Traditional Chinese Culture: A Great Teacher

(Minghui.org) Liji (The Book of Rites), one of the Five Classics of the traditional Confucian canon, has an article on learning titled “Xue Ji” (“Record on the Subject of Education”). 

“Without polishing, a jade cannot reveal its inner beauty; without learning, a person will not know the Tao,” the article states. “On the path of learning, the most difficult is finding a strict teacher [who can lead students to a high level]; when a teacher is strict, people will pay attention to the Tao; when people pay attention to the Tao, they will take learning seriously.”

My understanding is that, to lead a student to a high level, a great teacher would know the student’s situation and willingness to learn, plus the prevailing social and cultural factors. My interpretation of being “strict” is not demanding, rather, it is based on kindness and caring toward the student—motivating a student to reach his or her full potential. 

This process is not easy. It states in Xue Ji that, “When good at studying, a student can learn a lot, even if the teacher is relaxing; when not good at studying, a student only learns a little even if the teacher works hard.” That means, from the angle of a student, one has to be willing to learn to succeed. 

As a Falun Dafa practitioner, I think it is the same thing with cultivation practice. Master Li, the founder of Falun Dafa, cherishes us and selflessly teaches us Dafa as well as helps us along the way. If we are responsible for ourselves and understand Master’s expectations, we will remain diligent and constantly improve ourselves. Otherwise, we may complain and look externally for excuses—something that does not help us move forward at all. 

My understanding is that Master knows us better than we know ourselves and has arranged our cultivation path according to our situation. So it is important for us to follow the path and always do our best—just like a good student in a classroom. 

On the contrary, if a student is absentminded in the classroom, unable to resist the temptation of chatting or gossiping, he will not learn much. No matter how great the teacher is, the student may have doubts about the teacher and even complain about things.

In the end, it is an issue of whether we are responsible to ourselves and whether we cherish what we have—the opportunity to practice Dafa.