A New Year Present

Today is the second day of the new year according to the Lunar calendar, which means everybody is in a holiday mood this part of the world. I was surfing aimlessly when I stumbled upon a blog post. Nothing unusual at first, it was about a man named Ray who has a son who got bitten by dogs, and Ray is trying to rationalize it using some strange philosophy. The name of the philosophy is A Course in Miracles (ACIM).

I've seen books on ACIM countless times before in bookstores at the Christian section. I've read the Bible and attended church a few times and not being a devotional person, have decided that Christianity is just not my cup of tea. But this blog really wakes me up! Here are some nuggets of wisdom I found:

The inner is the cause of the outer.

I am responsible for what I see.

And everything that seems to happen to me
I ask for and receive as I have asked.

This definitely can't be Christianity! They sound more like Zen or some eastern metaphysics. My interest is perked. I have to probe deeper.

The material for ACIM was written by psychologists Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford. It's content of 365 lessons were dictated to Helen in some sort of trance purportedly by Jesus! (Christ). Reading the lessons serve as a graduated process in dismantling our false perception of the world - which sounds very much like Zen.

I've read the first few lessons and are very much impressed and I intend to finish it.

Here are some interesting links:

Through A Mirror, Brightly - Ray's blog post which got me interested in ACIM.

Helen Schucman and Bill Thetford - some intro on the ACIM scribes.

ACIM lessons - free and complete lessons of A Course in Miracles.

Windows to the soul

We have a guest joining our class today, a frail elderly man who's back was a little hunched. I didn't pay much attention to him. When class ended, I saw him having a conversation with the teacher. As I was about to leave, teacher called me to come over and introduced me to him. "This is Mr S, he has traveled a great distance to visit us today." Said the teacher. I greeted him absentmindedly, speculating why of all the new students, was I singled out to meet this old man.

I sat down beside the man. All these while I've this feeling that he was looking at me, scanning me from head to toe. Teacher continued with the introduction, "Mr S has been on the path of Dao for a very long time." Now, I don't really know what was meant by "on the path of Dao". Could be that Mr S has been doing some sort spiritual cultivation.

"Take at look at Mr S's face and tell me you see," said teacher. I turned to look at Mr S who's smiling at me. Our eyes met and I realize they were the most mysterious and beautiful eyes I've ever seen, as if some great secrets were hidden behind them. I continue to to gaze into the depth of his eyes for about a minute, unable to look away. "What do you see?" asked teacher, breaking the spell. "Mr S has a charming smile," I said after some hesitation, unable describe what I really saw. Teacher continued to talk about Mr S but I wasn't listening. Again I feel his gaze on me, from top to bottom like some comic superhero who's eyes shoot laser beams. The gaze wasn't threatening, more of an admiring kind of gaze.

Then Mr S engaged me in conversation. He seemed to have switch off his eye laser. I was expecting some deep philosophical talk but it was just small talk with some hackneyed statements thrown in. This really left me a bit confused. What was he up to? He didn't even spout anything profound. There's a belief that the eyes are windows to the soul. I thought I saw something in those eyes but I'm not sure now.

We already have IQ tests to determine intelligence. I wished there were some foolproof method to determine Spiritual Quotient.

I Ching and the flavors of time

Student A: In verse 1.6 Confucius mentioned that one should learn. What kind of learning was he referring to?

Teacher: Learn how to live life, find out what your roles are in this world and play your part well.

Student A: What's my role in this world?

Teacher: It's the five relationships as taught by Confucius: a son, brother, friend, husband if you're married and citizen of the world. Those are your roles and as to how to do them well, that's what we're here for: to learn how to play our roles.

Student B: Did Confucius mentioned citizen of the world? I thought he said relationship between ruler and subject.

Teacher: During Confucius' time society was feudalistic, people were clannish and wars were common. Now, our system of governance has changed considerably, people could easily change their citizenship. Though we must be loyal to our home country, our highest allegiance must be to the well being of all humanity.

Student C: I heard Confucius studied Yijing (I Ching), supposedly a book on divination. What is it actually? How does it work?

Teacher: There is a certain quality inherent in time, in every moment. One who's in tune is able to tell the quality of the time. The time we start an enterprise, the moment a thought pops up in our mind, in short all phenomena takes on the quality of the time when it was born. All these qualities are represented as hexagrams in the Yijing. Since not everyone is capable of perceiving these flavors of time directly, certain mechanical methods are used to determine the hexagram, such as tossing coins and shuffling cards.

Student C: Any reason why Confucius used it?

Teacher: To find out the the flow of the time, and act accordingly. Certainly not for getting rich by divining the stock market.

Student C: That sounds interesting, should I also use it?

Teacher: It your personal decision, just be clear as to what your intentions are.

Student C: Is it wrong to use Yijing for personal gain?

Teacher: When greed creeps in, dé (德) is extirpated. Though you may not notice it, you've actually lost something very precious.

Lunyu (Analects) 1.4 - 1.6

Words that are not translated:
Dao (道) - the Way, spirituality, also known as Tao.

[1.4]
曾子曰：「吾日三省吾身:
為人謀，而不忠乎？
與朋友交，而不信乎？
傳，不習乎？」

Zeng Zi said, "Every day I introspect myself on three points:
In acting on behalf of others, have I been disloyal?
In dealing with friends, have I been untrustworthy?
Imparting knowledge yet not practicing it?"

[1.5]
子曰：「道千乘之國，敬事而信，
節用而愛人，使民以時。」

Confucius said, "To Dao a kingdom of a thousand chariots, pay due respect to duties and be trustworthy,
be thrifty and love the people, utilize citizens at the proper time."

[1.6]
子曰：「弟子入則孝，出則弟，
謹而信，凡愛眾，而親仁。
行有餘力，則以學文。」

Confucius said, "A youth when at home be filial, when abroad be brotherly,
prudent and trustworthy, love the multitude and stay close to benevolence.
If there's energy to spare, apply to learning."

Notes

[1.4] Zeng Zi, a disciple of Confucius explained how he examined his own conduct everyday, presumably to find out if the master approved of his method.

[1.5] Confucius must have found Zeng Zi's method lacking for he didn't give a confirmation but instead gave details on the proper conduct of an ideal ruler. A kingdom of a thousand chariots means a large country. Confucius' used the phrase "to Dao a kingdom" means that an ideal ruler must be able to lead his people towards Dao.

[1.6] Next are the instructions for a youth when at home and outside. During Confucius' time not everyone had the luxury of pursuing knowledge, therefore it's recommended only to those who can afford it.

Where's the Confucian Heaven? Part 2

Student A: People believe in something because they want lasting happiness: eternal life in heaven or some kind of afterlife. Did Confucius speak about afterlife? Is it enough to merely live a proper life on earth disregarding what's going to happen after death?

Teacher: What's your idea of afterlife? Do you think afterlife is just another life or the final destination where you either go to heaven or hell and live there forever?

Student A: I don't know.

Teacher: Assuming afterlife is a final destination, if you're able live your life properly and be loyal and true to your god then surely you'll go to heaven. Assuming afterlife is just another new existence then learning how to live a proper life here will ensure that you'll be able to the same in your next life.

Student B: The Taoist classics like to make fun of Confucius, why?

Teacher: Maybe to mock the Confucianists for their blind adherence to ritual and not understanding the true essentials. The same can be said of Taoists, if they try to behave in an eccentric manner or affecting a carefree behavior, then they're not being true. Just like the dogmatic Confucianists they're putting on a show.

Student B: If Taoism and Confucianism are compatible, why didn't Confucius behave more like a Taoist?

Teacher: Sages and saints acted in ways most proper to the situation. When things are chaotic they try to bring order, when thing become orthodox and ritualistic they try to infuse some spontaneity and creativity.

Student D: Did Confucius prohibit the practice of meditation?

Teacher: No.

Student D: Is meditation practiced in Confucianism.

Teacher: Confucius didn't specifically teach any meditation technique but he did describe the mental states on should attain to in one of the classics - Daxue. The idea is to be in the meditative state of mind all the time even while attending to our worldly concerns.

3000 Years Genealogy

How many can boast that they know who their ancestors were up to 3000 years ago. That is about 1000BC, a time when most of the world were still inhabited by cave men.

Confucius was born in 551BC - about 2,500 years ago. True to his teachings of filial piety and honoring ancestors, he had preserved the names of his forefathers up to 15 generations. His descendants after him followed his example and preserved the genealogy records until today. So in total, a genealogy record of 95 generations spanning a period of 3,000 years are kept.

The interesting thing about this genealogy is that prior to Confucius the practice of using surname did not exist. Take a look at some of his immediate descendants, notice all of them had the same surname Kong.

孔丘 - Confucius
孔鯉 - Son
孔伋 - grandson
孔白 - great grandson
孔求 - great great grandson

Now, Confucius' ancestors are a different story altogether. It's as if their names were given to them by other people according to their trade, physical attributes or position in the clan; which is quite similar to how people from the rest of the world got their surnames like Taylor, Shoemaker, Armstrong etc. I've listed down the names of Confucius' forefathers and taken the liberty of speculating their roles in society based on the meaning of the characters that made up their name.

15	微子	Wei (small) - probably a physically small guy.
14	微仲衍	Mid brother Wei the Yan (develop, spread) - opened new settlement?
13	宋公稽	Honorable Song the inspector - government auditor.
12	丁公申	Honorable Ding the petitioner - head of the village.
11	湣公共	Honorable Min the Gong (share, public) - social worker.
10	弗父何	Mister Fu the carrier - a porter
9	宋父周	Mister Song the Zhou (weekly) - government official with weekly. routine
8	世子勝	Victorious son of the generation - most probably self styled.
7	正考父	Mister checking uprightness - a judge.
6	孔父嘉	Mister Kong the excellent - a valiant guy.
5	木金父	Mister wood and gold - dealing with commodity and precious metal.
4	祁父	Mister Qi (abundant) - rich guy.
3	防叔	Uncle protector - a law enforcer.
2	伯夏	Elder uncle Xia (summer, grand) - bubbly and enthusiastic fellow.
1	叔梁紇	Uncle Liang Ge (silk) - silk merchant.
0	孔丘	Confucius, Kong Qiu - a hill with an opening, a cave.

Its probably safe to say that Confucius, with his teachings of venerating ancestors was instrumental in making surnames fashionable among the Chinese.

Some interesting links

Genealogy of Confucius from 1000BC to present (Chinese)

Where's the Confucian Heaven?

Student A: As far as I know, Confucius teaches only ethics and morality. What's the purpose of practicing these code of conducts? To be a good person? For what? It seems that the reward system is missing: there's no god or karma to punish us, no heaven or nirvana to aspire to. Why should I even bother?

Teacher: Good question! Straight to the point. Teaching rules of conduct is not the main purpose of Confucius, the essence of his teachings is how to live our lives. It's because most people dont know how to live that they created some much problems for themselves and others. For now, let's just say that if you learn the art of living, you'll be able to find "happiness".

Student A: You mean just by being well behaved I can find happiness? I just don't see how this could happen?

Teacher: Everyone wants to be happy, most people practice a religion or teaching to look for happiness. Some prayed and found happiness through god, some meditated and found happiness through insight. Let's say Confucianism is a social way for achieving happiness. You find happiness through skillful interactions with the world around you.

Student B: Is Confucianism compatible with Taoism? from what I heard it seems that the two teachings are totally opposite. The Taoists are carefree and unconventional while the Confucianists are strict and formal.

Teacher: Some people had a wrong idea of Confucius. Even from the first verse of Lunyu, you can see that he's a jovial person who appreciated life and capable of great affection. The Taoist mainly seek to harmonized themselves with the energy of the universe, to conserve and cultivate these energy and reestablish their connection with Dao. From the Confucian point of view, to know the art of living means knowing how to make best use of our energy - through proper state of mind and behavior.

Student C: In Buddhism one tries to accumulate merit, in Toaism one conserve energy, in theistic religions one tries to obtain god's goodwill. What does a Confucianist try to amass?

Teacher: If you want to look at it that way then one who wants to find happiness through social actions tries to amass Dé (德)

Student C: What's that?

Teacher: In short it means virtue but you'll see more of it in Lunyu as we progress further.

Student B: Is it the De in Dao De Jing (道德經)?

Teacher: Yes, that right. You know Dao De Jing? Good, then you should be able to understand a lot of things Confucius said.

Confucian Classroom

The class was about to begin, the students were already seated waiting patiently for the class to begin. At the appointed time, a senior student gave a call for all students to stand up. In a well modulated voice he lead them in paying respect by bowing to the portraits of all the elders and then to the teacher.

This was a class for studying Lunyu or the Analects of Confucius. We'd be studying only three verses today, out of about 500 verses in Lunyu. We have class once a week and I started wondering how long it would take to actually finish the whole book.

It was done in the traditional manner with the teacher reading aloud in clear pronunciation and diction part of a verse and the student followed suit. This went on till we completed the three verses and then the whole thing was repeated again, and again, yet again - rote learning. More rote learning followed: each student was required to stand up, take a bow and read aloud and the teacher would make corrections. Chinese being a tonal language, the pronunciation, tone and pause had to be right.

After all students had taken their turn, the senior students by turn came to the front to give their interpretation of the verses. Some were profound and some mediocre but it's alright as everyone was here to learn and be a better person. The teacher spoke last and then class was concluded in the formal way it was started. Students who had questions stayed back to talk with the teacher.

Thus ends my first lesson in Confucian classics.