Q0463
“Before you looked at this flower, it and your mind alike were…” — Wang Yangming (Instructions for Practical Living)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Instructions for Practical Living. Theme: mind.
English
Before you looked at this flower, it and your mind alike were still; when you come to look, its colors suddenly become clear.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Instructions for Practical Living and files it under Neo-Confucianism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Wang Yangming
Wang Yangming (Wang Shouren, 1472–1529) was the Ming Neo-Confucian who taught unity of knowledge and action and innate moral knowing (liangzhi). A statesman and general who suppressed rebellions, he developed teachings in exile and military camps.
How to read this passage
Dualism, materialism, functionalism, and phenomenological descriptions compete. AI renews old questions about understanding and experience. This passage enters that discussion through mind, experience.
Concepts in this quote
- Mind
- Philosophy of mind asks what consciousness, thought, and mental life are—and how they relate to body and world.
- Experience
- Experience is the lived encounter with world and self—foundation or limit for knowledge, art, and ethics.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Wang Yangming. (n.d.). Before you looked at this flower, it and your mind alike were still; when you come to look, its colors suddenly become clear. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0463
MLA: Wang Yangming. “Before you looked at this flower, it and….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0463.
Chicago: Wang Yangming. “Before you looked at this flower, it and….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0463.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “Before you looked at this flower, it and…”?
The passage is attributed to Wang Yangming, Instructions for Practical Living. The archive attributes this English wording to Instructions for Practical Living and files it under Neo-Confucianism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Wang Yangming mean by mind?
Dualism, materialism, functionalism, and phenomenological descriptions compete. AI renews old questions about understanding and experience. This passage enters that discussion through mind, experience.