Moral lesson :

Very often, we hear of great efforts spent in nurturing a special group of people with "gifted" talents to achieve their fullest potential so that they can make special contributions towards some specific goals.

In Chinese, these groups of people are called "Jing Ying". In the case where public funds are used in such a "nurturing" process, it is important to instill moral values into "Jing Ying". Otherwise, like most people, they will be drawn towards "materialism" and engage in "shifting cultivation", moving from one greener pasture to another. By doing so, "Jing Ying" would have failed to recognize, appreciate and repay their benefactor's kindness - just imagine, how much effort and financial resources would have been wasted on these ungrateful and self-centered "Jing Ying".

As depicted in the painting above, if "Jing Ying" are nurtured and grown like bonsai in a pot, they become readily portable, allowing it to move easily from one posh "residence" to another as long as the latter offers the optimum benefits and rewards.

On the other hand, if "Jing Ying" are planted deep into the solid ground and grown like a sturdy tree, their roots will grown firm and deep in the soil of their origin. Such "Jing Ying" will not only remember their roots, they will also be less mobile and understand their role better, providing shade for the people who had helped them to grow.

Hence, it is important to nurture "Jing Ying" with the appropriate "method" in order to develop one's competency and sense of righteousness.

Follow-up - Changing values

The Casino debate had finally ended with the final decision to build the Integrated Resorts; that was an expected outcome for most Singaporeans. What the future holds for us is anybody's guess (nobody knows).

Early mankind survived on preying on food and living in caves. Through evolution, mankind today has become sophisticated, enjoying fine dining and luxurious lifestyles in an effluent society. Does this mean that mankind has entered a new era of modernization, sophistication and advancement? Not necessarily, as many human actions today seem to suggest that mankind today is moving towards a new form of a primitive era where people are doing anything and everything merely for materialistic gains. Hence, it is not surprising to learn about the new definitions to Jing Ying as highlighted in the below article published in LianHe ZaoBao.