Sunday, April 1, 2007

An Honest Hypocrite

This Q and A session is for the previous post on Lunyu.

How actually did Confucius find out about the government of a country he was visiting?


This ability is not limited to Confucius alone. All sages and evolved persons have this ability of knowing whats happening around them. It comes from being in touch with the world. When we're in touch with our world we can have meaningful exchange with it, we know how to act in a given situation, and how to communicate with other people. In this way we're able to see and understand more about our world than we normally would. We rarely stay in touch with our world because all our attention is focused on ourself.

What is meant by meaningful exchange with the world? I thought we're having exchanges with the world every single moment we're awake.

Yes, correct. We're having exchanges with the world all the time but it's not whole hearted engagement. Sometimes we deal with the world grudgingly, we don't want to be in a certain situation, we want to fast forward to the episodes we like. Sometimes, we encounter something we like and we hold on to it, refusing to let go. We don't want or don't know how to interact with other people, instead we like to build a shield around us. In this way we're not having a genuine interaction with our world, we only want the world to fit into our expectations, refusing to see what's expected from us, what our roles are. This self absorption limits our awareness and knowledge. In simple term, it means we don't know how to live.

This sounds like the Buddhist concept of aversion and clinging.

If something is true, it must be recognized by all sages. Only the way of explaining it differs. In Buddhist terms, aversion and clinging bind you to the concept of your tiny self, making you unable to perceive the whole truth. According to Daoism, the emotions of hate and greed drain your energy and without sufficient energy your body and mind can't evolve. Confucius looked at it from a layman's point of view - without having a proper relationship with the world around us, we cant live a happy life.

Do we cultivate the five qualities (cordial, kind, courteous, moderate and differential) to become a sage or, are the five qualities the result of attainment?

They are the result of having arrived at right understanding. We know how the world functions and we act in the most appropriate manner and it manifests as being cordial, kind, courteous, moderate and differential. Of course, it could go the other way - you've not really understood and you use them as a guide to reach true understanding.

Isn't that being hypocritical? One is still a petty person but try to act like a sage.

We all learn by imitation when we're small. It's a good way to learn if you're not the type who like to ponder too much. In a way it's not being genuine; but I guess it's OK if you're fully aware that you only imitating and don't claim to be a full blown sage. An honest hypocrite isn't really that bad, is he? We have to start somewhere.

2 comments:

Yao said...

I love Confucius philosophy,
That why I try to translate it.
Will be great if I can discuss with some one have the same interest in understanding Confucius philosophy

Ming said...

Hi Yao, thank you for reading my blog. Glad to know someone who have the same interest. I have the feeling that people generally misunderstand what Confucius said. I will start writing again when I have the time.