The house you live in and the food you eat
will affect you(居移氣養移體)
There is an important scholar in
Confucianism whose name is (Meng Ke).
There is a story in his book.
He took his group of students to the Qi
Kingdom.
Not long after they entered the capital,
they saw a group of people gathered in front of them.
He saw that among this group of people,
there was a person with a particularly outstanding temperament.
He pointed to that person and asked all the
students.
Who is that person? I think his movements
are particularly elegant.
One of his students was a people from the
Qi Kingdom, and this student answered.
I know him, he is the prince of our
kingdom.
He sighed when he heard this sentence. He
said to all the students.
The environment will affect a person's
temperament, and food will change a person's physique.
Look at it.
The prince of the Qi Kingdom wears the same
clothes as everyone else
The carriage beside him is also very
ordinary.
He is an ordinary human just like us.
But why is his temperament different from
other people.
I think it is because of the place where he
lives and the food he eats that makes him unique.
Said his student.
Understanding this does not help us.
It is impossible for us to live in the
palace of Qi Kingdom and eat noble food like him.
He smiled and told a story to all the
students.
The King of Lu Kingdom and the King of Song
Kingdom have been good friends for many years. Once he went to Song Kingdom
alone to visit the king of Song Kingdom.
After he arrived in the Song Kingdom, he
found that the city gate was closed.
He yelled.
Goalkeeper. Please open the door for me,
thank you.
After the goalkeeper opened the door, he
found that the king of Lu Kingdom was standing at the gate of the city.
The goalkeeper said puzzledly.
This is so strange. I clearly heard our
king yelling just now.
But why is the king of Lu Kingdom standing
outside the city gate now?
He said after he finished the story.
The two kings did not live in the same
place and did not eat the same food, but why did they have the same temperament?
We don’t have to live in the same place to
have the same mindset. We can find similar places to live by analogy, and we
can also achieve the same goals.
Instead of focusing on our own living
environment, we should value where our hearts live.
If we let our hearts live in a house
constructed with benevolence, what we absorb every day is kindness and
courtesy.
We can have the most elegant temperament,
even more than the prince of the Qi Kingdom.
The meaning of this idiom is to remind us
that people are shaped by where they live and the food they eat.
Dear friend, what inspiration or thoughts
did you have after hearing this story.
Is your living environment good? Have you
ever wondered what kind of living environment your heart lives in?
I hope this story will give you some new
gains.
居移氣養移體(The house you live in and the food
you eat will affect you)
儒家有一個重要的學者，他的名字叫做（孟軻）。
他的書中記載了一個故事。
他帶著他的一群學生到了齊王國。
他們走入首都後不久後看見前面聚集著一群人。
他看見這一群人之中，有一個人的氣質特別出眾。
他就指著那個人問所有的學生。
那一個人是誰呢，我覺得他的動作特別優雅。
他有一個學生是齊王國的人民，這個學生就回答。
我認識他，他是我們王國的王子。
他聽到這句話就嘆了一口氣。他對所有的學生說。
環境會影響一個人的氣質，食物會改變一個人的體質。
你們看。
齊王國的王子他穿的衣服與其他人都是一樣的
他身旁的那一輛馬車也很普通。
他跟我們一樣都是一個平凡的人類。
但為什麼他的氣質與其他人都不相同呢。
我認為是因為他住的地方與他吃的食物造成他的與眾不同。
他的學生說。
明白這一點對我們並沒有幫助。
我們不可能與他一樣，住在齊王國的皇宮中吃著高貴的食物啊。
笑著著對所有的學生說了一個故事。
魯王國的國王與宋王國的國王是多年的好朋友。有一次他獨自前往宋王國去拜訪宋王國的國王。
他到了宋王國之後發現城門是關上的。
他便大喊。
守門員啊。請為我開門，謝謝你。
這位守門員開門之後，發現站在城門口的是魯王國的國王。
這位守門員很不解地的說。
這太奇怪了。我剛才分明是聽見我們的國王在叫喊。
但為何現在站在城門外的竟然是魯王國的國王。
他說完這故事後說。
這兩個國王沒有住在同一個地方也沒有吃同樣的食物，但是為何他們會有一樣的氣質呢。
我們不一定要居住在一樣的地方才可以擁有一樣的心量，我們可以類比找出相似的地方去居住，我們一樣可以達到相同的目標。
我們與其重視自己的生活環境不如重視我們的心居住在甚麼地方。
如果我們讓自已的心居住在一間用仁所建構的房屋內，我們每天所吸收的都是善良與禮貌。
我們就能夠擁有最高雅的氣質，甚至超過這位齊王國的王子。
這句成語的意思是提醒我們，人們會被他所居住的地方與吃的食物所塑造。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的啟發或有怎樣的想法呢。
你的生活環境好嗎?你有想過你的心住在怎樣的生活環境呢?
我期待這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為孟子-盡心上-36條