| Good-natured people are well liked by others. By good-natured, I mean a straightforward nature free of any bias, as well as an honest and obedient nature. While having this type of nature may superficially seem easy, nothing may be more difficult. It is hard for us to see our own biases. With even the slightest bias you can never be obedient. Being overly self-conscious paves the way to telling lies. But when you consider your own convenience to be as naught, then I'm sure you can be honest. You can also be obedient. When I say "considering yourself to be as naught," I mean that you try to temporarily detach adherence to anything from yourself. If we seek our own convenience above all else, it is very hard for us to consider the convenience of others. People who value highly their own feelings tend to pay little attention to the feelings of others. However, if we try to value highly the feelings of other people, we will, quite naturally, feel like acting in harmony with them, even at the cost of inconveniencing ourselves. I believe, therefore, that if we value highly the feelings of others or have respect over others, we will automatically develop good-naturedness. I also think that we can also develop this quality by humbly seeking to learn from others. Likewise, by trying to develop gentleness and generosity of mind so that we can try and understand others, we will be able to become good-natured, I believe. I think that behind good-naturedness there is a lot of beauty and wonder and that this nature charms people greatly. |