Analects of Wisdom (The Art of Living Trilogy, 1)

Analects are, literally, "cut readings." In this collection of verses and commentaries, not just the verses but even the commentaries are brief. They all use two devices of higher knowledge: paradoxical logic and experiential thinking. Representing the first phase of the soul’s transformation in this life, the Analects provide instruction in how to live. They establish "rules" whose truth can be tested even by a mind still held captive by the senses. Anyone can understand them without a great development of faith. These stirrings of other-worldly wisdom can work effectively in guiding life in this world. We are of the opinion that the verses themselves may have had more than one author. This is almost certainly true of the commentaries.

"Analects of Wisdom" stands alone but it is also the first volume of the trilogy, "The Art of Living." This trilogy is a companion to its predecessor, "The Science of Life," and it is recommended that each volume be read in tandem with its parallel in the other trilogy.