Confucianism (1)

Gautama the Buddha and Master Kong Qiu, better known as Kong Fuzi in China, and Confucius in the rest of the world: lived in two countries in the Far East, namely India and China respectively,

Whether they met each other can perhaps never be asserted either way, but they certainly would’ve known of each other, and learned from each other, not for the purpose of agreeing or disagreeing, but rather to complement each other’s sides of philosophic symmetry …

In the same manner that later as Plato and Aristotle appeared to contradict each other, but were in fact giving two perspectives …, one being theoretical and the other practical, albeit, while flowing into each other,

In today’s world, driven by competition, motivated by a self-awarded sense of superiority, it would be absurd to think that opposition is not rivalry, but rather a naturally occurring thesis and its antithesis,

So, on which side would an onlooker place the good label and the bad label?

Well, the wise wouldn’t on either, by not engaging in black and white labelling, but rather by giving advice against the “evil” of such an engagement,

Indeed, the ill outcome of an activity is driven by the intent of it,

But can’t we say, for example, that some ideas such as: “don’t use your mind, just believe what I’m telling you”, or: “let’s destroy those people because our masters don’t like them”: constitute evil …?

And worse still: if one is trying to spread mutual understanding and cooperation: such calls attempt to hamper one’s effort which is obviously good …

The way to answer it without getting involved in rivalry is to say: when, in our case, rationality and cooperation are the norm, the calls to blind belief and to carry out the commandments of a pagan god will find no or very few listening ears …,

Such a paradigm is still out of reach, but the effort towards it should never stop,

And most importantly, the mentality that thrives in rivalry and competition ought not to be glorified as a god’s commandment, or as evolution’s blessing,

But rather as an ill-conceived cause of existence, that should eventually be overridden by the natural power that drives it: when a thesis and its antithesis are seen as two aspects of each other …

So, in brief, Confucianism and religions are not mutually exclusive, or in the best case awkwardly coexistent,

In fact, as we shall see henceforth, the values that Master Kong was teaching are none but those of all religions

Confucianism (2)

The studier of religion is one of three,

The first is a believer who seeks to advance his rank,

The second is a disbeliever who seeks to fight,

The third is an opportunist seeking profit and fame,

The one who truly loves knowledge studies with an open mind,

Once he’s found the parallel lines, his faith in Humanity is reaffirmed.

No, this is not a quotation of the Master’s, but an attempt to emulate his unique style in delivering his wisdom,

There’s always an enigma in his sayings,

And unlike writers and philosophers who write deliberately ambiguously, only to impress, and often to hide their own want of certainty, Master Kong spoke to invite the hearer to ponder,

So, having been attuned to his Way, I took the path of knowledge seeking,

This is where the parallel lines between religions are uncovered.

Although Master Kong’s teaching is not regarded as a religion as such – and I’m sure volumes of literature have been written on this subject, in which I have no interest at all - : his influence on China’s culture is that of a religion:

Master Kong never promised salvation in any form, but only pointed to virtue, in the light of which families, friends, societies and nations can live harmoniously and happily,

As COB sees it, this is the prerequisite of salvation, in a manner of speaking,

Of course, one can argue that the seeker of spiritual salvation can find their way in the most treacherous of situations, and needs neither the virtuousness or the lack thereof of their society to advance their knowledge and polish their character,

But to the ordinary person, inept to philosophical and religious study, and happy to live ordinarily according to their society’s customs and traditions:

Master Kong looks after them: by providing them with the peace and the balance that foster their human spirit, and helps them seek a virtuous existence

Confucianism (3)

The Master did not write his philosophy, he only set practical examples and gave verbal advice to his disciples in matters of governance and social relations,

His Analects were collated and written by his disciples to constitute what is known as “The Analects of Confucius”,

In this brief visit to this universal school of thought, I will only look at the essential landmarks of it,

To my good luck, English translations of the Analects are a few,

The particular one that I find most helpful is written by Chichung Huang,

Huang says that his translation is literal,

And indeed, upon comparing his with others’: the conciseness, the sharpness, the consistency of terms and expressions, the far-reaching thoughtfulness …: convey the spirit of the Master’s teaching most faithfully: is how I feel,

But most importantly, he introduces his translation with a chapter that he titles “The Terms”,

It is this chapter upon which I will chiefly base those posts,

The Terms are words or expressions which feature frequently, and can often be hard to translate, as their essence is intuitive and abstract, rather than precise and lexicographical,

Such “terms” can indeed be found in every religion and spiritual teaching,

COB sees them as the “landmarks” of such worlds,

The Texts use them, sometimes to point to their essence,

Sometimes to point to a direction: marked by their presence along the way,

Sometimes just to remind the reader to have them as the beacons of their mind's horizons …

COB also finds that a great deal of such landmarks is common to all religions and spiritual teaching, expressed or built in the different languages of their different times and circumstances …

As for the Analects themselves, the purpose of these posts is not in the details of them. Such a study can be best pursued by reading them directly,

If Time allows, COB will probably read them in Arabic in the future, as, to my knowledge, no Arabic translation of them exists,

But in the meantime, let’s journey, ponder and marvel in the world of Master Kong,

There’s probably no better time for such a journey, when China is coming back as a nation of major influence

Confucianism (4)

“Dao” or “Tao”, The Way

Huang says that this sound (this is my choice of word) is one of the earliest of the Chinese language,

As you probably know, Chinese language is not written in letters and words, but characters or images, each representing a concept, and composed to stand for a sound that the literate person knows as part of the language,

Incidentally, the sound “dao” points to light in Arabic,

Dao in Chinese points to the way to a destination,

So here we are with an essence that is in every Book of religion,

The Way is meant to be one’s own, leading to self-development and refinement, leading to virtuousness, as learned from the Books and the instructions of the Teachers,

Here is one quotation from Book 9:30 in which the Master spoke of the Way, according to Huang’s reading:

“Those who can learn with you may not be able to pursue the Way with you; those who can pursue the Way with you may not be able to establish themselves with you; those who can establish themselves with you may not be able to apply expediency with you”,

Then the Master quotes a few lines from “The Book of Poetry”, being one of the books of the Classics in China:

“The blossoms of the white poplar tree

Keep fluttering to and fro.

Who says I do not think of thee?

Thy house is so remote.”

Then the Master goes on to comment:

“He is not thinking of her at all. How can it be considered remote?”

The “expediency” that featured in the quotation is one of the “Terms” that I mentioned the translator collated in an introductory chapter, and I shall come to it in due course,

Upon checking another translation, the translator uses the expression “to weigh occurring events” as a way of expressing “expediency”,

So, here we come once again to the ineffable essence that we’ve come across many times along this journey of Books and Philosophy,

If one has had no close encounter with it, one’s action or inaction, in an unanticipated circumstance, unexpanded in the teaching of virtuous action and inaction: is confused, and perhaps lacking virtuousness,

And when the new pattern of events becomes the new norm: you see those who learned diligently and memorised every verse of their Books and practised every exercise of self-development: lost and confused,

And it is worst when they are unaware of their confusion: in the belief it is all part of a big plan, they have done their utmost, the rest will be taken care of by a super intendent of some kind

Confucianism (5)

De, Virtue

The sound “de” points to “that which one acquires in one’s mind through cultivation”, according to Huang,

Hence, he goes on to say: “virtue, moral character or moral force” fit this sound best,

Indeed, there is no word in any language that can tell us where and what virtue is exactly, like for instance, the words for air or water …

English dictionaries say that its root is in old English, borrowed from Latin, “virtus”, meaning manliness, bravery, moral excellence …

I’m guessing that it was the Greek Classics who endowed it with a philosophical stature, as in Plato’s and Aristotle’s writings …,

Not sure though what Greek word was used for it …

The essence though can be as high and untouchable in our minds as our minds can go …!

Hence, the words used to point to it vary from one language to another, so much so, literal translations can miss it …, or indeed, it is the case that the reader or hearer has never peaked to it …, therefore any word, for that matter, pointing to it, in their mind misses it …!

There’s no better example than mainstream religions, whereby each religion has a word for it,

And moreover, each word has a different dictionary definition,

Reducing virtue thus to different sets of action and inaction …

Worse still, in some cases: a birthright!

In modern secular Arabic the word that translates to virtue is “فضيلة", which, although has a definition of high moral standard in old dictionaries: is rarely or never used in religious literature, whether Druze, Islamic or Christian,

Each of those have their own words for moral excellence …

Which, in each case, is the name of their religion …!

Perhaps an equally good word in classical Arabic is “ألمعروف", which has featured in the Qur’an as well as pre-Islamic poetry,

The word translates literally to “the known”,

In Islamic understanding, the known is the traditions and the shariah,

In Druze’s understanding, it is the name of a tribe, after a man by that name …!

While it is indisputably true that Druze, Islam, Christianity or Judaism are all an embodiment of Virtue: what is disputable is each religion’s specific definition of what constitutes each religion, and hence the virtue that each points to and stands for …

In the Greek philosophy, Virtue is given the status of a deity,

Like Wisdom, Beauty, Symmetry, Equilibrium …

At an essential level: those essences merge in one Essence: The Quintessence, that Aristotle spoke,

Where they merge: there’s no form or animation …

There’s Existence, Truth, Joy, Effulgence (شعشعانية) …

But don’t you dare mention any of those words to some Buddhist teachers,

You’ll be nicely told that this is your ego that you have not erased yet,

Because there is nothing, only emptiness …!

This is not a drift from the main subject which is virtue in Confucianism,

But this is saying that virtue can be only one universal essence,

One which inspires correct action or inaction in the given circumstance,

One which can be cultivated and limitlessly expanded,

One which inspires high reaching essences and concepts …

You’d have to be an expert in Chinese history, to figure out how China lost those Essences, in the same manner that the West and the Middle East did: bogged down in the rivalry of economics and politics …

In each case: corruption eroded the minds of the majority of the rulers and the ruled,

And essence was replaced by tangibles,

Those are indispensable in today’s world, governed by technology and the need for it, rather than human values …

But the Master said: “the gentleman’s moral character is the wind, and the small man’s the grass. When the grass is visited by the wind, it must surely bend”,

(“Gentleman” is another “term” which I’ll come to in due course)

Balance needs to be reestablished

Confucianism (6)

Ren, Humanity

According to Huang, the Master’s own definition of “ren” is “loving men”, and the “supreme virtue and the sum total of all virtues”,

The Master said: “for a man of humanity is one who, wishing to establish himself, helps others to establish themselves, and who, wishing to gain perception, helps others to gain perception”,

As the “supreme virtue and the sum total of all virtues” (Huang’s words), humanity is expressed and exercised in every aspect of human life …

By following the rules (Huang calls them rituals, and I’ll come to this word in due course), in speech, in attitude towards work, in government, and of course: in treating others …

The Master admits that it is natural to love one’s own kin, and hence tries not to force filial and tribal love out of people’s psyches, or to equal it with the love of all humanity,

His practical approach is to admit that one loves one’s own parents, spouse, siblings, children, tribesmen … differently than complete strangers,

But when one gives equal rights to oneself and others, whoever they may be, and equal respect …: it is easier to seed the virtue of humanity in one’s mind, by education and practice from early childhood, so that it grows and becomes part of one’s psyche,

And if a critic says this is not possible, think of the bigotry and hatred that is seeded in people’s minds at their early years of childhood, and fostered and fed, often with false information …: and examine the effect it has had on humanity’s history, and the power it has accumulated now, capable of dragging human civilisation to annihilation: for the bigotry and hatred to be satisfied …

Think of that, then think that this same power could’ve been one of love and respect of the entire humanity, and in contrast, what good it can do,

And if we keep religious teaching in our minds: all humans are equal,

And if we keep evolution theories also in our minds: it is not for individuals or groups to award themselves privileges and deprive others, the consequence of such inequality can be dire, to the perpetrator and the receiver of the injustice, as history clearly testifies …

Of course, Buddhist teaching trains the practitioners to extend their compassion to every being, and that’s a very effective way,

The problem is, not everyone is prepared or apt to take meditation training,

Convincing reasoning and evidence appeal best to all minds, if those aren’t fogged by bigotry and false beliefs,

So here we are back to square one: is it by meditation and prayers or by reasoning that one can be helped to rid oneself of bigotry and hatred?

No one can claim to have a provable answer, but common sense says that reasoning is a universal approach, not requiring belief in religion or any particular practice of prayer or meditation: apart from basic education, which enhances rational thinking,

In the world today, where all religious knowledge is open: it is either as a result of this knowledge itself: or indeed: by the lack of the truth of it: that the world spirals down in disaccord and conflict …

In a hypothetical situation:

If a practitioner of meditation gives a speech at the United Nations assembly, urging the nations’ representatives to practise meditation: in order to have calmer minds and less aggressive attitudes when facing differences and problems: they’ll find very few and perhaps no listening ears,

Or if a religious person belonging to any religion gives the speech, urging the assembly to adopt their religion: they will be ridiculed, except by the like followers of their religion,

Or if a world leader, subscribing to a particular economic or political theory, gives the speech to support their ideology, and to urge all world nations to adopt it …: given the short-lived success of any such ideology, and the danger that lingers around an obstinate adherence to it …: they will be scoffed, except by their staunch allies and fellow nationals,

But, if a person has the courage, the knowledge, the respect to all humans, and the faith in reason as the light that the minds of all humanity can perceive …, to speak impartially about world problems and the urgency to end them with cooperation and mutual understanding

: They will have the widest audience, in the assembly hall, and all around the world

Confucianism (7)

Yi, Righteousness

According to Huang, the essence relayed by the sound Yi can be summarised by “what is good in me”, hence by extension, “what one ought to do” or “what is reasonable”,

So again, as the case is in all religious and moral teaching, such abstracts demand a mental and emotional effort by the practitioner to translate them into an appropriate action at a given instance …

In essence, “righteousness” is one step down from “humanity”, in as far as practical application is concerned, as COB sees it,

Starting from the Way - as an essence, that is - going one step at a time: those essences are getting closer to directions for actions and inactions …

The Master said: “to see something you ought to do and not to do it: is want of courage”,

Because nothing is about theory in his philosophy, but indeed about the practical projection of essences onto activity …

This is not alien to mainstream religions, and one can argue that religious teaching is concerned mainly with human activity, past, present and future …

Mainstream religions, however, promise an afterlife, whether it is in this very world or a similar easier or happier one, elsewhere …,

The absence of an explicit such teaching in Confucianism is not a shortage of spirituality,

But indeed a practical approach thereto,

Hence, you’ll find that while religious interpretations’ main concern is to guide to a better afterlife: Confucianism’s main concern is to guide to a good life,

Of course, religions will defend their teaching by saying that a good afterlife can only be reached through a virtuous and good life,

And this is true about all religious teaching,

The subtle difference between the two approaches self-manifests today in the difference between Chinese culture on one hand, and Western and Middle Eastern ones on the other hand:

The Master said: “The gentleman, in his attitude toward all under heaven, neither favours anyone, nor disfavours anyone. He keeps close to whomever is righteous”:

So, the question never stops begging itself, however: what is righteousness exactly?

The Books of all religions never gave precise definitions,

It’s been the work of interpreters and religious institutes that such definitions have been set,

Little wonder why: righteousness is a different thing to every religion,

Nay, what is righteous to one, might be criminal to another …

The open-endedness of the Master’s teaching might have been a hinderance to the progress of China politically and socially, during the periods of its history where there was an intellectual drought, and hence a shortage of guidance in the circumstances which had no precedents to draw upon,

But in its extreme, the preciseness of moral teaching in Abrahamic religions, and one can say in Hinduism: has been a hinderance as well: in that it fails to see its own inadequacy, where the definitions disallow extrapolation and fall short of comprehensiveness,

As has been said a few times on this Page, the West’s progress, although has arguably its moral foundations in Abrahamic religions: has its intellectual ingenuity in the philosophies of the Age of Enlightenment, which take a rational approach to ethics,

Interestingly, some such philosophers praised, and were perhaps inspired by the Master’s teaching,

Not to forget of course the major influence of the Greek philosophy on Western thought, particularly Aristotle’s, which COB sees as the Western continuation of Master Kong’s,

The Master said: “To love humanity and not to love learning: the latent defect is foolishness”

Confucianism (8)

Li, Rituals

According to Huang, the character which stands for the sound Li symbolises the act of offering sacrifices to the gods,

But upon expressing this concept, Huang uses other words and concepts, which in turn call upon further investigation by the intellect …

So, towards the end of the paragraph explaining the meaning of Li, Huang concludes that by extension, the character has two connotations: courtesy and gift,

This indeed demonstrates the evolution of the concept from an essence of a primordial image and animation, as has been proposed on COB on a number of occasions …

If one studies the birth and evolution of “rituals” across history and civlisations, perhaps one can’t find a civilisation that is totally devoid of them, and that indeed, rituals shape the mind and activity of civilisation,

This can be a helpful inspiration as well an obstruction,

In either case: the assessment is facilitated by comparison, and by having a preconceived purpose of life and civilisation altogether …

It is Time in the end that “judges”, elevating some and degrading some,

And if rituals point the practitioner to essences, and ultimately to the Quintessence of all the essences, rituals have been helpful,

Otherwise, they are a pitfall of paganism and an entrapment in an illusion of illusions.

Human need of rituals must be studied impartially and rationally, fearlessly of a god or any supernatural power: that demand them for some need that humans aren’t allowed to question,

As COB sees them, one aspect of them has been explained before: that is the need for discipline or regularity of habit, to inspire oneself, and relieve oneself from negative emotions of suffering and hopelessness,

But the other aspect that is highlighted by the Master’s teaching: is the formalisation of activity, for the purpose of inspiring awe, respect and reverence …

And we witness firsthand nowadays the rituals that secular cultures have choreographed, for all different purposes,

Be they commemorations or inaugurations, military or civil, official or social, religious or other …: all aimed at creating spirit or bestowing an existent one onto the activity …

From such a perspective, rituals are essential,

It is only when they are believed to be the commandment of a god, and a trade with him that wins the practitioner favours and blessings: that one should be cautious of performing them,

But in the Master’s teaching, they are what we can call today mannerisms, courtesy, etiquette, an expression of respect and reverence, faithfulness to one’s culture and traditions …: all of which are conducive to harmony in a society capable of cooperation …

It is perhaps the absence of such a spirit, when such rituals in China became in the past a hinderance rather than an empowerment,

One would have to be knowledgeable in the history and a total insider, to figure out how stagnation had occurred, which led to rough times, and eventually a revolution, in which, not recognising any spirit in the traditions, and focusing only on material imparity and injustices, and driven by anger and what it entails of self-centeredness, driven by a spirit of fear and self-protection:

Rituals were made to be forgotten, or purposely neglected, in order to restart a nation,

In the end, it is in every religion and sacred philosophy the seed of self-critique and correction,

When the spirit is known, the seed re-germinates and the crooked routes are straightened,

But when materialistic beliefs and pagan practices take over, the teaching itself can be distorted to cause more stagnation, as is the case today with religions and political ideologies,

The current tough times that the world has been subjected to is meant to give those religions and ideologies a chance to self-correct,

Let’s hope that China continues its journey of reincarnation in the modern and the future world, and that the West doesn’t forget completely its values, and reinvents itself by its own high standards,

The two cultures can thus coexist and learn from each other

Confucianism (9)

Zhi, Wisdom

The sound, Zhi, referring to “wisdom”, can also refer to knowledge,

The wisdom or knowledge in this case is characterised by a moral overtone, according to Huang,

Knowledge thus is not that of skill and natural knowledge,

Right from the start, COB has distinguished between information and knowledge,

In that information is about things in the world,

And that it’s knowledge or wisdom that make sense of information, to use it for a virtuous purpose,

Hence the Master’s saying: “If one doesn’t know the decree of Heaven, one has no way of becoming a gentleman. If one doesn’t know the rituals, one has no way of establishing oneself. If one doesn’t know speech, one has no way of knowing men”,

This establishes the relation between heavenly law, or Virtue, with mundane affairs,

For, one needs information, in order to be able to apply heavenly laws in their particular circumstances,

And this is a very critical issue in today’s world and global culture,

Whereby information is given the status of savviness and intelligence,

And those are seen as the prerequisites of wisdom, or indeed wisdom itself, in a manner of speaking …

Wisdom has thus lost its essence in today’s modern culture, as has been said on this Page, and isn’t used anymore except perhaps in religious teaching,

And even in religious teaching, wisdom is often thought to be an abidance by the laws set by religious institutes …

Worse still, it is seen as the ability to make the right decision, when one is faced with multiple options of uncertain outcomes …, when the matter in question is business related or political …

The “right decision” being the one which is most profitable or favourable to one’s interest,

The immediate tangible outcome of such a decision is given thus priority over virtuousness, and the wisdom that the Master is alluding to is totally unknown,

It is sad that mainstream religions have also fallen in this pitfall of business competition and political strategy,

When it is thought that a set of written laws summarise god’s law, which can be interpreted or tailored for a given situation by “knowledgeable” scholars: a decision or an action taken as such is automatically believed virtuous, and god’s agents are thus satisfied and get the blessing to impart to their followers …

The virtue of the Master’s teaching is that it is bound by allusion, rather than decree and lists of dos and don’ts,

Again, one would have to be an expert in Chinese history to say if such detailed prescriptions and commandments have been set by scholars over the last millennia, or have been mere traditions,

In any case, the spirit of the teaching has been lost over a long period of time, resulting in stagnation and perhaps diversion,

But by virtue of its rationality and essentialness, the Master’s teaching is most adaptable to the present

Confucianism (10)

Yong, Courage

The Master said: “A gentleman who possesses courage but lacks righteousness will become a rebel; and a small man who possesses courage but lacks righteousness will become a bandit”,

And as we quoted him before: “to see something you ought to do and not to do it: is lack of courage”,

Courage is thus the mean between confidence and fear, as Aristotle put it,

A balance that is achievable only when righteousness is in sight.

By and large, courage in Middle Eastern and Western cultures is meant mainly with courage in the battlefield, or in any confrontational circumstance,

But the courage that the Master points to, and indeed as Aristotle, is also the courage to initiate action: rather than only to react to a situation,

Indeed, the dividing line between reaction and initiation becomes blurry, when one considers all the factors which urge one to initiate action,

As such, the initiation is more like a reaction,

In any case, and without trying to be too clever by drawing a sharp line between the two, courage is same:

It is the mind power that empowers action,

When one looks back at one’s own life, and the situations requiring courage that one has faced: one finds oneself constantly calling on the virtue of courage in pretty much every decision one has to make, when one faces multiple options of multiple outcomes, requiring, not only an assessment of loss and benefit or legitimacy and lawlessness, but indeed a moral judgement,

As such, courage itself can be encouraged by the virtue of courage:

By examining oneself, using meditation techniques, or by inspiring oneself by verses from the Books, or by self-counselling or seeking help from trusted family and friends, or by recalling historical events, whereby good deeds were achieved fearlessly of small harm - even when “small” amounts to risking one’s own life before a noble action that benefits others …

On the other hand, in our present world, courage in the battlefield has been usurped by political and religious propaganda, and totally annulled by drugs and technology:

When the killing of civilians, whether accidentally or intentionally, is painted as a courageous discharge of religious or national duty,

When, having no real cause to fight for at all, but only persuasion from leaders, and in the hope of a financial reward, or a paradise of food and sex: men and women are pushed to war, in battlegrounds miles away from their homeland: are given killing machines, enabling them to kill while hiding behind their own cowardice and technological fortresses, and often given drugs that fog their natural human judgement, and turns them into killing machines, from the like of which the wolf shies,

Indeed, the courage the most required today, on part of leaders and populations: is to step out of the cyclone of madness that wants to devour the world,

Madness that paints itself to every group as a religious or a patriotic duty,

Whoever has the courage to do what ought to be done, as the Master said, should have no shortage of righteousness,

Otherwise, rebellion that is directionless can be as destructive as the injustice that the rebellion is meant to overcome

Confucianism (11)

Zhong, Sincerity

The character Zhong is often used with two other characters pointing to truthfulness and considerateness,

The first being Zhong Xin, and the second Zhong Shu,

Both of which seem to be used to point to being loyal to and serving the “sovereign” sincerely, by inference, as Huang puts it,

So here we come to a virtue whose practical application in ancient and perhaps modern China: has translated to loyalty to some authority, believed to be the representative of heaven, phrased in one way or another,

And not unlike its practical application in the Middle East and the West, when the authority is itself lacking virtue, loyalty thereto becomes a bringer of corruption:

Whether this manifests in rulers clinging to their positions of power of self-interest, or in rulers submitting to the will of the wealthy, for those to cling onto their positions of power of self-interest:

If virtue is lacking in rulers and populations: the outcome of such a status is natural disintegration, leading to further corruption, leading to war and destruction,

The million-dollar question thus rings loud in the minds of them who truly care about their nations and peoples, when their loyalty as an expression of virtue whose practical outcome is to attain humanity that is harmonious, cooperative and just: begins to be seen rather counterproductive:

How can a political system or a belief for that matter: prevent such a predicament from materialising, or at least alert peoples and leaders to the early signs of it?

In theory, all those systems have the provision and the protocols of self-criticism and self-correction,

But when authority is given priority over virtue, self-criticism is another tool of self-praise and an embellishment of error,

Nations of the world today, with their variety of religions and political systems, the layman can comfortably say: are facing similar problems, although their propaganda machines and the beneficiaries of the status quo keep drumming up a success story:

Ought to rethink, not so much their systems, which would’ve worked well in the hands of sincere people and leaders:

But indeed their “spiritual” values as humans:

What do they want from their lives? how much effort are they prepared to put into themselves, and hence their communities, in the way of creating a harmonious and happy world for themselves and their far and near neighbours?

If the overwhelming belief in the world, the religious and the religionless, the Western and the other: are that humans are innately selfish and corrupt, by their creation or by evolution: the decline will continue, and danger will be more imminent, and even nature will intensify its reflection of human confusion,

For, as COB sees it, nature is just a reflection of the human mind under the laws of heaven,

But there are good natured people in the world, who can see that no religious, political, business or academic authority is truly interested in change,

Their sincerity, truthfulness and considerateness, innate in them, and taught in the Books of Middle Eastern and Far Eastern religions, Western philosophy and Confucianism: are expressed in their loyalty to humanity, for it to continue its journey of inquisition and learning

Confucianism (12)

Zhong Yong, The Constant Mean

The sound “yong” according to Huang points to “application” and to “constant”,

As always is the case, the usage of the word has varied, because an abstract concept is at play …

In brief “zhong yong” points to “the mean as a constantly practicable virtue” (Huang’s words),

And as ambiguity starts to raise questions about an exact meaning, Huang cites a number of quotations, pointing out that there are only a few of them which mention the Constant Mean,

But the fact that he dedicated a section in the chapter with the title “Terms” to the Constant Mean: prompts me to think that it is a major element of the Master’s philosophy, as rightly noted by Huang, despite its rare occurrence in the Analects,

And one can find similar instances in, for example the Qur’an, where a word is used only scarcely, despite the high intensity of its spiritual impact and intellectual significance,

Which leads one to realise that it is the high intensity itself that limits the occurrence, so that high reaches are noticeable only to high achievers,

Here’s one example:

The Master said: “Reverence without conforming to the rituals is called boorishness; respect without conforming to the rituals is called suavity; courageousness without conforming to the ritual is called rebelliousness”,

And after a few questions and answers, a disciple asks: “May I venture to ask what constitutes the mean here?”

The Master said: “The rituals, the rituals! The rituals are what constitutes the mean”,

As said in a previous post, the rituals in the Master’s teaching point mainly to protocols, traditions, mannerisms …: without a mention of them being an obligation handed down from a god ... or some heavenly authority …

Rituals as such are the moderators of activity, be it big or small, official or social …

Huang continues on to say that the rituals have been lost in time, and hence the Constant Mean points to moderation in the minds of the Chinese people today,

The constant mean is indeed another virtue that has featured in every religious and secular teaching,

The Qur’an says about the Faithful that they are the “mediate nation” (ألأمة الوسط), to be guides to the world,

Qur’anic interpreters, old and new, although express an appreciation of the benefit of moderation in behaviour, thought and activity generally …: take the meaning to point to the geographic position of the Middle East on the world map, as a strategic position and so on …

Such an interpretation implicitly cancels moderation as a virtue, as it awards the Muslims the exclusive faculty of being the “mediate nation” by virtue of being Muslims in the Middle East …

And hence “moderation” is thus implicitly overrun,

In their case, the Muslims weren’t alerted to the Middle Way between opposing concepts,

While the Chinese neglected the old rituals, to limit the Master’s teaching to a mere behavioural moral,

Although one can argue that in China the old concept has been replaced by a practical one fitting the present, and that in the Middle East the virtue is almost totally forgotten:

One can also argue that both have missed the Middle Way,

The one that the Master, and indeed religious teaching all around the world has pointed to,

And by citing a Qur’anic expression and the interpretation of it: the aim is not to say which civilisation is fitter for today’s challenges,

All world civilisations have what it takes to help themselves to come victorious out of today's challenging times, if they cooperated and learned from each other,

The aim is rather to show the universality of virtue, so that no nation can claim any longer exclusive ownership of it, and that all religious teaching is equally timeless, as much as the Master’s is,

The Master said: “The constant mean as a virtue is sublime indeed, people have been waiting for it for long.”

Confucianism (13)

Quan, Expediency

According to Huang, the root meaning of the sound quan is weight, pointing to the weight that you slide on the long arm of a steelyard to balance the stuff being weighed,

And dictionaries define it as “that which goes counter to the regular course”, and “change, changing the regular course to achieve the Way”,

The image and the activity that goes along with it becomes that of counter-action for the purpose of balancing an emerging circumstance, at an abstract level,

A classical example illustrating the principle of expediency is demonstrated by this dialogue between the Master and one of his disciples:

The disciple: “A man and a woman are not supposed to give and take directly, this is prescribed by the rituals, is it not?”

The Master: “Yes, it is prescribed by the rituals”,

The disciple: “If his sister-in-law is drowning, should he extend a helping hand to her?”

The Master: “If his sister-in-law is drowning and he doesn’t extend a helping hand to her, the man is a jackal, or a wolf … he should extend a helping hand to her, this is prescribed by expediency”,

This is indeed an issue that has been raised a few times on this Page,

Namely, the literality of the commandments, which, in the Master’s teaching, goes counter expediency,

The literal adherence to religious commandments is, in COB’s opinion: what holds religions back from progressing into the present, and keeps them working hard to emulate a past long gone,

Of course, all religions will jump up in defence of their laws, to say that they are flexible and that god or karma are forgiving when dealing with unhabitual circumstances …

But such a provision of leniency and forgiveness: does not go far enough: when itself is taken as law: and everything is back to square one, and we haven’t moved at all: when emerging circumstances aren’t explicitly mentioned …

It is when the adherence to such laws is believed to make god or karma happy: that the purpose of having them is missed, and expediency is not exercised,

The problem becomes very challenging to religious authorities who have to strike a balance between literal adherence to laws and reason, and particularly when reason is alien, or indeed seen as an aberration, to their faith,

Hence, it all falls back on the individual who has to make their own judgment, guided by their own inner goodness and reason, trusting Justice and Compassion which run the world.

Secular cultures of the world have gone beyond religious rules of behaviour, sanitation, healthy eating and so forth …

And one can argue that it wasn’t only science that helped them make this progress, but were also inspired by the standards set by the religions of before …, and this can perhaps be seen as an exercise of expediency,

But secular laws and traditions, themselves, have their own pitfalls of literal interpretation:

The driver of the new literality is not the clergy claiming to represent god and karma, but indeed the politics that thrives on polls and approval ratings: as presented to the public by the giant businesses of news media:

Those have only one purpose: that is to grow their business and become more powerful than their rivals:

Black and white headlines, using the vogue that they’ve spread, based on slogans remotely related to political or social values: labelling individuals or nations as good and bad, are used unscrupulously, reducing the exercise of freedom to business rivalry and competition, flaring up domestic tensions and international hatred, at a time when open-mindedness and cooperation are what is needed,

Thus, secular laws which started off as the liberation from the tyranny of institutionalised religion, and from the rule of monarchs and the aristocracy: are now themselves the new tyranny, whose aim is to ensure the continuance of the political ideologies and the parties representing them, backed up and financed by giant corporations, in a mutually beneficial agreement …

Expediency is perhaps not given the deserved weight as a virtue, although all religions and secular ideologies would like to say that they practise it,

The reality is that religions believe strongly in the comprehensiveness of their laws and traditions, and even if they exercise a limited degree of it, it would be within the limits of their beliefs and literal interpretations of their laws; on the other hand, secular laws will not budge on their principles which they also hold as eternally true …,

The thing they have to realise is that beliefs and laws are as transient as other phenomena, even if believed to be sourced from “heaven”, or perfectly correct for specific circumstances,

It is Heaven, as the summation of the essences of all virtues: that is not transient,

If this is unknown and no effort is made to approach it: the rituals as well expediency, the religious and the secular, act as a border rather than a beacon,

Perhaps when the Chinese authorities dropped their iron curtain and adopted a degree of capitalist openness they exercised a degree of expediency, declaring that “if a cat can catch mice, it doesn’t matter if it is black or white”,

Such expediency has helped them to grow their economy and abolish poverty, outside their ideological premises,

And perhaps, recently at the outbreak of the pandemic, when Western governments gave away money to everyone affected by the slowness of economic activity: they practised expediency outside their ideological premises too …

Let’s hope that on both sides reason does prevail, and animosities and rivalries once seen as a patriotic duty: are deemed obstacles now, in the way of a cooperative and universally prosperous world

Confucianism (14)

Xiao Ti, Filial Piety and Brotherly Obedience

People of Judaic or Islamic backgrounds are quite at home with such virtues, intrinsic to their tradition,

Modern cultures, on the other hand, question their virtuousness,

Perhaps the contrast can be attributed to the difference between the building blocks of tribal social structures and modern states,

In the former: values, education, mannerisms, behavioural code …: are taught at home within the tribe,

In the latter: it’s by some external entity, being the state itself, or the private enterprise …, and indeed the broad social input as well,

The virtue of natural love between family members, and the mutual respect and appreciation, however, crosses the borders of time, political ideologies and religions, and is indeed a major ingredient in a harmonious social structure,

And whenever there is social and political deterioration, perhaps the best place to start reform and change: is at one's household,

People need guidance in order to have harmonious small and big societies, for the sake of their individual happiness and well-being,

The many theories about achieving this have all had their turn in the last millennia, and recently in the last centuries: where history is almost clearly known,

Perhaps China’s one-party system can be seen as the child of the old values of filial piety and brotherly obedience: from marriage with the Soviet Union’s system,

COB doesn’t think that there’s one system that is best and fits all,

The successful implementation of both relies on the sincerity and diligence of the people in positions of responsibility, stately or private,

When those are corrupt and lazy, and all they’re after is power, money and a screen to hide behind: the “best” system turns useless, and indeed self-destructive,

When those are sincere and hardworking, with a high level of education: the system works well, and if Expediency is appreciated and practised, and if they listened to the advice of ordinary people: the system does work and can self-adapt to the change of times,

The world is still fascinated with democracy nowadays, as the best answer to authoritarianism, and indeed it is,

But as has been said many times herein, democracy can be paralysed by corruption and misinformation, and you only have to look at the deteriorating state of democratic countries,

On the other hand, if authoritarian rule listens to the people and is sincere about addressing their problems and bettering their lives: it does work,

In both cases, the rulers’ big egos and the parasitism of their cronies and servants: is what kicks off and speeds up breakdowns,

The Master understands fully the natural human need for guidance and its prerequisite of “obedience”,

And although modern ideologies dislike the word “obedience”, because it implies coercion and subversion, and surrender of oneself to an external entity:

To be successful in modern Western cultures: one has to adopt certain political and ideological convictions, and be hardworking for the purpose of being a good consumer,

The freedom thus on offer is limited by those options,

People can perceive their personal freedoms, and how much of it, in many different ways and can make any entity or authority they choose a custodian of it …

Conservative societies see West’s freedom as decadence and slavery to corrupt political parties and their corporate financiers …

Western cultures see non-free nations as intrinsically corrupt and inept for progress …, but are ironically happy to support them or to fight them: depending on which option is more profitable to their corporations and more strategic to their politics!

Both perspectives are one-sided, unable to see a whole picture,

This is a very delicate line to tread, but one choice or another shouldn’t in any way be presented as Heaven’s or Evolution's choice of a political and economic system,

Religions in the Far East, the Middle East and the West: have all made up their minds on heaven’s behalf: which political system is good and spiritual, and which is devilish and materialistic: without providing a meaningful argument,

Which makes one wonder: what sort of agreements go between religious authorities and political parties and governments behind closed doors?

Agreements which grant praise and blessings to one side, and curses and damnation to the other, on behalf of god and karma,

In any case, a wise person’s freedom is within themselves,

They float freely on the self-generating currents of slavery and freedom

Confucianism (15)

Wen Zhi, Refinement and Simplicity

Curiously, the sound Wen rings similar to an Arabic word “فن”, which means art or craft,

It’s often hard to find similarities between Chinese sounds and Arabic or English, while it is often easy to do between English and Arabic (Arabic and English being the two languages we’ve compared phonetically in previous posts, for no other reason than their availability) …

I guess this can be attributed to the fact that root Chinese sounds consist mostly of one consonant and a vowel, in Arabic or English terms,

The absence of a third “letter” makes the correspondence to Semitic or Indo-European languages intriguing,

But in Chinese, on top of the “letters” of the root sounds, there’s an element almost totally absent in other languages, and that is the stress or the tone …

The same combination of a consonant and a vowel, in Arabic or English terms, can be sounded in different intonations, implying different meanings,

This feature creates a challenge in the way of researching the root or primordial sounds of all languages …

Also, curiously, the sound Quan, Expediency, mentioned recently, rings similar to “قن", from which the word “قانون" (qaanoon), meaning law or measure, is a derivative,

I say this to emphasise the importance of researching the “one source” of human concepts and abstracts, represented by words in world languages often sounding similar,

Perhaps the story of Nimrud as recounted in the Bible starts to make sense symbolically at least, when all languages start to be seen as branches of a universal set of sounds, originating from early communication between beings when it was not so linguistically sophisticated, but rather conjectural and perhaps aided with gesturing …

And this quick diversion leads to examining the virtues of Refinement and Simplicity,

Simplicity in the Master’s teaching refers to innate goodness of heart of humanity, referred to in the Qur’an as “فطرة الله”, which Islamic interpreters take to point only to hereditary qualities and belief,

Contrary to the concept of innate goodness, all Abrahamic religions' interpretations believe that mankind were created innately sinful, as in the misconception of the “Original Sin” in mainstream Christianity: until they’ve adopted the particular religion, except those who were created to the particular religion, those are somehow “chosen” and endowed with a head start of goodness …!

The strong belief in human innate tendency to evil is driven by many cycles of life experiences, which led thereto,

And one can argue that this is an unprovable theory, but science has been able to prove that empathy is hardwired in humans and indeed in animals, and this has been mentioned herein before,

And I remember watching a documentary quite a while ago, on that military training involves ridding the soldiers being trained from their innate sympathy which inhibits their “ability” to shoot to kill other people …

And indeed, if one tries to practise hunting, one is reluctant to discharge the shot of whatever kind, because something inside them says it’s not right,

Of course, if hunger is threatening one’s existence, sympathy for the prey is overcome, but a “simple” person will experience a degree of regret after, despite the strong desire to survive,

But to a person who has studied … and trained themselves in analytical thinking, and became sophisticated …: hunting is perhaps a sport to be proud of practising, even if they are overweight and the prey is going to be thrown to the dogs …,

Also, in combat: when people are defending their homes from an attacker, they exercise a human virtue, to protect their families and property,

But, when, by the enticement of money or the promise of salvation, they are sent miles away from their homeland to fight people they have no connection of any kind with …, we shouldn’t be surprised if they turn into heartless criminals, or indeed end up in depression …

Similarly, helping others in need is a good natural instinct, but in modern big cities, people are reluctant to help, of the fear of legal complications of being entangled in criminal behaviour ...

Sophistication, or refinement, fed into the mind: is a double-edged sword,

It can unveil and foster the good human innateness, or can indeed fog it and replace it with an artificial instinct,

In the Master’s teaching, according to Huang, “a gentlemen must strike a mean between simplicity and refinement”, but, “in the final analysis, however, simplicity is the underlying component”,

Natural good heartedness, untainted by belief and ideology, cannot be formulated in a belief or an ideology,

It has to be uncovered

Confucianism (16)

Gong Jing, Respectfulness and Reverence

According to Huang, according to old Chinese dictionaries: “What is expressed in appearance is gong (respect); what is cherished in the heart is jing (reverence)”,

The first one thus points more to appearance, while the second to inner feelings and intents,

The two therefore have to be in tune with one another, for an action to be virtuous,

And when they are in tune, the action is an honest expression of virtue …

Such emphasis on honesty and sincerity in the Master’s teaching is meant to leave no room for pretence, and the activity of any kind is thus a sincere expression of a good intent,

The Master said: “Nowadays, filial piety merely means being able to feed one’s parents. Even dogs and horses are being fed. Without reverence (jing), how can you tell the difference?”,

The danger of a pictorial expression lacking sincerity: it is deeply felt by the receiver,

As such, it doesn’t convey love, rather evokes suspicion and thus creates a sense of obligation rather than faithful connection …

In this respect, the Qur'an truthfully says: "Annul not your donations by obligation and harm",

Humans can’t be treated like vending machines,

Today’s cultures, driven by material needs and a literal adherence to religious and civil laws: are destroying their human connections with one another …

In pursuit of pleasing god or a government, or indeed a political party: parades of goodness, charity, kind talk …: will not heal the ever-growing distrust and insecurity in people’s minds, and the resulting anger and aggression,

Nor will prayers and sacrificial rituals,

What will, is respect and a sincere intent,

This is why, in the Master’s teaching, although the “rituals” of protocols, traditions and mannerisms … are highly regarded: if those are devoid of spirit, they can’t hold the fort,

This is highlighted in this saying of his:

“The only one who achieved good government without doing anything was perhaps Shun. For what did he do? He conducted himself respectfully (gong) facing due south, that is all”,

The south-facing is figurative of allegiance to the Empire, in common interpretations,

But as COB sees it, facing one of the four directions on earth has been symbolic of some spiritual essence in ancient civilisations, being represented in the sunrise and the sunset, and the northern star Polaris, while due south direction is symbolic of worldly affairs,

So, in this last quotation, the Master is saying that if a governor is lacking of inspiration and creativity: the best he can do is to discharge his duties sincerely,

As such, his want doesn’t translate to inaction, and nor does he whip up false causes, in order to make an impact, and hence earn undeserved allegiance,

The problem with sincerity nowadays: the unrelenting bashing by the media that thrives on selling whatever sells: will guarantee political demise,

The best strategy in governance today, even in the self-proclaimed most advanced countries: is to keep up some hype,

This ensures the donations from corporations, and the headline support of media corps, and stretches the term of governance to the limit, giving a chance for everyone: governor and parasites thereupon: to make all the money they can,

In such situations: if the people are well informed and educated: although they sense the hypocrisy and fakeness: they want to see some positive action and results,

If they are irrational and superstitious, all they want is the contentment of god in a hereafter,

In both cases, the governor runs away with hideous crime

Confucianism (17)

Sheng Ren, Sage Men

According to Huang, the term Sheng Ren generally means “sage kings”,

And he goes on to say: “… the sage kings of antiquity who allegedly governed by the rituals and music, thus achieving humane governance”,

But apparently, after Master Kong’s death, the title was applied to the master of a school, without the official title of a king,

A few important points to note:

1. As has been said herein, in every nation’s history, you’ll find a period of time when there were wise kings, ruling justly and compassionately relatively to the standards of the time,

2. That in the Master’s teaching, music is considered an important element in rulership, allowing power, joy and harmony to be imparted to willing acceptors …: as it is in the overall aspects of the human psyche; hence the Master's emphasis of its role in accompanying rituals, as is the case indeed in many cultures and religious traditions …,

3. That the major role of the “sage man” is to guide. And this is a title they would have to earn, rather than inherit,

By now, it has become obvious that the Master’s philosophy deals more with social matters than personal ones; and even when he gives advice on self-conduct and so on, the aim is to achieve a harmonious society by helping individuals, families, communities … all the way up to the rulers themselves …

I know I might be raising eyebrows by making such a statement, which might be totally meaningless to academics, trained to use words carefully and according to strict definitions,

But this doesn’t stop the layman from expressing an intuitive view, unfettered by academic standards,

The way the layman sees it, most nowadays academics produce their publications only to keep their jobs and to compete and bicker with one another,

The stuff they produce is unreadable to ordinary people and useless to their rulers,

In fact, not unlike politicians, they too seem to be under the spell of giant media corporations,

They have to kowtow to the vogue spread by them, whether it’s fame or blame the incumbent government,

Who needs their advice,

Except for a very rare few.

The social harmony the Master teaches is guided by reason, respect, and cooperation,

Today, this translates to treating people equally, regardless of belief, race or geographic location,

Thus, today’s theories of nationalism can be put aside in favour of the welfare and equal rights of all,

Of course, people have to organise themselves as groups, in whatever way it is most convenient and helpful,

The way COB sees it: if people group themselves on the basis of belief and traditions …: that’s OK, as long as their beliefs do not allow them to be aggressive in order to protect their isolation or their dominance,

The problem is: by nature, the desire to isolate is motivated by a sense of uniqueness and an implicit superiority,

Neighbourly relations must therefore never subside, but rather be encouraged, and common interests are always open doors between the many groups of people,

Singapore has been a success story so far in forcibly mixing its diverse ethnic groups and religions: by making it law to have them live side by side …

But what has been doable in Singapore is probably unthinkable elsewhere …

In any case, mixing in limited or unlimited degrees: have to be paralleled by education, and inter-group knowledge of traditions and beliefs: for the sake of appreciation, and to create mutual respect and understanding,

It is up to humans to decide how they want to shape their world and their local communities …

There’s no cure that will be dangled from the sky fitting all, or an authoritarian rule, or a democratic process which can solve social and political problems,

There has to be an overwhelming and a sincere desire to cooperate, and solutions will start to crystalise,

The one-nation-multi-system experiment that started in China, for the purpose of allowing Hong Kong a degree of self-rule: must be given a chance to proceed, by all stake holders,

Its failure will be seen in the future as failure not only on part of the Chinese ruling party, but also on part of the foreign powers who want it to fail, for the sake of tightening their political, strategic and military siege of China,

And if it succeeds, it can be extended to China’s Islamic and Buddhist provinces, and can perhaps be a model to go by for other multi-cultural nations,

The universality of Master Kong’s teaching can thus be a guide to both the ruling party of China and its pathological haters

Confucianism (18)

Shan Ren, Benevolent Man

Or indeed “benevolent prince”, as some commentators and scholars have interpreted,

COB doesn’t make a big deal of the differentiation,

If it’s meant with men, it will also do implicitly with princes and rulers in general,

And vice versa …

This is why the Master doesn’t seem to have specified …

The two-way street between ruler and ruled is not adequately appreciated in modern forms of rule,

Somehow, governments are supposed to miraculously make citizens good and happy,

And somehow, people are supposed to miraculously have good and just governors …

Of course, the onus is on the individual, to educate themselves, at every intellectual, moral and spiritual level,

And of course, it is governments’ responsibility also to encourage people to take up self-development programs …, or perhaps not always:

If we are to adopt a form of rule in which a government’s responsibility is only to develop and manage public services: to the degree agreed upon by the public:

This can, for example, exclude education and health, not to mention religious and self-development programs in general …, which will be each group's own responsibility ...

But in any case: rulers, as in princes and officials: have to be “benevolent”, as much as ordinary men do.

It is obvious that during the Master’s life there was corruption in China,

And one can argue that social philosophies are born from dire situations …

But this goes also to say that China was not lacking of high standards of personal and social standards,

The Master seems to be reminding of such standards, set god-knows how long before him:

“A benevolent man – I shall never get to see one now. If I get so see a man of constancy, I shall be contended”,

Then he goes on to say: “those who have not but pretend to have, who are empty but pretend to be full, and who are hard but pretend to be opulent are difficult to consider constant”,

I say this only to repeat what has been said a few times, that there’s has always, … always been guidance in every part at every time of the world,

There’s has never been a period where people were left to live like animals,

It is contrary to being human,

Religions, and philosophies in general, all of them and individually, must stop thinking that they can patent human values of justice, equality, cooperation, benevolence … as their own discovery or heavenly privilege,

Or to claim that human values can be exercised only under their patronage,

This is a major question in the world today, whereby cultures and nations of the world: can’t see much good outside themselves, and are fearful of a world different from theirs, and will do everything to turn other nations and cultures to franchisees of their own …

But COB can assure them, such an attitude is only indicative of self-insecurity,

Self-insecurity born in the lack of faith in the human,

Lack of faith in the human which will explode into contention and conflict: as soon as the entire world has become a franchisee of one dominant culture,

This is only a natural outcome

Confucianism (19)

Gong, Hou, Bo, Zi, Nan, Hereditary Titles

Qing, Daifu, Shi, Official Titles

Huang seems to miss an important point, that is the difference between the two categories of titles, which, although he separated paragraphically, missed to mention,

In what seems to be well-explained attempt, he likened the hereditary titles to Western ones, namely Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Barron,

Then he goes on to find similarities between the Chinese official titles and modern Western ones, namely consul and minister, with the exception of shi, which he assented to transliterate,

The “word” shi though seems to point to “official”, as in any government employee.

One senses that the Master doesn’t give much weight to hereditary titles, and as we shall see in the next “term”, the emphasis is stronger on one being a gentleman, whether with hereditary title or an official one, and we’ll discuss gentlemanliness in due course,

This indeed puts the Master’s philosophy way ahead of its time, and indeed way ahead of some parts of the present world, where hereditary titles, and land and wealth bequeathed, are still a major criterion for rulership, and an automatic characterisation of “gentlemanliness”,

And so as not to dismiss the concept altogether, as some cultures still pay reverence to their aristocracy and royals, let’s say that the concept is not bad per se, and can indeed play a positive role in the preservation of culture and tradition:

The justification would have to focus on the training, education, passed-down experience … a born aristocrat or royal can enjoy,

In our modern times, although the concept is totally rejected, the hereditariness of wealth and assets is still widely practised, and more surprisingly still: the hereditariness of political posts, albeit with an embellishment of democratic processes,

But if this is seen to be of positive influence, there’s no definite harm from preserving it, so long as it is not a license to impunity, or of no value apart from pageantry devoid of value or an example,

The adaptability thus of the Master’s teaching is one that makes it a timeless philosophy,

Because: the emphasis in it is on virtue, not on dogma,

Modern thinkers, or should I say most of them: do not seem to recognise the difference between the two i.e., virtue and dogma,

Those, whether of religious or secular backgrounds: see virtue in or through their ideology,

Oblivious that it is virtue that gives birth to an ideology or a religion: in place and time,

If one can transcend ideology or religion to virtue: the purpose thereof has been fulfilled,

But, unfortunately, it is often the case that people get attached to the ideology or the religion: locking themselves up in a mental, social and political confinement, unable to free themselves, or be freed by an external agent …

The video I’ve attached is of one Peter K Bol, an academic at Harvard University at the time the lecture was recorded,

Who said that computer software isn’t watching every click and every word you type on your keyboard?

Without having searched for “Confucius” for a long time that I can remember, this video was suggested to me to watch, just last week, in the middle of typing this chain of posts …

So, I responded and wasn’t disappointed,

Few points to note in his lecture, however:

1. Bol admits that the Master is a philosopher, but can’t frame him in one category: social, political, ethical …, and goes on to say: “I don’t know what Confucianism is”:

To the credit of the Master! although Bol doesn’t seem to notice it,

As an academic, he’s perhaps used to putting things under titles and subtitles. But if this can’t be done … well, why should one be confused? COB has to ask …

Then he gives an example of two different times in China, when Confucianism was adopted but implemented in two opposing ways …:

Again, as more evidence to the timelessness of the Master's teaching, concerned not with methods and laws, but rather value and virtue applicable to different methods and laws,

2. The demonstration of the working of rituals in everyday life that he gives is really clever,

However, he only sees the display of power and authority – the vertical effect, and the social interaction – the horizontal effect,

What he misses though is the human value that a ritual applies when carried out, although he acknowledges that, according to the Master, rituals have to be applied justly,

If we were to have the same activity carried out in the absence of the social or hierarchical rituals which facilitated it, and only by the power of authority or physical force: the activity would not have any human value, but only a display of coercion … and coercion is not a value, neither in the Master’s teaching, nor in any civilised teaching thereafter …

There’s a fine line between a “just” application of rituals, and human activity, which might not be related to justice as such, but to humanity …

3. He doesn’t mention the principle of expediency, although its major significance,

This is due to the shortage of expediency in the interpretations and the application of religious, political and economic ideologies worldwide,

Indeed, contrary to expediency, strict adherence to literality is hailed as faithfulness and perseverance,

4. He fears that the authoritarian rule in China might try to use Confucianism to back up its form of rule, on the basis that Confucianism approves authoritarianism,

In fact, the Master’s teaching can also be used to back up a democratic form of rule, as Bol tangentially noted,

Western political theorists are more inclined to highlight the potential of authoritarianism than that of democracy in the Master’s teaching, thereby complementing and rubberstamping the fierce competition, to the degree of blatant obstruction at every level, that the West is posing against the rise of China,

5. Perhaps upon mentioning the growing spread of Christianity and Buddhism in China – a claim which is totally improvisational – he’s leading his audience to think that Confucianism lacks spirituality,

In fact, the way COB sees it, Confucianism has real spirituality, fitting today’s modern minds, heavily influenced by science and scientific methods of investigation,

One that is not backed up by the presupposition of supernatural authority,

One that doesn’t object to spirituality, while giving the individual the freedom to formulate their own understanding of the world and its purpose,

The main point though is that it draws its authority from human reason and values, which, when pondered outside beliefs and presuppositions: are universal

Confucianism (20)

Junzi, The Gentleman

According to Huang, the term junzi literally points to a king’s son, but goes on to say that its usage applied later to the nobility or the officialdom, and that its usage has evolved later to point to a “man of talent and virtue”,

That’s precisely why the Master doesn’t define the “gentleman” lexicographically, but rather alludes to the qualities that make one a gentleman:

“When simplicity surpasses refinement, one is rustic; when refinement surpasses simplicity, one is a scribe. Only when refinement and simplicity are well blended can one become a gentleman”.

The concept of a gentleman has perhaps followed a different, yet similar, track of evolution in Europe in the last few centuries to the one in China that Huang has pointed to …

Nowadays, however, it means nothing, outside its complimentary usage,

So, whether the translation of junzi to gentleman is appropriate or not perhaps doesn’t have a definitive answer,

So, what makes one a Gentleman (the capitalisation is to point to the Master’s teaching)? that is still the question,

The social evolution and the industrial revolution in Europe: have changed the understanding of “gentlemanliness” forever,

And although Britain has retained its monarchy and aristocracy: the rise of the class of commons has reshaped the concept of gentlemanliness, and perhaps made redundant its association with the aristocracy,

Perhaps the title of “Sir” or “Dame” in Britain which is what used to be the “knight” in the past: since it began to be awarded to “common” men and women, with “talent and virtue”, who served the Kingdom and were beneficial in their field to the progress of society and mankind in general: is the closest thing to the concept of a gentleman in Master Kong’s teaching,

So, once again, virtues have to take some form in place and time,

Such forms, however, can be local to a particular culture, or extendible to the whole world:

With the political and economic marginalisation of traditional local aristocracy worldwide: a new understanding of "gentlemanliness" was needed,

One which can be likened to an international badge of honour, carriable across geographic, cultural and racial boundaries …

Hence, scientists, artists, musical performers, thinkers, philanthropists, political reformers …: have been knighted in the UK and its wider Common Wealth, and perhaps justly so most of the times …

Ironically, however, founders of business empires have also qualified …

The transfer of power from the aristocracy and clergy to money and its modern generators and managers, since the industrial revolution … is perhaps a factor behind the new adaptation,

Besides, money is exchangeable freely from one currency to another …!

Money insures a position on the world stage of various performances: political, business, ideological …

Little wonder why - without scrutiny into their business conduct and their entanglement with corrupt politicians, one can say – successful businessmen have been awarded the knighthood seemingly unhesitantly,

The virtue of gentlemanliness is thus abused, and one can say it has been all but buried,

If we go back to the Master’s description, a gentleman is a person of knowledge and innate virtuousness,

Untainted by exhibitionism, or its opposite of crudeness or vulgarity,

This one needs not wealth or titles of any kind,

But indeed, knowledge, education, mannerism, modesty, self-respect … and virtuousness in every way,

Postmodernists would be infuriated by making such statements, which, to them, are reminiscent of a social order that has failed,

While the layman appreciates the achievements of postmodernism, as in setting people free from models and ideals they are required to fit into,

And bearing in mind that the equality postmodernists advocate goes beyond the financial, racial and social equality that political ideologies of all colours and nuances profess to support,

To include minorities of all kinds, even people of disabilities or indeed abilities of a different kind …:

The concept of a Gentleman in the Master's teaching still holds, and is extendible to all of humanity,

I guess, it’s only natural that such concepts get formalised, and an institute of some kind will claim the ownership of them and the right of bestowment of them onto selected individuals,

While such a system is not bad per se, it’s bound to become corrupt when administered by non-gentlemen, that is the small men, the subject of the next post

Confucianism (21)

Xiaoren, Small Men

Being the person lacking the qualities of a Gentleman, the small man can be any one …, with or without a title,

It depends on whether the title of gentleman is justly awarded, or there is a corrupt mechanism of awarding corrupt people,

So, who will award such a title to ordinary people, who are virtuous and who help their communities in whichever way they can, in the absence of a virtuous and just system …?

The people,

When a community of people appreciate the qualities that someone has, and the services they have rendered …: in their minds the person is a Gentleman or a Lady,

And how often we learn of unsung heroes, whose legacy remains alive in the memories of those who knew them and who have benefited from them …

People have to trust that such appreciation is true,

In which system is it recorded?

People have to trust that there’s a “system” in which this is recorded,

This is not the reward and punishment that religions have published, in order to award their men the holiest titles and their rivals the meanest,

But if one is a staunch materialist believing only in tangible things, including religious reward and punishment: one can follow this track of thought:

The deeds and the guidance those people have imparted, and the model they have set: last almost forever,

This is the continuance of their spirit,

So, we started off with the title of small men, but continued on talking about the Gentleman,

Who is the “small man” exactly? the question begs itself,

Is he someone who has not earned an official title?

By our introduction, this can’t always be the case,

According to Huang, in the Master’s teaching, “the chief concern of a gentleman is righteousness, and the chief concern of a small man is profit”,

Unfortunately, this won’t go down well in the many minds today, which have been accustomed to believing that the accumulation of wealth is a sign of intelligence, power and often a sign of heavenly blessing …

On the backdrop of religions, which regard wealth as providence from god, and a sign of his contentment with them - despite the repeated warnings in all the Books of the evil of giving money an advantage over its material worthiness …: the ideology of worshipping money is alive and well across many religions and cultures …

Interestingly, the word “noble” might have its origins in Arabic: “نبيل", pronounced as “nabeel”, meaning honourable,

But nobility in the old times in the Middle East was not associated with inherited or acquired wealth,

It was the quality of being righteous and magnanimous,

The European system of nobility that was in medieval times has continued on to the present: in associating nobility with inherited or acquired wealth,

The capitalist system is the modern formalisation and an affirmation of it,

Little wonder why the capitalist system today still staunchly objects to setting limits to greed and condones slavery in its new form:

When ordinary people have to toil all their lives, in order to insure the dominance and continuance of corporations: the feudal authorities of modern times …,

While their basic needs are being squeezed and trimmed …, and made harder to get,

In the lecture attached to a previous post, Bol demonstrates how people are naturally divided into castes, by their skills and professions, using a logic that predates modern academic systems:

So, if you work with your brain, you need the services of the tinsmith and the carpenter and so on …,

Those are the lower caste in such reasoning, although he shies from explicitly saying it,

And this has been the dialectic of the advocates of capitalism in all its shapes and forms,

And indeed, the dialectic of the communists, who want to free the working class from the dominance of the wealthy …!

The way to exit from this time old contention between capitalism and communism and their mutual implicit exclusiveness: is to see the two castes of people, being the white-collar and the blue-collar, working for each other, rather than one working for the other …

So, for example, the university lecturer needs the carpenter and the tinsmith to make furniture and cooking pots for him …, as much as the carpenter and the tinsmith need the university lecturer to speak on their behalf and defend their rights, when they’re being deprived from the same living standards that he takes for granted for himself …

This argument might have been proposed by somebody that I’ve missed to know, but I can see that it would be taken by staunch capitalist as pro-communist, and hence went unnoticed …

Staunch capitalists love to see financial inequality in the world,

They won’t admit it, but they believe that it motivates people and keeps the economy growing,

The purpose of this post is not to embark on disputing either communism or capitalism, but when the goodness of people is somehow associated with the size of their bank accounts: know that it is small men that are ruling the world: economically, politically, intellectually and spiritually,

Those won’t hesitate to wage wars, or to approve of such, if waging wars props up their shares or bankrupts their rivals,

Such wars can be launched in both directions: the wealthy against the poor, or the poor against the wealthy ...

Their methods and tricks are considered kosher, halal, legitimate, and in their theories ethical: based on a false understanding of religious and philosophic teaching around the world

Confucianism (22)

Ru, The Scholar Teacher

It sounds all too familiar, when Huang writes that originally Ru pointed to sorcerers, scribes, fortune tellers … and the men who performed marriage ceremonies and funeral rituals …

That’s precisely most of the clergy of Abrahamic religions …!

And if they say that fortune telling is not their practice, the answer is the fate after death of their pious and jihadi men they claim to know, and the prescriptions of rituals and invocations they give as a sure way to salvation and paradise …: is fortune telling at its worst,

In China, however, the concept and hence the usage of the word evolved in time, and before Confucianism it pointed to the scholars who learned and taught the Classics, being books of poetry, philosophy, medicine, astronomy …

Until after Master Kong, when the sound started to be used to point to the schools which taught the Master’s teaching …, according to Huang,

One would have to be an expert in Chinese history and culture to be able to say to what degree the sorcerers and scribes etc. have persisted, and whether they were still around up to the launch of the Cultural Revolution, and indeed whether a few have survived to the present, as secret cults, or indeed in the minds of a few Chinese …

In any case, by and large, China doesn’t seem to be under the spell of such beliefs and practices, or of a body of clergy who claim to represent heaven and the supernatural, in the same intensity and breadth, as are Western and Middle Eastern countries, and indeed all nations which still subscribe to one or many of the mainstream or secret branches of Abrahamic religions,

On the other hand, modern sciences weren’t embraced and learned in China until the twentieth century, after such sciences were looked down on as the business of small men for a long time,

A major shift of belief must have taken place in the minds of the Chinese who attended Western universities, and saw firsthand the achievements of science and technology,

One can argue that traditional China didn’t see any virtue in modern sciences, apart from developing industry and weaponry …

But modern Chinese thinkers must have realised that China had to join the march of time, in order to be able to defend itself and boost its economy …

Perhaps the anger that many decades of collonisation by Japan and the West had built up in the minds of some Chinese intellectuals, over China’s legacy of what they saw as out-of-stepness …, up to the Revolution: that temples and old schools were torn down, and books were piled up and burnt …

Until, recently many started to question the virtue of trashing a legacy of philosophic teaching, and made their new attempts to re-discover it, and weren’t disappointed …

The main point of difference though, between Middle Eastern and Western religious schools of thought on one hand, and Confucianism on the other:

Is that it is the people …, guided by their virtuous men and women, their scholars and sage ones …: guided by their humanity, guided by its innate goodness …: who are watchful, to offer guidance, to straighten paths, to suggest solutions to emerging problems, guided by reason and a sense of universalness, in an ever-changing world …

: not the holders of holy titles and attires, who claim the representation of god and heaven

Confucianism (23)

Ren Min, Men and People

The concept of Ren, being Humanity, has been addressed in a previous post,

Perhaps by including it in again in this Term, Huang’s aim is to contrast it with Min, being ordinary people …

This doesn’t seem to suggest boundaries between particular castes, imposed by socioeconomics and professions or nobility, in any way, as Huang demonstrates,

For a man to be said to be “ren” – leaving the grammatical rules aside – they have to be of knowledge, wisdom … benefitting others,

So, here’s a quotation:

When asked by a disciple about the Gentleman, the Master answered: “he cultivates himself in bringing peace to men (ren)”,

So, the disciple asked: “is that all?”,

The Master answered: “he cultivates himself in bringing peace to the hundred family names.”

The “hundred family names” implying the “multitude”, in Huang’s explanation …

So, again, we are dealing with intuitive concepts, rather than rules of definitional morality and socialness …

One can find those concepts in every religious teaching,

It has been religious authorities’ definitions of such terms, and their practices, that have set the projections of those human values far apart in the practical world, and made them indeed a subject of rivalry and contention,

One can argue: there’s no escape from having systems based on rules and definitions, fitting their time and circumstances,

And how true,

I guess, the answer is not to force religious orders and secular philosophies to wipe out their rules and definitions, in order to replace them with new universal ones …

And who will set the universal ones, and who will agree on them, anyway …?

And even if this is doable, it takes us back to square one, anyway …!

But indeed: the answer is for those authorities to open up their minds to others’ rules and definitions, to see the relative local good in them, so the good in their own starts to show its own relativeness …

The target is to achieve a universal understanding of virtue naturally, rather than forcing it by authority, money, and today’s technology and firepower …

There’s no better example of an erroneous understanding of human grading – if we use a neutral word – than the caste system of India,

Whereby words delivered by Krishna, pointing to the different karmic responsibilities of individuals: have been understood to mean a hereditary caste system, going back to a far past, sentencing people to a manmade destiny, according to the families they are born to …

And if we say: it is people’s karma that they are born to a particular manmade caste …

Yes,

But it is also the people who can break this vicious cycle, made to look inevitable and endless: by human belief,

I’m not literate in Sanskrit, but the few English translations of the Ghita that I’ve read, including the one by Swami Prabhupada, which includes word-to-word translation: do not suggest that the four castes of people are necessarily and sufficiently hereditary,

And if a version of the Ghita is worded in a way that affirms their theory, its authenticity should be questioned, on the basis of reason and compassion,

The Ghita wasn’t recited to set discriminatory laws,

Hindu historians and scholars have to take a true look at the concise wording of the Holy Ghita, some of which was written before Gautama the Buddha, and some after, as has been recounted in COB,

I’m sure that such a statement will be totally rejected even by the most liberal of Hindu gurus, as contrary to the Ghita,

In fact, it is contrary to the millennia-old understanding thereof,

And when this is challenged logically and linguistically: the believers become upset and defensive,

Similarly, a recent simple reading of a Qur’anic verse, announcing the Pillars of Faith in Islam was posted recently on this Page,

Clarifying that the Pillars of Faith do not award any person by name or lineage: the right to judge others or to be an Imam or a Khalif, and further, commanding the believers to believe in all the Books, implying the Torah, the Gospels, available at that time, and of course the Qur’an:

But COB’s citation and explanation was judged “satanic”, and rejected as false, despite its irrefutable truthfulness,

Such strongly held beliefs are them the major obstacles in the minds of the obstinate believers in them,

Obstacles which bar them from relinquishing their injustices and rivalries, in order to advance socially, politically and spiritually …

Those will wait forever for the supernatural intervention to their favour that their clergy have promised them,

But the events of the world happen according to their causes,

This is God’s Law, if they read their Books correctly,

So, what is Min exactly in the Master’s teaching?

It is the people …

In today’s world, those can be highly skilled people, like doctors and scientists and holders of high public offices …:

If they haven’t stepped up to develop themselves to a higher understanding of virtue, to be able to guide people and straighten paths, rather than just delivering their services for the purpose of earning money and social status …

Ordinary people aren’t implicitly bad, but are people who focus their energies on worldly affairs,

They need the guidance of them who have set themselves on the Way of knowledge

Confucianism (24)

Those are the Virtues upon which the Master’s teaching is founded,

If the people of religions in the Far East, the Middle East and the West read them with an open mind, they’ll start to see that they are the same virtues that every religion is founded on, with the difference that it’s not a god or an agent of a god who is teaching them,

And that it’s not god who will judge the people by them,

So, if someone says: how do we know that they are good?

The answer is: if you truly know the good in the religious teaching that you follow, you will find it also in Master Kong’s teaching,

But if you believe that the teaching you follow is from god, and therefore it must be good:

You have to realise that there are other religions or branches of religions, who also believe that their teaching is from god, and therefore must be good,

So, if it is the case that those teachings are from god: they should all be pointing to the same virtues, hence they shouldn’t differ, but indeed agree …

At this point, your mind will go in different directions to find an answer:

It all depends on how free your mind is from the bigotry of political religion, and how close it is to human virtues …

Such separation can happen only if reason is your guide, and nothing else,

But if you think that “miracles” are the proof to god’s word:

If you choose to believe those miracles, you have to believe them all, because every religion has its own,

So, you’ll have to convince yourself that they can either all be accepted or all be neglected,

In either case, you have chosen reason, rather than miracles: in order to accept the teaching that you believe in,

And this opens the doors for you to see reason in other teachings,

This process of self-examination and self-questioning is the major courageous step on the way of freeing oneself from the rivalry and animosities of religions …

This is real faith,

And whether you vision this faith in the Creator or in the Mind, to both of whom you still have a long way ...: becomes less important semantics ...

Hence, this brings us to the last point that needs to be brought out regarding Bol’s lecture:

At one point he says that one needs a “book” as a reference,

And he points to the Judeo-Christian tradition, implying that the Books, being the Torah and the Gospels, are the reference,

So, he’s suggesting that Master Kong’s teaching is the equivalent for China, with a subtle hint to the religionlessness of it, as in not being sourced from god,

In fact, the warring nations of the world today in the Middle East and potentially in Europe and the Subcontinent, can’t avoid a total disaster, unless they have made the mental effort to step out the concept: my religion is good because it is from god,

If religion is of any good today: it has to be good to all humanity,

Local religions and their gods are none but a revival of pagan rivalry,

If humanity can’t step out of such rivalries: destruction can be an inevitable destiny, and the human journey will have to end, to restart from scratch,

This has happened many times in the past, and if religions and science continue to deny this fact: it doesn’t make it go away …

Religionlessness is China’s intellectual and spiritual asset,

When no god is selected to rule overtly or behind the secret doors: reason and virtue can be the guide,

And so long as, when in their secret meetings, world nations make decisions based on their clergy’s interpretations of their Books, and reason is put behind belief, and crime and cruelty are justified by god’s permission, and forgiven by genealogy or by the practice of rituals …: the danger will linger,

Nations, big and small, are racing to manufacture, sell and buy arms: as if the destruction of the world according to their beliefs is inevitable,

But no one will win, and all will be losers,

And they’ll have to come back to primitive life, as all the Books foretold