The Master said, “I once spent a whole day without eating and a whole night without sleeping, devoting myself entirely to thinking – but gained nothing. It is better to study than to ponder in vain.”
The Master said, “To have faults and not correct them – that is truly a fault.”
The Master said, “It is humanity that enlarges the Way, not the Way that enlarges humanity.”
The Master said, “Clever words corrupt virtue; lacking patience in small matters disrupts great plans.”
The Master said, “When it comes to people, whom have I ever slandered? Whom have I ever praised lightly? If I have praised anyone, it was only after testing and verifying their character. It is precisely these common people who enabled the Three Dynasties – Xia, Shang, and Zhou – to follow the straight…
Zigong asked, “Is there one word that can be practiced for a lifetime?” The Master said, “Perhaps it is ‘shu’ (reciprocity)! Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.”
The Master said, “The noble person does not promote someone solely on the basis of his words, nor does he reject someone’s words solely because of who he is.”