Happy Birthday Confucius–Sure Wish You Were Here

Check out this entry in the Writer’s Almanac:

It’s the day Confucius‘ birthday is celebrated in Taiwan. The holiday is called Teacher’s Day.

Confucius dominated the thought and traditions of the Chinese for centuries, but he was not a religious leader; a disciple of his said, “The Master never talked about spiritual beings, disorder, extraordinary things, or feats of strength.” He lived simply and never doubted that learning would lead to virtue. He said: “Be not ashamed of mistakes and thus make them crimes,” “It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop,” and “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.”

It’s hard to imagine how different a world we would have today if it were dominated by Confucianism.  Take a second and think of all plagues to humankind that would simply not exist, e.g., hate, oppression, and war.

Then forget about all that for a second and consider that our civilization is in the process of destroying its natural ecosystems.  That certainly wouldn’t be very likely if everyone lived by the motto: “Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart.”