5. 闻逆耳言 怀拂心事
5. It is helpful to hear words unpleasant to the ear and meditate on things unpleasant to the mind.

耳中常闻逆耳之言，心中常有拂心之事 ^① ，才是进德修行的砥石 ^② 。若言言悦耳，事事快心，便把此生埋在鸩毒 ^③ 中矣。

【中文注释】

① 拂心之事：不顺心或不如意的事情。

② 砥石：磨刀石。此处指磨炼品德的逆耳之言和拂心之事。

③ 鸩毒：鸩，传说中的一种毒鸟。用鸩的羽毛制成的酒叫鸩毒，即饮即亡。

【今文解译】

耳朵常常听些不中听的话，心里常常有些不顺心的事，这样才有利于我们德行的磨砺和提高。如果听到的每句话都悦耳，遇到的每件事都顺心，这无异于将自己的一生都浸泡在毒酒中了。

【English Translation】

Constantly hearing words unpleasant to the ear and constantly meditating on things unpleasant to the mind are worth a whetstone, upon which we cultivate our moral characters and refine our temperaments. If we contemplate every word we hear being pleasant to the ear and everything we come into contact with pleasant to the mind, it would be no more than soaking ourselves in poisoned wine. d3L3Od02HuvpjfZOjkOYqBopubJvujyP869aNrGASwy5eZ1VeMbgTkLqxIPdJK/G