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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Sovereign" data-source="post: 57326" data-attributes="member: 10">Now I want to make a quick explanation of the stories of Mencius and Confucius. Confucius was called Kong chu or Kong Qiu which ever came first, Mencius is called Mengzi or Menki somewhere around those lines. Now Confucius story goes that as a kid when he played, he would take toys of reference to ceremony and he had respect for his elders, Mencius came from an aristocratic clan that fell into obscurity who's mother in a famous story cut through cloth that she was making to show her son not to half way his studies. Now my point, when they became adults Confucius cared deeply for virtue and respected his fellow man, Mencius was upright and cared deeply about what was right. From them I learn that it is possible to be good without having to lower oneself to barbarism. Though Confucius never held an official title for long, nor did Mencius ever hold a official office what they left for the world was remarkable in that they show us it is possible yet difficult, hard and yet they survived. I'll give two examples:King Hui of LiangWhen Mencius arrived at court, the king greeted him:“Sir, you have come a thousand li. Surely you bring something to profit my state?”Mencius replied calmly:“Why speak of profit? I bring teachings of righteousness and benevolence.If your majesty always asks: ‘How do I profit my state?’, ministers will ask: ‘How do I profit my family?’The people will ask: ‘How do I profit myself?’If everyone thinks only of profit, the realm will fall into chaos.”The king was taken aback. Mencius’ message was clear: a ruler obsessed with personal gain ruins the moral order.<h3></h3><h3>Analects 1:4 — Zengzi’s Three Daily Self-Examinations</h3>曾子曰：「吾日三省吾身：為人謀而不忠乎？與朋友交而不信乎？傳不習乎？」Zengzi said: “Each day I examine myself on three matters:Have I been loyal in my efforts for others?Have I been trustworthy in my dealings with friends?Have I failed to practice what has been passed on to me?”So how can we take what they wrote and see if its relevant in our lives? In frank, I do not know, but if I had to take a shot in the dark it can be as simple as not stepping on a snail when you know its in front of you, when you know you can lie but choose not to, last but not least when you look in the mirror you are honest with yourself.</blockquote>

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