How to Read “Even stones from another mountain can polish your jewels”
たざんのいしもってたまをおさむべし
Meaning of “Even stones from another mountain can polish your jewels”
This proverb means that even other people’s mistakes and wrong actions can serve as valuable learning material for your own growth.
At first glance, someone else’s errors and flaws might seem worthless. But if you change your perspective, they become fuel for your personal development.
People use this saying when they witness someone’s failure or see behavior worth criticizing. Instead of simply condemning it, they show an attitude of learning from it.
It’s also used to remind yourself to maintain a humble attitude of learning from everything around you.
Today, people tend to learn only from perfect role models. But this proverb teaches that you can gain precious lessons especially from bad examples.
Seeing someone’s mistake and thinking “I won’t make that same error” is itself a valuable form of self-improvement.
Origin and Etymology
This proverb likely comes from a poem in the “Xiao Ya” section of the ancient Chinese classic “Shi Jing” (Book of Songs).
The original text reads “他山之石、可以攻玉,” which literally translates to “stones from another mountain can be used to polish jade.”
In ancient China, craftsmen used rough stones to polish beautiful jade. They discovered that even seemingly worthless stones from other mountains could become valuable polishing tools when used properly.
This saying came to Japan long ago and became established with the old particle “motte” (以て).
The word “osamu” (攻む) means “attack” in modern Japanese. But in classical language, it meant “polish” or “sharpen.”
So the proverb doesn’t mean attacking jewels with stones. It means polishing jewels with stones from another mountain.
What’s interesting is that this phrase has always been used as a metaphor for human growth, not just about tools.
It expresses a positive and flexible attitude: even things that seem worthless can help you improve yourself.
Interesting Facts
The “jewel” in this proverb isn’t just a gemstone in Chinese and Japanese culture. It symbolizes high virtue and perfected character.
This means the proverb was never about physical stones and jewels. From the beginning, it spoke about spiritual growth.
The verb “osamu” (攻む) is only used to mean “attack” in modern Japanese. But in classical language, it mainly meant “craft” or “process.”
People hearing this proverb for the first time often misunderstand it as “attacking jewels.” But it originally meant the gentle act of “carefully polishing jewels.”
Usage Examples
- I’m thinking of my boss’s failure as “even stones from another mountain can polish your jewels” and being careful not to make the same mistake
- His arrogant attitude was unpleasant, but following “even stones from another mountain can polish your jewels,” I vowed to stay humble
Universal Wisdom
Humans have a natural tendency to find and criticize others’ faults. When someone fails, we feel superior.
When someone makes a mistake, we want to confirm our own correctness. This is instinctive.
But this proverb has been passed down for hundreds of years because it shows wisdom beyond such instinctive reactions.
Truly wise people don’t laugh at others’ failures. They learn from them.
Other people’s mistakes are like rehearsals for failures you haven’t experienced yet. If you can avoid the stone someone else tripped over, that becomes a great asset.
The depth of this wisdom lies in the insight that “nothing is without value.”
Even the roughest-looking stone can become a tool for polishing gems, depending on how you use it. Even the most foolish-seeming action can become a lesson for the observer.
This shift in perspective is what drives human growth.
Furthermore, this proverb teaches the essence of humility. The attitude that you can learn even from people you consider inferior prevents arrogance.
It allows you to maintain a heart that keeps learning. Since no human is perfect, everyone can be a teacher to each other.
When AI Hears This
From an information theory perspective, this proverb demonstrates the surprising principle that “noise clarifies the signal.”
In communications engineering, there’s a known phenomenon where deliberately adding noise makes the original signal’s characteristics stand out.
For example, when training image recognition AI, feeding it large amounts of blurry or distorted images dramatically improves its accuracy in identifying correct images.
In other words, “bad examples” highlight the contours of “good examples.”
Stones from another mountain—low-quality stones—seem to have no value in themselves. But when used as tools to polish jewels, they reveal tiny scratches and irregularities on the jewel’s surface.
In other words, comparison with inferior objects extracts the characteristics of superior objects as data. This is the same mechanism as “contrastive learning” in machine learning.
AI learns not just from correct data, but by calculating the difference from incorrect data. This reveals what makes a correct answer correct.
What’s even more interesting is research showing that learning efficiency drops when there’s too much or too little noise.
The right amount of “stones from another mountain” makes the most effective polishing agent. Information theory proves the core of this proverb: growth slows in perfect environments.
Lessons for Today
In modern society, others’ failures spread instantly on social media. Many people make them targets of criticism and mockery.
But this proverb shows us a different choice. When you see someone’s mistake, you can use it as fuel for your own growth instead of attack material.
When a colleague fails at a presentation at work, when your boss makes a poor judgment, when a friend stumbles in relationships—these are all living textbooks for avoiding the same failures.
By thinking “what would I do?” and “why did that happen?” you gain wisdom without experiencing the pain yourself.
What matters is maintaining an attitude of learning. You can learn not just from people better than you, but also from people who are failing.
With this flexible heart, every situation in life becomes a learning opportunity.
Why not turn the time you spend blaming others’ faults into time for polishing yourself?
If you do, your life will become richer and wiser.
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