Instructing one’s juniors is like bringing up maidens: The most important thing is to teach them to be circumspect in making friends outside the home.
Coming into contact with a bad person is like sowing a bad seed on good farmland – the whole crop will eventually be spoiled.
教弟子如养闺女，最要严出入谨交游。若一接近匪人，是清静田中下一不净的种子，使终生难植嘉禾矣！
Notes
Guard access, Screen companions: The principle of protective cultivation
This passage from Cai Gen Tan (Tending the roots of wisdom) emphasizes how environment and friendships critically shape youth development. Adolescence resembles “pure soil” — immature judgment and low resistance make young minds highly susceptible to imitation and assimilation.
- Guard comings and goings: Spatially shields them from corrupting settings (e.g., decadent venues, contentious spaces);
- Oversee associations: Socially filters influences — peers’ conduct and values directly shape their worldview (e.g., diligence rubs off; idleness breeds laziness; integrity clarifies; cunning teaches deceit).
Irreversible damage of bad influences
Virtuous character (like fine crops) requires long nurturing, while vices (like tainted seeds) spread like weeds, choking goodness. Once values distort or cognition warps, lifelong growth is hindered.
Educational Essence: “Preserve Purity” and “Nurture Foundations”
Cai Gen Tan (Tending the roots of wisdom) opposes laissez-faire education, stressing early guidance to protect innate goodness and cultivate moral roots.
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