In life, we will encounter many choices. Sometimes our choices are for our own sake and sometimes for the sake of others. When thinking about yourself, others may say that you are selfish. When thinking about others, some people may say that you are stupid. Therefore, sometimes we can't tell whether what we are doing is right or wrong.
Confucius said in "The Analects": "A gentleman understands righteousness, while a villain understands profit." The meaning of this passage is: a gentleman understands great righteousness, and a villain only knows little profit.
Confucian righteousness is a moral code of the highest realm. It has no specific definition and no specific standard. Just use a meaning character instead. Confucianism advocates valuing righteousness and neglecting profit. First of all, it is a kind of enlightenment that persuades people to be good, urges people to make progress, and encourages people to be public. Secondly, due to the intangibility of meaning and the lack of precise definition, it also caused a lot of confusion. Some people think that their behavior is "righteousness", while some people think it is "unrighteousness", and the boundary between it and profit is blurred. The big right and wrong are clear, but some are unable to distinguish right from righteousness. Therefore, the emphasis on righteousness and over profit at this time is also ambiguous.
Confucius believes that profit must obey righteousness and value righteousness over profit. Confucius' righteousness refers to obeying the morality of hierarchical order and blindly pursuing personal interests will commit chaos and disrupt hierarchical order. Therefore, treat those who pursue personal interests as villains. After the development of later generations of Confucianism, this kind of thinking has become a sharply opposed view of righteousness and benefit, either or the other.
When encountering a problem or facing a choice, a gentleman will first measure it by moral standards, and finally make a choice; and the villain first thinks about how to make a profit when encountering a problem. This is the gentleman and the villain thinking about problems or making choices The biggest difference at the time. In Confucius' thinking, "righteousness" and "profit" are not in conflict. But when facing interest, first consider that the "profit" symbol in front of you is not in line with "righteousness". If it is in line with "righteousness", even if you have obtained it; if it is against "righteousness", you should not hesitate Refuse. This is "seeing the righteousness".
Gentlemen do not act for personal benefit, but for the benefit of the country, society, family, and others. Therefore, "righteousness" is also to safeguard interests, but this interest is not for one's own personal interests, but for the sake of the public. A gentleman is an enlightened villain. To seek advantages and avoid disadvantages is the nature of human beings, the same is true of gentlemen. The awakening of a gentleman lies in his understanding that man is a social animal. The reason why people are strong lies in the families, tribes, ethnic groups, and home countries organized by people. Knowledge can be accumulated and passed on and productivity can be developed. Therefore, it is human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. Sociality is also human nature, and human social organization needs morality to effectively reduce the organization cost of society. Therefore, humans cannot be naked and reckless like wild beasts. People must restrain their desires to organize into society. Gain greater benefits. In fact, the biggest benefit is to make us live a comfortable life and a clear conscience, not wealth. Wealth is not something that people can inevitably get when they want it, nor can they always have it after they get it. Therefore, it is not necessary to promote the pursuit of "profit" deliberately, but it should advocate doing what should and can be done at this moment.
As long as we can do our work in a conscientious manner in accordance with the spirit of self-improvement, then profit will be among them. The greatest benefit is to make us live a happy life and a clear conscience, not wealth. Wealth is not something people can inevitably get when they want it, nor can they always have it after they get it. The meaning of life is not to live for personal gain. If you blindly pursue benefits, you may lose more than you get. As for "righteousness", you may lose much materially, but you will gain more emotionally. Just imagine, everything starts with selfishness and self-interest, and sees profit and forgets righteousness. Can human civilization be passed on? Can our lives be stable?
