Philosophers From China

"He that in his studies wholly applies himself to labour and exercise, and neglects meditation, loses his time, and he that only applies himself to meditation, and neglects labour and exercise, only wanders and loses himself."

"父在，觀其志；父殁，觀其行；三年无改於父之道，可謂孝矣。"

"見賢思齊焉；見不賢而內自省也。"

"里仁為美、擇不處仁、焉得知。"

"君子無所爭、必也射乎、揖譲而升下、而飲、其爭也君子。"

"殷因於夏禮，所損益，可知也；周因於殷禮，所損益，可知也。其或繼周者，雖百世，可知也。"

"人而不仁、如禮何。人而不仁、如樂何。"

"非其鬼而祭之，諂也。見義不為，無勇也。"

"多聞闕疑，慎言其餘，則寡尤。多見闕殆，慎行其餘，則寡悔。言寡無，行寡悔，祿在其中矣。"

"視其所以，觀其所由，察其所安。人焉叟哉？人焉叟哉？"

"由，誨女知之乎，知之為知之，不知為不知，是知也。"

"攻乎異端，斯害也己。"

"學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆。"

"君子周而不比，小人比而不周。"

"溫故而知新，可以為師矣。"

"吾十有五而志於學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十而从心所欲，不逾矩。"

"【第一章】子曰、爲政以德、譬如北辰、居其所、而眾星共之。"

"君子不重則不威，學則不固。主忠信。無友不如己者。過則勿憚改。"

"不患人之不己知，患不知人也。"

"君子食無求飽，居無求安，敏於事而慎於言，就有道而正焉，可謂好學也已。"

"道千乘之國，敬事而信，節用而愛人，使民以時。"

"主忠信。毋友不如己者。過，則勿憚改。"

"弟子，入則孝，出則弟，謹而信，凡愛眾，而親仁。行有餘力，則以學文。"

"學而時習之、不亦說乎。有朋自遠方來、不亦樂乎。人不知而不慍、不亦君子乎。"

"Follow the seasons of Ha, Ride in the state carriage of Yau, Wear the ceremonial cap of Chan, Let the music be the Shiu with its pantomimes."

"The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large."

"It is more shameful to distrust our friends than to be deceived by them."

"It is not truth that makes man great, but man that makes truth great."

"Man has three ways of acting wisely. First, on meditation; that is the noblest. Secondly, on imitation; that is the easiest. Thirdly, on experience; that is the bitterest."

"Men do not stumble over mountains, but over molehills"

"Confucius was not so much a philosopher as a proto-ideologist: what interested him was not metaphysical Truths but rather a harmonious social order within which individuals could lead happy and ethical lives. He was the first to outline clearly what could lead happy and ethical lives. He was the first to outline clearly what one is tempted to call the elementary scene of ideology, its zero-level, which consists in asserting the (nameless) authority of some substantial Tradition."

"Confucianism stood for a rationalized social order through the ethical approach, based on personal cultivation. It aimed at political order by laying the basis for it in a moral order, and it sought political harmony by trying to achieve the moral harmony in man himself. Thus its most curious characteristic was the abolition of the distinction between politics and ethics."

"Somebody asked Confucious once, one of his students; they said "What happens, Master Kong," which was his real name, "when we die?" He said, "Why do you ask about something we know nothing about, when you don't even ask about life, which we do have to deal with?""

"Our Master's teaching simply amounts to this: 'loyalty to one's self and charity to one's neighbours.'"

"I must confess that I am unable to appreciate the merits of Confucius. His writings are largely occupied with trivial points of etiquette, and his main concern is to teach people how to behave correctly on various occasions. When one compares him, however, with the traditional religious teachers of some other ages and races, one must admit that he has great merits, even if they are mainly negative. His system, as developed by his followers, is one of pure ethics, without religious dogma; it has not given rise to a powerful priesthood, and it has not led to persecution. It certainly has succeeded in producing a whole nation possessed of exquisite manners and perfect courtesy. Nor is Chinese courtesy merely conventional; it is quite as reliable in situations for which no precedent has been provided. And it is not confined to one class; it exists even in the humblest coolie. It is humiliating to watch the brutal insolence of white men received by the Chinese with a quiet dignity which cannot demean itself to answer rudeness with rudeness. Europeans often regard this as weakness, but it is really strength, the strength by which the Chinese have hitherto conquered all their conquerors."

"Confucius... said that the one who does not react to slander, which is slowly absorbed by the brain, nor to insults, which, like sores, injure the body, that one verily can be called wise; he who takes no notice of either slander or insults can be called far-sighted."

"I remember a story about the great Confucius. Once he was very ill, and his friends, thinking that he was about to die prompted him to say his prayers. The sage smiled and said, "My prayer started long ago." And indeed, was not all his life an unceasing service to the Great Ideal, which is the true prayer to the Highest?"

"Now let us imagine the situation of Moses if he had not resisted evil and had allowed the worst and crudest elements to destroy the best—the one which was able to assimilate the ideas of morality and order. What would have happened to his task? His duty as a leader and an earthly lawgiver was to protect his people and to maintain order. Therefore, the resistance to evil was basically necessary. All teachings of antiquity declare active resistance to evil. Thus, the well-known sage and lawgiver of China, Confucius, used to say, "God for good, but for evil—justice.""

"The Lord Maitreya,... took up the office of Bodhisattva when the Lord Gautama laid it down, and since then He has made many efforts for the promotion of Religion. One of His first steps on assuming office was to take advantage of the tremendous magnetism generated in the world by the presence of the Buddha, to arrange that great Teachers should simultaneously appear in many different parts of the earth; so that within a comparatively short space of time we find not only the Buddha Himself, Shri Shankaracharya and Mahavira in India, but also Mithra in Persia, Laotse and Confucius in China, and Pythagoras in ancient Greece. p. 296"

"China's Communist leaders, while officially genuflecting to Maoist ideology, are finding something of value in folk religion and even Confucianism―so reviled by the founders of the People's Republic. It turns out that old virtues like honesty, filial obedience, and respect for hierarchy have their uses in the modern age."

"Every Western Theosophist should learn and remember, especially those of them who would be our followers—that in our Brotherhood, all personalities sink into one idea—abstract right and absolute practical justice for all. And that, though we may not say with the Christians, return good for evil—we repeat with Confucius— return good for good, for evil—justice."

"Plato and Confucius were fifth round men and our Lord a sixth round man (the mystery of his avatar is spoken of in my forthcoming letter) not even Gautama Buddha's son was anything but a fourth round man."

"What Confucius contributes to our religious thought is no theory, but emphasis on individual conscience in belief."

"If one examines the reasons for the persecution of the best minds of different nations, and compares the reasons for the persecution and banishment of Pythagoras, Anaxagoras, Socrates, Plato, and others, one can observe that in each case the accusations and reasons for banishment were almost identical and unfounded. But in the following centuries full exoneration came, as if there had never been any defamation. It would be correct to conclude that such workers were too exalted for the consciousness of their contemporaries, and the sword of the executioner was ever ready to cut off a head held high. Pericles was recognized in his time only after people had reduced him to a sorry state. Only in that state could his fellow citizens accept him as an equal! A book should be written about the causes of the persecution of great individuals. By comparing the causes is it possible to trace the evil will. I advise you to write such a book. Let someone do it! Through research it will be possible to discover the inner similarities between the persecutions of Confucius and Seneca."

"Let us not link ourselves with the vilifiers of Plato and the persecutors of Confucius. They were oppressed by citizens who were considered the pride of the country. Thus has the world raised its hand against the great Servitors. Be assured that the Brotherhood formed by Pythagoras appeared dangerous in the eyes of the city guard. Paracelsus was a target for mockery and malignance. Thomas Vaughan seemed to be an outcast, and few wished to meet with him. Thus was the reign of darkness manifested."

"A hundred girls aren't worth a single testicle."

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated."

"No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance."

"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."