Confucius said, “Sincerity is the way of heaven; arriving at sincerity is the way of man. The sincere person does the right thing without trying, understands the truth without thinking, and acts always in keeping with the Tao.”
Only those who have absolute sincerity can fulfill their own nature.
Fulfilling their own nature, they can fulfill the nature of other people. Fulfilling the nature of other people, they can fulfill the nature of all beings. Fulfilling the nature of all beings, they can participate in the.transforming and nourishing powers of heaven and earth.
Sincerity is the fulfillment of our own. nature, and to arrive at it we need only follow our true self. Sincerity is the beginning and end of existence; without it, nothing can endure. Therefore the mature person values sincerity above all things.
Sincerity is not only the fulfillment of our own being; it is also the quality through which all beings are fulfilled. When we fulfill our own being, we become truly human; when we fulfill all beings, we arrive at true understanding. These qualities-humanity and understanding-are inherent in our nature, and by means of them we unite the inner and the outer.
Thus, when we act with sincerity, everything we do is right.
—Tzu-Ssu
