پنج فضیلت آیین کنفوسیوس -‏ قسمت ۱ از ۵

Because some people… When I visit some places, sometimes I see them buying those skin care products, creams, for me, not cosmetics. If I see there’s honey in the skin care creams, then I don’t want it. I throw it into the dustbin. It’s not that I’m not thankful. It’s just that I don’t want to support those products. I don’t want to support things that are not kind. I’m thankful that you’ve bought them for me. But you should not support those things and should avoid them as much as possible. If I use it, people would say that Master is also using it. Understand? They’d go home and tell others: “I bought it for Master and Master used it.” Then everybody would think that it means Master has approved the use of this kind of products. It’s not good. OK? 

Bees have to work so hard, very hard. They gather honey originally for their children and for taking care of themselves during winter so that they can continue to work. They have to work very hard. They work so hard, flying from one flower to the other. When you see bees flying, it seems pretty and looks good, however, it takes a lot of strength to fly. If there’s not enough honey for them to eat, without pollen, they cannot continue. 

When I was in a place in Spain, I saw a few bees had fallen to the ground and were nearly dead. I held them very gently and put them on a flower. If he couldn’t move, I mixed some sweet stuff, like mixing sugar with water, and then put it beside the bee for him to drink. Then he flew away. After a little while, he flew away. They truly need food just like we do. It’s like a machine. A machine, like a car, needs fuel. 

Therefore, don’t buy products that contain honey for me. OK? (Yes.) It’s not that I’m not appreciative. I appreciate you try to take care of me, even on minor details. It’s just that I don’t want to hurt others because of taking care of myself. In this way, we have real benevolence. If we’re benevolent, we should do it thoroughly. We should protect even small animals and insects. For example, if you see insects fall to the ground on the road, you quietly use the withered leaves to carry them to the roadside, where there is grass and flowers so that they can have food to eat there. OK? For bees, it’s better not to move or touch them. Don’t do that. They also need food. 

Bees might not look very important, but 60 or 70 percent of our farm produce and crops depend on bees to proliferate. They help spread pollen from one flower to the other. Only in this way can flowers, herbs, grass, trees, other edible plants, etc. proliferate. Bees are very important to us. Don’t look down upon bees because of their small size. Oh! They’re very important. They should be called as “life-saving benefactors” to us, because without them, we will have no food. Since ancient time, bees have been working like that. Maybe nowadays, or in future, bees… As science progresses, maybe later they’ll use machines or other methods to replace bees. I don’t know. But up till now, we still depend on bees. Many herbicides, pesticides are very harmful to bees. They kill a few insects, but they kill our benefactors at the same time, kill the group of benefactors that we truly need. 

Without bees, our food supply would be jeopardized. Therefore, don’t think small animals and insects are nothing. They are really something. Earthworms don’t look very important, but they’re very important to the soil. Many farmers know the importance of earthworms. That’s why they try to get earthworms sometimes. If there were not enough earthworms in their fields, they would get earthworms and put them in their fields, so that they can farm their lands well. Earthworms not only loosen the soil to allow the oxygen to enter the soil, they also eat soil, digest it, then their excrement becomes good “seasonings” for the soil. Oh, not seasonings, sorry! Fertilizer.