people can regulate themselves and keep their yin and yang energies balanced. Yang is characterized by movement and hardness, yin by stillness and softness. People develop good or bad characters over time.

　　近朱者赤，近墨者黑，

　　染于蒼則蒼，染于黃則黃。

　　Getting close to rouge, one turns red.

　　Drawing near ink, one is stained black.

　　If you dye something blue, it becomes blue;

　　If you color it yellow, it turns yellow.

　　因爲這個，所以在中國有個孟子，他是亞聖。這聖人，小的時候就沒有爸爸了，只有媽媽帶著他過日子。最初他們的鄰居是個殺豬的屠宰場，因此這個小孩子天天就學殺豬，學屠宰的這種事情。他媽媽一看，啊！這不可以讓他自由發展，不可以教他學殺豬，做屠宰的這種事情，所以就趕快搬家。一搬嘛，又搬到一個墳場的旁邊，這個孟子當時就學挖地造墳，祭祀這一類的事情。小孩在那兒擺上個碗，祭祀祖先；看人家到那兒燒香化紙，他也在那兒燒香化紙。他媽媽一看說，這個不得了，若由他自由發展，這小孩子長大了，會變成一個埋墳的人，這有什麼用啊！唉，趕快搬家！趕快搬家！不能由他自由發展，因爲「近朱者赤，近墨者黑」。

　　An example of this principle is Mencius, the “second sage” of China after Confucius. Mencius” father died when he was very young, and he was raised by his mother. At first they lived near a slaughterhouse. When Mencius” mother saw him imitating the butcher, she thought, “I shouldn”t let him follow his inclinations and learn to slaughter animals.”

　　Then they moved next to a cemetery, and the young boy learned how to dig graves and make offerings to the deceased. He watched people place offerings on the altar for ancestors, light incense, and burn paper money, and he soon learned to copy them. His mother thought, “This will never do! If I allow him to develop freely, he”ll end up doing these kinds of things when he grows up. How will that help him

　　 We”d better move, or else this environment will be a bad influence on him.”

　　于是又搬家了，搬到一個學校的旁邊。那麼這學校的學生上學向聖人鞠躬，放學也向聖人鞠躬，回到家裏向父母也行禮，在學校也好好讀書。孟子家裏沒有錢，雖然沒有錢，但是他有學習的能力。他看人家怎麼樣，他就模仿模仿，怎麼樣去讀書識字，進退有禮，禮儀如一，他就學這個。孟母一看，這回我要在這兒住下來了，這個孩子一學，學好一點，不要由他自由發展。

　　They moved again, this time next to a school. At the beginning and the end of the school day the students bowed to the sages. They studied hard at school, and bowed to their parents when they got home. Although Mencius” family was poor, he turned out to be a good student. Following the others, he learned to read and study, and he learned the rites and rules of propriety. Mencius” mother was pleased. “I”m going to stay here. My boy is learning and becoming a better person. I will raise him carefully.”

　　那麼在這兒一住，以後孟子學啊學，時間一久，他又討厭了，就不讀書，又淘氣，又調皮。孟母那時候織布，看兒子不讀書了，就把織布機割斷，布也不織了。孟子一看織布能賣錢，維持家庭生活，那麼母親不織布了，生活的來源斷了，怎麼辦呢？就請問媽媽，爲什麼把這個機和線都弄斷了，不織布？媽媽就對他說：「你現在不讀書了，就等于織布機斷了線一樣，不能再織了。」孟子一想，原來我不讀書，就等于織布機斷了線一樣，這是不行的。于是以後就用功讀書，終于成了一個大聖人。

　　After Mencius studied for some time, he became bored and wanted to quit school. He was naughty and mischievous. His mother made a living by weaving cloth. When she saw her son quit studying, she cut the cloth on her loom and stopped weaving.

　　Mencius knew…

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