Confucius said, “I do not wish to say anything.” Tzu-kung said, ”If you do not say anything, what can we little disciples ever learn to pass on others?” Confucius said, “Does Heaven say anything? The four seasons run their course and all things are produced.  Does heaven say anything?”

Analects 17:19

      We are in a fast paced generation—an MTV generation.  We are spoon fed with rapid flashing of images on our TV screens,loud radio noise banging our ears, fast paced information in the internet and other means that virtually put everything on our fingertips.  All the information we need are just within our reach.

     And so, when we speak of knowledge and learning today, we look for something we can apprehend and hold.  We have often thought that we can always have a control of the things we learn.   Because of this, we usually forget that there are realities which are much bigger than us which we can never hold with our hands nor by any of our control mechanisms. There are realities that oftentimes escape our mental structures and yet they always present themselves to teach and to instruct—to give us wisdom.  They need not say anything; their mere presence is an oasis of wisdom.

     There was a story about Confucius when his disciple named Tzu-kung confronted him about Confucius’ silence.  Tzu-kung told him, “If you do not say anything, what can we little disciples ever learn to pass on to others?” Confucius gave a puzzling answer.  He said, “Does Heaven say anything? The four seasons run their course and all things are produced.  Does heaven say anything?”

     Confucius’s mystical answer can roughly be translated to, “You always demand for a sign, you always seek for what you can handle.   Behold the world, they do not speak but they work—listen to what the world is not saying, notice what the world is doing—contemplate on them and you will know.”

     Such words would not appeal to our generation today, and yet Confucius’s counsel is as meaningful and useful for this age as before.  He teaches us to stop, to look and to “listen” to what the heavens “do not say,” rather to what they do,  and from their actions, their movements—learn.

     Confucius mentioned the activities of the heavens.   He directed us to look at the seasons; how they work in silence; and how in silence things are produced.  And this opens up countless imageries that tell us of the same important point—to learn from and in silence.  The flowers do not have a voice, but the beauty of their petals as they open free in their first blossom shouts loud and leaves us dumbfounded.  The industrious ants are so minute, they easily escape our eyes, and yet they have always been our models of diligence.

      When I reflected on this, Am-ma ’s face readily came out . She is one of the members of the family that really made an impact in my life. Many of my best childhood memories were my experiences of her as a grandmother.

     Am-ma didn’t speak Tagalog. Language separated us, but we were never really far apart. Beyond the great barrier called language, she was able to teach me important things in life.  Her simple actions taught me how to deal with people, how to be a friend, how to take care of people, how to show concern—how to love!  One of the Am-ma’s simple gestures that I can never forget is the way she took care of me whenever I was sick.  She would silently visit me in my room as I lie in bed.  She would talk to me in Hokkien Chinese, keeping my spirits joyful –even if she knew I did not understand her.  But her language, though it may seem strange to me, sounded like sweet lullaby that soothed my feeling.  She would sit beside me, get some oil from the bottle she always kept in her pocket, and would gently massage my forehead.

      For a child’s creative imagination, Am-ma’s strokes seem to be a magic spell that casted away any sickness.  She kissed my forehead and whispered words that I did not understand.  My ears may not have understood her language, but my heart joyfully received her reassuring message, almost saying “everything will be fine now.”

      Am-ma took care of her grandchildren very well.  She knew exactly how to capture our hearts by her simple gestures of caring and concern. For example, she would often look after us when we played in the yard. She made sure that our perspiration did not dry up, lest we would catch colds. She always had with her a clean face towel to tidy us up after a game.  She made sure we drank her favorite concoction— two or three tablespoons of honey and a piece of dried plum in a glass of slightly cold water—to freshen us up after a perspiring game.  I could only utter a badly pronounced to-sia to express a deeply felt love and care at that time.   Am-ma need not learn nor speak Tagalog, her mere act of genuine love was enough to teach me how to show love and care for other people.

      Unlike Confucius who doesn’t want to speak, Am-ma wanted to speak—to be understood— and yet her condition and situation did not allow her to do so.  But like Confucius, her very person and life drove a single point, that is, she does not even have to talk.  A truly righteous person need not talk because his or her very being exudes points of learning.  They simply just have to be. Like the four seasons that runs its course.  Like the flowers that bloom.  Like the ants that work.

     There is a correlative principle, however to what Confucis said.  The people, their actions, nature, and their works are there, but they will seem meaningless if we do not stop and pay attention to them.  Like the shouting colors of the flower, the diligence of the ants, the fantastic work of the seasons, these will remain mute and invisible if we do not quiet ourselves from the cacophony of voices and images supplied to us by this MTV generation.

      Unless we stop for a while to notice, to taste, to sense, to relish the quiet movements, the silent actions of those around us, this generation will always be like Tzu-kung-- demanding for signs, for speeches, for wonderful diatribes to learn , not knowing that the great teacher has already revealed what needs to be learned!

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