Discussion and fact list making

 學而時習之、不亦說乎。有朋自遠方來、不亦 樂乎。人不知而不慍、不亦君子乎。 Isn't it a pleasure to study and practice what you have learned? Isn't it also great when friends visit from distant places? If one remains not annoyed when he is not understood by people around him, isn't he a sage?  The opening of the Analects and thus the first phrase of Chapter I after which the Chinese title of this book is named 學而.

 君子食無求飽，居無求安，敏於事而慎於言，就 有道而正焉，可謂好學也已。 When the Superior Man eats and he does not try to stuff himself; at rest he does not seek perfect comfort; he is diligent in his work and careful in speech. He avails himself to people of the Tao and thereby corrects himself. This is the kind of person of whom you can say, "he loves learning."  君子喻於義，小人喻於利。 The Superior Man is aware of Righteousness, the inferior man is aware of advantage.

 吾十有五而志於學，三十而立，四十而不惑，五 十而知天命，六十而耳順，七十而从心所欲，不 逾矩。 At fifteen my heart was set on learning; at thirty I stood firm; at forty I had no more doubts; at fifty I knew the mandate of heaven; at sixty my ear was obedient; at seventy I could follow my heart's desire without transgressing the norm.  Retrospection of his own life. From this phrase, alternative names for each decades of human life are derived in Chinese.

 溫故而知新，可以為師矣。 Reviewing what you have learned and learning anew, you are fit to be a teacher.  學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆。 To study and not think is a waste. To think and not study is dangerous.  三人行，必有我師焉：擇其善者而從之，其不善者而 改之。 When I walk along with two others, from at least one I will be able to learn.

 道可道，非常道。名可名，非常名。 The Tao/way that can be told is not the usual Tao/way. The name that can be given is not the usual name.  人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然。 The Ways of men are conditioned by those of earth. The Ways of earth by those of heaven. The Ways of heaven by those of Tao, And those of Tao by those of the Self-so.

 上善若水。水善利萬物而不爭。 The highest good is like water. Water benefits everything in the world but never contends its own contribution.

There was once an old man who lived with his only son at the border of the state. They were fond of horses and often let them graze freely in the meadow. One time a servant reported to the old man, "A horse is missing! It must have gone into the neighboring state." His friends felt sorry for him, but the old man was not bothered at all by the loss. As a matter of fact, he said, "Who knows! The loss may bring us good fortune!" A few months later, a strange thing happened. Not only did the missing horse return home safely, it also brought back with it a fine horse from the neighboring state.

When his friends heard the new, they congratulated the old man on his good luck. But the old man said, "Who knows! This may bring us ill fortune!“ One day, when the old man's son was riding the fine horse, he accidentally fell off the horse, broke his leg, and was crippled. Many friends came to comfort the old man, but the old man was not the least disturbed by the accident. "Who knows! This may bring us good fortune after all!" he said. A year later, when the neighboring state sent troops across the border, all the young and strong men were drafted to fight the invaders, and most of them got killed. The old man's son was not drafted because he was crippled and so his life was spared.

 Nothing so bad but might be a blessing.  Behind bad luck comes good luck.  Misfortune may be an actual blessing.  On one hand, loss implies gain; on the other hand, gain implies loss.  No great loss without some small gain.

 Heavenly stem and Earthly Branch (see handouts)  BaZi – the Eight Character pattern that explain your past and predicts your future  Chinese Zodiac

 Prepare for your first Presentation on October 1 or 3.  Please don't forget to sign up.

 You will present your project 1 on 10/1 and 10/3  Choose one of the subtopics from 4 units.  Do library and internet search and make a PPT presentation (no more that 10 minutes)  Present it in class  It will be graded, 10 points (10% of the final score)  Sign-up sheet