In recent years, people no longer behave as they did in the previous era. Students usually prefer weird new things, and they have no comprehension for true arts and great ways. Every day, people keep forgetting this wisdom [from the Zhong Yong]: “The Way is not far from people. It is their expectation of the Way that distances them from it.” They are no longer willing to use such wisdom to seek what is truly great, and it has unfortunately become customary in recent years to incline toward what is inferior. Instead of striving for real life, they pursue empty fads. They pursue personal gain rather than self-knowledge. In imitation of corrupt literature, they seek power in order to get ahead, pages full of nonsense tricking them with illusions.
They ignore that what they seek is a mirage and chase their fantasies. They ignore the sheer scale of the real world and treat it as irrelevant. To push students to be studious is therefore like sending them into miles of fog. They can barely tell at all what is real and what is fake. Ordinary ignorant people seem to use the Way of the sages, but they cannot be bothered to go into it [to “drill into it or look up at it”, paraphrasing Lun Yu, 9.11: “The more I look up at his teaching, the higher it goes. The more I drill into his teaching, the harder it gets.”] Alas. Good men set out on the path, but where does the great Way flourish? They contemplate it in the middle of the night, but how do they keep themselves from sighing in despair?
I am not endowed with great intelligence, but I do have a heartfelt delight for martial arts. I was given personal guidance in the genuine art, and every day I carry on my teacher’s words. I have made a record of his precious ideas and compiled them into a book. Setting the example of benefiting both self and others, I not dare to keep it to myself. Hoping to share the benefits with fellow enthusiasts, the least I can do is publish this document.