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On Learning

饱食终日,无所用心,难矣 哉!

"To spend the whole day eating one's fill and applying the mind to nothing is hard indeed."

Chinese Original

饱食终日,无所用心,难矣 哉!

English Rendering

To spend the whole day eating one's fill and applying the mind to nothing is hard indeed.

Chinese Translation

孔子说:"整天吃饱饭没事干的人,不会有什么出息。"

Modern Meaning

In "饱食终日,无所用心,难矣 哉!," Confucius focuses on to spend the whole day eating one's fill and applying the mind to nothing is hard indeed. The exact principle is that time and pressure reveal what steady attention has really built. The tension is not generic time and effort; it is the specific problem that people judge themselves by intention, but endurance, effort, and use of time expose the truth, which still appears in choosing how to use one free block of time or respond to pressure today.

How to Apply Today

Use this teaching today in choosing how to use one free block of time or respond to pressure today. Because this line says "To spend the whole day eating one's fill and applying the mind to nothing is hard indeed," trade one low-value habit for a focused effort on the exact quality this sentence praises, so the lesson becomes visible in one behavior.

Reflection Question

For "饱食终日,无所用心,难矣 哉!" (row 26, 为学篇 / On Learning), What is my use of time or pressure silently revealing about me?

Action Step

Spend 20 uninterrupted minutes strengthening the quality this quote tests, specifically in response to this demand: "To spend the whole day eating one's fill and applying the mind to nothing is hard indeed."

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Related Quotes

More Confucius quotes connected to this theme.

On Learning

人能弘道,非道弘人。

"A person can enlarge the right path; the right path does not enlarge the person."

In "人能弘道,非道弘人," Confucius focuses on a person can enlarge the right path. The exact principle is that wisdom has to become a visible pattern of conduct, not a sentence one merely agrees with. The tension is not generic conduct; it is the specific problem that people understand a principle abstractly but fail to choose the behavior it requires in the next situation, which still appears in facing a routine decision where character is easier to postpone than practice.

Read this Confucius quote

On Learning

学而时习之,不亦说乎 ?

"Is it not a pleasure to learn and practice what one has learned at the proper time?"

In "学而时习之,不亦说乎 ," Confucius focuses on is it not a pleasure to learn and practice what one has learned at the proper time. The exact principle is that learning becomes real only when repeated, corrected, and carried into conduct. The tension is not generic practice; it is the specific problem that knowledge stays shallow when it is consumed once and never reviewed, practiced, or taught, which still appears in after finishing one lesson, book chapter, work memo, or conversation.

Read this Confucius quote

On Learning

学而不厌,悔人不倦。

"To learn without weariness and teach without tiring."

In "学而不厌,悔人不倦," Confucius focuses on to learn without weariness and teach without tiring. The exact principle is that learning becomes real only when repeated, corrected, and carried into conduct. The tension is not generic practice; it is the specific problem that knowledge stays shallow when it is consumed once and never reviewed, practiced, or taught, which still appears in after finishing one lesson, book chapter, work memo, or conversation.

Read this Confucius quote

Related Analects

Analects explained for the same modern problem.

Analects 1.1

Learning and Daily Practice

子曰:学而时习之,不亦说乎?

The opening of the Analects defines wisdom as practiced knowledge. Confucius does not separate study from conduct.

Read this Analects explanation

Analects 13.3

The Discipline of Clear Roles

子曰:名不正,则言不顺;言不顺,则事不成。

The rectification of names is a practical doctrine of clarity. A title should match a duty, and a promise should match behavior.

Read this Analects explanation