“The superior man accords himself with the Middle Way. Though he may be unknown, unregarded by the world, he feels no regret. It is only the sage who is able to do this.

The way that the superior man pursues reaches wide and far, and yet is secret.

Common men and women, however ignorant, may meddle with the knowledge of it; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage does not know.

Common men and women, however much below the ordinary standard of character, can put it into practice; yet in its utmost reaches, there is that which even the sage is not able to put into practice….

The way of the superior man may be found, in its simple elements, in the society of common men and women; but in it utmost reaches, it shines brightly through Heaven and earth.

The Master said, “The path is not far from man. When men try to pursue a course that is far from the common indications of consciousness, this course cannot be considered The Path….

Therefore, the superior man governs men according to their nature, with what is proper to them, and soon as they change what is wrong, he stops.

When one cultivates to the utmost the principles of his nature, and exercises them on the principle of reciprocity, he is not far from the path. What do you not like when done to yourself, do not do to others.”
-Confucius

The Middle Way

What Confucius means by “the Middle Way” is that the smart person does not care for the physical side of life only, while ignoring the spiritual. Likewise, the wise person does not ignore the physical and develop only the spiritual. There were times when one desiring to pursue a spiritual life could withdraw from the material life completely and be provided for by the community in general, but those days are long past. Today one must practice spiritual development while still maintaining a job, home, etc., in the physical world. But when there is conflict between the material and the spiritual, the wise man puts the spiritual ahead of the physical. That is the Middle Way.

Wide and Far
In times past, one often had to travel to many distant places to get a complete spiritual education. Fortunately, that isn’t necessary today. Now one can simply join a reputable spiritual school where that knowledge from many places has been collected and made available to the students. Of course, there is still value in traveling to different lands and learning about different people, different religions, and different governments.

Common People May Meddle
Some people do attempt to learn the great secrets of spiritual development without the aid of a teacher or school, but generally learn little because much of that knowledge is never put in writing, and that which is put in writing is almost always veiled in allegory.

The Path is Not Far

The Path of Enlightenment is not far because it is not a place in the physical sense, but a change of attitude and level of consciousness that puts us on the path. While a few rare individuals have found it on their own, it usually requires the aid of a knowledgeable teacher or spiritual school.

Govern According to Their Nature

For those people who are very materialistic, trying to govern them in a spiritual way would not be appreciated and probably wouldn’t work. Likewise, you can’t govern spiritually awakened people by laws and codes intended for the purely materialistic. A good government must be flexible enough to work for both types of people.