Confucius said, “Wearing a tattered cotton robe and standing beside someone clad in luxurious fox or badger fur – yet feeling no shame: perhaps only Zilu can do this! As the Odes say, ‘Not envious, not greedy – how could one not be good?’ ” Zilu recited this verse for the rest of his…
Confucius said, “Hold loyalty and trustworthiness as your foundation; do not befriend those who are inferior to yourself; and when you make a mistake, do not fear correcting it.”
Confucius said, “When one hears stern, principled words that accord with ritual and righteousness, can one fail to obey? But what matters is genuinely correcting oneself. When one hears gentle, agreeable words of guidance, can one fail to feel pleased? But what matters is carefully reflecting on their meaning. If one merely feels pleased…
When speaking of Yan Hui, Confucius said, “What a pity! I saw him constantly advancing – I never saw him stop.”
Confucius said, “Suppose you are piling up earth to make a mountain. If you stop just one basket short of completion – that stopping is my own doing. Suppose you are leveling ground, and even if you have only dumped one basket – you are advancing, because I am moving forward.”
Yan Hui sighed deeply and said, “The more I look up to the Master’s Way, the higher it appears; the more I delve into it, the firmer it becomes. Just when I think I see it ahead of me, suddenly it seems to be behind. My teacher guides people skillfully and step by step:…
The way of supreme sincerity enables one to foresee the future.When a state is about to flourish, auspicious signs surely appear;when a state is about to perish, monstrous omens surely arise.These are revealed in the milfoil stalks and tortoise shells,and manifested in one’s bodily movements and demeanor.When fortune or misfortune is about to arrive…
The Master said:“Loving learning brings one near to wisdom;exerting oneself in practice brings one near to benevolence;knowing shame brings one near to courage.”