Persistence
Continuous effort despite difficulty and slow progress.
Self-cultivation requires persistence. Progress is often slow and difficult. The cultivated person does not give up but continues effort day after day, year after year.
Is ren far away? If I desire ren, ren is here.
Virtue is accessible to consistent effort.
Analects
Written about in
- What Confucianism says about failure
Confucius insists ren is immediately available: if I desire it, it is here. Recovery needs no preconditions and no preparation period — the next act can already be the right one.