He lives by taking the teachings of his predecessors as his model.
His way of life became a model for many people.
This work can be called a paragon of Japanese literature.
She is a shining example for nurses to model themselves on.
手本 is a concrete, practical example to copy, such as a handwriting sample, whereas 鑑 is an abstract, lofty ideal figure to look up to.
鏡 (mirror) and 鑑 (model, paragon) share the identical reading かがみ but have completely unrelated meanings, so context alone tells them apart.
Standard kanji for 'model' or 'exemplar'.
Rarely used traditional form.
Originally meaning 'mirror' (as in 鏡), the character 鑑 extended to mean 'something that reflects the truth' and thus 'model' or 'example'. The spelling 鑑 is now standard for this sense.