THE STORY OF CONFUCIUS AND HIS MOST-TRUSTED DISCIPLE YAN HUI
Master Jun Hong Lu: During the Spring and Autumn-Warring States period, Confucius and his disciples went around the country that had been ravaged by the turmoil and tumult of a war. It was a physically-gruelling journey. Having gone without even a grain of rice for seven days, and in order to sustain themselves, Confucius and his disciples were reduced to foraging for wild vegetation.
One day, after much trouble, Yan Hui – one of Confucius’ disciples, managed to bring back some white rice. As the pot of rice was almost cooked, Confucius saw Yan Hui lift the lid, grab some rice and stuff it in his mouth. Pretending of not having seen the act, Confucius did not reprimand Yan Hui.
When it was all ready, Yan Hui invited Confucius to eat. Pretending to be brooding, Confucius said, “I’ve just dreamed of my ancestors. I think it is only right for me to first offer this bowl of clean and untouched rice to them”.
In an outburst of panic, Yan Hui let out, “Please don’t, Master. I’ve taken a bite of this pot of rice and it is no longer suitable as an ancestral offering”.
Confucius asked, “Why did you do that?”
Blushing, Yan Hui explained, “By accident, some ashes fell into this pot of rice as I was cooking. It would have such a waste to discard the stained rice, so I decided to pick it up from the pot and eat it. Master, I didn’t do it on purpose”.
Upon hearing this, a moment of realisation struck Confucius. Ashamed of having arrived at an erroneous observation, Confucius apologetically said, “Yan Hui has been my most trusted disciple and yet I doubted him. This goes to show that our delusional thoughts are in such a constant flux and it’s so hard to keep a rein on them”.
Even a well-thought-out plan is constantly evolving – a common phenomenon that affects many people in this modern era. As these people set out to do something that they feel strongly about, but the moment they are told otherwise, they are swayed. Such people are almost like constantly living in the mouth or eyes of others. They are worried about how others perceive and talk about them. This is the precise reason behind countless marriage breakups.
Source: Master Jun Hong Lu’s Public Talk, Auckland, New Zealand, 6 November 2016
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