The Master said:“Everyone says, ‘I am wise!’Yet when driven into nets, snares, and traps,none of them knows how to avoid them.Everyone says, ‘I am wise!’Yet even if they choose the Doctrine of the Mean,they cannot hold to it for even a month.”
The Master sighed:“Alas! The Way will surely not be practiced in the world.”
The Master said:“I know why the Way is not practiced:the wise go too far, while the foolish fall short.I know why the Way is not understood:the virtuous overreach, while the unworthy do not reach it at all.Everyone eats and drinks, yet few truly discern the flavor.”
The Master said:“How supreme is the Doctrine of the Mean!Yet among the people, few have been able to practice it for long!”
Confucius said:“The gentleman practices the Mean (zhong yong); the petty person opposes the Mean.The gentleman’s practice of the Mean means always maintains moderate –acting with appropriateness according to circumstances.The petty person’s so-called ‘Mean’ is merely recklessness and fearlessness –having no moral restraint or reverence.”
Confucius said:“In hearing lawsuits, I am no different from others – but what I truly aim for is that there be no lawsuits at all!”
The Book of Odes says:“The royal domain extends a thousand li – this is where the people find their abode.”
If one wishes to understand Chinese culture, values, and the way of thinking that has shaped billions of people for over 2,000 years, The Analects (Lunyu in Chinese) is an indispensable book. Compiled by the disciples of Confucius (Kongzi, 551–479 BCE) and their followers, this collection of dialogues, sayings, and anecdotes is not just…