Pursue What You Know

“I transmit rather than innovate. I trust in and love the ancient ways.” (7.1)

Confucius feels that transmitting lessons is much better than creating new ones. This means that he sticks to what he has been taught, to what gave him knowledge. Then, innovation is not always right, it is not always trusted, many times fails. Innovation is only right with, knowledge, it only works this way. Instead, with transmitting there is no need for knowledge, as the master says “I am not someone who was born with knowledge. I simply love antiquity, and diligently look there for knowledge.”(7.20). He is referring to what one transmits, lessons, which show the pursue of dreams that are worth, lessons bring up believe. They make us imagine our aspirations, through what we learn, through what we are transmitted. The master then says something about pursuing, “If wealth were something worth pursuing, then I would pursue it, even if that meant serving as an officer holding a whip at the entrance to the marketplace. Since it is not worth pursuing, however, I prefer to follow that which I love.” (7.12), he says just follow what you love, no matter what it is.

Knowledge makes life easier. It is a personal burden, life, but with knowledge you are able to move along. Knowledge is gained, with it you are able to be virtuous and to self-cultivation. “No doubt there are those who try to innovate without acquiring knowledge, but this is a fault I do not possess. I listen widely, and then pick out that which is excellent in order to follow it; I see many things, and then remember them. This constitutes a second-best sort of knowledge.” (7.28), the master intends to prove how basic it is communicating, not only transmitting but listening. Learning and teaching, knowledge the pursue of us all, besides goodness, the key to living.