Analects 7:18

The Duke of She asked Tzu-lu about Confucius, and Tzu-lu did not answer.  Confucius said, “Why didn’t you say that I am a person who forgets his food when engaged in vigorous pursuit of something, is so happy as to forget his worries, and is not aware that old age is coming on?”  [Analects 7:18]

Today, I decided to interpret the above analect.

This analect is still part of the previous lesson which is "The Steps in Becoming a Chun Tzu" particularly on the topic "Making the Will Sincere". This analect is saying that a man who has a sincere will and is focused on achieving the goal of the will do not care on the material things in the world. He does not even care of the aspects of his temporary body. All he cares is the fulfillment of his goal which is morally inclined, therefore his soul, which is permanent, benefits of it and the achievement of the goal will last forever. The man who has a sincere will forgets about the troubles his temporary body and being is facing. This man values more the pursuit on morality than the pursuit of temporary happiness this world brings. He believes that there is something much greater than what the world he is living now and that is why instead of focusing on this temporary life, he focuses on the aspects of the permanent life he has which will bring better results. Indeed, this focus on the permanent life brought Confucius to his goal which is to become a noble man and even a sage. His achievement on the permanent life even brought happiness in his temporary life. This achievement he believes is the greatest achievement anyone can have because it is something that lasts forever.