The Ancestor's Rituals and Teachings

There was something that really caught my attention as I read book 8. The first sentence of the book is not actually a part of the text but it is like a little introduction to it. "The book does not seem to have a clear thematic focus." (8:1)This made me question if whether this lack of "thematic focus" was given by translator or if it was part of the anthology of Analects the entire time. Although all of the other books have this "introduction" I kept thinking what that person meant by not giving the book a "thematic focus". I suppose the author/narrator/translator was just being very straightforward about this. Then again, it's probably this person's conclusion and not really what was originally in the text.

There were a couple of things that I really liked about these books. The first was, "I will not open the door for a mind that is not already striving to understand, nor will I provide words to a tongue that is not already struggling to speak , If I hold up one corner of a problem, and the student cannot come back to me with the other three, I will not attempt to instruct him again." (7:8) and the fact that "ritual" is such a big deal. So, to begin, lets look at this previous citation. I find it very wise for someone to think like this. If I were a teacher, I'd only be willing to teach those students who really want to learn. I suppose it's hard to see who is really into it and who isn't but anyways I'd teach something very specialized and not so general because specifics are what people are interested in, I think. Judging by my own experience, its useless to teach those who are not willing to learn because no matter the encouragement or the patience, it will not have an effect later on. The other aspect, "ritual" is has more to do with identity than actual intellect -well, maybe a little intellect.

I once read about the Maasai and there was an old saying, ¨It takes one day to destroy a house; to build a new house it takes months and perhaps years. If we abandon our way of life to construct a new one, it will take thousands of years.¨ I find this to be very similar to what Confucius says about elders. This is basically saying that if we forget about our ancestor's doings and achievements, we might end up taking centuries re-doing what has already been done. I suppose that this is the real value of our ancestors, they have gotten us were we are today.

"Ritual" can be interpreted as more than one thing in the Analects. For example, it can routine. A man with routine has something to do every day. It can also be that "ritual" is more of a behavioral sort of thing. For instance, a man with "ritual" has to be very "resolute" in his decision making and knows what e is doing. I've realized that "ritual" is something extremely important because it organizes you and it keeps you busy. Also, "ritual" allows you to prosper and be an example for others, "The common people can be made o follow it, but not to understand it." All this says is, by having a "ritual" others can look up to you, and if you're "ritual" takes you to "goodness", then although "common people" won't understand your behavior, they will see something attractive in you.