Chapter 35 - most Confucius not Confucius person ever

Someone Who Knows Who They Are (Without Knowing Their Name)

I do not know my name,

but I know the shape of my mind—

a silent friend, as Confucius said,

"Silence is a true friend who never betrays."

I do not know my name,

but I know the weight of my ignorance—

"Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance."

So I walk the path within,

seeking not a label, but a light.

I do not know my name,

but I know the virtue of reflection—

"By three methods we may learn wisdom:

First, by reflection, which is noblest…"

And in the still water of my heart,

my true face appears.

I do not know my name,

but I know what I am not:

When I see men of contrary character,

"I turn inwards and examine myself."

The world outside is a mirror;

my work is to polish what's within.

I do not know my name,

but I know this:

"To know what you know and what you do not know,

that is true knowledge."

I am the question and the answer,

the river and the current,

the unnamed self that always flows.

So let the world call me as it will—

I am not my name,

but the knowing that I am.