Delusions Return to Ruins

Mencius said that good nature and sincerity are the best principles. Compassion, shame, resignation, right and wrong, are inherent in everyone. Benevolence, justice, propriety and wisdom are all given by heaven. Xunzi's talk about evil nature is not false. When a person is born, his mind is free of impurities and his nature is pure. As he grows older, he knows how to think. Consciousness leads to desire, good ends are not revealed, and evil thoughts gradually arise. Those who can guard their hearts, control their desires, and not follow the world are called good; those who indulge their passions, indulge their desires, and are willing to perish are called evil. Evil people often blame the turmoil of the world, but they do not know that the turmoil of the world begins with the evil of the human heart.