The philosopher Tsang said,
‘I daily examine myself on three points:
whether, in transacting business for others,
I may have been not faithful;
whether, in intercourse with friends,
I may have been not sincere;
whether I may have not mastered and practiced
the instructions of my teacher.’

Analects of Confucius - Book 1, Chapter 4
(Translated by James Legge)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I read The Analects a decade ago and barely remember a thing about the collection. I’m interested to flip through it again in a new stage of life to see what strikes me now. I have the painting of The Three Vinegar Tasters on my wall, depicting the expressions of the three wise men of the East (Lao Tzu, Buddha, & Confucius) relating to the predominant attitude of each man’s philosophy:

- Confucius wears a sour expression, as life was sour, in need of rules to correct the degeneration of people.

- Buddha suffers through a wince, as life was dominated by suffering, due to attachment and desire for wishing things were other than they are.

- Lao Tzu smiles, as life was sweet, fundamentally perfect in its natural state of being.

I believe there’s a time and place for all three perspectives, as we sip from the same metaphorical vat of vinegar after all. Here we see an example of where rules and reflection can help guide us toward a more faithful, sincere, and disciplined state of being.