Do you remember what content we fellowshiped on at our last gathering? (God first fellowshiped on the differences between what people see as good behaviors compared to living out normal humanity as God demands, and then fellowshiped on man’s moral conduct in traditional culture and summarized twenty-one claims about man’s moral conduct.) In our last gathering, I fellowshiped on two topics. First, I provided some additional fellowship on the subject of good behavior, and then I gave a bit of simple, introductory fellowship on man’s character, conduct, and virtue, without going into great detail. We have already fellowshiped several times on the topic of what it means to pursue the truth, and I have finished fellowshiping on all of the good behaviors that relate to the pursuit of the truth which needed to be exposed and analyzed. Last time, I also fellowshiped a bit on some fundamental topics regarding man’s moral conduct. Despite not providing detailed revelation or dissection of these statements about moral conduct, we did list quite a few examples of different claims about man’s moral conduct—twenty-one, to be exact. These twenty-one examples are essentially the various statements that traditional Chinese culture instills in people, which are dominated by the ideas of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness. For instance, we mentioned various sayings about man’s moral conduct that relate to loyalty, righteousness, propriety, and trust, as well as to how men, women, officials, and children ought to act, and so on. Irrespective of whether these twenty-one sayings are comprehensive or all-encompassing, in any case, they are able to basically represent the essence of the various demands that traditional Chinese culture puts forward in relation to man’s moral conduct, from both an ideological and substantive perspective. After we listed these examples, did you ponder over and fellowship on them? (We fellowshiped a bit on them during our gatherings and found that it is easy to confuse some of these statements with the truth. For instance, “Execution does nothing but make heads roll; be lenient wherever possible,” “I’d take a bullet for a friend,” as well as “Do your best to faithfully handle whatever other people have entrusted to you,” among others.) Other sayings include: “The kindness of a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring,” “A gentleman’s word is his bond,” “If you strike others, don’t strike them in the face; if you call others out, don’t call out their shortcomings,” “Be strict with yourself and tolerant of others,” “When drinking the water of a well, one should never forget who dug it,” and so on. Upon close inspection, you will see that most people essentially base their comportment and their evaluations of the moral conduct of themselves and others upon these statements about moral conduct. These things exist in the heart of every person to some degree. One primary reason for this is the societal environment in which people live and the education they receive from their governments, another is due to the upbringing they receive from their families and the traditions that are passed down from their ancestors. Some families teach their children to never pocket the money they pick up, other families teach their children that they must be patriotic and that “Every person shares responsibility for the fate of their country,” because every family is reliant on their country. Some families teach their children “One should never be corrupted by wealth, changed by poverty, or bent by force,” and that they should never forget their roots. Some parents use clear statements to teach their children about moral conduct, while others cannot express their ideas about moral conduct clearly, but serve as a model for their children and teach by way of example, influencing and educating the next generation through their words and actions. These words and actions may include, “The kindness of a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring,” “Derive pleasure from helping others,” “A kindness received should be gratefully repaid” as well as more high-sounding statements like, “Grow like a lily from the mud unsullied,” and so on. The themes and essence of what parents teach their children generally all fall within the scope of the moral conduct demanded by traditional Chinese culture. The first thing that teachers tell students when they arrive at school is that they should be kind to others and derive pleasure from helping others, that they should not pocket the money they pick up, and that they should honor their teachers and revere their teachings. When the students learn about ancient Chinese prose or the biographies of heroes from antiquity, they are taught that, “I’d take a bullet for a friend,” “A loyal subject cannot serve two kings, a good woman cannot marry two husbands,” “Bend to a task and strive to do your utmost until your dying day,” “Every person shares responsibility for the fate of their country,” “Nobody should take lost items that they find on the street,” and so on. These things all derive from traditional culture. Nations also advocate for and propagate these ideas. In actuality, national education promotes more or less the same things as familial education does—they all revolve around these ideas from traditional culture. Ideas deriving from traditional culture basically permeate all requirements relating to human character, virtue, comportment, and so on. In one respect, they demand that people outwardly display etiquette and manners, that people act and bear themselves in a way that others approve of, and that people exhibit good behaviors and actions for others to see, while hiding the dark aspects of the depths of their hearts. In another respect, they elevate attitudes, behaviors, and actions that relate to how one comports themselves, approaches people, and handles matters; to how one treats their friends and family; and to how one approaches various types of people and things, to the level of moral conduct, thus attaining praise and respect from others. The demands which traditional culture puts upon people basically revolve around these things. Whether it is the ideas that people advocate for on a greater societal scale, or, on a smaller scale, the thoughts about moral conduct that people promote and uphold within families, and the requirements that are presented to people with regard to their comportment—these all essentially fall within this scope. So, among people, whether it be traditional Chinese culture, or the traditional cultures of other countries including western cultures, these ideas about moral conduct all consist of things that people can achieve and think up; they are things that people can carry out on the basis of their conscience and reason. At the very least, there are some people who can fulfill some of the moral conduct that is required of them. These demands are merely restricted to the scope of people’s moral character, temperament, and preferences. If you do not believe Me, I encourage you to have a close look and see which of these demands relating to people’s moral conduct address their corrupt dispositions. Which of them address the fact that people are sick of the truth, dislike the truth, and resist God in their very essence? Which of these demands have anything to do with the truth? Which of these demands can rise to the level of the truth? (None of them.) No matter how one looks at these demands, none of them can rise to the level of the truth. None of them have anything to do with the truth, none of them have even the slightest relation to it. Up until now, those who have believed in God for a long time, who have some experience, and who understand a bit of the truth will have just a modicum of true understanding of this matter; but most people still only comprehend doctrines, and agree with this idea in theory, while failing to reach the level of truly understanding the truth. Why is this? This is because most people only come to understand that these aspects of traditional culture do not accord with the truth and are not related to the truth by comparing these regulations from traditional culture to God’s words and demands. They might completely acknowledge that these things have nothing to do with the truth verbally, but in the depths of their hearts, what they aspire to, approve of, prefer, and easily accept are essentially these ideas that have come out of humanity’s traditional culture, some of which are things that their country advocates for and promotes. People regard them as positive things or treat them like the truth. Is that not the case? (Yes.) As you can see, these aspects of traditional culture have taken deep root in man’s heart, and they cannot be eradicated and uprooted within a short period of time.

While the twenty-one demands about man’s moral conduct that we listed are just one part of traditional Chinese culture, to a certain degree, they can serve as a representative for all of the requirements that traditional Chinese culture has put forward regarding man’s moral conduct. Every one of these twenty-one claims is regarded by man as a positive thing, as noble and correct, and people believe that these claims enable them to live with dignity, and that they are a kind of moral conduct that is worthy of admiration and esteem. We will put aside for now relatively superficial sayings like not pocketing the money that you pick up or deriving pleasure from helping others, and instead speak of the moral conduct that man especially holds in high esteem and believes to be noble. For instance, take the saying: “One should never be corrupted by wealth, changed by poverty, or bent by force”—the simplest way to sum up the meaning of this statement is that one should not forget their roots. If a person possesses this moral conduct, then everyone will think that they are of such noble personality, and that they have really “grown like a lily from the mud unsullied.” People hold this in very high esteem. The fact that people hold this in high esteem means that they really approve of and agree with this kind of statement. And of course, they also greatly admire those who can carry out this moral conduct. There are many people who believe in God, but still really approve of these things that are promoted by traditional culture, and they are willing to put those good behaviors into practice. These people do not understand the truth: They think that believing in God means being a good person, helping other people, deriving pleasure from helping others, never deceiving or harming other people, not pursuing worldly things, and not being greedy for wealth or pleasure. In their hearts, they all agree that the statement “One should never be corrupted by wealth, changed by poverty, or bent by force” is right. Some will say: “If, before coming to believe in God, someone already abides by moral conduct like ‘One should never be corrupted by wealth, changed by poverty, or bent by force,’ if they’re a great, kind person who doesn’t forget their roots, then after they join the faith, they’ll quickly be able to attain God’s joy. It’s easy for people like that to enter God’s kingdom—they can gain His blessings.” When many people evaluate and view others, they do not look at their essence based on the words of God and the truth; instead they evaluate and view them according to traditional culture’s demands about people’s moral conduct. From this perspective, is it not likely that people who do not understand the truth will mistake things that man believes to be good and right for the truth? Are they not likely to regard people who man believes to be good as those who God believes to be good? People always want to impose their own ideas onto God—in so doing, are they not committing an error of principle? Does this not offend God’s disposition? (It does.) This is a very serious problem. If people truly possess reason, they should seek the truth in matters they cannot grasp, they should come to understand God’s will, and they should not carelessly spout a load of nonsense. In God’s standards and principles for evaluating man, is there a line that states: “Those who do not forget their roots are good people and they possess the characteristics of a good person”? Has God ever said anything like that? (No.) In the specific demands that God has put forward for man, has He ever said, “If you are poor, you must not steal. If you are rich, you must not be sexually promiscuous. When you are faced with intimidation or threats you must never submit”? Do God’s words contain such demands? (No.) Indeed, they do not. It is quite obvious that the statement “One should never be corrupted by wealth, changed by poverty, or bent by force” is spoken by man—it does not conform with God’s demands of man, it is incompatible with the truth, and it is fundamentally not the same thing as the truth. God has never demanded that created beings do not forget their roots. What does it mean to not forget your roots? I will give you an example: If your ancestors were farmers, you must always cherish their memory. If your ancestors engaged in a craft, you have to maintain the practice of that craft and pass it down from generation to generation. Even after you begin believing in God, you cannot forget these things—you cannot forget the teachings or the crafts or anything that was passed down from your ancestors. If your ancestors were beggars, then you must keep the sticks they used to beat dogs. If the ancestors once had to survive off chaff and wild plants, then their descendants must also try eating chaff and wild plants—that is recalling the sorrows of the past to savor the joys of the present, that is not forgetting one’s roots. Whatever your ancestors did, you must uphold it. You cannot forget your ancestors just because you are well-educated and have status. Chinese people are most particular about these things. In their hearts, it seems that only those that do not forget their roots have conscience and reason, and that only such people can behave in an upright way, and live with dignity. Is this view correct? Is there anything like this in God’s words? (No.) God has never said anything like this. From this example, we can see that though a realm of virtue may be held in high esteem and aspired to by man, and though it may look like a positive thing, something that can regulate man’s moral conduct, and prevent people from walking the path of evil and becoming depraved, and though it is circulated among people and accepted by all of them as a positive thing, if you compare it to God’s words and the truth, you will see that these claims and thoughts from traditional culture are utterly absurd. You will see that they are simply not worth mentioning, that they do not have even the slightest relation to the truth, and that they are even further from being God’s demands and God’s will. In advocating for these ideas and views, and putting forward various statements regarding man’s moral conduct, people are doing nothing more than using certain things that transcend the realm of man’s thinking to make a show of being original and novel, to flaunt their own greatness and correctness, and to make people worship them. Be it in the East or the West, people basically all think the same. The ideas and starting points of the demands that people advocate for and put forward regarding man’s moral conduct, and the goals that they wish to achieve through them, are essentially all the same. Although people from the West do not have the specific ideas and views like “Requite evil with good” and “The kindness of a drop of water should be repaid with a gushing spring” that people from the East emphasize, and though they do not possess explicit sayings like those from traditional Chinese culture, their own traditional culture is filled with nothing but these ideas. Though the things that we have been fellowshiping on and speaking of belong to traditional Chinese culture, to a certain degree, and in essence, these claims and demands about moral conduct represent the dominant ideas of all corrupt mankind.

Today, we have primarily fellowshiped about what kind of negative influence traditional culture exerts upon people through its claims and demands relating to man’s moral conduct. After understanding this, the next most important thing for people to understand is actually what requirements God, the Lord of creation, has toward mankind’s moral behavior, what He has specifically said, and what demands He has put forward. This is what mankind must come to understand. We have now clearly seen that traditional culture does not bear even the slightest testimony to what God’s demands of man are or to the words that He has spoken, and that people have not sought the truth regarding this subject. And so, traditional culture was what people learned first and it has dominated them, it has entered into people’s hearts, and it has guided the way humanity has lived for thousands of years. This is the main way in which Satan has corrupted mankind. Having clearly recognized this fact, the most important thing for people to now understand is what demands the Lord of creation has for created humans regarding their humanity and morality—or, in other words, what standards there are with respect to this aspect of the truth. At the same time, people must come to understand which of the following is the truth: the demands put forward by traditional culture or what God demands of mankind. They must understand which of them can purify and save people, and guide them onto the right path in life; and which of them is a fallacy, that can mislead and harm people, and sets them down the wrong path, into a life of sin. Once people have this discernment, they can recognize that the Lord of creation’s demands of mankind are perfectly natural and justified, and that they are the truth principles that people should practice. As for the claims about moral conduct and standards of measurement from traditional culture that influence people’s pursuit of the truth, and their views on people and things, and their comportment and actions—if people can discern them a little, and see through to and recognize that they are absurd in essence, and renounce them from their hearts, then some of the confusions or issues that people have concerning moral conduct can be resolved. Would resolving these things not reduce a fair number of the obstructions and difficulties that people face on the path of pursuing the truth? (It would.) When people do not understand the truth, they are liable to mistake generally acknowledged ideas about moral conduct for the truth, and to pursue and abide by them as though they were the truth. This greatly impacts people’s ability to understand and practice the truth, as well as the results they attain while pursuing the truth to achieve dispositional transformation. This is something that none of you would like to see; of course, it is something that God does not want to see, either. So, with regard to these supposedly positive statements, ideas, and viewpoints about moral conduct that man upholds, people must first know and discern them clearly on the basis of God’s words and the truth, and see through to their very essence, and thus form an accurate evaluation and position for these things in the depths of their hearts, after which they can dig them out, little by little, and weed them out and abandon them. In the future, every time people see those supposedly positive statements conflicting with the truth, they should choose the truth first, and not the statements that are regarded as positive within man’s notions, because these supposedly positive statements are just the views of man, and they do not actually accord with the truth. No matter what angle we are speaking from, our main goal in fellowshiping on these topics today is to remove various obstacles that arise in the process of people pursuing the truth, especially uncertainties that come about in people’s minds with regard to God’s words and the criteria of the truth. These uncertainties mean that when you are accepting and practicing the truth, you cannot tell which things are the sayings about moral conduct that humanity advocates for, and which are God’s requirements of mankind, and which of them are the true principles and criteria. People are not clear on these things. Why is that? (Because they don’t understand the truth.) In one respect, it is because they do not understand the truth. In another, it is because they lack discernment of the claims about moral conduct made by humanity’s traditional culture and they still cannot see through to the essence of these claims. In the end, in a muddled state of mind, you will determine that those things which you learned first, and that are entrenched in your mind, are correct; you will determine that those things which everyone generally acknowledges to be right are correct. And then you will choose these things that you like, that you can achieve, and that accord with your taste and notions; and you will approach, cling to, and adhere to these things as though they were the truth. And as a result of this, people’s behavior and conduct, as well as what they pursue, choose, and cling to, will all be completely unrelated to the truth—they will all belong to human behaviors and human displays of morality that fall outside of the scope of the truth. People approach and cling to these aspects of traditional culture as though they were the truth, while pushing to the side and ignoring truths about God’s demands concerning man’s behavior. Regardless of how many of the behaviors that man perceives to be good a person possesses, they will never attain God’s approval. This is a case of people wasting a great deal of effort on things outside of the scope of the truth. Moreover, by treating these things that derive from man and that do not accord with the truth as the truth, people have already gone astray. People learned these aspects of traditional culture first, and are thus dominated by them; these things give rise to all kinds of fallacious views within them, and they cause great difficulties and disturbances for people when they attempt to understand and practice the truth. People all believe that if they possess virtuous behaviors, God will approve of them, and that they will be qualified to receive His blessings and His promise, but can they accept God’s judgment and chastisement when they harbor this view and mindset? How great of an obstacle does such a mentality pose to people’s purification and salvation? Will these imaginings and notions not lead people to misunderstand, rebel against, and resist God? Will these not be the consequences? (They will.) I have more or less expressed the significance of fellowshiping on this topic, this is the general idea.

Next, we will dissect and analyze the traditional Chinese culture’s various sayings about moral conduct one by one, and then reach a conclusion on them. That way, everyone will have a basic confirmation and answer regarding them, and everyone will, at the very least, have a relatively accurate understanding and view of these sayings. Let us begin with the first saying: “Don’t pocket the money you pick up.” What would be an accurate explanation of this proverb? (If you pick up something, you must not take it and claim it as your own. It refers to a kind of good morality and social custom.) Is this easy to achieve? (It is relatively easy.) For most people, it is easy to achieve—if you pick something up, then no matter what it is, you must not keep it for yourself, because it belongs to someone else. You do not deserve to have it, and you should return it to its rightful owner. If you cannot find its rightful owner, you should forfeit it to the authorities—in any case, you should not take it for yourself. This is all in the spirit of not coveting other people’s possessions and not taking advantage of others. It is a demand placed on man’s moral behavior. What is the purpose of placing this kind of demand on people’s moral behavior? When people possess this kind of moral conduct, it has a good and positive impact on the social climate. The point of imbuing people with such ideas is to stop them from taking advantage of others, thereby maintaining their own good moral conduct. If every person possesses this kind of good moral conduct, the social climate will improve, and it will reach the level where nobody takes lost items they find on the street, and no one needs to lock their doors at night. With this kind of social climate, public order will improve, and people can live more peacefully. There will be less theft and fewer robberies, less fighting and murders of vengeance; people living in this sort of society will have a sense of security, and greater overall well-being. “Don’t pocket the money you pick up” is a demand put forward regarding people’s moral conduct within societal and living environments. The goal of this demand is to protect the social climate and people’s living environment. Is this easy to achieve? Regardless of whether or not people can achieve it, those who put forward this idea and demand about man’s moral conduct were aiming to realize the ideal societal and living environment that people yearn for. “Don’t pocket the money you pick up” has nothing to do with the criteria for man’s comportment—it is merely a demand placed on people’s moral conduct whenever they pick up something. It has little relation to man’s essence. Mankind has been making this demand about man’s moral conduct for thousands of years already. Of course, when people abide by this demand, a country or society may experience a period where there is less crime, and it may even reach the point where people do not need to lock their doors at night, where nobody takes lost items they find on the street, and where the majority of people do not pocket the money they pick up. In these times, the social climate, public order, and living environment will all be relatively stable and harmonious, but this climate and societal environment can only be maintained temporarily, or for a period, or for a given time. That is to say, people can only achieve or hold to this kind of moral conduct within certain societal environments. As soon as their living environment changes, and the old social climate breaks down, it is likely that morals such as “not pocketing the money you pick up” will change, alongside transformations to the societal environment, social climate, and social trends. Look at how, after the great red dragon came to power, it beguiled people by promoting all kinds of sayings in order to ensure societal stability. In the 80s, there was even a popular song with the following lyrics: “On the side of the road, I picked up one cent off the ground, and handed it to a police officer. The officer took the cent, and gave me a nod. I happily said, ‘See you later, sir!’” Even the small matter of handing over one cent was apparently worth mentioning and singing about—it was such a “noble” social moral and behavior! Was it really, though? People are able to hand over one cent that they find to a police officer, but would they hand over a hundred yuan or a thousand yuan? It is hard to say. If a person spotted some gold, silver, or precious things or something even more valuable, they would not be able to control their greed, their inner monster would be unleashed, and they would be capable of hurting and harming people, of framing and entrapping others—they would be capable of actively robbing a person of their money, and of even killing someone. At that time, what would be left of man’s fine traditional culture and traditional morals? Where would the moral criterion of “Don’t pocket the money you pick up” be then? What does this show us? Regardless of whether people possess this spirit and moral conduct, this demand and saying is just something that people imagine, desire, and wish that they could realize and achieve. In specific social contexts, and within suitable environments, people who possess a certain amount of conscience and reason can practice not pocketing the money they pick up, but this is just a passing good behavior, it cannot become the criterion of their comportment, or their lives. As soon as the societal environment and context in which those people live changes, this tenet and this ideal moral conduct according to man’s notions will be so distant from people. It will not be able to satisfy their desires and ambitions, and, of course, it will be even less capable of limiting their evil deeds. It is merely a transient good behavior, and a relatively noble moral quality according to man’s ideals. When it clashes with reality and self-interest, when it conflicts with people’s ideals, this kind of moral cannot restrain people’s behavior, or guide their behavior and thoughts. Ultimately, people will decide to go against it, they will breach this traditional notion of morality, and choose their own interests. So, when it comes to the moral of “not pocketing the money you pick up,” people can hand over one cent they pick up to the police. But if they find a thousand yuan, ten thousand yuan, or a gold coin, will they still give it to a police officer? They will not be able to. When the benefit of taking that money surpasses the scope of what man’s morality can achieve, they will not be able to hand it over to the police. They will not be able to realize the moral of “Don’t pocket the money you pick up.” So, does “not pocketing the money you pick up” represent a person’s humanity essence? It cannot represent their humanity essence at all. It is quite apparent that this demand about man’s moral conduct cannot be used as a basis for evaluating whether someone possesses humanity, and that it cannot serve as a criterion for man’s comportment.

Would first looking at whether a person pockets the money they pick up be an accurate way of evaluating their morals and character? (No.) Why not? (People are incapable of truly abiding by that requirement. If they find a small amount of money or something of little value, they will be able to hand it over, but if it’s something valuable, they will be less likely to do so. If it’s a very precious item, they will be even less likely to hand it over—they might even hold onto it at all costs.) You mean that “Don’t pocket the money you pick up” cannot serve as a criterion for evaluating people’s humanity because people are incapable of achieving it. So, if people could abide by this requirement, would it count as a criterion for evaluating their humanity? (No, it wouldn’t.) Why would it not count as a criterion for evaluating people’s humanity, even if people could abide by it? (Someone’s ability or lack thereof to abide by “Don’t pocket the money you pick up” does not really reflect the quality of their humanity. It has nothing to do with how good or bad their humanity is, and it is not a criterion for evaluating people’s humanity.) This is one way of understanding the issue. There is little relation between a person not pocketing the money they pick up and the quality of their humanity. So, if you encounter someone who is really capable of not pocketing the money they pick up, how will you view them? Can you regard them as a person who possesses humanity, an honest person, and someone who submits to God? Can you classify not pocketing the money one picks up as a standard for possessing humanity? We should fellowship on this issue. Who will speak about it? (Someone’s ability to not pocket the money they pick up is irrelevant to defining that person’s humanity essence. Their essence is evaluated according to the truth.) What else? (Some people are able to not pocket the money they pick up, even when it’s a large sum of money, or they do many other such good deeds, but they have their own goals and intents. They want to be rewarded for their meritorious actions and to gain a good reputation, so their external good behaviors cannot determine the quality of their humanity.) Anything else? (Suppose someone is capable of not pocketing the money they pick up, but they approach the truth with a resistant attitude, with an attitude that is fed up with the truth. If we evaluate them based on God’s words, they do not possess humanity. So, it is inaccurate to use this standard to judge whether or not someone possesses humanity.) Some of you have already realized that using “Don’t pocket the money you pick up” to evaluate whether someone possesses humanity is wrong—you do not agree with it being used as a standard for evaluating whether someone has humanity. This viewpoint is correct. Regardless of whether someone is capable of not pocketing the money they pick up, this has little to do with the principles of their comportment and the path that they choose. Why do I say this? First of all, when a person does not pocket the money they pick up, this only represents a momentary behavior. It is difficult to say whether they did it because the thing they picked up was worthless, or because other people were watching them, and they wanted to gain their praise and esteem. Even if their action was unadulterated, it is just a kind of good behavior, and it has little relevance to their pursuit and comportment. At most, it can only be said that this person has a bit of good behavior and noble character. Though this behavior cannot be called a negative thing, it cannot be classified as a positive thing either, and a person certainly cannot be defined as positive just because they do not pocket the money they pick up. This is because it has no relation to the truth, and it has nothing to do with God’s demands of man. Some people say: “How could it not be a positive thing? How could such a noble behavior not be considered positive? If someone was immoral and lacked humanity, would they be capable of not pocketing the money they pick up?” That is not necessarily an accurate way to put it. The devil is capable of doing a couple of good things—so would you say that it is not the devil? Some demon kings do one or two good deeds in order to make a name for themselves and cement their place in history—so would you call them good people? You cannot determine whether someone possesses humanity or not, or whether their character is good or bad, merely on the basis of one good or bad thing that they did. For an evaluation to be accurate, you should base it on their overall conduct, and on whether or not they have the correct ideas and views. If someone is able to return a very valuable item that they found to its rightful owner, this only shows that they are not greedy, and that they do not covet other people’s possessions. They possess this aspect of good moral conduct, but does this have anything to do with their comportment and their attitude toward positive things? (No.) It is likely that some people will not agree with this, they will deem this assertion to be a little subjective and inaccurate. However, considering this from a different perspective, if someone loses something useful, will they not be very worried about it? So, for the person that finds the item, no matter what they find, it is not theirs, therefore they should not keep it. No matter if it is a material object or money, no matter if it is valuable or worthless, it does not belong to them—so is it not their duty to return the item to its rightful owner? Is this not what people ought to do? What is the value of promoting this? Is this not making a big deal about nothing? Is it not over the top to treat not pocketing the money one picks up as a kind of noble moral quality and to elevate it to a lofty, spiritual realm? Is this one good behavior even worth mentioning in the midst of good people? There are so many better and loftier behaviors than this one, so not pocketing the money one picks up is not worth mentioning. However, if you were to vigorously propagate and promote this good behavior among beggars and thieves, it would be appropriate, and it might be of some use. If a country vigorously promotes “Don’t pocket the money you pick up,” it shows that the people there are already very evil, that the country is overrun with robbers and thieves, and unable to guard against them. So, their only recourse is to promote and propagate this kind of behavior to resolve the issue. In fact, this behavior has always been people’s duty. For instance, if someone finds fifty yuan on the street and easily returns it to its rightful owner, is that not so insignificant that it is not even worth mentioning? Does it really need to be praised? Is it necessary to make such a big thing out of nothing, and to sing the praises of this person, and to even commend them for their noble and honorable moral conduct, just because they gave back money to the person who lost it? Is returning lost money to its rightful owner not just the normal and natural thing to do? Is this not something that a person who possesses normal reason ought to do? Even a little child who does not understand social morals would be capable of doing this, so is it really necessary to make such a big thing of it? Is this behavior really worthy of being elevated to the level of man’s morality? In My opinion, it cannot be elevated to this level, and it is not worthy of praise. It is just a transient good behavior and it has no relation to truly being a good person on a fundamental level. Not pocketing the money one picks up is a very trifling matter. It is something that any normal person, and anyone who cloaks themselves in human skin or speaks in human language should be able to do. This is something that people can do if they try hard, they do not need an educator or thinker to teach them to do it. A three-year-old child is capable of doing this, and yet, thinkers and educators have treated it as a crucial requirement of man’s moral conduct, and in doing so, they have made a bit of a big fuss out of nothing. Though “Don’t pocket the money you pick up” is a statement that evaluates man’s moral conduct, it fundamentally does not rise to the level of measuring whether someone possesses humanity or noble morality. Therefore, it is both inaccurate and unsuitable to use “Don’t pocket the money you pick up” to evaluate the quality of someone’s humanity.