Jen
The Master has many wise things to say. There is something The Master has to say about everything. For example, Tzu-kung asked about one world being served for all of one’s life. The Master responded by saying, “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.” There is nothing but positivity and love in everything The Master has to say. Jen is ended with the words, “Let every attainment in what is good be firmly grasped.”
The Superior Man
The Master talks about the superior man. This can be taken in many diferent ways and understood in many different ways. When The Master is talking about the superior man, we can liken his words to ourselves. When The Master speaks about being humble and patient, he is speaking to us. The Master said, “The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.”
Li
The Master speaks about ceremonies saying, “...ceremonies performed without reverence; mourning conducted wihtout sorrow-wherewith should I contemplate such ways?” It is clear that The Master is teaching how things should be done in a respectful and tactful manner.
Yueh
The Master is instructing the Grand music of Lu and he talks about how everything should sound together.
Learning and Teaching
It is said that The Master has four things from which he is entirely free: conclusions, arbitrary predeterminations, obstinance, and egotism. About this he said, “To have faults and not to reform them-this, indeed, should be pronounced having faults.”
Government
This is a very interesting section. Talking about the government Chi K’ang-tzu asked about killing uprincipled people for the sake of principled people. To that Confucius replied, addressing him as sir, “...why should you use killing at all?”
Rectifying the Names
To rectify or not to rectify? To correct or not correct? Confucius said, “To govern means to rectify. If you lead on the people with correctness, who will dare not to be correct?”
