Stories about Confucius’ morality

Part 1: "(The Story of Advocating Morality) The Story of Honesty and Trustworthiness_The Honest Confucius"

Confucius was a native of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period. His surname was Kong, his given name was Qiu, and his given name was Zhong. Ni is a famous thinker and educator in ancient my country.

Once, Confucius went to Qi State and saw two children debating on the road. Confucius saw it and thought it was interesting, so he said to the student Zilu who was following him: "Let's go over and listen to what the children are debating, okay?" Zilu curled his lips and said: "What can two yellow-haired boys say? What are you talking about?"

"There is no age difference in mastering knowledge. Sometimes, children's truths are much better than those of stupid and conceited adults." Zi Lu blushed suddenly. Dare to say anything.

Confucius stepped forward and said kindly: "My name is Confucius. I saw you arguing so enthusiastically and wanted to join in. Can you think of it?"

"Oh. , So you are that Confucius. I heard that you are very knowledgeable. Well, please give us a review and see who is right!" said the two children.

Confucius smiled and said: "Don't worry, tell me one by one."

A child said: "We are arguing about when the sun is closest to us. I said it is near in the morning, and he "It's almost noon. Who is right?" Confucius thought for a moment and said, "I haven't thought about this issue before, so I don't dare to talk about it casually. I'd rather ask you to explain your reasons first."

A child rushed to say: "Look, the sun is big and round in the morning, but at noon, the sun becomes smaller. Everyone knows: things near are big and things far away are small."

Another child continued: "He is wrong. The sun in the morning is cool and not hot at all, but the sun at noon is as hot as boiling water. Doesn't this mean that the sun at noon is close?" ?”

After saying that, the two children looked at Confucius and said, “Who are you going to judge?”

This stumped Confucius, and he repeated it. After thinking about it for a long time, I still feel that both children have their own reasons. I really can't tell who is right and who is wrong. So he admitted honestly: "I can't answer this question. I will ask more knowledgeable people for advice in the future and then I will answer you."

The two children laughed loudly after hearing this: "Everyone knows You said Confucius was a saint, it turns out you have questions that you can't answer!" After saying that, he turned around and ran away.

Zilu said unconvinced: "You should just say something to calm them down."

Confucius said: "No, if you don't admit it honestly, How can we hear this interesting truth if we don’t understand it? When it comes to learning, we say we know what we know and what we don’t know, we say we don’t know. Only with this honest attitude can we learn real knowledge.”

In "The Analects", Confucius said: "Knowing is knowing, not knowing is not knowing, it is knowing." Confucius did what he said, and he should also show this spirit of seeking truth from facts in front of children. This is not only a person's academic attitude, but also a virtue of honesty.

Part 2: "The Moral Education Story of Confucius Students"

The Moral Education Story of Confucius Students

March 02, 2010 13:03 admins Study time: 0 comments in 20 minutes

Professor Li Yining told two stories in a lecture, which can also explain the material "acquisition" of "virtue" from both positive and negative aspects. The first story is that the King of Lu issued a document requiring Chinese people who had the opportunity to go abroad to see their compatriots being reduced to slavery abroad, and they should redeem them, and the expenses incurred would be reimbursed by the government after returning home. One of Confucius' students discovered that his compatriots had been turned into slaves abroad, so he ransomed his compatriots. However, he did not reimburse the expenses, so everyone praised his noble conduct. After learning about it, Confucius criticized him and said: It is evil for you to do this, because you will make other people confused.

Why? If other people also see their compatriots being reduced to slavery abroad, if they listen to the king's words, redeem their compatriots and reimburse the expenses according to regulations, others will compare him with Confucius's students - Confucius's students can If he doesn't come to reimburse, but you come to reimburse - the result will make him appear less ungrateful, even though he is obeying the king's order to reimburse; if he learns from you and does not reimburse the expenses after redemption, he has no excuse. Lost money. This kind of loss can be accepted once, you may complain about it twice, but you won't be willing to do it many times. Since Confucius' students don't pay the accounts first, other people will fall into the dilemma of "it's not good to pay the accounts, and it's not good not to pay the accounts". In this way, when future Lu people see their compatriots being reduced to slavery abroad, they may pretend not to have seen it in order to avoid the dilemma. As a result, more and more compatriots will no longer redeem their compatriots in distress, and more and more compatriots in distress will not be able to receive assistance. Therefore, although your behavior is "selfless", it will not make more people happy. What is "gained" is therefore immoral.

The second story is that one of Confucius' students saw someone accidentally falling into the river when he was crossing the bridge, and he rescued him regardless of his own safety. His family was extremely grateful and thanked the student for his kindness. Cattle are naturally the most precious thing in an agricultural society. The student had no choice but to be respectful and obey the order, so he took the cow home. On the way home, the people who had praised him so much just now saw that he had taken away a cow from others, so they turned to blame and cursed him. People think that people who have done something good should not be rewarded by others. After learning about it, Confucius instead praised his students and said: It is very moral for you to take the cow home, because you will make other people realize that doing good deeds will be rewarded. When people's moral belief is formed that "good deeds will be rewarded", more and more people will help others when they see danger. In this way, your behavior will inspire more and more people to do good deeds. , allowing more and more people in distress to "get" rescue. Therefore, your behavior, although "selfish", is moral.

The idea of ??karma is a vivid explanation of the concept of "virtue, gain". Mr. Nan Huaijin, a Taiwanese scholar, believes that China's five thousand years of cultural thought are based on "karma". The so-called karma is what everyday people say, "good will be rewarded with good, evil will be rewarded with evil." If you do good deeds, you will be rewarded with evil. There will be gains, and if you do bad things, there will be losses. Even if this kind of retribution does not happen to the person concerned, it will be extended to his relatives and descendants; even if it does not happen in this life, it will be extended to future generations. Confucius said in his annotation of the Book of Changes: "A house that accumulates good deeds will always be blessed; a house that accumulates evil deeds will have lingering disasters." Taoism also declares that God can detect people's good and evil deeds and reward and punish them. As for Buddhism, it is more complete and systematic. The idea of ??karma. In fact, all major religions in the world have statements similar to "the immortal soul", "reincarnation", and "three lives and three lives". The idea of ??karma has been shrouded in mystery by religion. In fact, it also has a basis in human nature. Life experience tells us that a person often "repays favor with favor and repays hatred with hatred." The numerous human natures form a general "social law". Therefore, in a certain sense, karma is a kind of morality in society. law. The character of integrity formed in the market economy is neither a person's inherent "good nature" nor a virtue that can be developed by moralists' sincere and wishful thinking of repeatedly calling for "hope?" and "strengthen?". In fact, it is the advice to both parties in the "retribution of gains and losses" in repeated games in market life. In a society, if a fair moral strengthening mechanism is not established and if the moral belief that "good deeds and evil deeds must be repaid" cannot be cultivated in the hearts of the people, all moral education will be in vain. Most of the "twenty-four filial piety" stories that were once popular in China contain the teaching of "virtue, gain

ye". Their performance either moved heaven and earth, received help from immortals, or moved people who once Abuse one's counterparty, make him change his mind, or gain respect and imitation from others, etc.; if we read the moral teaching stories in "The Book of Virtues" edited by William Bennett, we will also feel that "virtue, The pulse of virtue is "Deye".

Of course, rewards in moral life can only be seen as affirmation and comfort for the spiritual personality of the moral subject, and there is no need to pursue equivalent rewards in terms of material value. In fact, if he pursues this kind of reciprocal reward, he will not behave morally. In the minds of ordinary people, moral behavior should be free, otherwise your heroic feats will be overshadowed. In fact, it is one thing for moral agents to accept rewards or not, but it is another matter whether society has a system to provide them with rewards. The moral reward mechanism not only affirms the virtues of the behavioral subject, but also encourages and guides other potential moral behavioral subjects. It also builds a social strengthening mechanism for the sustainable development of virtue. Looking back at reality, we can still often see a lot of weakening of morality. Some victims refuse to come forward to testify. This not only prevents the bad guys from being punished, but also prevents the good people who sacrificed their lives to save them from receiving due recognition; Some people are rescued by heroes, but when they learn that they should bear some costs for the hero's sacrifice, they quietly avoid it; some people not only stand by indifferently when the hero is in need of help, but also sneer at the hero? . Looking through newspapers and periodicals, we often see the helplessness, wry smiles and misery of moral heroes! I hope the heroes' "chill" will not make them regret their heroic feats! Will not "teach" the world to be further away from morality!

A child unfortunately drowned. The father, who could not swim, begged the crowd standing on the shore to help save his child, but everyone was indifferent. The father had no choice but to offer a price, saying that if anyone helped him save the child, he would be willing to pay him the full amount. So, several young people bargained with the father until they got a price they were happy with, and then they jumped into the water to save the person. It is undoubtedly sad to refuse to save someone, but it is also condemnable to negotiate a price first and then save someone. So, is this behavior the same as the behavior of Confucius’ students who received heavy rewards for saving people mentioned in this article? On the surface, they appear to be the same, because they have both been rewarded; however, upon closer analysis, you will find that there is an essential difference between the two. The act of negotiating a price first and then rescuing people is a commercial act, while the act of rescuing people first and then getting rewarded is an ethical act. The purpose of commercial behavior is to make profit, and the actor’s true feelings at this moment (i.e., “virtue,’ straight’.”) are not to save people, but to make profits; the purpose of moral behavior is to do good, and the true feelings of the actor at this moment are The real feeling is to save people. The final reward obtained from commercial behavior is the purpose of the behavior - because you want to get this reward, you do this behavior. Behavior is only a means and way to obtain the purpose; the final reward obtained from moral behavior is the result of the behavior - Because you did this behavior, you got this reward. If a person who aims at reward does not receive this reward, he will feel that the behavior as a means is not worthwhile and a failure. The success or failure of the means is proved by the purpose; moral behavior takes the behavior itself as the purpose, and whether there is any "gain" later, It cannot be used as a basis to judge the success or failure of the behavior itself. Of course, if this behavior is approved by society and affirms him materially or mentally, then this behavior will receive positive reinforcement, and he may be more inclined to repeat similar behaviors. If he does not receive social approval, , or receive social disapproval, which negates him materially or mentally, he may be more inclined to avoid similar behaviors. At a time when people's lives are facing serious threats, and when the moral spirit is called for, business behavior is not worthy of encouragement, and even should be condemned.

Li Yining. "Entry to the WTO" and China's economic reform. CCTV·Science Education Channel (Channel 10)·Baijia Forum.2001-9-12 These two stories also tell us how to judge a person's behavior Whether he is moral or not depends not on whether he is selfless or selfish, but on whether his behavior makes both parties "gain", or whether it can encourage more people to behave morally, so that more and more people can "gain" get help. Selfless behavior is not necessarily moral behavior, and selfish behavior is not necessarily immoral behavior. This is very different from the idea that people usually use "selflessness" to define virtue.

Quoted from Sheng Hong. Morality, Utility and Others. Reading. 1998(7): 122.

Wang Qikang. Ge Xin Zhi Ben. Central China Normal University Press, 1999: 311.

Part Three: "Moral Stories"

Moral Stories

Grass and Seedlings

Confucius traveled eastward and saw There were farm tools in the field, but the farmer had already left, so he picked up the hoe, dug around a seedling, and shoveled it up with great effort.

After a while, the farmer came back. When he saw it, he was furious and said angrily: "Why did you shovel my seedlings?"

Confucius felt very strange, so he pointed to the seedlings and said: "Look, what I am shoveling is grass." Unexpectedly, the farmer said even more angrily: "What I am planting is grass for horses!" Confucius couldn't help but be stunned.

Story Insight:

Helping others should be done just right.

Change your thinking

There is a company that produces toothpaste. It is very popular among consumers and has an annual growth rate of 10 to 20. However, in the 11th year, the company's performance began to stagnate. Come down.

The company manager held a high-level meeting to discuss countermeasures. At the meeting, the president promised that whoever could come up with a solution would be rewarded 100,000 yuan. A young manager stood up and handed the president a note. After reading it, the president immediately signed a check for 100,000 yuan and gave it to him.

Only one sentence was written on this note: Expand the opening of the toothpaste tube by 1 mm.

Consumers are accustomed to squeezing out the same length of toothpaste every morning. If the opening increases, then

the daily toothpaste consumption will also increase significantly.

The company immediately changed the packaging, and the next year, the company's turnover increased by 32%.

Story Insight:

As long as you increase the diameter of your mind by one millimeter, you will see that any change in life has its positive side, full of opportunities and challenges.

Sweep the Sunshine

There are two brothers, only four or five years old. Since the bedroom windows are closed all day long, they think the room is too dark and see the bright sunshine outside. I feel very envious. The two brothers discussed working together to bring in some sunlight from outside. So the two brothers took the broom and dustpan to the balcony to sweep up the sunshine.

By the time they moved his dustpan into the room, there was no sunlight inside. I scanned it again and again, but there was still no sunlight at all in the house.

My mother, who was busy in the kitchen, saw their strange behavior and asked: "What are you doing?" They replied: "The room is too dark, we need to bring in some sunlight."

My mother smiled and said: "As long as you open the window, the sunlight will naturally come in, why bother to sweep it?"

Story inspiration:

As long as you open the closed door of your heart, even if With just a little gap exposed, you can immediately feel the endless light and warmth.

Facing the wind and rain

A group of college students met to go hiking. Unfortunately, they encountered a storm, causing flash floods and rolling mudslides that permanently buried their fresh lives. Faced with this sudden tragedy, many people can't help but ask: "What should we do if we are halfway up the mountain and suddenly encounter a storm?" Mountaineering experts said: "You should go to the top of the mountain."

" Why don't you run down the mountain? Isn't it more windy and rainy at the top?" People asked suspiciously. "Going to the top of the mountain, although the wind and rain may be stronger, it is not enough to threaten your life. As for running down the mountain, the wind and rain seem to be lighter and it seems safer, but you may encounter a flash flood and be drowned alive."

The mountaineering expert said solemnly: "As for wind and rain, if you escape from it, you will only be sucked into the torrent; if you face it, you will survive."

Story insights:

Difficulty is the enemy of life. If you defeat it, you will take a step forward on the road of life. Bypassing it does not mean getting rid of it. On the contrary, sooner or later it will hinder you and even ruin your future.

The Story of Three Clocks

A newly assembled small clock is placed among two old clocks. Two old clocks "tick" and "tick" tick one minute and one second.

One of the old clocks said to the little clock: "Come on, it's time for you to work. But I'm a little worried. After you have walked 32 million times, I'm afraid you won't be able to bear it anymore

"

"Oh my god! Thirty-two million times." Xiao Zhong was surprised. "You want me to do such a big thing? It can't be done, it can't be done."

Another old clock said: "Don't listen to his nonsense. Don't be afraid, you just have to swing it every tick. ”

“There is no such simple thing in the world.” Xiao Zhong was doubtful. "If so, I will give it a try."

The small clock moved "tick-tock" every second easily. Unknowingly, one year passed, and it moved 32 million times. Second-rate.

Story Insight:

Everyone hopes that their dreams will come true, but success seems to be far away and out of reach. Burnout and lack of confidence make us doubt our abilities and give up our efforts. In fact, we don’t have to think about the future. We just need to think about what I will do today and what I will do tomorrow, and then work hard to complete it. The joy of success will slowly infiltrate our lives.

Critical Moment {Story about Morality by Confucius}.

One day, a general was having a meal. Halfway through the meal, a waiter said: "Ah, General?"

The general stared at him and said: "You should not talk when the general is eating or talking." Everyone was silent.

A few minutes later, the general asked the waiter: "Well, what did you want to say to me just now?" The waiter lowered his head and said: "It's late, General, it's too late."

"What do you mean it's late? What happened?"

"Yes, General, it's late. There was a bug in your salad and you've already eaten it!"

Story Insight:

There are two types of losers: those who don’t listen to anyone, and those who listen to everyone.

The last exercise

A philosopher took a group of his students to roam the world, and finally sat down on a grass field in the suburbs and said to his students: " After ten years of travel, you are all well-educated. Now your studies are coming to an end. Let's take the last lesson."

The disciples sat down around the philosopher, and the philosopher asked: "Now. We are sitting in the wilderness, and the wilderness is full of weeds. What I want to know now is how to get rid of these weeds." The disciples were very surprised. They did not expect that the philosopher who had been exploring the mysteries of life asked in the last lesson. It's such a simple question.

A disciple spoke first and said: "Teacher, as long as you have a shovel, it is enough." The philosopher nodded.

Another disciple then said: "Burning with fire is also a good way." The philosopher smiled and motioned to the next person.

The third disciple said: "Spreading lime will get rid of all the weeds."

Then the fourth disciple said: "Get rid of the weeds." Grass, just dig out the roots." After the disciples had finished speaking, the philosopher stood up and said, "That's it for you.

Part 4: "The Little Story of Confucius"

Confucius’ story:

One of Confucius’ students found something dirty falling into the pot when he was cooking porridge.

He hurriedly stopped. He picked it up with a spoon and was about to throw it away when he suddenly thought that every porridge and rice were hard-earned, so he ate it. Confucius happened to walk into the kitchen and thought he was stealing food, so he taught him a lesson. After the explanation by the classmate who was responsible for cooking, everyone suddenly realized. Confucius said with emotion: "What I saw with my own eyes is not accurate, let alone what I heard from hearsay." "

Learn and learn from time to time

Confucius' ancestors were aristocrats in the Song Dynasty, but later fell into decline. His father died when he was three years old, and his mother took him to move to Lizuo Not far from the capital, Qufu, the capital of the State of Lu, lived a life of poverty. The State of Lu was a recognized cultural center at that time, and like the Song State, it preserved many ancient Shang and Zhou cultures, such as marriage, death, etc. There is a very complicated ritual for worshiping ancestors.

Of course, poor people cannot talk about these things, but wealthy people, from kings of heaven, princes, officials, to ordinary slave owners, are very particular about this. They think this is a good opportunity to show off their wealth. Every time there is a wedding or funeral, they will hire a team of people to hold the ceremony. At that time, people who engaged in this profession were called "Confucians". Confucius has been influenced by this ancient culture since he was a child, and learned many ancient rituals. Even when playing games, he often used small pieces of wood as sacrificial vessels and small clay balls as offerings. He always enjoyed practicing the ancient rituals and developed into The political idea of ??governing the country by etiquette. Therefore, later generations called the doctrine advocated by Confucius "Confucianism".

When three people are walking together, there must be a teacher like me

When Confucius was a child, his family was poor and it was difficult to receive a good education. However, he is very studious and often seeks advice from others, even the 7-year-old Xiang Luo. He once "asked for courtesy from Lao An", "visited Chang Hong for music", "learned piano from Shi Xiang", and "learned the official system from Tan Zi"? Once, Tan Zi, the king of a vassal country of Lu State, came to Lu State to pay homage to Lu State. Lu Zhaogong. Although Tanzi was the king of a small country, he claimed to be a descendant of the Shaohao family. At the banquet held by Lu Zhaogong, his uncle and grandson Zhaozi asked Shaohao why he named his official name after a bird. Tanzi talked a lot about the origin of ancient official names and took the opportunity to boast that "my great ancestor Shaohao's establishment is very impressive. Birds arrive at the right time, so keep track of them." After hearing this, Confucius felt that although Tanzi's behavior was a bit ridiculous, he did have some research on the ancient official system, so he "saw Tanzi and learned it."

Confucius and the Old Man Drawing Water

There is a story about Confucius. This story is as old as Lao Tzu. {Stories about morality Confucius}.

Confucius was traveling and passing through a village. He saw an old man, a very old man, fetching water from a well to water the fields. It was very hard work and the sun was so bright. Confucius thought that this man might not have heard that there are mechanical devices that can fetch water now - you can use oxen or horses instead of people to fetch water, which is easier - so Confucius went over to the old man and said: "Have you heard that there are machines now? It's very easy to use them to draw water from a well, and they can do it in half an hour if you do twelve hours' work. Why do you go to such great lengths? You are an old man. He must be ninety years old.

The man said: "It is always better to work with your hands, because whenever a cunning machine is used, a cunning mind will appear. In fact, only a cunning mind will use a cunning machine."