Three Wise Quotes From Confucius for People Who Are Highly Attracted to Spirituality
Ancient knowledge for modern spirituality.
Modern life is full of challenges for people with a high spiritual tendency.
- Liquid relationships.
- Virtuality.
- 24/7 sensory hyperstimulation
- Decreasing their attention span.
- Lack of authenticity in people.
The list goes on ad infinitum because technology has a very perverse side.
That is why, if you are spiritual, looking for support points in the ancestral wisdom of the great sages of history makes sense.
People like Confucius, aka “The Master,” who, despite being born 25 centuries ago (551 BC), his advice has much to offer today.
Here are three of them.
Let’s begin.
On spiritual leadership
“He who rules by virtue is like the North Star, which remains fixed while the other stars revolve respectfully around it.” — Confucius.
There are three types of leaders: authoritarian, charismatic, and virtuous.
When they occur in spirituality, the first are dangerous and tend to create sectarian movements.
The second ones put their interests before their followers, which is dangerous. And it turns them into leaders of the first group, authoritarian.
The third ones are the only ones worth following.
In this category, among others, you would be Jesus and Buddha.
For they were virtuous and led by example.
Lesson: Today, many sellers claim to be gurus. And all they want is your money and your attention. Be careful. Follow only the virtuous because virtue cannot be faked and always pursues good, peace, and truth.
On the sense of spirituality
“The three hundred Poems are summed up in a single phrase: Think no evil.” — Confucius.
This sentence is in chapter two of the famous book of Confucius, Luen Yu, also called Analects.
For me, its message is the same as the one Jesus tried to show….
Be virtuous, and treat others well.
First, let us analyze the word virtue,
- Virtue comes from the Latin virtus, which means power or potentiality.
And in the Bible, it refers to the habitual and firm disposition to do good.
And that is the synthesis of all human and spiritual knowledge: 1) Do not judge, and 2) do nothing that harms others because by harming others, we harm ourselves.
This is not something naive; human beings have achieved the technological prodigies of today thanks to collaboration.
Lesson: Every time you do something, remember the words of Marcus Aurelius: “If it’s not good for the hive, it’s not good for the bee.” And if what you are about to do is not aligned with the common good, don’t do it.
On not being in a hurry
“At 15, I dedicated myself to learning. At 30, I settled down. At 40, I had no doubts. At 50, I knew, the will of Heaven. At 60, my ear was tuned. At 70, I follow all my heart’s desires without breaking any laws.” — Confucius.
He means the same thing we can read in Ecclesiastes: “All things under the sun have a time and a season.”
There is no need to hurry.
There is an age to make mistakes, an age to learn, an age to show what you know, and an age to teach it.
In this case, the order of the factors does alter the product.
You can’t let the rush keep you from focusing on the process.
Because the process is what makes you a teacher.
In my 20s, I was so eager to write that I asked my favorite writers for advice on how to be a writer, and they would always answer the same thing, “Live. Then write. Don’t do it backward.”
And it’s true, what would I write about in my 20s if I didn’t know anything about life?
Learning to live can take a lifetime.
Lesson: don’t skip steps; don’t want to learn to run before you walk, or you will get hurt. Spirituality takes time. It’s not about becoming enlightened; it’s about “reaching” that state of enlightenment or peace; it’s about the process.
A virtual hug
AG
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