American Students' Di Zi Gui (弟子规) appraisal 美国学生的弟子规读后感 #5

Appraisal #5: 弟子规 reflection
KMM, 11th grader

            弟子规 is an important text. It contains many valuable lessons that one should at least attempt to adhere to – even if that adherence is not completely to the letter. Many of the rules are similar, if not the same in all but name, to rules that are taught to children in America. Obviously, some of the rules are impractical, such as waiting 100 steps after you bow to an elder before you can continue on your way, but rules such as that is mostly an anomaly. Most – if not all – of the rules are well intentioned and should at least be understood.

            The morals of弟子规 are clearly in the right spot, and the lessons it teaches are important. And, on top of that, most of it is practical. Teaching children to respect their elders, be mindful to everyone, and value being a good person over having material wealth are lessons that must be learned and are practical. Even the little things, such as washing your hands – while seeming trivial and obvious – are practical. 弟子规, even though it is thousands of years old, does a fantastic job in having rules that are still, for the most part, practical. There are, of course, impractical rules, but there are only a few. And, except for those few rules, all have an important part in becoming an adult with high morals.

            While弟子规 has a very wide scope and an extreme amount of depth, it is quite different in form any so-called Western “counterparts.” This is because弟子规 is written in short lines of six characters each, with each line having a meaning that has to be unraveled from within the characters. In western literature – at least in that for children – the meaning is almost-always obvious, and there are easily understood sentences. The meanings of the two are quite similar, even, but it is the form that is different. Also, 弟子规 makes the reader figure out what the meaning is, making the experience far more rewarding when a line is actually figured out than it is to just have the meaning right in front of your face.

            There is no doubt that弟子规 is a well thought out text. Every single line is in the text for a reason, and every single line is important in becoming a good person. There are so many rules simply because there is a lot to being a good person. Most of the rules are similar to those in America, but these rules are just concentrated in one text instead of parsed out over many. That is, in reality, the key difference between弟子规 and other texts. And because弟子规 has stood the test of time far better than other texts, there is no doubt that it has outstanding quality, as well as the fact that it is successful in what it attempts to do.