In reading, you must keep your mind glued to the text. Only when every sentence and every character falls into place have you done a good job of thinking through the work. In general, the student should collect his mind, so that it’s completely tranquil and pure and in its normal activity and tranquility doesn’t run wild or become confused. Only then will he understand the text in all of its detail. Reading like this, he’ll understand the essentials.
From neo-Confucian scholar Chu Hsi, Learning to Be a Sage: Selections from the Conversations of Master Chu, Arranged Topically, translated with a commentary by Daniel K. Gardner.
