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The Master sighed, “No one truly understands me!”Zigong asked, “Why is it that no one understands you?”The Master replied, “I do not blame Heaven, nor do I resent others. I study what is below and thereby penetrate what is above. Perhaps only Heaven truly understands me!”
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Someone asked, “What about repaying resentment with virtue?”The Master replied, “Then what would you use to repay virtue? Repay resentment with uprightness, and repay virtue with virtue.”
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Gongboliu slandered Zilu before Ji Sun. Zifu Jingbo informed Confucius, saying, “Ji Sun has indeed been misled by Gongboliu, but with my influence, I could still have Gongboliu executed and his body exposed in the marketplace.”The Master replied, “Will the Way prevail? It is a matter of Heaven’s Mandate. Will the Way be abandoned?…
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The Master said, “A thoroughbred horse is praised not for its strength, but for its virtue.”
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Weisheng Mu said to Confucius, “Qiu, why are you so restless and constantly traveling from place to place? Could it be that you’re trying to win favor through glib talk?”Confucius replied, “I dare not resort to glibness; I simply detest obstinacy.”
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Zilu spent the night at the Stone Gate. At dawn, the gatekeeper asked him, “Where do you come from?”Zilu replied, “From Master Kong’s.”The gatekeeper said, “Ah – is he not the one who knows it’s impossible, yet still does it?”
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The Master said, “Do not anticipate deceit, nor assume dishonesty in advance. Yet if one can discern it beforehand, such a person is indeed wise!”
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The Master said, “Do not worry that others do not understand you; worry that you lack ability.”
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Zigong was fond of criticizing others. The Master said, “Ci (Zigong), are you already so virtuous? As for me, I have no time for that.”