How to Read “Abandon friends who are bad people and welcome enemies who are good people”
Akunin no tomo wo sutete zennin no teki wo maneke
Meaning of “Abandon friends who are bad people and welcome enemies who are good people”
This proverb teaches you to cut ties with bad people. You should walk the right path, even if it means facing conflict with good people.
The key part is understanding “enemies who are good people.” This doesn’t mean attacking good people. It means you shouldn’t fear criticism from good people when you stand up for what’s right.
Being friends with bad people might feel easy. You ignore each other’s mistakes and go easy on each other. This feels comfortable, but it doesn’t help you grow.
When you try to do the right thing, even good people might criticize you harshly. They might not understand you at first. But you should have the courage to stick to what you believe is right.
Today, we understand this proverb as teaching us to have our own beliefs. Don’t just follow the crowd around you.
Origin and Etymology
There are no clear written records about where this proverb came from. But we can learn interesting things by looking at how the words are put together.
“Abandon friends who are bad people and welcome enemies who are good people” sounds confusing at first. Why would anyone tell you to become enemies with good people?
This saying likely comes from samurai warrior values and Confucian thinking in Japan. These were important ideas that shaped Japanese culture.
The most important part is “welcome enemies.” This doesn’t mean you should fight with people. It means you should be okay with disagreeing with good people if you’re doing what’s right.
Even if good people criticize you harshly, that’s fine. What matters is staying on the right path.
During the Edo period, samurai had a concept called “kanshi.” This meant risking your life to give honest advice to your lord, even if he didn’t want to hear it.
You had to be ready to face even good people if you were standing up for what’s right. This took real courage.
“Friends who are bad people” means relationships based only on comfort or personal gain. When friends ignore each other’s bad behavior, it feels nice at first.
But this kind of friendship will eventually drag you down. The proverb teaches you to have the courage to break away from these easy but harmful relationships.
Usage Examples
- He cut ties with his old friends. Following “Abandon friends who are bad people and welcome enemies who are good people,” he chose the right path
- Reporting wrongdoing at work takes courage, but I’ll face it with the spirit of “Abandon friends who are bad people and welcome enemies who are good people”
Universal Wisdom
This proverb reveals a deep truth. The hardest thing for humans is “letting go of comfort.” Friendships with bad people last because you both ignore each other’s faults and mistakes.
There’s no criticism and no growth in these relationships. There’s only comfortable stagnation, where nothing changes or improves.
People naturally avoid conflict and seek harmony. But real growth often comes from friction and challenge. The teaching to not fear facing good people shows a harsh reality.
When you pursue true goodness, you must be ready for temporary loneliness and misunderstanding. This is just part of the journey.
Look at history. Many people who stood up for justice weren’t understood at first. Even good people criticized them sometimes.
Why? Because challenging existing order and common sense creates conflict. Even well-meaning people who want to protect the old ways will push back.
This proverb has lasted through generations because it points to a universal truth. “Being right” and “being popular” don’t always match up in human society.
We all want to walk a path that everyone approves of. But a truly valuable life sometimes requires lonely choices. Our ancestors knew this truth.
That’s why they left us these strict but caring words. They wanted to guide us even when the path gets hard.
When AI Hears This
In network theory, there’s something called “betweenness centrality.” This measures how much information flows through a particular point in a network.
What’s interesting is that “friends who are bad people” have “negative betweenness centrality.” This means twisted information and harmful values flow into you through that person.
Because they’re your friends, you accept their influence without questioning it. This makes the bad effects grow exponentially, getting worse and worse over time.
“Enemies who are good people” have paradoxical value. Because they’re your enemies, you don’t accept their words without thinking. You naturally question what they say.
But if that person is good, their criticism is high quality. So you automatically filter their feedback through critical thinking while receiving valuable information.
In information theory, this is called a very high “signal-to-noise ratio.” You get useful signals without much useless noise.
What’s more important is that network health isn’t measured by the number of connections. Having many friends on social media means nothing if those connections spread harmful information.
A few connections that bring quality information and constructive criticism are better. They optimize the entire system more effectively than many low-quality connections.
Lessons for Today
This proverb teaches modern people that “comfort” and “rightness” are different things in relationships. With social media today, everyone wants “likes” and fears criticism.
But what really matters isn’t being liked by many people. What matters is living according to your own conscience and values.
You see wrongdoing at work but say nothing. You can’t point out a friend’s mistake. You hide your true feelings to fit in with others.
These small compromises add up over time. Eventually, you lose sight of who you really are. Having the courage to cut ties with bad people actually protects yourself.
When you try to do the right thing, not everyone will understand. Even well-meaning people might question you. But that’s okay.
What matters is whether you can be proud of your choices when you look back later. Can you say you stayed true to yourself?
You have the strength not to be swept along by others. This proverb is telling you to believe in that strength.
Have the courage to walk the path you believe in. That’s the message this ancient wisdom wants you to hear today.
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