Ancient Wisdom

It has been a long time since I wrote to this blog. on many occasions, I wanted to write but felt that I have nothing serious to share. The last couple of days, I started reading a book about ancient Chinese wisdom. I got the book while I was in Paris, in a visit arranged by UNESCO. at the same time as the conference, I participated in, there was a Chinese cultural seminar within the UNESCO building. I got the chance to see actual monks and to speak with wise elderlies. one of whom gave me a movie on a USB stick and a bunch of books about religions and wisdom.

I shelved the books for a long time before deciding to start reading it. Now I regret every moment I left these books in solitude and didn't get into it sooner! yet I believe that books have their own spirit and from my experience, it calls you to the read.

The first book I snatched from the counter, was "The Governing Principles of Ancient China". the book is based on 360 passages excerpted from the original compilation of Qunshu Zhiyao (Qunshu Zhiyao is a political encyclopedia written on imperial order by the Tang period). it is translated to English, while the mandarine language, just as extracted from the scrolls, is also published.

The first wisdom I want to share is a very known proverb, translated to all languages: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step". we only know this proverb. However, it is wisdom among well-categorized lessons on "Esteeming Virtues" and "Perseverance". here it goes:

Scroll 34: Lao Zi

"A tree you can barely get your arms around grows from a tiny shoot. A nine-story tower begins as a heap of earth. A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Scroll 38: Sun Qing Zi

"Without taking continuous steps, a journey of a thousand miles cannot be done. without gathering water from small streams, no rivers or oceans can be formed."

I will share later many of the passages and scrolls that I find interesting. hopefully, it will be a sort of guidance for whoever got across this blog. blogs just as books, call you sometimes for the read!