One Must be Single-Minded
 
In ancient times, there was a man surnamed Qiu. He was the most skillful player in the country at the game of "Go" (the oldest board game originating in China). Because he excelled at the game of "Go," people named him "Yi Qiu," where Yi is the term for Chinese chess. Since Yi Qiu held a very high status amidst the "Go" game players, and was also very influential amongst the public, someone came up with an idea to ruin his reputation.
 
One day, while Yi Qiu was playing, they brought someone to play the "sheng" reed pipe (a musical instrument with thirteen reeds) next to him. Yi Qiu was so distracted by the melodious music that he lost the game. A few days later, while Yi Qiu was playing, they found another person to ask him continually pointless questions about the principles of the game. Yi Qiu was at his wit’s end. He lost the game again. As a result, these people started to spread rumors, and said that Yi Qiu’s skill was poor and that he was a charlatan. These rumors caused Yi Qiu tremendous pain and apprehension.
 
A wise man, after learning about the situation, came to Yi Qiu’s defense. He thought that Yi Qiu’s recent drop in skill did not indicate his skill was poor. He recounted the story of a man who was once the greatest mathematician in the world. One time, while working on mathematic questions, a big wild goose flew over his head, sending out loud chirps, thus he was unable to solve the simplest equations. But this did not mean that he was poor at math, it was merely due to the distraction from the bird. Likewise, Yi Qiu’s recent losses to his opponents were not the result of his skill, but of the external interferences. Their minds were distracted by external factors. As a result, they were unable to concentrate on mathematics or the "Go" game.
 
Living in the dark, little "Gu" fish do not have eyes, yet they have very sharp hearing. This is because they must concentrate on their hearing. Turtles do not have ears but their eyes are very keen so that they focus on their vision. When we analyze it carefully, it’s all about being single-minded. In order to do something well, we must be diligent in being single-minded and wholeheartedly focus our concentration. We cannot succeed if we are absent-minded, undedicated, or unable to concentrate. As for those who merely read out loud but do not focus their mind on learning, even though they hear the words, they do not pay attention to them. They are only deceiving themselves and others.
 
After listening to the wise man’s analysis, people no longer doubted Yi Qiu’s skill. And Yi Qiu followed the advice from the wise man as well: "Be single-minded." Ever since then, Yi Qiu won every single game, and those who wanted to defame him were unable to do so.
 
一心不可二用
 
在古代，有一位姓秋的，他是整个国家棋艺最高的人。因为他善于下棋，所以人们也叫他弈秋。由于弈秋在棋手中的地位很高，在百姓中的影响也很大，于是有人对他打起了歪主意，想破坏他在人们心目中的威信。
 
有一天，当弈秋正在与人对弈的时候，这些人找了一个吹笙的来到弈秋对弈的地方，在旁边吹起了笙。悠扬的乐曲，弄得弈秋心神不定，结果弈秋输给了对手。过了几天，在弈秋又与人对弈的时候，这些人又找了一个人，在弈秋身边不停地“请教”似是而非的“棋理”，弄得弈秋一筹莫展，结果棋又输了。于是，这些人开始散布谣言，说弈秋的棋艺根本不行，是个骗子。对于这些谣言，弈秋感到非常惶惑，也非常痛苦。
 
有位智者了解到这种情况后，出来为弈秋辩护。他认为，弈秋最近棋艺的下降并不能说明他的棋术不行。他说，曾经有一位天下最擅长算术的人，在鸿鸟鸣叫著在他头上飞过时，他连一些简单的算术题也答不上来；但这并不是他算术不行，而是受到飞鸟干扰的缘故。弈秋最近几次对阵的失败，也不是棋术的问题，同样是受到外部因素干扰的缘故。他们都是因为心思被其他的事情所吸引，注意力不能集中在算术和棋术的给果。
 
生活在黑暗中的小鱼（瞽）虽然没有眼睛，但它的耳朵非常灵敏，这是由于它专注于听的缘故；甲鱼没有耳朵，但它的眼睛非常敏锐，这是因为它专注于看的缘故。仔细推敲起来，不外乎做事的专一。所以对于要想把一件事情做好的人来说，就必须精勤专心，全神贯注，注意力高度集中。否则，心不在焉，注意力不集中，不专注，要想成功是不可能的。对于人来说，心思不在学习上而朗读，虽然声音可以入耳，但并没有入心，这就像掩耳盗铃的小偷，只不过是自欺欺人罢了。
 
人们听了智者的分析，就再也不怀疑弈秋的棋术了；而弈秋也听从了智者的忠告：“一心不可二用。”从此，弈秋百战百胜，那些人想诋毁弈秋的歪主意也起不了作用了。