10. Confucius left the Song State and went to the Zheng State. He was separated from his disciples and stood alone under the east gate of the city. A Zhengguo man said to Zigong: There is a man at the east gate. His forehead is like Yao, his neck is like Cao Tao, and his shoulders are like Zichan. From his shoulders down, he is three inches shorter than Yu. His appearance is as miserable as a lost dog. Zigong talked to Confucius, and Confucius smiled and said, "You say I look like ancient sages, don't you think so?" The bereaved dog is quite similar. Dare to face one's own downfall and face one's true situation, which is a great state. Everyone should have a mind that makes you happy after hearing it and dare to admit yourself, so that you can understand and analyze yourself. This should be the case for ordinary people, and even more so for successful people.
11. Zigong went to see Confucius. Confucius said: Is there anything wrong with our teachings? Why have we fallen to this point? Zigong said: The Master's way is the greatest, so no one in the world can tolerate the Master. Can Master lower the standard a little? Confucius said: A good farmer works hard but cannot guarantee a good harvest; a good craftsman is good at his craft but cannot satisfy everyone's requirements. A gentleman can cultivate the Tao, use laws to regulate it, and use Taoism to govern, but there is no guarantee that your doctrine will be tolerated by the world. People should do their best in human affairs and obey the destiny of heaven. Isn't it just self-satisfaction in the present? People today generally seek perfection. Seeking fullness, the ancients knew how to seek shortcomings. Heaven and earth cannot last long, let alone human beings.
12. One day, Ran Qiu walked up to Confucius with a sad face and said to the teacher: It’s not that I don’t like it. Teacher, what you said is that my ability is not enough! When Confucius heard this, he said to Ran Qiu: "My ability is not enough only when I can't hold on until I stop halfway. It's you who have drawn boundaries for yourself at this moment." Wanting to make progress but not moving forward! This is a question about the relationship between ability and attitude. Ran Qiu became resistant to the teacher's teaching materials and blamed the academic gap on objectivity. We often say that attitude determines everything. Ability is important, but the extraordinary significance of attitude in achieving success cannot be underestimated. To achieve a career, it is difficult to achieve results without persistence. It is said that I desire benevolence, and this is the utmost benevolence.
13. Confucius visited a temple and saw a vessel that was tilted and easily covered. The temple guards said it was a vessel for sitting. Confucius said: I have heard that when the sitting utensil is empty, it is leaning (tilted), when it is in the middle, it is upright, and when it is full, it is tilted. A wise king always places it on the right side of his seat. Confucius asked his disciples to pour water, and it was true. Confucius sighed: How can everything be fulfilled without overturning? The disciple asked: Is there a way to persist in being full without overturning? Confucius said: If you are wise and wise, keep it with fools; if your merits are conquered by the world, keep them and let them go; with courage, you can shake up the world. , keep it with timidity; if you are rich all over the world, keep it with humility. This is the so-called way of losing again and again.
14. Confucius said: Ever since Ji Sun gave me a thousand kinds of millet, which I used to give to my friends, my relationship with my friends has become closer; ever since Nangong Jingshu asked me to sit down Once in the car, my words were even more welcome. Therefore, although Tao is very important, it must wait for a certain opportunity before it can be valued by others, and it can only be realized when there is a certain general trend. If Ji Sun and Nangong Jingshu hadn’t presented me with valuables, my Tao would have been almost destroyed. Although the Tao is precious, it must be done from time to time, and it must be done when there is momentum. The success of anything needs to be based on people, timing, and taking advantage of the situation. You cannot blindly emphasize working alone. Success also requires the support of others. The emergence of time and momentum is also a process of taking small steps to reach thousands of miles. As a pioneer, it is particularly difficult, but as long as you persist, you will eventually see the dawn of victory.
15. Chen Hou built the mausoleum balcony and killed dozens of people before it was completed, and then killed three officials who supervised the construction. Confucius and Chen Hou came to the stage to watch.
Marquis Chen asked: When the Zhou Dynasty built a spiritual platform, did they also kill people? Confucius said: King Wen built temples, and the people came as if sons were working for their fathers, so why kill people? Marquis Chen felt very ashamed, so he let the arrested officials go. , stopped the project. Treating others in a brutal and violent manner will only reap hostility and sow the seeds of hatred. Below others, we must treat ourselves as human beings; above others, we must treat others as human beings. If you don’t understand this truth and disobey the public, the result will be disastrous. Only by winning the hearts of the people can we win everything!
16. Zilu asked Confucius: Does a gentleman respect bravery? Confucius replied: A gentleman regards righteousness as the noblest virtue. A gentleman who is brave but unjust will cause chaos, and a villain will Those who are brave will steal. There is nothing wrong with a person advocating bravery, but this kind of bravery has restrictions and preconditions, and the prerequisite is that it must be morally sound. As a decision-maker, you must adhere to the most basic moral norms and adhere to the moral bottom line when carrying out your ambitions and plans. It should be noted that bravery without moral restraint is the greatest disaster in the world.
17. Confucius learned piano skills from Xiangzi and played the same piece of music for ten days in a row. Xiangzi asked him to change a piece of music. Confucius said: I haven't mastered the technique of playing the piano yet. Three times in a row, Confucius continued to play the same piece of music on the grounds that he did not understand the emotions of the music and the composer. After another period of time, Confucius finally said that I understood the personality of the composer. He was dark-skinned, tall, and had far-sighted eyes. He looked like a king who ruled all over the world. Who else could be like this except King Wen! Xiangzi paid homage to Confucius and said: My teacher once said that this piece of music is "Wen Wang Cao". If you cannot persist in all causes, knowledge, skills, and virtues in the world, you will not achieve anything. Therefore, Confucius said that people have no perseverance and cannot be witch doctors.
18. Confucius paid tribute to Lao Tzu, and when he was saying goodbye, Lao Tzu said to him: A rich person gives money to others, and a benevolent person gives words to others. I am not rich, so I will give you a gift in the name of a benevolent person. In a sentence: a person with a bright and insightful mind is endangered because he likes to talk about others; a person who is eloquent, eloquent and broad-minded is endangered because he exposes the ugliness of others. People who are children should not have egos, and people who are ministers should not have egos. When the water is extremely clear, there are no fish; when people observe it, there are no disciples. If you are lenient, you will gain people; if you are harsh, you will lose people. If you have no scum in your mind, you will be able to behave wisely; if you have no prejudice in your eyes, you will learn to be rich.
19. After Confucius and his party were trapped in Chen Cai and escaped from danger, Zilu said: We followed the teacher and suffered this, and I am afraid we will never forget it in our lives. Confucius said: What are luck and suffering? It is my luck to suffer the misfortune of Chen and Cai, and it is also your luck. I have heard that a king cannot succeed in his career without suffering, and that if an ambitious man does not suffer danger, his deeds will not be manifest. It is said that if you want to be a fine person, you must be forged in the fire; if you want to achieve heaven-shaking deeds, you must walk on thin ice. How can you explain the Samadhi without experiencing it personally?
20. Ye Gong asked Confucius how to manage political affairs. Confucius then said to him: Make people near you happy and make people far away join you. This statement may seem plain, but it has far-reaching meaning. What is the most important thing to rely on when it comes to happiness from near and far? It depends on good moral cultivation. For leaders, only by making people around you admire and happy, and making people from far away join you and praise you, is your real success!
21. Uncle Sun Wu was inspired by Confucius when he was not an official. His disciple Yan Hui received him. Yan Hui said to his subordinates: Receive him with the courtesy of a guest. Uncle Wu likes to expose other people's faults and judge them personally. Yan Hui said: "You will definitely bring shame on yourself by doing this. You should listen to my advice." I heard Confucius say: Talking about other people's shortcomings does not make you beautify yourself; saying that other people's behavior is not correct does not make your own behavior correct. ?So a gentleman only criticizes his own shortcomings and does not attack the shortcomings of others. A villain is good at gossiping, ridiculing others' strengths, and hiding his own shortcomings; a gentleman is good at confessing his own shortcomings, criticizing his own shortcomings, and taking the strengths of others to make up for his own shortcomings. Those who talk about right and wrong are right and wrong. If you are a true Taoist, you will not see the faults of the world. Only correct yourself, correct others first, correct yourself first, this is a must-know when dealing with others.