[1:10]
子禽問於子貢曰：「夫子至於是邦也，
必聞其政，求之與？抑與之與？」
Zi Qin asking Zi Gong said, "Master when arrived at a state,
unfailingly know about it's government, does he inquire? Is he informed?"
[1:11]
子貢曰：「夫子溫﹑良﹑恭﹑儉﹑讓, 以得之。
夫子之求之也，其諸異乎人之求之與！」
Zi Gong said, "Master is cordial, kind, courteous, moderate and differential, therefore he obtained (information).
Confucius' way of asking, is totally different from other people's way of asking!"
[1.12]
子曰：「父在，觀其志；父沒，觀其行；
三年無改於父之道，可謂孝矣。」
Confucius said, "Father when present, observe his aspiration; father when
departed observe his conduct;
For three years if he does not depart from the father's way, he can be considered as filial.
Notes
[1.10] One of Confucius' disciples ask another about the special ability of their master. When Confucius arrived at a country where he had not set foot before, he invariably knew about it's administration. Zi Qin wanted to know how Confucius obtained these information.
[1.11] Zi Gong provided the answer. He enumerated a list of qualities which he thought had endeared Confucius to the strangers he met in his travels. By projecting a kind and sincere attitude, people who came in contact with Confucius invariably caught on to this positive mood which fostered genuine communication.
[1:12] In ancient China, the rules of society was such that a son must obey his father. When he's alive the son wouldn't dare to act against his father wishes; the only way to know his character is through his aspirations. After the father is dead, the son could do whatever he wants so his actions would reveal if he's filial.
This sentence could be read as a response to Zi Gong's praise in 1:11. Confucius wanted to set the record straight - that he did not purposely put on an act to endear himself to strangers, that he had behaved consistently both at home and abroad. Instead of explaining this directly, he used a more subtle approach of talking about a different subject which has the same underlying theme - that of behaving consistently. In effect, Confucius was saying - "Look at my behavior now, and observe my conduct when I'm abroad. If you can't see any difference, then you have to admit that I've been filial to my true self at all times."
Friday, March 23, 2007
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Awe-inspiring Junzi
This Q and A session is a continuation of the previous post on Lunyu. I've decided to use color coding for easier reading.
Why do we need to be awe-inspiring? Isn't that like trying to show off?
Of course we should not on purpose try to impress others. To be awe-inspiring here means to give yourself fully to the task or situation at hand, to sustain your attention and effort till the completion of the task. As to what you'll gain from acting this way. First of all, do you know that it's possible to derive joy and happiness from acting deliberately with your total being? This is applicable to all the things we do: both big and small tasks.
Just do some reflection - while you're doing some routine work, lets say ironing your clothes, do you really put in all your effort? Or are you only half-engaged, physically doing the ironing while the mind is on something else, always wishing to get the boring task done as soon as possible. Half-hearted action makes a task unappealing, resulting work done in a shoddy manner. This habit will extend to other areas of your life, making you a half-hearted spouse, parent, employee etc. Worse thing is you could infect the people around you with your couldn't-care-less attitude.
Conversely, if you could be fully engaged in a task, any tasks, then your actions would be a pleasure to watch. There's a certain correctness in your actions that inspires others to follow your example. This is what Confucius had in mind when he said awe-inspiring.
Wouldn't that make us look grave and solemn all the time?
Not at all. To be serious in your actions includes being fully engaged while having fun too. In fact to experience simple pleasures of life you need to be fully involved.
Why did Confucius mention junzi? Is this for junzi only?
Junzi means people who're aware of their own shortcomings and are in the process of rectifying themselves. In ancient China, people are classified according to their spiritual development. Petty person is one who cares mainly for material things. One becomes a junzi with the realization that there are joy and happiness in acting and living correctly. A sage is an enlightened person. Similar classification can be found in the Indian caste system, though it has been misused and became something hereditary. Junzi would correspond to the warrior class (Kshatriya) of the Indians. A person who's not yet a junzi will be able to do the right thing when told but will miss the underlying spirit.
Why did Confucius discourage having friends not equal to ourselves?
There are two ways to interpret this line. The first is not befriend people who're not our moral equal; if you're weak, you might get pulled down by them. The second interpretation says that if you're are firmly established in morality, you'll be able to inspire all our friends to rise up to your level.
A parallel to this is in Lunyu chapter nine (9:13) where Confucius said he wanted to live among some tribes. Someone warned him that these people are uncivilized and Confucius answered that if there's a Junzi living among them how could they be uncivilized.
Could you explain more on what Zeng Zi said in Lunyu 1:9?
Zeng Zi is trying to show that he understood Confucius - that an individual through right conduct could change a nation for the better. People act and behave in a certain way because of the prevalent thoughts and ideas of the time. Prevalent thoughts of scarcity makes people greedy and materialistic, in places where thoughts of abundance prevailed there is little strive. If the spirit of Junzi became the norm then society as a whole would experience a great upliftment of consciousness. According to Confucius, all that's needed is an individual who could produce the initial spark that lights up the people nearby and this awakening would then expand like a ripple.
Why do we need to be awe-inspiring? Isn't that like trying to show off?
Of course we should not on purpose try to impress others. To be awe-inspiring here means to give yourself fully to the task or situation at hand, to sustain your attention and effort till the completion of the task. As to what you'll gain from acting this way. First of all, do you know that it's possible to derive joy and happiness from acting deliberately with your total being? This is applicable to all the things we do: both big and small tasks.
Just do some reflection - while you're doing some routine work, lets say ironing your clothes, do you really put in all your effort? Or are you only half-engaged, physically doing the ironing while the mind is on something else, always wishing to get the boring task done as soon as possible. Half-hearted action makes a task unappealing, resulting work done in a shoddy manner. This habit will extend to other areas of your life, making you a half-hearted spouse, parent, employee etc. Worse thing is you could infect the people around you with your couldn't-care-less attitude.
Conversely, if you could be fully engaged in a task, any tasks, then your actions would be a pleasure to watch. There's a certain correctness in your actions that inspires others to follow your example. This is what Confucius had in mind when he said awe-inspiring.
Wouldn't that make us look grave and solemn all the time?
Not at all. To be serious in your actions includes being fully engaged while having fun too. In fact to experience simple pleasures of life you need to be fully involved.
Why did Confucius mention junzi? Is this for junzi only?
Junzi means people who're aware of their own shortcomings and are in the process of rectifying themselves. In ancient China, people are classified according to their spiritual development. Petty person is one who cares mainly for material things. One becomes a junzi with the realization that there are joy and happiness in acting and living correctly. A sage is an enlightened person. Similar classification can be found in the Indian caste system, though it has been misused and became something hereditary. Junzi would correspond to the warrior class (Kshatriya) of the Indians. A person who's not yet a junzi will be able to do the right thing when told but will miss the underlying spirit.
Why did Confucius discourage having friends not equal to ourselves?
There are two ways to interpret this line. The first is not befriend people who're not our moral equal; if you're weak, you might get pulled down by them. The second interpretation says that if you're are firmly established in morality, you'll be able to inspire all our friends to rise up to your level.
A parallel to this is in Lunyu chapter nine (9:13) where Confucius said he wanted to live among some tribes. Someone warned him that these people are uncivilized and Confucius answered that if there's a Junzi living among them how could they be uncivilized.
Could you explain more on what Zeng Zi said in Lunyu 1:9?
Zeng Zi is trying to show that he understood Confucius - that an individual through right conduct could change a nation for the better. People act and behave in a certain way because of the prevalent thoughts and ideas of the time. Prevalent thoughts of scarcity makes people greedy and materialistic, in places where thoughts of abundance prevailed there is little strive. If the spirit of Junzi became the norm then society as a whole would experience a great upliftment of consciousness. According to Confucius, all that's needed is an individual who could produce the initial spark that lights up the people nearby and this awakening would then expand like a ripple.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Lunyu (Analects) 1.7-1.9
All classes were stopped for 1+15 days for the Lunar new year celebration. This is the first class of the new Lunar year.
[1.7]
子夏曰：「賢賢易色。
事父母，能竭其力；
事君，能致其身；
與朋友交，言而有信。
雖曰未學，吾必謂之學矣。」
Zi Xia said: "Contrived worthiness easily changes color.
In serving father and mother, able to exhaust one's effort;
in serving lord, able to devote one's whole body;
in dealings with friends, speak and be trustworthy;
Though spoken off as not learned, I considered him as learned."
[1.8]
子曰：「君子不重，則不威；學則不固。
主忠信，無友不如己者。
過，則勿憚改。」
Confucius said: "A junzi lacking gravity is not awe-inspiring, learning will not be solid.
Self be loyal and trustworthy, no friends not equals to self.
If gone over dont be afraid to change."
[1.9]
曾子曰：「慎終追遠，民德歸厚矣。」
Zeng Zi said: "Attentive completion (of an action) spreads far, people's virtue restored to abundance."
Notes
[1.7] Zi Xia was not in full agreement with Confucius' previous statement (1.6) regarding importance learning. As was the norm, he started with a short phrase to give an overview of his idea - that worthiness gained by mere learning is not steady. He said that it's most important to do one's utmost to serve parents and superior and be true to friends. One who's able to do this he considered as learned.
[1.8] People can outwardly perform all duties to parents and superior and yet be lacking in something very important. That important quality Confucius termed as "gravity" which carries the meaning of being serious, earnest and attentive. Without this quality all our actions lose their ability to inspire others. One of the cornerstones of Confucius' teaching is to rectify ourself and then let our attitude and conduct influence the people we come in contact with. If we perform our duties with sufficient gravity, we can create a ripple effect that move the whole society.
The next sentence can be interpreted in two ways. The first is: we should never befriend those who's moral caliber is not equal to ours. The other meaning is that if we're virtuous and capable of acting with gravity, then all our friends will be inspired to follow our example (hence be our equal). The last statement which seems like a cliche could be a subtle hint to Zi Xia to amend his wrong ideas.
[1.9] Zeng Zi who's been listening understood what Confucius meant. To show that he's digested the points well, he rephrased them in a terse sentence which speak of the ripple effect of attentive actions and its ultimate benefit to society. This enigmatic stanza of Zeng Zi has been interpreted in many ways; the following is by Legge:
Let there be a careful attention to perform the funeral rites to parents, and let them be followed when long gone with the ceremonies of sacrifice; then the virtue of the people will resume its proper excellence.
[1.7]
子夏曰：「賢賢易色。
事父母，能竭其力；
事君，能致其身；
與朋友交，言而有信。
雖曰未學，吾必謂之學矣。」
Zi Xia said: "Contrived worthiness easily changes color.
In serving father and mother, able to exhaust one's effort;
in serving lord, able to devote one's whole body;
in dealings with friends, speak and be trustworthy;
Though spoken off as not learned, I considered him as learned."
[1.8]
子曰：「君子不重，則不威；學則不固。
主忠信，無友不如己者。
過，則勿憚改。」
Confucius said: "A junzi lacking gravity is not awe-inspiring, learning will not be solid.
Self be loyal and trustworthy, no friends not equals to self.
If gone over dont be afraid to change."
[1.9]
曾子曰：「慎終追遠，民德歸厚矣。」
Zeng Zi said: "Attentive completion (of an action) spreads far, people's virtue restored to abundance."
Notes
[1.7] Zi Xia was not in full agreement with Confucius' previous statement (1.6) regarding importance learning. As was the norm, he started with a short phrase to give an overview of his idea - that worthiness gained by mere learning is not steady. He said that it's most important to do one's utmost to serve parents and superior and be true to friends. One who's able to do this he considered as learned.
[1.8] People can outwardly perform all duties to parents and superior and yet be lacking in something very important. That important quality Confucius termed as "gravity" which carries the meaning of being serious, earnest and attentive. Without this quality all our actions lose their ability to inspire others. One of the cornerstones of Confucius' teaching is to rectify ourself and then let our attitude and conduct influence the people we come in contact with. If we perform our duties with sufficient gravity, we can create a ripple effect that move the whole society.
The next sentence can be interpreted in two ways. The first is: we should never befriend those who's moral caliber is not equal to ours. The other meaning is that if we're virtuous and capable of acting with gravity, then all our friends will be inspired to follow our example (hence be our equal). The last statement which seems like a cliche could be a subtle hint to Zi Xia to amend his wrong ideas.
[1.9] Zeng Zi who's been listening understood what Confucius meant. To show that he's digested the points well, he rephrased them in a terse sentence which speak of the ripple effect of attentive actions and its ultimate benefit to society. This enigmatic stanza of Zeng Zi has been interpreted in many ways; the following is by Legge:
Let there be a careful attention to perform the funeral rites to parents, and let them be followed when long gone with the ceremonies of sacrifice; then the virtue of the people will resume its proper excellence.
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