Tao Te Ching

The Power of Goodness, the Wisdom Beyond Words
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Mencius 孟子

(Mengzi)

372 – 289 BCE

Itinerant sage, most famous Confucian and more influential than Confucius himself; Zhu Xi included Mencius as one of the Four Books used as the Chinese official curriculum for over 700 years until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1912. He emphasized the innate goodness of each person and attributed corruption and crime to bad leadership and social values. He promoted education based on understanding instead of memorization and like Socrates taught that people have the right and even mandate to overthrow a harsh ruler who disregards the people’s needs.

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Book of Mencius 孟子

Unlisted Sources

Quotes by Mencius (38 quotes)

“One who believes all of a book would be better off without books.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Chapters: 65. Simplicity: the Hidden Power of Goodness

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“The great person is one who does not lose his mind-and-heart of a child.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Chapters: 55. Forever Young

Themes: True Self

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“The ten thousand things are all within us.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Chapters: 33. Know Yourself

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“The way of learning is none other than finding the lost mind.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Chapters: 20. Unconventional Mind

Themes: Education

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“The way we care for Heaven is by guarding our mind and nourishing our nature.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Chapters: 59. The Gardening of Spirit

Themes: Health

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“The wise person does not lose their child-like heart.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Chapters: 28. Turning Back

Themes: Wisdom

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“When the ruler view his ministers as his hands and feet, they regard him as their heart and soul. When he views them as dirt and weeds, they regard him as an enemy and a thief.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Chapters: 17. True Leaders

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“There are three things which are unfilial and the greatest of them is to have no posterity.”

from Our Oriental Heritage

Themes: Sex Family

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“'Politicians and generals who always want to extend their territories and fill their treasuries are called, 'Robbers of the People and should suffer the highest punishments.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Chapters: 30. No War

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“Why must Your Majesty use the word ‘profit’? Surely, it is true goodness and righteousness alone that matter.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“Do not let finely meshed nets be cast in ponds and lakes and the fish and turtles will be more than can be consumed; let axes enter the mountain groves only at the appropriate time and the timber will be more than can be used.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“The truly good has no enemies.”

from Book of Equanimity

Themes: Warriors Enemy

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“To give protection to the people is to be a true king.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“To keep a constant mind-and-heart of goodness without a constant, meaningful livelihood is only possible for a very few. If people lack a good livelihood, it follows that they will lack a good mind and heart; will become reckless, depraved, and stop at nothing. Only hypocritical, greedy, and criminal leaders create the causes of crime and then punish the people for it.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Chapters: 75. Greed

Themes: Livelihood Crime

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“If filial piety and fraternal respect are made important principles of instruction in village schools, graying haired elders will no longer be on the roads carrying heavy loads on their backs and heads... Treat with the reverence due to old age the elders in your own family, so that the elders in the families of others shall be similarly treated.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Themes: Education Old Age

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“If our actions do not satisfy the mnd-and-heart, we become starved.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“What does ‘understanding words’ mean? With half-truths, it means knowing what is concealed; with seductive words, knowing the trap created; with deceitful words, seeing the lies; with evasive words, understanding the desperation behind the language.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“All people have a mind-and-heart that cannot bear to see the suffering of others... to be without compassion is not to be human.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“It is the nature of things to be unequal… If you rank them equally you throw the world into confusion. Suppose shoes, large and small, were the same price—who would make large ones?”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“Those who labor with their mind-and-hearts govern others; those who labor with their strength are governed by others. Those who are governed provide for others, those who govern are provided for by others.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“Very small is the difference between people and animals. The common person ignores that difference but the wise cultivate it.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Themes: Inspiration

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“Only a person who can refuse to act in inappropriate situations is capable of acting at appropriate times.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“The wise are not alone in desiring something greater than life and hating something greater than death. This is true of everyone. But the wise don't forget it.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“In years of prosperity, most of the young people are well behaved; but, in bad years, most of the young people turn to violence.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Themes: Crime

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“Only hypocritical, greedy, and criminal leaders create the causes of crime and then punish the people for it.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Themes: Greed

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“The wise—having realized the Tao—draw deeply upon it and find its source wherever they turn.”

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“That whereby man differs from the lower animals is little. Most people throw it away.”

Themes: Know Yourself

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“Correct what is wrong in the prince's mind. Once that's done, the kingdom will be settled.”

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“A ruler's prosperity depends on his exercising a restraint upon himself... When a ruler rejoices in the joy of his people, they also rejoice in his joy; when he grieves at the sorrow of his people, they also grieve at his sorrow.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Themes: Leadership

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“Plant mulberry trees around the homesteads and people will be able to wear silk. Promote the breeding of pigs and fowl and people will be able to eat meat. Assure farmers the time to cultivate their fields and families will not suffer from hunger.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“If the people do not have a minimum level of livelihood, they will not have a fixed heart and there will be nothing they will not do—self-abandonment, moral deflection, depravity, wild license.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Themes: Livelihood

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“The first step of good government is assuring that the people have enough food and fuel, enough resources to nourish their living and mourn their dead.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Themes: Government

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“If leaders don't interfere with the seasons of husbandry, grain will be more than can be eaten. If tight nets are banned from pools and ponds, fish and turtles will be more than can be used. If axes and saws can only enter forests at proper times, there will be more wood than can be used.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Themes: Economics

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“Wise leaders never indulge in wild pleasures without restraint. Pursuing passions without limit is like delighting in wine without moderation and leads to similar results.”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

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“If your Majesty loves wealth, give the people power to gratify the same feeling, and what difficulty will there be in your attaining the royal sway?”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Themes: Wealth

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“If your Majesty loves beauty, let the people be able to gratify the same feeling, and what difficulty will there be in your attaining the royal sway?”

from Book of Mencius 孟子

Themes: Beauty

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“Like a rain pool compared to an ocean, sages are also the same in kind but stand out from and rise above the others. And from the birth of mankind until now, there never has been another Confucius.”

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“When leaders during times of peace and prosperity abandon themselves to pleasure-seeking and complacency, they unwittingly invite calamity. In all cases, either disaster or happiness arise from our choices.”

Themes: Karma

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Quotes about Mencius (3 quotes)

“Like Voltaire, Mencius preferred monarchy to democracy, on the ground that in democracy it is necessary to educate all if the government is to succeed, while under monarchy it is only required that the philosopher should bring one man—the king—to wisdom in order to produce the perfect state.”

Will Durant 1885 – 1981 CE
Philosophy apostle and popularizer of history's lessons
from Our Oriental Heritage

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“The idea of the infinite capacity of the individual was developed by Mencius. His philosophy is Emersonian, or Emerson's philosophy is Mencian in this respect, and Mencius' influence on young men has always been like that of Emerson.”

Lín Yǔtáng 林語堂 1895 – 1976 CE
from On the Wisdom of America, 1950

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“Ranked with Confucius and Hsun Tzu as the foremost teachers of the philosophy knows as Confucianism, [Mencius] studied with Confucius' grandson. The work that bears his name records his conversations with his disciples and various rulers of the day.”

Red Pine 1943 CE –
( Bill Porter)
Exceptional translator, cultural diplomat
from Lao-Tzu's Taoteching

Themes: Confucianism

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