CHRIS BROWN I Finally Learned That Beating Women Is Wrong

It took Chris Brown 23 years but he's finally done it -- he's learned that hitting women is a bad
thing!

CB sat down with Matt Lauer on "Today" this morning and actually opened up about his relationship with Rihanna, rather than throw a chair through a window when asked about it.

"As far as me and her are concerned," Brown said ... "She knows my heart and I know her heart. I'm not really focused on the negative, everything about it is positive for me. I did my 52 weeks of counseling and learned that it was absolutely wrong."

So that's a 23-year-old man ... having to learn that beating the living crap out of a woman ... is wrong.

Gold star for you, Chris.