One who mutilates benevolence should be called a ‘mutilator.’ One who mutilates righteousness should be called a ‘crippler.’ A crippler and mutilator… - Mencius

For nurturing the mind, there’s nothing like paring your desires away to a very few. If you have few desires, there may still be some capricious whims in your mind, but they’ll be few. If you have many desires, there may be some enduring principles in your mind, but they’ll be few indeed.

Sima Qian said, “When I read the Mengzi and come to the part where King Hui of Liang asks, How can I profit my state? I always set down the book and sigh, Alas! Profit genuinely is the beginning of chaos. Kongzi ‘seldom spoke of profit’ (Analects 9.1) and always guarded against it at its source. Hence, he said, ‘If in your affairs you abandon yourself to the pursuit of profit, you will arouse much resentment’ (4.12). Whether one is the Son of Heaven or a commoner, how does the confusion that is fondness for profit differ?

I understand what lies hidden beneath beguiling words. I understand the trap beneath extravagant words. I understand the deceit beneath depraved words. And I understand the weariness beneath evasive words.