| Wen Sang: |
Some one may say, (What is meant by (using) the staff?' and the answer is - When a filial son mourns for a parent, he wails and weeps without regard to the number of times; his endurances are hard for three years; his body becomes ill and his limbs emaciated; and so he uses a staff to support his infirmity. Thus, while his father is alive he does not dare to use a staff, because his honoured father is still living. Walking in the hall, he does not use the staff - refraining from doing so in the place where his honoured father is. Nor does he walk hastily in the hall - to show that he is not hurried. Such is the mind of the filial son, the real expression of human feeling, the proper method of propriety and righteousness. It does not come down from heaven, it does not come forth from the earth; it is simply the expression of the human feelings. |
