Aphorisms of Confucius and their interpretation. Ancient thinker and philosopher Confucius

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:43

He saw the meaning of human existence in the affirmation in the Celestial Empire of the highest and universal form of the social and ethical order "tao", or the path. He considered the main manifestations of Tao to be humanity, justice, self-respect, respect for the son, fidelity and mercy. This article will focus on the sayings and aphorisms of Confucius.

Confucianism in China

In modern terms, we can say that Confucius is the main brand of China. After all, the self-identification of the people is associated with the choice of a person who represents it as accurately and vividly as possible. Actually, this is not such a simple question. On a solid and extensive Chinese foundation, from the oldest historical and philosophical thought of the world, the figure of Confucius rises, the wisdom of aphorisms and teachings of which really deserves veneration.

Personality

As mentioned in the "Historical Notes" by Sima Qian, an ancient Chinese historian and encyclopedist, Confucius was born in a "wild marriage". Such a concept as "wild marriage" means that a parent in advanced yearsallowed himself a relationship with a young concubine. His father died, and Confucius was brought up in an incomplete family. He became the first Chinese educator to teach to anyone for a bunch of dried meat. So, the school replaced him with a related association. His very name Kung Fu Tzu (in Chinese) speaks of his vocation, because "fu-tzu" is translated as "teacher, sage, philosopher."

Confucius lived in an era of fragmentation and struggle of many kingdoms. The age was difficult, but remarkable for that, and therefore was called the golden age of Chinese philosophy. In China, becoming a philosopher means becoming a teacher and getting a school. Confucius traveled to different countries with his students and offered his services in state administration - now it is called management. His activity is truly unique, its results had a strong impact on the life of society in the 6th-5th centuries BC. Despite the innovative trend of his teaching, Confucius insisted on returning to the origins, that is, on rethinking the knowledge already available.

Good and Evil

You should study the sayings and aphorisms of Confucius about good and evil.

As if confirming the wisdom of many religious movements and anticipating the Christian ideology, Confucius appeals to the mind and awareness of a person with the phrase: "Do not do to another what you do not wish for yourself." From century to century, this wisdom is based on not causing harm to others, since, as the people say, retribution for deeds far from goodnesswill follow either inevitably, or over time, or will affect the lives of descendants. Performing any action, we send certain information into space, which creates a certain charge of energy that overtakes us like a boomerang at the most unexpected moment. When we do good things, we attract good things into our lives, and vice versa.

Speaking of Confucius's aphorisms about good and evil, one cannot fail to mention such a saying: "Try to be at least a little kinder, and then you will see that you will not be able to do a bad deed." This expression can be interpreted as follows: once having embarked on the path of goodness, we form in our head a block of rejection of everything unworthy in the behavior of a conscious and developed person, which simply does not allow us to sink again, because in this way we will betray ourselves. Having once tasted something better in our everyday life, we yearn for it with all our hearts, and run away from the old. This is how development happens.

Confucius' aphorisms about the meaning of life

"You can curse the darkness all your life, but you can light at least a small candle." This saying of Confucius, an ancient thinker and philosopher, is imbued with the deepest wisdom. How often do we lose our bearings, forget to look back at all the beauty that is in us, in other people, in the environment, and get hung up on the negative side of life. It is enough just to kindle the flame of one pleasant thought in yourself, as life begins to acquire new colors. Blooming from the inside, we are transformed on the outside as well.we influence those around us. This is how we create our own reality.

"Not the great one who never fell, but the great one who fell and got up." This can be called one of the best aphorisms of Confucius. As aptly noted, every failure leads to success. "Falling" is useful and necessary if a person knows how to learn a lesson. The height of our achievements is determined by the depth of the pit into which we have fallen. Every time you fail, rejoice - because you have room to grow, you are not a lost option for society and the planet, you still have to work on yourself.

"Life is really simple, but we insist on making it more difficult." Indeed, everything complex is veiled simple. Each complex subject can be disassembled into simple components, this is what helps to comprehend something complex. Having de alt with simple things, we are able to unravel something that previously seemed absurd to us. Another meaning of this statement lies in the fact that we are bored with things that we understand, we need mystery, pretentiousness, some pathos and difficulty in execution. For example, simple dishes and gourmet dishes. Sometimes you need to use remarkable abilities to reveal the ingredients of a dish saturated with various spices and additives. So we are moving away from a simple truth - simplicity leads to he alth, because he althy food is not always tasty (at first glance) food that has undergone a minimum of heat treatment. We are served dishes that, in addition to various pickles, could pass through a pot, pan, oven, only toget on your table. It would seem, why such tricks? Everything lies in the greed and insatiability of human nature, unable to enjoy the little for a long time.

Aphorisms of Confucius and their interpretation - about education

"The most beautiful sight in the world is the sight of a child walking confidently on the path of life after you have shown him the right path." Many of us are still the same children who have not found their destiny. And all because we were brought up by children wandering in the dark. Yes, in life you need to be a child, but purposeful - so that your eyes burn and your hands do. Sloth and idleness lead to the destruction of personality. A true child is a creative being, ready to do what he loves at any moment.

About the Board

We attributed the following to Confucius's aphorisms about the state: "If you are overzealous in the service, you can lose the favor of the sovereign. If you are overly cordial in friendship, you will lose the favor of friends." We can say that this quote contains the idea that obsession and the desire to please everyone only repel. Don't try too hard to please others. And is it worth trying to get the location of another person? Isn't it easier and calmer to be yourself, without antics and self-restraints? Do not be afraid to refuse people if their proposals contradict your principles and attitudes. So, on the contrary, you will earn the respect of others as a person you can rely on in difficult times. Honesty with oneself leads to honestywith those around you. On some invisible level, people are able to feel whether they are being flattered or not. And this largely shapes their further attitude towards a person.

"If he himself is direct, then they will do everything even without an order. And if he himself is not direct, then they will not obey, despite your order." A man who changes his mind, who has seven Fridays in a week, is not able to maintain his person as an authority for subjects. Being unsure of himself, such a person may turn out to be unreliable in governing the country or the household - he will squander everything until a rainy day with his conflicting ideas and infantile decisions. A person in leadership should be distinguished by directness of views and thoughts in order to convey them as accurately as possible to the environment.

"It is a shame to be poor and lowly when law reigns in the state; just as it is a shame to be noble and rich when lawlessness reigns in the state." This statement can fit absolutely any state, because now there are not many countries in the world where noble people are in power, and the law is fair and humane.

About love

"Only a truly human person can both love and hate." In this statement of Confucius, we see that strong feelings that are revealed to the fullest are capable of being experienced by people who know how to empathize with others, sympathize with them, who look at the world with a heightened sense of justice. There is boundless love, there is just hatred. The rest may experience high and low feelings, but without fanaticism. Herepeople who have departed from the habits of all animals are learning righteous anger and love.

"Love is the beginning and the end of our existence. There is no life without love. Because love is what a wise person bows down to." This is one of the most heartfelt quotes and aphorisms of Confucius about love. The one who rejects love is stupid, because, left without love, he loses motivation for activity, life, awakening in the morning. We must love, if not the people around us, then at least the things that surround us every day, otherwise life turns into complete chaos. You can also understand it as self-love. Only by loving himself, a person begins to transform and improve, create and comprehend this world. Confucius, wise sayings, quotes and aphorisms of which we are considering in this article, was a wise and deep man. Therefore, all his sayings, falling into the field of vision of a developed person, flourish in the thought process of the recipient.

"When the paths are not the same, they do not make plans together" is one of the most practical aphorisms of Confucius about love, which alludes to the fact that people with different life goals cannot combine their destinies with favorable consequences. Only a single spirit of lovers is able to maximize the potential of each of them and move them as far as possible towards a common goal.

Oh happiness

“Eating roughage, drinking spring water, sleeping with your own hand under your head-there is a special joy in all of this. And we alth and nobility, acquired unrighteously, are like floating clouds for me!” This is one of the mostvivid aphorisms of Confucius about happiness, which implies the search for bliss in the small and pious. Being satisfied with this bit of comfort, a person can survive anywhere and anytime, while not experiencing extreme deprivation, because he has not adapted to luxury. Abundance guarantees the degradation of the soul and body. And dishonestly acquired we alth generally destroys a person from the inside, devours him whole, turning him into his most devoted slave, ready to embark on adventures again and again to maintain illusory freedom from poverty. All these "floating clouds", like dust, dissipate in difficult times or harm their owner, because he is attached to them with all his soul, which means he is ready to die for them.

Another pearl from Confucius' aphorisms about happiness: “To study and apply what you have learned to business at the right time - isn't it wonderful! Talking with a friend who has come from distant countries - isn't it joyful! Isn’t it lofty not to be appreciated by the world and not to bear a grudge!” Here we see that Confucius considered happiness not only wisdom, not only humanity, but also uniqueness, isolation from the general mass of people, the ability to think individually and at the same time feel organic, not feel like an outcast, not complain about the world and society..

About work

The following was attributed to the aphorisms of Confucius about work: "Whoever repeats the old knowledge and finds something new in it, he can be the leader." The essence of this statement is that innovation can be shown only on the basis of previously knownideas. Nihilism, based on the denial of the mistakes of the past, is not appropriate here. The past is a tool for sculpting our current and future state, just as looking into the future, we can change the present. The one who uses the knowledge of his ancestors and extracts the grains of truth from them is able to occupy leading positions in the state, because he knows the ancient secret of government.

"The human husband will not long be in distress, but he will not be long in idleness either." This is one of Confucius' aphorisms about work and laziness. Reading these lines, you immediately remember the Russian folk wisdom: "Cause - time, fun - an hour." Here, however, there is some deviation from the image we are accustomed to: according to Confucius, a person does not exhaust himself with work and finds enough time for rest, that is, an hour for business, an hour for rest. Here we are talking about balance in life, which is achieved by balancing all aspects of life. Good, pleasant work will not cause inconvenience and displeasure to the person who undertakes it. That is, having found something to your liking, you can enjoy every moment as much as possible, without experiencing torment and suffering from the feeling of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Character Traits

Confucius, wise sayings, aphorisms and quotes of which we are considering in this article, according to his students, had an affectionate and good-natured disposition, was distinguished by patience and justice, his diet was always dominated by plant foods, although he did not shun meat. He was immoderate only in wine, revering it as a waymeditation, but never drunk to the point of unconsciousness. He was modest in speeches and in food, dividing the main and the secondary. Ginger has always been of great importance in his life, which, as it is believed in China, neutralizes the harmful effects of meat and intoxicating substances.

"A noble man finds the causes of his failures in himself, while a vile man finds them in others." This wonderful statement perfectly describes the way of life of people who are accustomed to blaming anyone but themselves for all their troubles. It is not they who are lazy and lack of initiative, but the state undermines their "wings", it is not they who are weak-willed, but their parents "brought them up badly." Answers can always be found. A truly strong-willed person is able to recognize his imperfection and strives to change himself at all costs.

"When you meet a worthy person, think about becoming equal to him, and when you see an unworthy person, look into yourself." To notice the merits of others is a whole art of life, because initially a person looks for shortcomings in others. This property of an animal is to rise above others by finding their weaknesses, while humanity implies seeing God in another person through admiration for his creativity, skills, knowledge. Only a developed personality can see the divine principle in each person and help him unleash this mighty power of creation.

"Nothing so easily excites a person and brings him to self-forgetfulness, which leads to the most detrimental consequences, like outbursts of annoyance and anger, and therefore, in order to avoid greatdelusions, you need to notice them in the bud. "How much firewood can be broken, being in a bad mood! A person who does not know how to control his anger is not able to manage his life.