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Sometimes Zi Rudao would give away his wheat and husked kaoliang (Chinese sorghum) to those in need during the spring season and would allow them to return the payment after the harvest without charging them any interest. If there was a poor harvest that year and people did not have enough crops to repay him, Zi Rudao would burn the note and tell them to forget about it.
He often told his family: “In the first place, the reason for storing grain is to stay prepared for a famine. Therefore, if we encounter a bad harvest year, we must help our less-fortunate neighbors.”
A Disturbing Donkey
Yang Zhu of the Ming Dynasty (A.D.1368–1644) was the head of the Board of Rites. He usually rode his donkey to the royal court or wherever he had to go. Yang Zhu liked his donkey very much. Every day after he came back from the royal court, he personally fed the donkey and took good care of it.
Yang Zhu’s neighbor was an elderly man. When he was almost 60 years old, the neighbor and his wife had a son. Naturally the couple were delighted about the new addition to the family; however, the baby would cry continuously every time he heard the donkey braying. The crying disturbed the entire family.
Because Yang Zhu was a high-ranking official, the family did not dare to bring up this issue to him. But the donkey’s braying agitated the child so much that the child’s appetite diminished significantly, and eventually the couple had no choice but to tell Yang Zhu about it.
Yang Zhu immediately sold the donkey without hesitation. From then on, when he went to the royal court or other places, he simply walked.
Guiding Principles
In ancient China, the people had sayings such as these: “A person is genuinely beautiful only if he is benevolent at heart.” “Maintain a harmonious relationship with all of your neighbors.” “A person is kind and virtuous if his every word and act are intended to be beneficial to others.”
These sayings indicate that in whatever we do, morality and righteousness should be our guiding principles. We should be strict with ourselves yet forbearing toward others and have a heart of benevolence. One should be empathetic, caring, and helpful toward others and show consideration for others by placing oneself in others’ shoes.
This conduct manifests as people cultivating toward high moral values and will move other people to be compassionate as well. The result will be a society that contains warm and harmonious relationships—the foundation for a just society.
Adapted from Clearwisdom.net
