小田原城内 報徳の杜

～ 分度推譲　湯ぶねの教訓～
嘉永五年、二宮尊徳翁は湯ぶねのふちに腰かけて、こう言われた。
「世の中では、そなたたちのような富者（裕福な人）が、みんな足ること（もう十分だと思う事）を知らずに、飽くまで利をむさぼり、不足を唱えている。それはちょうど、大人がこの湯ぶねの中に突っ立って、かがみもせずに、湯を肩にかけながら、湯ぶねが浅すぎるぞ、膝までもこないぞと、怒鳴るようなものだ。
自分がかがみさえすれば、湯はたちまち肩まで来て、自然と十分になるだろう。ほかに求めるものがどこにあろうか。
世間の富者が不足を唱えるのは、これと何ら変わりはない。およそ、分限（限度・身の丈）を守らなければ、千万石あってもなお不足だ。ひとたび分に過ぎた過ちを悟って分度を守れば、余財がおのずからでき、十二分に人を救えるはずだ。百石の者は五十石にかがんで五十石の余財を譲る。もし町村で、ひとりこの道をふむ者があれば、人々はみんな分を越えた過ちを悟るだろう。人々がみんなこの過ちを悟って、分度を守って、よく譲れば、その町村は富み栄えて平和になること間違いない。」

Fraction of a degree
In 1852, Sontoku Ninomiya sat on the edge of a hot spring and said, "In the world, rich people like you do not know what is enough.
In the world, rich people like you do not know what is enough, but are always greedy for profit and always complain about lack. It is just like a grown man standing in a bathtub and pouring hot water over his shoulders without bending down, complaining that the water is too shallow and does not come up to his knees.
If you would just bend down, the hot water would come up to your shoulders and you would naturally have enough. What else is there to look for?
It is no different from the wealthy of the world complaining of lack. If you do not keep your portion (limit, size), even if you have 10 million koku, you will still be short. Once you realize your mistake and observe your portion, you will naturally have extra wealth and be able to save people more than enough. A person with 100 koku will bend down and give 50 koku of his extra wealth to a person with 50 koku. If there is one person in a town or village who does this, all the people will realize that they have gone beyond their means. If all the people realize their mistake, observe their share, and give it away well, the town or village will surely become rich, prosperous, and peaceful.