Theme: service
2 reflections tagged with "service"
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servicegenerosityselflessness
Serving Without Expecting Return
This passage shows Confucius' practical wisdom about giving. He does not demand that we reward cruelty with sweetness—that would cheapen kindness itself. Instead, he distinguishes between fair response (to wrongs) and generous response (to goodness). Service, for Confucius, is not transactional but principled.
Day 107
humilityquiet-goodnessservice
Not Boasting of Good Deeds
In this famous scene where each disciple shares his aspiration, Yan Hui—Confucius' most beloved student—offers the quietest wish: not to boast of his good qualities and not to burden others with his labors. While Zilu's aspiration is generous and outward, Yan Hui's is inward and self-effacing. Confucius' own wish follows: to comfort the old, be trusted by friends, and cherish the young.