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到第二年，王善人在東家春天耕田時，看田地上
正好沒有旁人，所以就一邊扶著犁，一邊對著牛大
聲地問牠：「你知道嗎？財主是天生的嗎？」「不
是！是從『勤儉』上得來的！」「那麼，名望是本
來就有的嗎？」「哦！也不是！是要自己創的。」
王善人就這麼樣自己一問一答。可是呢？對於周姑
丈他是怎麼成的名？怎麼發的財？王善人就這樣格
物（思索）了一年，終不得要領，還是想不通，因
此他心裡很不安。所以就決定來年，要到周姑丈家
去扛活（做長工），看他到底是怎麼成的名？也得
讓他看看我，將來能不能成材？
想想，古來聖賢和我們同樣也是個人，為什麼他
們能夠流芳千古，而我們卻沒沒無聞，甚至於還有
的就身敗名裂呢！所以《中庸》上說：「知恥近乎
勇」，人只要有一口氣在，即使是滔天的罪過，都
有悔改的機會。只要你能真心懺悔，勇於改過，重
新去做人；就像那千年的幽谷涵洞，一燈來照，即
刻就可以把千年的黑暗破除。
十五、恪遵母教
王善人二十四歲那年臘月，母親病得很重，王善
人早晚在旁侍奉著，給母親的湯藥，一定要親自嚐
過，這樣過了十多天。母親在臨終的前三天，身體
突然疼痛得很厲害，一直哎喲哎喲呻吟著。王善人
感覺一定有什麼事，就問母親：「媽！您老心裡還
有啥放不下的？」母親嘆了一口氣，說了：「唉！
我放不下樹永（王善人的四弟）啊！我們這個屯裡
（鄉裡），都知道他好耍錢（賭錢），我走了以後
，恐伯沒人給媳婦，我死不了心啊！」
→待續
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The following spring, as Good Man Wang was tilling the fields, he saw that no one else was around, so while holding the plow, he loudly asked the cow, "What do you think? Is a rich man born rich?" "No! The wealth comes from hard work and thrift." "Then, is reputation something one has to begin with?" "No, it is established by oneself" He carried on like this, asking and answering himself. However, he still had no clue as to how Uncle Zhou had obtained his reputation and wealth. He pondered over this for a year without reaching any conclusion, and thus he became restless. He decided to work as a laborer in Uncle Zhou's home in the coming year to find out how he had gained his reputation, and also to let Uncle Zhou take a look at him to see if he could become a useful person in the future.
Just think about it. The ancient sages and men of virtue were also people like us. How did they manage to leave a good name which will go down to posterity, while we are nobodies and may even have our reputations ruined? It is said in The Doctrine of the Mean, "One who possesses a sense of shame is close to being courageous." As long as we are still alive, we can repent of our offenses, even if they are as massive as the sky. All we have to do is to repent with a true mind, to courageously change our errors, and to become a new person; then it will be just like a single lamp which dispels a thousand years of darkness in the deep valleys and damp caves.
15. Respectfully Obeying Mother's Instructions
In the winter of the year when Good Man Wang was twenty-four years old, his mother became very ill. Good Man Wang tended to her from morning till night, tasting the medicinal broth himself before giving it to his mother. More than ten days passed in this manner. Three days before his mother passed away, she suddenly felt great pain and moaned incessantly. Good Man Wang felt something must be wrong and asked his mother, "Mother! Is there something still bothering you that you cannot let go of?" His mother sighed and said, "Oh! I am worried about Shuyong (Good Man Wang's fourth younger brother)! Everyone in our village knows he is fond of gambling. After I die, probably no one will allow his daughter to marry him. I cannot die in peace!"
→To be continued
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