Quest & Spark

One question a week, the same everywhere. Not trivia — the kind you can only answer by looking at yourself.
Every question grows out of an old saying; it sits beneath the question.

2026 年第 42 周this weekWas there something you said this week that you regretted the moment it was out?A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.Proverbs 15:1
Week 41, 2026Whose faults did you pick at in your head this week? Do you have that fault yourself?Why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, and not notice the beam in your own?Matthew 7:3
Week 40, 2026Which day are you worrying about right now? How far away is it?Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.Matthew 6:34
Week 39, 2026List what took the most out of you this week. Which of those were actually up to you?Some things are up to us, and some are not.Epictetus, Enchiridion 1
Week 37, 2026When something went wrong this week, was your first instinct to look at yourself, or at someone else?The noble person looks to himself; the small person looks to others.Analects XV
Week 36, 2026If this were your last week, what would you stop doing?Whatever life a man loses, it is only the present moment that he loses.Marcus Aurelius, Meditations II
Week 35, 2026Is there a mistake you already know about but haven't corrected yet?To err and not correct it — that is the real error.Analects XV
Week 34, 2026The thing that upset you most this week — if you looked at it differently, how much of it would be left?People are disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of them.Epictetus, Enchiridion 5

What's coming

The question bank holds 57 questions. A few are set out here so you can see this is not a one-off.

Was there something this week where you read someone else clearly, but couldn't see the same thing in yourself?Knowing others is wisdom; knowing yourself is clarity.Tao Te Ching 33
Is there a mistake you already know about but haven't corrected yet?To err and not correct it — that is the real error.Analects XV
The thing that upset you most this week — if you looked at it differently, how much of it would be left?People are disturbed not by things, but by the views they take of them.Epictetus, Enchiridion 5
What did you worry about this week that never actually happened?We suffer more often in imagination than in reality.Seneca, Letters 13
List what took the most out of you this week. Which of those were actually up to you?Some things are up to us, and some are not.Epictetus, Enchiridion 1
Which day are you worrying about right now? How far away is it?Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.Matthew 6:34

Sources

The questions grow out of these. Buddhist sutras, the Taoists, the Confucians, the Bible, the Stoics, and what Socrates actually asked — sayings each tradition holds in common, every one with its source. Recorded as spoken, unaltered; where the source is uncertain it is left blank rather than guessed.

Not one of these lines is meant as the right answer. Each is a finger pointing at the moon — the finger is not the moon. The same line will not land on you the way it lands on someone else, and that difference is the point.

Paired Lines

two lines in parallel, each with its source

知人者智

自知者明

Tao Te Ching 33

胜人者有力

自胜者强

Tao Te Ching 33

为学日益

为道日损

Tao Te Ching 48

知足不辱

知止不殆

Tao Te Ching 44

大直若屈

大巧若拙

Tao Te Ching 45

信言不美

美言不信

Tao Te Ching 81

学而不思则罔

思而不学则殆

Analects II

君子求诸己

小人求诸人

Analects XV

君子坦荡荡

小人长戚戚

Analects VII

君子和而不同

小人同而不和

Analects XIII

骄傲在败坏以先

狂心在跌倒之前

Proverbs 16:18

回答柔和，使怒消退

言语暴戾，触动怒气

Proverbs 15:1

不轻易发怒的，胜过勇士

治服己心的，强如取城

Proverbs 16:32

生有时，死有时

栽种有时，拔出所栽种的也有时

Ecclesiastes 3:2

哭有时，笑有时

哀恸有时，跳舞有时

Ecclesiastes 3:4

静默有时

言语有时

Ecclesiastes 3:7

诸行无常

是生灭法

Nirvana Sutra, Himalaya Verse

生灭灭已

寂灭为乐

Nirvana Sutra, Himalaya Verse

色不异空

空不异色

Heart Sutra

心无挂碍

无有恐怖

Heart Sutra

Sets

grouped items, the numbered lists of each tradition

四圣谛

苦——世间有苦
集——苦有它的来处
灭——苦可以止息
道——止息有路可循

Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta

八正道

正见——看清事情本来的样子
正思维——念头不往贪嗔上走
正语——不妄语、不两舌、不恶口
正业——行为不伤人
正命——靠正当的活计过日子
正精进——该断的断，该长的长
正念——知道此刻在做什么
正定——心能定得住

The Noble Eightfold Path

三法印

诸行无常——没有一样停得住
诸法无我——没有一个固定的我
涅槃寂静——止息之处是安的

The Three Marks of Existence

真福八端

虚心的人有福了
哀恸的人有福了
温柔的人有福了
饥渴慕义的人有福了
怜恤人的人有福了
清心的人有福了
使人和睦的人有福了
为义受逼迫的人有福了

Matthew 5:3–10

十诫（节选）

当孝敬父母
不可杀人
不可奸淫
不可偷盗
不可作假见证陷害人
不可贪恋他人所有的

Exodus 20

信望爱

如今常存的有信
有望
有爱；其中最大的是爱

1 Corinthians 13:13

四端

恻隐之心，仁之端也
羞恶之心，义之端也
辞让之心，礼之端也
是非之心，智之端也

Mencius, Gongsun Chou I

吾日三省吾身

为人谋而不忠乎？
与朋友交而不信乎？
传不习乎？

Analects I

子绝四

毋意——不凭空猜
毋必——不认死理
毋固——不固执
毋我——不以自己为中心

Analects IX

三宝

一曰慈
二曰俭
三曰不敢为天下先

Tao Te Ching 67

分辨的功夫

有些事我们做得了主：判断、意向、取舍
有些事我们做不了主：身体、名声、别人的看法
分清这两者，是全部功夫的开端

Epictetus, Enchiridion 1

晨起三问

今天我会遇上多管闲事的、忘恩的、傲慢的人
他们如此，是因为分不清什么是好、什么是坏
而我知道——所以我不必被他们扰动

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations II

Lines

single lines from the classics, each with its source

照见五蕴皆空，度一切苦厄。

空Heart Sutra

应无所住而生其心。

无住Diamond Sutra

一切有为法，如梦幻泡影，如露亦如电，应作如是观。

无常Diamond Sutra

过去心不可得，现在心不可得，未来心不可得。

时间Diamond Sutra

诸恶莫作，众善奉行，自净其意。

行Dhammapada

心是一切的先导。以清净心说话行事，快乐便跟着他，如影随形。

心Dhammapada, Pairs

胜过千人于战场，不如战胜自己一人——这才是最上的胜利。

自胜Dhammapada, Thousands

怨不能止怨，唯有慈能止怨，此是古常法。

慈Dhammapada, Pairs

上善若水。水善利万物而不争，处众人之所恶，故几于道。

柔Tao Te Ching 8

千里之行，始于足下。

行Tao Te Ching 64

祸兮福之所倚，福兮祸之所伏。

无常Tao Te Ching 58

知者不言，言者不知。

言语Tao Te Ching 56

吾生也有涯，而知也无涯。以有涯随无涯，殆已。

限度Zhuangzi, Nourishing Life

井蛙不可以语于海者，拘于虚也。

视野Zhuangzi, Autumn Floods

知之为知之，不知为不知，是知也。

诚实Analects II

躬自厚而薄责于人，则远怨矣。

待人Analects XV

己所不欲，勿施于人。

待人Analects XV

过而不改，是谓过矣。

改Analects XV

三人行，必有我师焉。择其善者而从之，其不善者而改之。

学Analects VII

诚者，天之道也；诚之者，人之道也。

诚Doctrine of the Mean

凡事都有定期，天下万务都有定时。

时间Ecclesiastes 3:1

已有的事必再有，已行的事必再行，日光之下并无新事。

无常Ecclesiastes 1:9

你要保守你心，胜过保守一切，因为一生的果效是由心发出。

心Proverbs 4:23

你的话是我脚前的灯，是我路上的光。

指引Psalm 119:105

不要为明天忧虑，因为明天自有明天的忧虑。

当下Matthew 6:34

为什么看见你弟兄眼中有刺，却不想自己眼中有梁木呢？

自省Matthew 7:3

爱是恒久忍耐，又有恩慈。

爱1 Corinthians 13:4

你们要休息，要知道我是神。

静Psalm 46:10

困扰人的不是事情本身，而是他对事情的看法。

看法Epictetus, Enchiridion 5

你有支配自己心念的力量——不是外面的事。认清这一点，你就找到了力量。

心Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

人活着的每一刻，失去的都只是当下这一刻。

当下Marcus Aurelius, Meditations II

我们受苦，往往是在想象里多过在现实里。

妄想Seneca, Letters 13

一个人若不知道要驶向哪个港口，任何风都不是顺风。

方向Seneca, Letters 71

未经省察的人生不值得过。

自省Socrates, Plato, Apology 38a

我不知道的，我也不认为自己知道。

自知Socrates, Plato, Apology 21d

要紧的不是活着，而是好好地活。

怎么活Socrates, Plato, Crito 48b

无论如何都不可以行不义——哪怕别人先对你行了不义。

不义Socrates, Plato, Crito 49b

一个好人，无论生前死后，都不会真正遭遇恶。

生死Socrates, Plato, Apology 41d

宁可承受不义，也不要施加不义。

不义Socrates, Plato, Gorgias 469c

人不能两次踏进同一条河。

无常Heraclitus

性格即命运。

性格Heraclitus

了解自己。

自知Inscribed at Delphi

世界上最难的事，是认识自己；最容易的事，是劝告别人。

自知Thales

我愿意把我所有的科技去换取和苏格拉底相处的一个下午。

坐下来说Steve Jobs, Newsweek, 29 Oct 2001 — “The Classroom of the Future”