--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The sole concern of learning is to seek…" description: "\"The sole concern of learning is to seek one's original heart.\" — Mencius" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/mencius-3576_concern_the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek_1283470.png" --- # The sole concern of learning is to seek one's original… ![“The sole concern of learning is to seek one's original heart.” quote by Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/mencius-3576_concern_the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek_1283470.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/mencius-3576_concern_the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek_1283470.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/mencius-3576_concern_the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek_1283470.png) > “The sole concern of learning is to seek one's original heart.” [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning's true aim is to rediscover one's authentic self and innate goodness. **In simple terms:** Learning seeks your true heart. Key Takeaway Cultivate self‑knowledge. Themes self‑discovery education authenticity Mood reflective inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal growth - teaching - mindfulness - spiritual practice Key Concepts Confucianism inner nature Questions to Reflect On - How can you recognize your original heart? - What practices help reveal inner truth? A Different Perspective May overlook external knowledge needed for societal contribution. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Learning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning/) [Learning Seek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learning-seek-4155774/) [Original Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/original-heart-301067/) [Originals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/originals/) [Seek Original](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seek-original-4155773/) [Sole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sole/) [Sole Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sole-concern-2422238/) ## Related quotes > [“Our sole concern with the long dead is aesthetic”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-branch-cabell/our-sole-concern-with-the-long-dead-is-aesthetic/) [James Branch Cabell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-branch-cabell/) > [I am pure and original from heart but dont judge my mind!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dheeraj-puthran/i-am-pure-and-original-from-heart-but-dont-judge-my-mind/) [Dheeraj Puthran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dheeraj-puthran/) > [“The past above, the future below and the present pouring down: the roar, the roar of the present, a speech-- is, of necessity, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/the-past-above-the-future-below-and-the-present-pouring-down-the-roar/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [The original Heart logo was made back in the real early '70s by Mike Fisher, who I used to be in a relationship with.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-wilson/the-original-heart-logo-was-made-back-in-the-real-early-70s-by-mike/) [Ann Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-wilson/) > [“Would you like to sit?" Kellen asked her. "You'd better do it soon," Owen whispered close to her ear, "or I'm going to bend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-cunning/would-you-like-to-sit-kellen-asked-her-you-d-better-do-it-soon-owen/) [Olivia Cunning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-cunning/) > [Self-love . . . is the sole antagonist of virtue, leading us constantly by our propensities to self-gratification in violation of our moral duties to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/self-love-is-the-sole-antagonist-of-virtue-leading-us-constantly-by/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [We bear the sole, relentless tenderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/we-bear-the-sole-relentless-tenderness/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [Politicians should be dedicated to the welfare of the people, but sometimes politics becomes like a game of chess, in which the sole aim…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/politicians-should-be-dedicated-to-the-welfare-of-the-people-but/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [I know well, Monsieur, how much you have to endure in your present duty, and I ask Our Lord to strengthen you in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-de-paul/i-know-well-monsieur-how-much-you-have-to-endure-in-your-present-duty/) [Vincent de Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-de-paul/) > [Everything I've always done has been for the sole purpose of increasing my lovemaking output. A lot of guys won't admit that, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-fox/everything-i-ve-always-done-has-been-for-the-sole-purpose-of/) [Rick Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-fox/) > [Much can they praise the trees so straight and high, The sailing pine,the cedar proud and tall, The vine-prop elm, the poplar never dry,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-spenser/much-can-they-praise-the-trees-so-straight-and-high-the-sailing-pine/) [Edmund Spenser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-spenser/) > [With fear and trembling we must rely upon God for guidance in the inner depths. This is the sole way to walk according to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/watchman-nee/with-fear-and-trembling-we-must-rely-upon-god-for-guidance-in-the/) [Watchman Nee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/watchman-nee/) > [Anarchism is a definite intellectual current in the life of our times, whose adherents advocate the abolition of economic monopolies and of all political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/anarchism-is-a-definite-intellectual-current-in-the-life-of-our-times/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [It's silly to have as one's sole object in life just making money, accumulating wealth. I work because I enjoy what I'm doing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/it-s-silly-to-have-as-one-s-sole-object-in-life-just-making-money/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [Even if I set out to make a film about a fillet of sole, it would be about me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/even-if-i-set-out-to-make-a-film-about-a-fillet-of-sole-it-would-be/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) ## More by Mencius > [The fruit of humanity is devotion to one's parents. The fruit of righteousness is to respect one's elders. The fruit of wisdom is to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-fruit-of-humanity-is-devotion-to-one-s-parents-the-fruit-of/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [People are eager to comment on something when they themselves are not in the situation of doing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/people-are-eager-to-comment-on-something-when-they-themselves-are-not/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Truth uttered before its time is dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/truth-uttered-before-its-time-is-dangerous/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Only when someone refuses to do certain things will he be capable of doing great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/only-when-someone-refuses-to-do-certain-things-will-he-be-capable-of/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [The disease of men is that they neglect their own fields and go to weed the fields of others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-disease-of-men-is-that-they-neglect-their-own-fields-and-go-to/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [People can have a long-term life plan only if they know their private property is secure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/people-can-have-a-long-term-life-plan-only-if-they-know-their-private/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Is it only the mouth and belly which are injured by hunger and thirst? Men's minds are also injured by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/is-it-only-the-mouth-and-belly-which-are-injured-by-hunger-and-thirst/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Mankind fears an evil man but heaven does not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/mankind-fears-an-evil-man-but-heaven-does-not/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [Water indeed will flow indifferently to the east or west, but will it flow indifferently up or down? The tendency of our nature to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/water-indeed-will-flow-indifferently-to-the-east-or-west-but-will-it/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [When the men of antiquity realized their wishes, benefits were conferred by them on the people. If they did not realize their wishes, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/when-the-men-of-antiquity-realized-their-wishes-benefits-were/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [If the King loves music, it is well with the land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/if-the-king-loves-music-it-is-well-with-the-land/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [The poor attend to their own virtue in solitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-poor-attend-to-their-own-virtue-in-solitude/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [There is the work of great men and there is the work of little men. Therefore it is said, 'Some labor with their minds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/there-is-the-work-of-great-men-and-there-is-the-work-of-little-men/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [There is a power in everything; it is the job of the artist to determine it and express it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/there-is-a-power-in-everything-it-is-the-job-of-the-artist-to/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) > [All people have the common desire to be elevated in honour, but all people have something still more elevated in themselves without knowing it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/all-people-have-the-common-desire-to-be-elevated-in-honour-but-all/) [Mencius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) [Explore all 125 Mencius quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/) ## More Concern quotes > [This brings me back to the image of Kafka standing before a fish in the Berlin aquarium, a fish on which his gaze fell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-safran-foer/this-brings-me-back-to-the-image-of-kafka-standing-before-a-fish-in/) [Jonathan Safran Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-safran-foer/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I'm a vegetarian - I think there's a strong possibility, had I not become a vegetarian, I would not be working now. I became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-barker/i-m-a-vegetarian-i-think-there-s-a-strong-possibility-had-i-not/) [Bob Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-barker/) > [What really concerns me is for Christians to understand the fundamentals of evangelism in a way that is helpful in the contemporary scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/what-really-concerns-me-is-for-christians-to-understand-the/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I am sympathetic to developing countries’ concerns: because of our emissions it’s their crops that will disappear; because of our inaction, it’s their fields…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kerry/i-am-sympathetic-to-developing-countries-concerns-because-of-our/) [John F. Kerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kerry/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [It concerns me when people frame the conversation about equal pay about the entertainment business. I don't want the wage gap issue to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-arquette/it-concerns-me-when-people-frame-the-conversation-about-equal-pay/) [Patricia Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-arquette/) > [The Patriot Act is certainly a concern; all of those things are dangerous. I think more important than me preaching is that we as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/the-patriot-act-is-certainly-a-concern-all-of-those-things-are/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [More compassionate mind, more sense of concern for other's well-being, is source of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/more-compassionate-mind-more-sense-of-concern-for-other-s-well-being/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Show your contempt for the problem and your concern for the person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rohn/show-your-contempt-for-the-problem-and-your-concern-for-the-person/) [Jim Rohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rohn/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [ I just have to deal with it \[injuries\] if and when problems happen. It's obviously a concern and I've been very careful with my… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-james/i-just-have-to-deal-with-it-injuries-if-and-when-problems-happen-it-s/) [Greg James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-james/) > [Much has been said and continues to be said of what little concern the Turks had for the Acropolis treasures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melina-mercouri/much-has-been-said-and-continues-to-be-said-of-what-little-concern/) [Melina Mercouri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melina-mercouri/) [Browse all 3,297 Concern quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The sole concern of learning is to seek one's original heart.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mencius" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek-one-s-original-heart/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Concern" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek-one-s-original-heart/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/mencius-3576_concern_the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek_1283470.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/mencius-3576_concern_the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek_1283470.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/mencius-3576_concern_the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek_1283470.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The sole concern of learning is to seek one's original heart.” — Mencius", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mencius", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mencius/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The sole concern of learning is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek-one-s-original-heart/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mencius/the-sole-concern-of-learning-is-to-seek-one-s-original-heart/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```