(Clearwisdom.net) I have read the story of Emperor Shun [1] and Su Wu [2], but I did not understand why ancient Chinese people were so willing to preserve their moral integrity, loyalty and virtue. After much thought, I saw the answer. The ancients had pure hearts, they did not have many selfish thoughts, and their behavior and speech followed the laws of heaven. In addition, they worshiped heaven and feared gods. They firmly believed in morality and justice. They had no fear of death. They treated others with honesty. So they were naturally able to sacrifice their lives for moral integrity when faced with a choice between morality and personal gain.

However, many people nowadays think of themselves as smarter than others. They speak insincerely, and they fight with each other for personal gain. Which is better? Teacher said:

"Delusion blinds the world's people,
Each attached to fame and gain,
But honest and kind were the ancients,
Calm and balanced, fortune and longevity were their lot."

("Casting off Attachments" from Hongyin)

In fact, honesty and sincerity can move heaven and earth and result in blessings.

Carefully examining ourselves, do we treat Teacher and Fa with sincerity during our cultivation? Do we have all sentient beings in our hearts when we send forth righteous thoughts and clarify the truth? When our hearts are sincere, the result can be twice as good with half the effort. Otherwise, we may spend twice the effort, with an unsatisfactory result. Our efforts may be fruitless. Therefore, we must act with sincerity regardless of what we do.

Beings in high levels can clearly see how much heart we put into our actions. At times when we do not do well, and our xinxing is not rising, we ought to ask ourselves: did we act honestly, sincerely and respectfully, or were we simply going through the motions? Only when we are sincere, can we have hearts that are compassionate. When we are compassionate the gods will help us. What is the difference between ancient people and today's people? What is difference between an ordinary human and an enlightened person? One difference is sincerity.

[1] Emperor Shun was one of the five ancient emperors immortalized in Chinese legends. According to a legend, his father, step-mother and half-brother tried to kill him many times. For instance, they asked Shun to repair the roof of a barn and then set the barn on fire while he was on the roof. Shun escaped by jumping off the roof holding two straw hats.

They asked Shun to dig a well. They then pushed dirt into the well while Shun was in it. Shun escaped by digging a tunnel. Afterward, Shun did not hold grudges against them. He still treated his father with respect and his half-brother with kindness. Shun's behavior moved the gods in heaven. When he worked in the field, elephants helped him to till the soil, and birds helped him to weed the grass. Emperor Yao heard that Shun was very loyal and capable. Yao gave his two daughters, E'huang and Niuying, to him to marry. After many years of observing and testing Shun, Yao decided to have Shun succeed him. When Shun became the emperor, he visited his father and still showed him much respect. He even gave Yao's half-brother a royal title.

[2] Su Wu was a diplomat for Emperor Wudi during the Han Dynasty. He was sent to Xiongnu to negotiate with its king, but he was captured when he arrived there. The kings of Xiongnu tried to coerce Su Wu to betray his motherland and pledge his allegiance to Xiongnu. However, Su Wu refused, so he was sent to Beihai, a remote area where nobody lived, to tend sheep. Su Wu was told that he could only return when lambs were born, but they only gave him male sheep. Su Wu stayed in Beihai for 19 years before Han and Xiongnu reached a peace agreement. Su Wu finally regained his freedom and returned to his homeland. He was a strong young man when he left, and he returned an old man with white hair.