Yamon Aye (Sanchaung) - The most valuable possession and the best Chinese story

Sharpen the bamboo.

In ancient China (from 700 BC to 476 BC), there lived a great philosopher and educator named Confucius. Confucius devoted his entire life to teaching. He had a total of more than three thousand students. Of these, 72 were outstanding students. There were also students who did not work hard enough. Confucius was very strict with his students.

Among these students, a student named Jiayu was very precise and eloquent in everything he did, so Confucius considered him intelligent and talented, and he had a bright future ahead of him.

He thought he was a student. So Confucius always took care of him. Later, Confucius found that Jiayu did not come to class. He would come for a day and then disappear for days. So he sent other students to look for Jiayu. Jiayu would sleep idly in the house with the door closed even in the middle of the day.

So Confucius went to see Jiayu. When he returned, he told his students, “There is no way to carve a rotten block of wood. There is no way to repaint a dirty wall with lime. This rotten block of wood, this dirty wall, and this dirty ground are the same. If anyone is lazy and lazy, no matter how much he wants to succeed,

"I have studied Jiayu from the beginning. He is a good speaker. He has a desire to succeed. I can't go wrong with my view of him. In the future, I will observe whether his behavior, words, and actions are consistent. Only after this period of observation can I judge whether he is a person with a real path to success."

After hearing Confucius' criticism, Jia Yu came to Confucius and apologized for his lazy behavior. In the future, Jia Yu became a wise man. Therefore, the Chinese proverb "Shoumu Nan Throung" appeared, "It is difficult to sharpen bamboo, but it is difficult to carve peat."

The most valuable possession

Long ago in China, there was an old man who made a living by rowing boats. One evening, near sunset, four people arrived at the ferry dock at the same time.

The first was a very rich man. The second was an officer, the third was a warrior, and the fourth was a poet. At this ferry, there was only one boat belonging to the old boatman. All four of them told the old boatman that they wanted to cross the river in his boat.

The boatman stroked his long beard and said, "My little boat can only carry one person across this river. So I can only take one of you with me. Tell me your reasons. I will take the most important person with me."

Hearing this, the first very rich man showed off the large white coins he had and said, “I have an urgent matter to cross this river and go to the other side. Please take me with you. I have a lot of gold and silver.” At that moment, the officer was discouraged and said, “You must help me cross this river. I can make you a district officer.” The martial artist also hurriedly intervened. “I must cross this river. Otherwise,” he said.

He released his inner strength and raised his fist, clenching it tightly.

So the old boatman asked the poet. “You, tell me.” The poet said with a small face, “I am not as rich as they are. I am so poor that I have nothing to raise, old man. If I do not reach the other shore today, my wife and children at home will be worried and waiting for me.” So the old boatman said to the poet, “Get on the boat. Your story is valuable,” and he waved to the other three and sailed away from the shore.

The poet also got into the boat with a confused expression and said, “Grandpa, I don’t understand, can you explain?” The old man sighed and said to the poet while rowing on the other side. “Your face and expression show concern. When I ask you for a reason, you don’t lie and tell the truth. Telling the truth about your reality without lying shows the purity of your mind. The most valuable possessions in human life are not gold, silver, power, or skill. Only the true purity of the mind is the most valuable. That is why I have brought you to the other side of the river.” Then the poet understood.

Ref: China Newspaper