The Master said, "Is it not pleasant to learn with a constant perseverance and application?"

When I was in school, I did not like to study what was forced on me by the teachers.  I did it unthinkingly to pass the exams.  When I did well, I took pride in my achievements.  I became arrogant.  I do not think this is the kind of learning the Master was talking about.

Outside of school, I liked to read novels and non-fiction books on science, history and philosophy.  In part, I did this because I felt they give me insights that would improve my mastery of life.  In part, I did this to escape my day-to-day life.  Looking back, I see this as a contradiction.  Also, I rarely persevered on one topic to truly gain any kind of mastery.  Surely, this is also not the kind of learning the Master was talking about.

I went on to a graduate program and received a PhD in structural biology.  I continued afterwards to study viruses, vaccines and large protein machines responsible for recycling cell-signal molecules. This was a different kind of learning.  Instead of relying on what was written before, I performed repetitive experiments using large, sensitive machines to probe what is unknown.  I amassed new data that I could not really understand.  I published many words and figures with promises and speculations.  The work consumed me and I felt farther away from life than ever before. Was this still learning, or was this a process of production?  What did I learn from the experience? This can't be what the Master was talking about.

Other people tell me that the Master was talking about right-behavior, ethics and rituals.  The Master was talking about self improvement and stability during a time of social and political turmoil.  Like the ancient Greek philosophers, he was concerned with what it meant to be a good person.   And it seems to require constant perseverance and application.  It does not seem to be easy or natural.  It is an artificial work like anything else made by people.

How much time have I spent thinking about this in the past?  What does it mean to be good?  Maybe this exercise with the Master will help me.