《Confucian Analects》1The Master "'Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?"Is it not delightful to have friends coming from distant quarters?"Is he not a man of complete virtue, who feels no discomposure though men may take no note of him?"The philosopher Yu said, "They are few who, being filial and fraternal, are fond of offending against their superiors. There have been none, who, not liking to offend against their superiors, have been fond of stirring up confusion."The superior man bends his attention to what is radical. That being established, all practical courses naturally grow up. Filial piety and fraternal submission,-are they not the root of all benevolent actions?"The Master said, "Fine words and an insinuating appearance are seldom associated with true virtue."The philosopher Tsang said, "I daily examine myself on three points:-whether, in transacting business for others, I may have been not faithful;-whether, in intercourse with friends, I may have been not sincere;-whether I may have not mastered and practiced the instructions of my teacher."The Master said, "To rule a country of a thousand chariots, there must be reverent attention to business, and sincerity; economy in expenditure, and love for men; and the employment of the people at the proper seasons."The Master said, "A youth, when at home, should be filial, and, abroad, respectful to his elders. He should be earnest and truthful. He should overflow in love to all, and cultivate the friendship of the good. When he has time and opportunity, after the performance of these things, he should employ them in polite studies."Tsze-hsia said, "If a man withdraws his mind from the love of beauty, and applies it as sincerely to the love of the virtuous; if, in serving his parents, he can exert his utmost strength; if, in serving his prince, he can devote his life; if, in his intercourse with his friends, his words are sincere:-although men say that he has not learned, I will certainly say that he has.The Master said, "If the scholar be not grave, he will not call forth any veneration, and his learning will not be solid."Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles."Have no friends not equal to yourself."When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them."The philosopher Tsang said, "Let there be a careful attention to perform the funeral rites to parents, and let them be followed when long gone with the ceremonies of sacrifice;-then the virtue of the people will resume its proper excellence."Tsze-ch'in asked Tsze-kung saying, "When our master comes to any country, he does not fail to learn all about its government. Does he ask his information? or is it given to him?"Tsze-kung said, "Our master is benign, upright, courteous, temperate, and complaisant and thus he gets his information. The master's mode of asking information,-is it not different from that of other men?"The Master said, "While a man's father is alive, look at the bent of his will; when his father is dead, look at his conduct. If for three years he does not alter from the way of his father, he may be called filial."The philosopher Yu said, "In practicing the rules of propriety, a natural ease is to be prized. In the ways prescribed by the ancient kings, this is the excellent quality, and in things small and great we follow them."Yet it is not to be observed in all cases. If one, knowing how such ease should be prized, manifests it, without regulating it by the rules of propriety, this likewise is not to be done."The philosopher Yu said, "When agreements are made according to what is right, what is spoken can be made good. When respect is shown according to what is proper, one keeps far from shame and disgrace. When the parties upon whom a man leans are proper persons to be intimate with, he can make them his guides and masters."The Master said, "He who aims to be a man of complete virtue in his food does not seek to gratify his appetite, nor in his dwelling place does he seek the appliances of ease; he is earnest in what he is doing, and careful in his speech; he frequents the company of men of principle that he may be rectified:-such a person may be said indeed to love to learn."Tsze-kung said, "What do you pronounce concerning the poor man who yet does not flatter, and the rich man who s not proud?" The Master replied, "They will do; but they are not equal to him, who, though poor, is yet cheerful, and to him, who, though rich, loves the rules of propriety."Tsze-kung replied, "It is said in the Book of Poetry, 'As you cut and then file, as you carve and then polish.'-The meaning is the same, I apprehend, as that which you have just expressed."The Master said, "With one like Ts'ze, I can begin to talk about the odes. I told him one point, and he knew its proper sequence."The Master said, "I will not be afflicted at men's not knowing me; I will be afflicted that I do not know men."2The Master said, "He who exercises government by means of his virtue may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place and all the stars turn towards it."The Master said, "In the Book of Poetry are three hundred pieces, but the design of them all may be embraced in one sentence 'Having no depraved thoughts.'"The Master said, "If the people be led by laws, and uniformity sought to be given them by punishments, they will try to avoid the punishment, but have no sense of shame."If they be led by virtue, and uniformity sought to be given them by the rules of propriety, they will have the sense of shame, and moreover will become good."The Master said, "At fifteen, I had my mind bent on learning."At thirty, I stood firm."At forty, I had no doubts."At fifty, I knew the decrees of Heaven."At sixty, my ear was an obedient organ for the reception of truth."At seventy, I could follow what my heart desired, without transgressing what was right."Mang I asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "It is not being disobedient."Soon after, as Fan Ch'ih was driving him, the Master told him, saying, "Mang-sun asked me what filial piety was, and I answered him,-'not being disobedient.'"Fan Ch'ih said, "What did you mean?" The Master replied, "That parents, when alive, be served according to propriety; that, when dead, they should be buried according to propriety; and that they should be sacrificed to according to propriety."Mang Wu asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "Parents are anxious lest their children should be sick."Tsze-yu asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "The filial piety nowadays means the support of one's parents. But dogs and horses likewise are able to do something in the way of support;-without reverence, what is there to distinguish the one support given from the other?"Tsze-hsia asked what filial piety was. The Master said, "The difficulty is with the countenance. If, when their elders have any troublesome affairs, the young take the toil of them, and if, when the young have wine and food, they set them before their elders, is THIS to be considered filial piety?"The Master said, "I have talked with Hui for a whole day, and he has not made any objection to anything I said;-as if he were stupid. He has retired, and I have examined his conduct when away from me, and found him able to illustrate my teachings. Hui!-He is not stupid."The Master said, "See what a man does."Mark his motives."Examine in what things he rests."How can a man conceal his character? How can a man conceal his character?"The Master said, "If a man keeps cherishing his old knowledge, so as continually to be acquiring new, he may be a teacher of others."The Master said, "The accomplished scholar is not a utensil."Tsze-kung asked what constituted the superior man. The Master said, "He acts before he speaks, and afterwards speaks according to his actions."The Master said, "The superior man is catholic and not partisan. The mean man is partisan and not catholic."The Master said, "Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous."The Master said, "The study of strange doctrines is injurious indeed!"The Master said, "Yu, shall I teach you what knowledge is? When you know a thing, to hold that you know it; and when you do not know a thing, to allow that you do not know it;-this is knowledge."Tsze-chang was learning with a view to official emolument.The Master said, "Hear much and put aside the points of which you stand in doubt, while you speak cautiously at the same time of the others:-then you will afford few occasions for blame. See much and put aside the things which seem perilous, while you are cautiousat the same time in carrying the others into practice: then you will have few occasions for repentance. When one gives few occasions for blame in his words, and few occasions for repentance in his conduct, he is in the way to get emolument."The Duke Ai asked, saying, "What should be done in order to secure the submission of the people?" Confucius replied, "Advance the upright and set aside the crooked, then the people will submit. Advance the crooked and set aside the upright, then the people will not submit."Chi K'ang asked how to cause the people to reverence their ruler, to be faithful to him, and to go on to nerve themselves to virtue. The Master said, "Let him preside over them with gravity;-then they will reverence him. Let him be final and kind to all;-then they will be faithful to him. Let him advance the good and teach the incompetent;-then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous."Some one addressed Confucius, saying, "Sir, why are you not engaged in the government?"The Master said, "What does the Shu-ching say of filial piety?-'You are final, you discharge your brotherly duties. These qualities are displayed in government.' This then also constitutes the exercise of government. Why must there be THAT-making one be in the government?"The Master said, "I do not know how a man without truthfulness is to get on. How can a large carriage be made to go without the crossbar for yoking the oxen to, or a small carriage without the arrangement for yoking the horses?"Tsze-chang asked whether the affairs of ten ages after could be known.Confucius said, "The Yin dynasty followed the regulations of the Hsia: wherein it took from or added to them may be known. The Chau dynasty has followed the regulations of Yin: wherein it took from or added to them may be known. Some other may follow the Chau, but though it should be at the distance of a hundred ages, its affairs may be known."The Master said, "For a man to sacrifice to a spirit which does not belong to him is flattery."To see what is right and not to do it is want of courage."About the Tao"[The] words are (in the traditional Buddhist metaphor) fingers pointing toward the moon; if you watch the fingers you can't see the moon." -Stephen Mitchell Just as multiple satellites are needed to triangulate a gps signal side-by-side chapter-by-chapter translations can help you understand the text's meaning. Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling the potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes" -Alan WattsSelect a Translator· 1880 - D.T. Suzuki & Paul Carus · 1919 - Dwight Goddard & Henri Borel · 1989 - Jane English & Gia-fu Feng · 1993 - S. Addiss & S. Lombardo 1 REASON'S REALIZATION. 1. The Reason that can be reasoned is not the eternal Reason. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The Unnamable is of heaven and earth the beginning. The Namable becomes of the ten thousand things the mother. Therefore it is said: 2. "He who desireless is found 3. These two things are the same in source but different in name. Their sameness is called a mystery. Indeed, it is the mystery of mysteries. Of all spirituality it is the door. SELF-CULTURE. 1. Everywhere it is obvious that if beauty makes a display of beauty, it is sheer ugliness. It is obvious that if goodness makes a display of goodness, it is sheer badness. For 2. "To be and not to be are mutually conditioned. 3. Therefore The holy man abides by non-assertion in his affairs and conveys by silence his instruction. When the ten thousand things arise, verily, he refuses them not. He quickens but owns not. He acts but claims not. Merit he accomplishes, but he does not dwell on it. "Since he does not dwell on it KEEPING THE PEOPLE QUIET. 1. Not boasting of one's worth forestalls people's envy. Not prizing treasures difficult to obtain keeps people from committing theft. 2. Not contemplating what kindles desire keeps the heart unconfused. 3. Therefore the holy man when he governs empties the people's hearts but fills their stomachs. He weakens their ambition but strengthens their bones. Always he keeps the people unsophisticated and without desire. He causes that the crafty do not dare to act. When he acts with non-assertion there is nothing ungoverned. SOURCELESS. 1. Reason is empty, but its use is inexhaustible. In its profundity, verily, it resembleth the arch-father of the ten thousand things. 2. "It will blunt its own sharpness, 3. Oh, how calm it seems to remain! I know not whose son it is. Apparently even the Lord it precedes. THE FUNCTION OF EMPTINESS. 1. But for heaven and earth's humaneness, the ten thousand things are straw dogs. But for the holy man's humaneness, the hundred families are straw dogs. 2. Is not the space between heaven and earth like unto a bellows? It is empty; yet it collapses not. It moves, and more and more comes forth. [But] 3. "How soon exhausted is THE COMPLETION OF FORM. 1. "The valley spirit not expires, DIMMING RADIANCE. 1. Heaven endures and earth is lasting. And why can heaven and earth endure and be lasting? Because they do not live for themselves. On that account can they endure. 2. Therefore The holy man puts his person behind and his person comes to the front. He surrenders his person and his person is preserved. Is it not because he seeks not his own? For that reason he can accomplish his own. EASY BY NATURE. 1. Superior goodness resembleth water. The water's goodness benefiteth the ten thousand things, yet it quarreleth not. 2. Water dwelleth in the places which the multitudes of men shun; therefore it is near unto the eternal Reason 3. The dwelling of goodness is in lowliness. The heart of goodness is in commotion. When giving, goodness showeth benevolence. In words, goodness keepeth faith. In government goodness standeth for order. In business goodness exhibiteth ability. The movements of goodness keep time. 4. It quarreleth not. Therefore it is not rebuked. PRACTISING PLACIDITY. 1. Grasp to the full, are you not likely foiled? Scheme too sharply, can you wear long? If gold and jewels fill the hall no one can protect it. 2. Rich and high but proud, brings about its own doom. To accomplish merit and acquire fame, then to withdraw, that is Heaven's Way. WHAT CAN BE DONE? 1. Who by unending discipline of the senses embraces unity cannot be disintegrated. By concentrating his vitality and inducing tenderness he can become like a little child. By purifying, by cleansing and profound intuition he can be free from faults. 2. Who loves the people when administering the country will practise nonassertion. Opening and closing the gates of heaven, he will be like a mother-bird; bright, and white, and penetrating the four quarters, he will be unsophisticated. He quickens them and feeds them. He quickens but owns not. He acts but claims not. He excels but rules not. This is called profound virtue. THE FUNCTION OF THE NON-EXISTENT. 1. Thirty spokes unite in one nave and on that which is non-existent [on the hole in the nave] depends the wheel's utility. Clay is moulded into a vessel and on that which is non-existent [on its hollowness] depends the vessel's utility. By cutting out doors and windows we build a house and on that which is non-existent [on the empty space within] depends the house's utility. 2. Therefore, existence renders actual but non-existence renders useful. ABSTAINING FROM DESIRE. 1. "The five colors [combined] the human eye will blind; 2. "Racing and hunting will human hearts turn mad, 3. Therefore The holy man attends to the inner and not to the outer. He abandons the latter and chooses the former. LOATHING SHAME. 1. "Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling. 2. What means "Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling?" Favor humiliates. Its acquisition causes trembling, its loss causes trembling. This is meant by "Favor bodes disgrace; it is like trembling." 3. What means "Rank bodes great heartache, it is like the body?" I suffer great heartache because I have a body. When I have no body, what heartache remains? 4. Therefore who administers the empire as he takes care of his body can be entrusted with the empire. PRAISING THE MYSTERIOUS. 1. We look at Reason and do not see it; its name is Colorless. We listen to Reason and do not hear it; its name is Soundless. We grope for Reason and do not grasp it; its name is Bodiless. 2. These three things cannot further be analyzed. Thus they are combined and conceived as a unity which on its surface is not clear and in its depth not obscure. 3. Forever and aye Reason remains unnamable, and again and again it returns home to non-existence. 4. This is called the form of the formless, the image of the imageless. This is called the transcendentally abstruse. 5. In front its beginning is not seen. In the rear its end is not seen. 6. By holding fast to the Reason of the ancients, the present is mastered and the origin of the past understood. This is called Reason's clue. THE REVEALERS OF VIRTUE. 1. Those of yore who have succeeded in becoming masters are subtile, spiritual, profound, and penetrating. On account of their profundity they can not be understood. Because they can not be understood, therefore I endeavor to make them intelligible. 2. How cautious they are! Like men in winter crossing a river. How reluctant! Like men fearing in the four quarters their neighbors. How reserved! They behave like guests. How elusive! They resemble ice when melting. How simple! They resemble rough wood. How empty! They resemble the valley. How obscure! They resemble troubled waters. 3. Who by quieting can gradually render muddy waters clear? Who by stirring can gradually quicken the still? 4. He who cherishes this Reason is not anxious to be filled. Since he is not filled, therefore he may grow old; without renewal he is complete. RETURNING TO THE ROOT. 1. By attaining the height of abstraction we gain fulness of rest. 2. All the ten thousand things arise, and I see them return. Now they bloom in bloom but each one homeward returneth to its root. 3. Returning to the root means rest. It signifies the return according to destiny. Return according to destiny means the eternal. Knowing the eternal means enlightenment. Not knowing the eternal causes passions to rise; and that is evil. 4. Knowing the eternal renders comprehensive. Comprehensiveness renders broad. Breadth renders royal. Royalty renders heavenly. Heaven renders Reason-like. Reason renders lasting. Thus the decay of the body implies no danger. SIMPLICITY IN HABITS. 1. Of great rulers the subjects do not notice the existence. To lesser ones people are attached; they praise them. Still lesser ones people fear, and the meanest ones people despise. 2. For it is said: "If your faith be insufficient, verily, you will receive no faith." 3. How reluctantly they [the great rulers] considered their words! Merit they accomplished; deeds they performed; and the hundred families thought: "We are independent." THE PALLIATION OF VULGARITY. 1. When the great Reason is obliterated, we have benevolence and justice. Prudence and circumspection appear, and we have much hypocrisy. 2. When family relations no longer harmonize, we have filial piety and paternal devotion. When the country and the clans decay through disorder, we have loyalty and allegiance. RETURNING TO SIMPLICITY. 1. Abandon your saintliness; put away your prudence; and the people will gain a hundredfold! 2. Abandon your benevolence; put away your justice; and the people will return to filial piety and paternal devotion. 3. Abandon smartness; give up greed; and thieves and robbers will no longer exist. 4. These are three things for which culture is insufficient. Therefore it is said: "Hold fast to that which will endure, DIFFERENT FROM THE VULGAR. 1. Abandon learnedness, and you have no vexation. The "yes" compared with the "yea," how little do they differ! But the good compared with the bad, how much do they differ! 2. If what the people dread cannot be made dreadless, there will be desolation, alas! and verily, there will be no end of it. 3. The multitudes of men are happy, so happy, as though celebrating a great feast. They are as though in springtime ascending a tower. I alone remain quiet, alas! like one that has not yet received an omen. I am like unto a babe that does not yet smile. 4. Forlorn am I, O so forlorn! It appears that I have no place whither I may return home. 5. The multitude of men all have plenty and I alone appear empty. Alas! I am a man whose heart is foolish. 6. Ignorant am I, O, so ignorant! Common people are bright, so bright, I alone am dull. 7. Common people are smart, so smart, I alone am confused, so confused. 8. Desolate am I, alas! like the sea. Adrift, alas! like one who has no place where to stay. 9. The multitude of men all possess usefulness. I alone am awkward and a rustic too. I alone differ from others, but I prize seeking sustenance from our mother. |
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