Confucius was a wise man that lived over two thousand years ago. He was a Chinese thinker and philosopher, whose teachings have deeply influenced Asian thought and life. He is seen by the Chinese people as the “Greatest Master.” Confucius may have died over two thousand years ago, but his wise words are as relevant today as they were when he first penned them. Here are a few of his most memorable quotes.
Confucius says …
1. “Never impose on others what you would not choose for yourself.”
It’s the “Golden Rule” and the essence of real compassion. Not compassion as in looking down on someone and have pity for another, this is no real compassion. Compassion means seeing another person 100% equal to yourself (in value, not in differentials on the surface which ultimately do not matter). In fact it is seeing yourself in every other person. And therefore you cannot harm anyone without also harming yourself.
It doesn’t mean to lose individuality or self-worth, on the contrary – but the other person earns the same gift.2. “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.”
That’s my personal favorite quote since it expresses something very profound which also is very useful to know: Ignorance is a willful neglect or refusal to acquire knowledge. It is to not widen one’s own perspective in order to see a broader truth. An example it would be to have racist thoughts and not realizing that all men are equal.
The ultimate truth therefore is where there is absolutely no ignorance, meaning where the perspective or consciousness has become one with all that there is. In Buddhism ignorance (Avidyā) is seen as the primary cause of suffering. Liberation is Enlightenment. Another quote by Confucius here is “Ignorance is the night of the mind, but a night without moon and star.”3. “I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
Those quotes are just perfect. What he is expressing here is that we have to experience something ourselves in order to really understand it. If we are hearing something it might be interesting. If we are seeing something it might be beautiful. But only if we have it happening to ourselves – actively doing it – we can really know how it is.
Picture something nice as winning an Olympic gold medal or picture something terrifying as the loss of a loved one. Can you know this by hearing it or by seeing it? Or do you have to do it and experience it yourself to really know it?
Along with this realization comes the awareness that you cannot understand someone or his actions from hearing or seeing it from the outside. You have to feel empathic compassion for him to really know what it is like. To know and not to do is really not to know. Only by applying our knowledge we can validate it’s harmony with reality, it’s truth.4. “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”
Amazing. It calls for dropping the inner mask through which we constantly see and evaluate the world, distorted by our wants and belief-systems. Here we have to look at things as they are. Just like a newborn child would look at things. Then we are able to really see again, without instant labeling of what we see and therefore only really seeing our label. If we become able to do this – just for a second without judgment, we can see that everything in nature is as it should be. And in this natural perfection lies beauty.
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