Friday 11 January 2008

The Teaching of Confucius - My Brief Interpretation of Analects, Part 2

Be a principle-centered leader and a good example for the people, treat the people the way you want to be treated. Build their inner qualities to be moral and ethical, and let these qualities act as their own guidance.

Do not treat your family like your dogs or horses, which you fulfill by providing food or shelter only. You should also connect with them spiritually with love and respect.

Be honest about your knowledge, if you do not know something, acknowledge that and learn about it. Learning should always be coupled with your own thinking.

A noble man is not a product, which has only one fixed function, instead, he can be whatever he chooses to be.

You can understand a lot about a person by the actions he takes. Likewise, a noble man should be able to do what he preaches, do not be a leader who asks people to do what he says, but do not do what he does. In addition to that, a noble man's actions should be congruent with his private heart, and not doing what he should do is cowardice.

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