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!”
The Master said, “There are three qualities of the noble person’s Way, none of which I have been able to attain: the benevolent are free from anxiety, the wise are free from perplexity, and the courageous are free from fear.”Zigong replied, “This is precisely a description of yourself, Master!”
Zilu asked Confucius, “What kind of person can be called a ‘complete person’ (a morally and intellectually fulfilled individual)?”The Master said, “If someone possesses the wisdom of Zang Wuzhong, the lack of desire of Gongchuo, the courage of Bian Zhuangzi, and the talents of Ran Qiu – and is further refined by ritual and…
Confucius said, “The wise are not perplexed; the humane are not anxious; the courageous are not afraid.”
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…
Amidst the great classics of Chinese philosophy and literature, Cai Gen Tan (Vegetable Root Talks, Roots of Wisdom or Tending the Roots of Wisdom) occupies a unique place – it is not an epic novel, a dense philosophical treatise, or a religious scripture, but a collection of pithy, practical maxims for navigating life.