Master Zeng said, “Every day I examine myself on these three points: in acting on behalf of others, have I always been loyal to their interests? In intercourse with my friends, have I always been true to my word? Have I failed to repeat the precepts that have been handed down to me?”
It is necessary to use tactful methods to help a person overcome his faults. If you use a confrontational and clamorous approach, you will be using your own shortcomings to counter his.
No matter how earth-shaking one’s achievements, self-conceit will cancel them out. No matter how horrendous one’s sins, repentance will atone for them.
In the still of the night, when a man sits alone in meditation, the first thing that happens is that his inordinate desires disappear, and his true self holds sway.
Lord Ye was famously fond of dragons. He had dragons carved on his walls, dragons painted on his pillars, and dragons engraved on every vessel in his house. Even his robes and curtains bore intricate dragon patterns.