The Path to Heaven
China still holds one name in the highest
reverence: Confucius.
There was a time when the people of China
believed that Confucius was so wise he must surely know the way to heaven. When
they saw him, they bowed their heads in respect. Confucius heard all of this,
but he never said a word in reply.
Throughout his life, he had been doing one
more thing. Wherever he found a fine poem or a good saying from the great men
of his time, he gathered it with care. From these collected words, he built a
library.
Then one day, Confucius’s health began to
fail. As the days passed, he grew weaker. His son came and sat beside his bed,
his eyes filled with tears, his voice breaking. “Father,” he said, “everyone
says you know the way to heaven. So what is there left for you to fear?”
Confucius looked at his son for a long while.
Then, slowly, he said, “My son, everyone says I know the way to heaven. But the
truth is, I do not know it.”
His son fell silent, stunned.
After a pause, Confucius said, “But let me
tell you one thing. You see this library? If you read the poems kept here, you
may yet reach heaven. For these pages hold the sacred words of renowned men.
Reading them will make your heart pure, and a person with a pure heart can
surely enter heaven.”
His son held his father’s hand tightly. He
understood then that his father had been more than a wise man. Even at the very
end, he had the courage to honestly admit what he did not know.
And so Confucius left his son the most
precious treasure of all. Not gold or silver, but a path. The path of a pure
heart.
Moral: However highly others may regard us, being honest
with ourselves matters most. Good words, good books and good company slowly
purify our hearts. And a pure heart is the true path to heaven.
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