Ancient Tales of Wisdom

Teachings for enlightening children. Part II

'Student Rules' the edited version of 'Teachings for Enlightening Children.' (zhengjian.org)

Welcome to Ancient Tales of Wisdom, my name is Grace Mann and today I bring you the second of the 3 part series from ‘Teachings for Enlightening Children.’

Teachings for Enlightening Children (Xun Meng Wen) was one of the Chinese classic texts for educating children on observing etiquette and rules and cultivating benevolence in society. It was originally written by an intellectual named Mr. Li Yuxiu (1662¡V1722) during Emperor Kang Xi’s (1654-1722) reign in the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912). It was then edited by Mr. Jia Cunren in the Qing Dynasty, who changed the title to Student Rules. Arranged in simple three-character verses, these teachings detail the rules in a variety of settings and is the second most influential text for children;  with the most influential  being Three Character Classic (1)) Teachings for Enlightening Children , which teaches filial piety and respect, cautiousness, honesty, forbearance, and tolerance, etc.

China was once called “The Nation of Etiquette and Morality.” Though, during the great Cultural Revolution, all spiritual and moral teachings were trampled and desecrated, thus, the beautiful Chinese traditional etiquette and morality has suffered tremendously. In today’s China, adults have little knowledge of the morals that even little children knew in ancient times.

Hence, the author of this three part series has tentatively interpreted selected viewpoints of Teachings for Enlightening Children for the benefit of the public.

And now:  Part (II) of these selected viewpoints from ‘Teachings for Enlightening Children.’

Whenever speaking
Put honesty first.
Deceit and lies
Are dishonourable.
Saying less
Is better than saying more.
Be sure to be truthful.
Avoid embellishments and craftiness.
Elaborate, insincere statements
And false words
Are philistine,
And deceitful.
Don’t easily say things
You didn’t see.
Or speak of things,
You don’t know the details of.

Upgrade morality
Upon seeing kindness.
When falling behind,
One should gradually catch up.
Immediately look within
When observing bad behaviour.
Make corrections on similar problems,
And work hard to overcome them.
Don’t feel sad
if one’s belongings
Are not as good as others’.

If one is angry when criticized,
And happy when praised,
Harmful friends will come,
And beneficial ones will leave.
If one ignores praises,
And is thankful when criticized
Upright and honest people will naturally come closer.
An unintentional error
Is called a mistake.
An intentional one
Is called dishonesty.
If one can consciously correct his mistakes,
He will make fewer and become more righteous.
If one tries to cover up his mistakes.
One more mistake is already made.

Thank you for joining us today for the second of this three-part series from ‘Teachings for Enlightening Children, ‘ stay tuned the final part of this series and more Great Ancient Tales of Wisdom.

Story Source: Clearwisdom.net
(with slight modifications)

Chinese version available at: http://www.minghui.org/mh/articles/2006/8/25/136196.html

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