Anyone Can Become a Sage

That thing you say you can't do: can't, or haven't?

Original

曹交問曰：「人皆可以為堯舜，有諸？」孟子曰：「然。」……「夫人豈以不勝為患哉？弗為耳。徐行後長者謂之弟，疾行先長者謂之不弟。夫徐行者，豈人所不能哉？所不為也。堯舜之道，孝弟而已矣。……夫道，若大路然，豈難知哉？人病不求耳。」

In plain words

Cao Jiao asked, “Is it true that anyone can become a Yao or a Shun?” Mencius said, “It is.” … “Is lack of strength really the worry? It's only that people don't do it. Walking slowly and letting your elders go first is called being a good younger brother; hurrying to get ahead of them is not. Is walking slowly something people can't do? They just don't. The way of Yao and Shun is nothing more than caring for parents and respecting elders. … The Way is like a broad road. Is it hard to find? People's only trouble is that they don't look for it.”

Key words

弟（悌）tìRespect for older siblings and elders.
不為bù wéiAble, but not doing it: not the same as “unable.”
大路dà lùA broad road: the Way is not hard to find.

Reading it step by step

Shun in the mountains was hardly different from anyone else. So can ordinary people get to where Shun got? Today a man named Cao Jiao puts that question to Mencius face to face.

First: Mencius answers in one word: “Yes.” No hesitation, no conditions. Cao Jiao goes on: King Wen was ten feet tall, King Tang nine; I'm nine foot four, yet all I can do is eat. What should I do? He assumes sagehood depends on outside things: height, talent, position. Mencius sets the bar as low as it goes. The way of Yao and Shun is only caring for parents and respecting elders. Not taming floods or ruling the world: just walking a little slower and letting your elders go first.

Why start there? Elsewhere Mencius lays out a chain: to be trusted by those above you, first be trusted by your friends; to be trusted by friends, first win your parents' approval; to win that, first be sincere yourself. If you can't be true to the people who raised you, claiming to love the whole world is a lie. Goodness is everyone's starting point, not a peak only a few can reach. When it comes to character, emperors and ordinary people stand on the same ground.

Second: “can't” and “don't” are two different things. If you can't lift a chick, you lack strength; if you can lift a thousand pounds, you have it. But who can't walk slowly? “They just don't.” We often relabel “don't” as “can't”: “That's just my temper, I can't change it.” “I really don't have time for my family.” Saying it that way feels lighter, and it also closes the road.

can't

can't lift a chick

truly no strength: rare

don't

walk slowly behind your elders

able, but not doing it: usually this

The way of Yao and Shun is only care for parents and elders.

Third: the Way is like a broad road. “Is it hard to find? People's only trouble is that they don't look for it.” The road is right in front of you, and wide. The only problem is not walking it. Mencius even tells Cao Jiao: go home and look; there are teachers everywhere. Think of a bus driver who comes to a smooth stop at every stop and waits for each elderly passenger to sit down before pulling away. In the work of driving, he is a sage. Doing the thing in front of you as well as it can be done is walking the road of Yao and Shun.

So don't worry today about a big word like “sage.” Look for one small thing in your day that is like walking slowly: waiting one more minute for someone at home, letting a colleague finish their sentence, answering the email you've been putting off. None of it is hard. It just hasn't been done.

Becoming good doesn't need more strength. It needs doing.

One line to carry

Becoming good needs no more strength, only doing.

Today's question

Name one thing you often say you can't do. Honestly: can't, or don't? What is today's “walking slowly”?

Quick check

According to Mencius, what usually keeps people from becoming like Yao and Shun?

Next pageGood, Then TruePage 27

IV · Six Stages of Character — Good, true, beautiful, great, sage, divine

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