Chapter Four : The Way of Humanity 3

The Founding Master continued,
“However, if one does not understand the fundamental principle of the Way and its virtue but, while seeking selfish and perverse things and engaging in unprincipled and immoral conduct, one extols the Way and its virtue only with one’s lips, then one is following the perverse Way and the evil Way. What has this got to do with the true Way and what virtues can materialize? Therefore, a person who wants to learn the Way and its virtue must first understand the fundamental principle of the Way; and also, having understood it, must cultivate its virtue sincerely and incessantly. Whoever does so will gradually come to master the Way and attain virtue. However, ordinary people do not understand the gist of the Way and its virtue and, if there is someone around who has some strange magical powers, they refer to him as a person of the Way, regardless of whether that person understands the fundamental principle of great and small, being and nonbeing. They also refer to a person with only a gentle heart as a person of virtue, regardless of whether that person makes clear choices between right and wrong, benefit and harm. Isn’t this ridiculous? Now, as a neophyte to our order, your wish first to understand the Way and its virtue indicates an appropriate order of learning. I hope that you will take to heart what I have said, always be thorough with regard to the main idea of the Way and its virtue, and not stray into arbitrary Ways.”

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