Confucius said, "A gentleman is righteous, but a villain is profitable." Confucius, a sage, has already brought this concept of justice and benefit into the wind of gentlemen, so that his disciples can inherit and carry it forward.
"Life, what do I want; Righteousness is also what I want. You can't have both, and those who give up their lives for righteousness. " In the face of righteousness, Mencius resolutely ignored life and death, let alone the interests of life.
"Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals" contains: one of the four famous sons is a good player who pursues profits. On one occasion, he sent his doorman Feng Xuan to collect debts for him. Before he left, Feng Xuan asked him if he needed to bring something back. Meng Changjun said casually, you can bring anything I need. When Feng Xuan arrived, he burned the contract and used the excuse that Meng Changjun's life was a debt to the people. The next day, he returned to Qi and was looking for a job. Meng Changjun was very surprised. Feng Xuan said, "I bought righteousness for you. You only have one fief, but it benefits the people. I will pay off all my debts. This is the meaning I bought for you. " The next year, Meng Changjun was exiled to a fief because he was not appreciated. When he was hundreds of miles away from the ground, he saw the people who came to meet him, and he couldn't help but sigh: the righteousness that Mr. Wang bought for me is really more important than profit! This shows the deep value of faith.
However, Zhu said in Mencius' Annotation that a gentleman doesn't talk about profit, not that he doesn't want profit at all, but that he doesn't want profit at all. Mencius was so determined because people at that time were mercenary and didn't know there was the word "benevolence and righteousness", so "it is also the heart of a saint to pull out the source and keep the disadvantages."
Dong Zhongshu, who "ousted a hundred schools of thought and respected Confucianism alone", once said, "Those born in heaven also make life righteous and beneficial, beneficial to health, righteous to heart, unhealthy, happy and healthy."
It can be seen that righteousness and benefit do not have to stand on opposite sides. It is not indifferent to fame and fortune, but the truth that poverty is happiness will certainly be reflected, and wealth is not necessarily shameful.
The so-called "a gentleman loves money and takes it from the Tao." The pursuit of profit within the scope of justice is completely worth promoting, and it is also completely in line with historical development. Although Boyi and Shu Qi starved to death without eating Zhou Su, which is admirable, we can fully embody justice in our hearts in other ways in this world.
Righteousness and benefit are twins. In the face of trade-offs, I hope you can sacrifice profits for righteousness, but I hope you can have both benefits and righteousness.