Confucius

Confucius, whose name literally means "Master Kong", lived 551-479 BCE.

.

He was a Chinese thinker and philosopher, whose teachings have deeply influenced not only Asian thought and life

.

He presented himself as a "transmitter who invented nothing" and he really pointed out the importance of learning, which is one reason he is seen by Chinese people as "The Greatest Master".
.
One of the best known sources of Confucius are The Analects, a collection of his teachings, which was compiled many years after his death.

.

A fountain of extremely mindful quotes springs from these ancient descriptions.
.
Many of them are universal and timeless and they are as valid today as on the day they left Confucius’ mouth.

.

Here are a few quotes by Confucius that you might not know.
.

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 as equal to yourself (in value, not in specialities 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

Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance

Ignorance is a willful neglect or refusal to acquire knowledge.

.
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

.

I hear and I forget and I remember I do and I understand

.

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 feel it happening to ourselves we can really know how it is

.

Everything has beauty but not everyone sees it
.
This calls for our dropping the perceptions through which we constantly see and evaluate the world,

Perceptions distorted by our wants and belief-systems.

Better try to emulate a newborn child and how it would look at things.

.

The superior man is aware of righteousness, the inferior man is aware of advantage

The .object of the superior man is truth."

.

It is the value of integrity

.

To be truthful to ourselves

.

Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart

Whatever you do and whatever you commit to, do it fully, give your all

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in getting up every time we do

.

There is no failure, there are only valuable learning experiences.

.

A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it, is committing another mistake

He who learns but does not think, is lost . He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger
,
Study without reflection is a waste of time; reflection without study is dangerous is a similar quote by Confucius

.

He that would perfect his work must first sharpen his tools