Instructions for Practical Living

Introduction

Instructions for Practical Living was compiled by Wang Yangming's disciples from his recorded sayings and letters on learning; its title comes from the Analects, 'Have I failed to practise what has been passed on to me?' In it Wang sets out three central teachings: 'the mind is principle', for the principle of heaven lies not in outer things but in the human mind; 'the unity of knowledge and action', for true knowledge always includes action, and 'to know without acting is simply not yet to know'; and 'extending innate knowledge', for every heart has an inborn sense of right and wrong, and one who clears away the screen of selfish desire and acts by it is a sage. The book is full of lively exchanges between master and pupils, such as the conversation about the flowering tree on the southern hill: 'When you have not yet looked at this flower, it and your mind are both at rest.' It is one of the most vital works of Chinese philosophy.