One Of Confucius Quotes & Sayings

One who will study for three years. Without thought of reward. Would be hard indeed to find. — Confucius

If there were one word that could act as a standard of conduct for one's entire life, perhaps it would be 'thoughtfulness. — Confucius

The Master said, If out of the three hundred songs I had to take one phrase to cover all my teachings, I would say 'Let there be no evil in your thoughts.' — Confucius

Is there any one maxim which ought to be acted upon throughout one's whole life? Surely the maxim of loving kindness is such: Do not unto others what you would not they should do unto you. — Confucius

The highest kind of man is the one who does before talking and practices what he professes. — Confucius

The perfecting of one's self is the fundamental base of all progress and all moral development. — Confucius

There is a certain proper and luxurious way of lying in bed. Confucius, that great artist of life, "never lay straight" in bed, "like a corpse", but always curled up on one side. I believe one of the greatest pleasures of life is to curl up one's legs in bed. The posture of the arms is also very important, in order to reach the greatest degree of aesthetic pleasure and mental power. I believe the best posture is not lying flat on the bed, but being upholstered with big soft pillows at an angle of thirty degrees with either one arm or both arms placed behind the back of one's head. — Lin Yutang

If I were travelling with two partners, one virtuous and one dishonest, both would be useful as teachers. I would perceive what's good of the first one and I would imitate him whereas I would try to correct in me the defects I may see in the second one. — Confucius

What was standing in my way was my own self-awareness. If I can begin this fasting of the heart, self-awareness will vanish. Then I will be free from limitation and preoccupation I Is that what you mean?" "Yes," said Confucius, "that's it! If you can do this, you will be able to go among men in their world without upsetting them. You will not enter into conflict with their ideal image of themselves. If they will listen, sing them a song. If not, keep silent. Don't try to break down their door. Don't try out new medicines on them. Just be there among them, because there is nothing else for you to be but one of them. Then you may have success! — Thomas Merton

The one who teaches is the giver of eyes. — Confucius

As in the case of making a mound, if, before the very last basketful, I stop, then I shall have stopped. As in the case of leveling the ground, if, though tipping only one basketful, I am going forward, then I shall be making progress. — Confucius

No matter how accomplished one might be in any branch of learning or art, one would have to be condemned to hell, if on where not endowed with th five cardinal virtues of Confucius-benevolence, justice, courtesy, wisdom and fidelity — Ryunosuke Akutagawa

I never instruct those who aren't full of passion, and I never enlighten those who aren't struggling to explain themselves. If I show you one corner and you can't show me the other three, I'll say nothing more. — Confucius

Riches and honor are what everyone desires, but if they can be gained only by doing evil, they must not be held. Don't worry about not being in office, worry about qualifying yourself for office. Don't worry that no one knows you, but seek to be worthy of being known. — Confucius

The silent treasuring up of knowledge; learning without satiety; and instructing others without being wearied: which one of these things belongs to me? — Confucius

Accept success as a good thing, and invite it into your life.
Set today as the starting point for a new life.
Every race starts at one point.
Every building starts with one stone.
Every great work, every dream, every great achievement starts somewhere.
The march of a thousand miles begins with one step, said Confucius.
Everyone, absolutely everyone, have to start the walk somewhere.
It does not matter where you are right now.
It does not matter if you are a student, a professional, a housewife, a peasant coming to the city looking for a better life.
It does not matter if you are unemployed and out of work (or as I like to refer to it: awaiting for a really wonderful and transformative life experience that I was not having in my former employment).
What matters is not if you have a lot or have a little; but what you decide to do with what you have. — Mauricio Chaves Mesen

When superiors are fond of showing their humanity, inferiors try to outstrip one another in their practice of it. — Confucius

There is one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one's life -reciprocity. — Confucius

When you have become one with the Great Universal, you will have no partiality, and when you are part of the process of transformation, you will have no rigidity. — Confucius

The way of Heaven and Earth may be completely declared in one sentence: They are without any doubleness, and so they produce things in a manner that is unfathomable. — Confucius

Adept Lu spent a night at Stone Date, and the gatekeeper asked: Where are you from? From the House of Confucius, replied Lu. Isn't he the one who knows it's hopeless, but keeps trying anyway? — Confucius

All the darkness in the world can't put out the light of one candle. — Confucius

If I hold up one corner of a square and the student cannot workout the other three for himself, I won't go any further. — Confucius

Who expects to be able to go out of a house except by the door? How is it then that no one follows this Way of ours? — Confucius

Don't worry if you have no position: worry about making yourself worthy of one. Don't worry if you aren't known and admired: devote yourself to a life that deserves admiration. — Confucius

From the loving example of one family a whole State may become loving, and from its courtesies, courteous; while from the ambition and perverseness of the one man the whole State may be thrown into rebellious disorder. Such is the nature of influence. — Confucius

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance. - Confucius The highest form of ignorance is when you reject something you don't know anything about. - Wayne Dyer — Max Tegmark

Revenge may be exacted a hundred times over in one sleepless night. The impulse, the dreaming intention, is human, normal, and we should forgive ourselves. But the raised hand, the actual violent enactment, is cursed. The maths says so. There'll be no reversion to the status quo ante, no balm, no sweet relief, or none that lasts. Only a second crime. Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves, Confucius said. Revenge unstitches a civilisation. It's a reversion to constant, visceral fear. — Ian McEwan

You know what I want to think of myself? As a human being. Because, I mean I don't want to be like As Confucius say, but under the sky, under the heavens there is but one family. It just so happens that people are different. — Bruce Lee

The Master said, The case is like that of someone raising a mound. If he stops working, the fact that it perhaps needed only one more basketful makes no difference; I stay where I am. Whereas even if he has not got beyond leveling the ground, but is still at work, the fact that he has only tilted one basketful of earth makes no difference. I go to help him. — Confucius

As Confucius once said, 'He who does nothing is the one who does nothing.'"
Gabby pondered the words, the furrowed her brow. "did Confucius really say that?"
Sunglasses in place, Stephanie managed the tiniest of shrugs. "No, but who cared? The point is, they handled, and most likely they found some sort of self-satisfaction in their industrious-ness. Who am I to deprive them of that? — Nicholas Sparks

I am not one who was born in the possession of knowledge; I am one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there. — Confucius

Confucius was not so much a philsopher 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 one is tempted to call the elementary scene of ideology, its zero-level, which consists in asserting the (nameless) authority of some substantial Tradition. — Slavoj Zizek

The Master said, "I have not seen a person who loved virtue, or one
who hated what was not virtuous. He who loved virtue, would esteem
nothing above it. He who hated what is not virtuous, would practice
virtue in such a way that he would not allow anything that is not
virtuous to approach his person.
"Is any one able for one day to apply his strength to virtue? I have
not seen the case in which his strength would be insufficient.
"Should there possibly be any such case, I have not seen it. — Confucius

A disciple having asked for a definition of charity, the Master said LOVE ONE ANOTHER. — Confucius

Place where man laughs, sings, picks flowers, chases butterflies and pets birds, makes love with maidens, and plays with children. Here he spontaneously reveals his nature, the base as well as the noble. Here also he buries his sorrows and difficulties and cherishes his ideals and hopes. It is in the garden that men discover themselves. Indeed one discovers not only his real self but also his ideal self?he returns to his youth. Inevitably the garden is made the scene of man's merriment, escapades, romantic abandonment, spiritual awakening or the perfection of his finer self. — Confucius

The Master said, "A true gentleman is one who has set his heart upon the Way. A fellow who is ashamed merely of shabby clothing or modest meals is not even worth conversing with."
(Analects 4.9) — Confucius

Confucius say if man want to grow one row of corn, first must shovel one ton of shit. — Stephen King

If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my teacher. I will pick out the good points of the one and imitate them, and the bad points of the other and correct them in myself. — Confucius

I am Plato's Republic. Mr. Simmons is Marcus. I want you to meet Jonathan Swift, the author of that evil political book, Gulliver's Travels! And this other fellow is Charles Darwin, and-this one is Schopenhauer, and this one is Einstein, and this one here at my elbow is Mr. Albert Schweitzer, a very kind philosopher indeed. Here we all are, Montag. Aristophanes and Mahatma Gandhi and Gautama Buddha and Confucius and Thomas Love Peacock and Thomas Jefferson and Mr. Lincoln, if you please. We are also Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. — Ray Bradbury

These are the four abuses: desire to succeed in order to make oneself famous; taking credit for the labors of others; refusal to correct one's errors despite advice; refusal to change one's ideas despite warnings. — Confucius

I do not enlighten those who are not eager to learn, nor arouse those who are not anxious to give an explanation themselves. If I have presented one corner of the square and they cannot come back to me with the other three, I should not go over the points again. — Confucius

All things are nourished together without their injuring one another. The courses of the seasons, and of the sun and moon, are pursued without any collision among them. The smaller energies are like river currents; the greater energies are seen in mighty transformations. It is this which makes heaven and earth so great. — Confucius

It is goodness that gives to a neighborhood its beauty. One who is free to choose, yet does not prefer to dwell among the good - how can he be accorded the name of wise? — Confucius

As the great Confucius said, "The one who would be in constant happiness must frequently change." Flow. But we keep looking back, don't we? We cling to things in the past and cling to things in the present ... Do you want to enjoy a symphony? Don't hold on to a few bars of the music. Don't hold on to a couple of notes. Let them pass, let them flow. The whole enjoyment of a symphony lies in your readiness to allow the notes to pass ... — Anthony De Mello

If one should desire to know whether a kingdom is well governed, if its morals are good or bad, the quality of its music will furnish the answer. — Confucius

If I give a student one-fourth of what he should know, I expect him to get the other three-fourths himself, otherwise I do not want him as a student. — Confucius

Would you say that any one sacred book is superior to all others in the world? ... I say the New Testament, after that, I should place the Koran , which in its moral teachings, is hardly more than a later edition of the New Testament. Then would follow according to my opinion the Old Testament, the Southern Buddhist Tripitaka , the Tao-te-king of Laotze , the Kings of Confucius , the Veda and the Avesta . — Max Muller

It is better to light one small candle of gratitude than to curse the darkness. — Confucius

A man should demand much from himself, but little from others. When you meet a man of worth, think how you may attain to his excellence. When you meet an unworthy one, then look within and examine yourself. — Confucius

True knowledge is when one knows the limitations of one's knowledge. — Confucius

Even when walking in the company of two other men, I am bound to be able to learn from them. The good points of the one I copy, the bad points of the other I correct in myself. — Confucius

When one cultivates to the utmost the principles of his nature, and exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the path. — Confucius

What Confucius tells us to focus on first is not how to bring stability to the world, but how to be the best possible version of ourselves. To "cultivate one's moral character" is the first step towards taking responsibility for the nation, and for society. Confucius and his disciples struggled hard to be "the best version" of themselves, but their aim in this was to better carry out their responsibilities to the society in which they lived. — Yu Dan

If we find ourselves tempted to celebrate one approach over the other, we should remember the caution of the Chinese sage Confucius, who told his followers, "Study without thinking and you are blind; think without studying and you are in danger." Formal — Kent Nerburn

To be in one's own heart in kindly sympathy with all things; this is the nature of righteousness — Confucius

Yes, but bad language is bound to make in addition bad government, whereas good language is not bound to make bad government. That again is clear Confucius: if the orders aren't clear they can't be carried out. Lloyd George's laws were such a mess, the lawyers never knew what they meant. And Talleyrand proclaimed that they changed the meaning of words between one conference and another. The means of communication breaks down, and that of course is what we are suffering now. We are enduring the drive to work on the subconscious without appealing to the reason. They repeat a trade name with the music a few times, and then repeat the music without it so that the music will give you the name. I think of the assault. We suffer from the use of language to conceal thought and to withhold all vital and direct answers. There is the definite use of propaganda, forensic language, merely to conceal and mislead. — Ezra Pound

A township where one primitive forest waves above, while another primitive forest rots below, - such a town is fitted to raise not only corn and potatoes, but poets and philosophers for the coming ages. In such a soil grew Homer and Confucius and the rest, and out of such a wilderness comes the Reformer eating locusts and wild honey. — Henry David Thoreau

There is one single thread binding my way together ... the way of the Master consists in doing one's best ... that is all. — Confucius

Only through education does one come to be dissatisfied with his own knowledge, and only through teaching others does one come to realize the uncomfortable inadequacy of his knowledge. Being dissatisfied with his own knowledge, one then realizes that the trouble lies with himself, and realizing the uncomfortable inadequacy of his knowledge one then feels stimulated to improve himself. Therefore, it is said, "the processes of teaching and learning stimulate one another." — Confucius

Care not for want of place; care for thy readiness to fill one. Care not for being unknown, but seek to be worthy of note. — Confucius

A man of humanity is one who, in seeking to establish himself, finds a foothold for others and who, in desiring attaining himself, helps others to attain. — Confucius