Hence the superior manobserves the people that he employsat a distanceto ascertain their trustworthinessand when employed nearobserves them to test their respect. By assigning them difficult tasks,he tests their ability; by questioningthem unexpectedly, he tests their knowledge;by designating an urgent task, he tests their commitment; by entrusting them with wealth, he tests their benevolence;…
“The goodness of service does not imply that it is the same on all occasions. Serving parents to provide contentment does not prescribe how it is to be done; in festivities enjoyment does not depend on the dishes that are used; in mourning as an expression of grief the rituals are insignificant. Rites determine…
The vain take pleasure in every good opinion they hear about themselves (abstracted entirely from the point of view of utility, and just as much removed from truth or falsity), just as they suffer from every bad opinion. This is because they submit – they feel submissive – to both good and bad opinions…
Zengzi was living in the state of Wei. He wore a robe of quilted hemp and no outer garment. He appeared rough and emaciated, his hands and feet had hard callouses. He would go three days without lighting a fire and ten years without a new coat. If he put his hat on straight,…
Zhuangzi said to Huizi,“When Confucius was in his sixtieth yearhe changed his views.What he previously held to be truehe now regards as false.We do not know whether what he now holds to be trueis not what he regarded to be falsefor fifty-nine years.” Huizi replied, “Confucius is earnestin his pursuit of learning and acts…
But without the words which flow daily as from a cup and without our nature being aligned with heaven, what could be made of these characteristics? Things are divided into various genera and develop successively into distinct physical forms. They begin and end In an unbroken circle; But how this occurs we cannot fathom….
How is a thing right? It is right because it is right. How is a thing wrong? It is wrong because it is wrong. How is a thing possible? It is possible because it is so. How is a thing not possible? It is not possible because it is not possible. Things have within…
The marquis said, “I have wished to see you for a long time. I want to love my people and with the practice of righteousness put an end to war. Will that be adequate?” “Certainly not replied,” Replied Xu Wugui, “Loving the people is the start of hurting the people. Practicing righteousness to put…
“Man’s life between heaven and earth is like a white colt passing through a narrow opening in a wall: in a moment it is suddenly over. With striving, all things hurtle into life. Calmly and silently all things pass away. Undergoing change they are born, and by another change they die. Living things are…
the luck of the draw after decades and decades of poverty as I now approach the lip of the grave, suddenly I have a home, a new car, a spa, a swimming pool, a computer. will this destroy me? well, something is bound to destroy me soon enough. the boys in jails, the slaughterhouses,…
