How to use the weekly study

每周一篇, the weekly study, is home-centered and chapter-supported. The learning happens mostly in your home; the chapter meeting is where what each household read gets put on the table and talked through.

At home

Each week's guide is short and asks for three things:

1. Read for fifteen minutes. Open the week's chapter and read it, in the original or in translation. You do not have to finish it or understand every line. Some chapters are long; the introduction tells you which passages matter most.
2. Think about one question. Each guide has a single discussion question, and it is always a three-tests question: what did people do before, what have people seen, and what happens when you put it into practice. Ten minutes at the dinner table is enough.
3. Do one practice. Each guide has one practice, a concrete thing you can finish this week. When it is done, you will have something to say at the next meeting.

A Mohist living alone does the same three things. Keep the question in your phone; tell your care pair (兼爱结对) how the practice went.

Households with children should look at the "For families" section. Those suggestions are written so children can take part: tell a story, run a small experiment, or do something together.

At the chapter

The chapter (墨社) meets weekly for one hour, in four fixed blocks:

• 20 minutes of reading. Read the key passages aloud, taking turns.
• 20 minutes of 墨辩, debate. Discuss the one question. The chapter lead (社长) or the rotating host only makes sure everyone speaks; they do not supply the answer.
• 10 minutes of three-tests review. Run the discussion's conclusion through the three tests: is there a precedent? has anyone seen it? does it help or harm in practice?
• 10 minutes of 职 reports. Each assignment (care pairs, the 非攻 Corps, 科技堂 STEM, and so on) briefly reports what it did this week.

The "For chapters" section gives the host three prompts. They are only prompts; if the discussion goes somewhere else and it is worth going, follow it.

If you fall behind

Skip ahead. The weekly study runs by the calendar, not by your progress. Read this week's chapter this week; catch up on missed ones when you have time. Finishing all fifty-two weeks is not the goal. Reading a little, thinking a little, and doing a little every week is.