2025.05.26 - Reading the Analects, What to Read
Ping Xia
2025.05.26 – Reading the Analects: What to Read
Reading the Analects, What to Read
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/nDBugycBdW_NKFjehFyw4A
For more than two millennia, the transmission of the Analects has depended on generation‑after‑generation relay, and the Analects in turn has nourished countless people, teaching us how to conduct ourselves in the world. Today we read the Analects not only to trace its origins, but also to continue its literary lineage, return to the source, and create something new. When you feel weary, try listening to Confucius’s words: “The wise are free from doubt, the benevolent are free from anxiety, the brave are free from fear.” — perhaps this two‑thousand‑year‑old book hides the answer to your confusion.
From “Letting Go of Thought” to “Entering the Senses” – An Awakening
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/uxrcYFuQgk-gRh_eJd3xhA
“Let go of thought, let go of self, enter the senses, and feel purely.” Yet people wear many masks; the best start is observing nature. Everything in nature is pure and untainted; watch the seasons and feel the dominant energy of each season influencing you. Then observe people—natural behavior unfolds without excessive thinking.
Traditional‑Medicine Genius Ni Haixia: Ten Standards for Judging Health
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/0dc-eanUaznu2OXaNhZwoQ
- Sleeping through the night until sunrise.
- Your appetite.
- The first thing you do each morning is go to the bathroom…
Mr. Feng Xuecheng: The Secret Between Heaven and Humanity
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/mYBfDS9U0_GacHZ-rc3T7g
What is “human,” what is “heaven”? Why must we “know what heaven does, know what humans do”? How can we reach the highest state of “knowing what heaven does, knowing what humans do, thus attaining completeness”? What does “what heaven does” refer to? It has its own unique connotations, covering certain domains and radii. Likewise, what does “what humans do” denote? It also possesses distinct meanings and scopes.
The Heart Gives Birth to All Things; My Heart Is Bright
https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/AptcRyBzOFIfmZJt7sxxFQ
Our heart can nurture all things, expanding and radiant; it can also reflect all things, revealing clarity; and it can circulate unimpeded through the flow of time, ever‑renewing. Traditional Chinese medicine uses analogical imagery: if we liken the sky to the lungs, mountains to the spleen, and earth to the stomach, then the sun corresponds to our heart. A single blazing sun radiates light, fostering growth; the heart is the great ruler of the five organs, resonating with the yang energy of heaven and using that yang to stir qi and blood. When the heart‑ruler is calm, the whole body follows suit. In the Five‑Elements theory, the heart belongs to fire—dynamic, flexible, symbolizing warm energy, containing limitless vitality, and birthing the vigor of all things.
Originally written by Ping Xia (平侠) and published in Chinese on 拾一集 (Weekly Reflections). Translated and adapted for DriftSeas with permission.