CONFUCIANISM

There were four things from which the Master was entirely free. He had no foregone conclusions, no arbitrary predestinations, no obstinacy, and no egoism.

– Disciples of Confucius about their Master.

There is no word in any Indian language that corresponds to the term Hinduism which was coined by an Englishman by the close of the nineteenth century. Likewise, there is no word in Chinese that would translate to Confucianism: The term appears in English only in the mid-nineteenth century. It refers to one of the few philosophical systems associated with a person’s name. Plato and Buddha are among the very few with this honor.

Confucius (K’ung Tzu: 6th century BCE?) is a legendary figure who is regarded as historical, or a historical figure who is considered to be legendary. More real than King Arthur because specific writings and thoughts are attributed to him, but less so than Alexander the Great because of the lack of reliable relics associated with this name, Confucius is counted for all practical purposes as being among the wise philosophical minds that have illumined humanity’s intellectual legacy.

Much has been churned about him by tradition which tells us that he was born in the country of Lu. After traveling widely Confucius is said to have returned to his native place where he became a respected teacher. When his country got into a war and was defeated, Confucius followed the ruler Duke Zhao who fled. For some time he was the Duke’s counselor. Once he was put in prison, as Plato was, and was also soon released. Like other great teachers, Confucius began with only a few disciples, but during his lifetime he gathered thousands under his fold. Tseng Tzu, a great humanist, has left us some of the teachings of the Master.

As with Jesus and Shakespeare, the words attributed to Confucius touch the hearts and minds of millions living beyond the place and time that nebulous history has assigned to him.

Confucianism is concerned with personal and social ethics. Moral law should be at the foundation of human behavior. Like Rta of Vedic vision, it has the same operational inexorable power in human behavior as a physical law has in nature. Like Karma in the Hindu framework, we can’t escape from it. It prizes good conduct above money and material goods. It seeks unity behind diversity, preaches dispassionate inquiry, extols virtue and wisdom as the highest ideals.

In the sixteenth century there developed a Neo-Confucian version which talked about dispassionate inquiry. In this version, Confucius has also a sensitivity to the wonders of the world. The sun and stars as well as trees and mountains moved him to philosophical reflections, if not to scientific analysis. Confucius is reported to have said:

“Nature is vast, deep, high, intelligent, infinite, and eternal. The heaven appearing before us is only this bright, shining mass. But in its immeasurable extent, the sun, the moon, the stars and constellations are suspended, and all things are embraced under it.”

During the ups and downs of Chinese dynastic upheavals, Confucianism was often eclipsed. It had to struggle for survival. The zealous Shih Huang-Ti ordered works related to Confucian teachings to be burned. Competing worldviews encroached upon the teachings. But like sturdy grass in plush lawns, Confucianism has persisted. Hundreds of commentators, lay and learned, have written on what the Master had said and taught.

Confucian philosophy is entirely human, it does not dabble in murky metaphysics. It utters its basic truths in simple terms. It is primarily concerned with ethics. Confucius said: “The moral law is a law from whose operation we can’t escape for one instant in the course of our existence. A law from which we may escape is not a moral law.” The key-term li in Confucian thought refers to a system governed by ethical principles. It corresponds to the Hindu notion of dharma.

Many volumes have been written over the centuries on what came to be called Confucianism. It is impossible to summarize it all in a few pages. But scholars have distilled a few essential terms and their relevance for us. One of these is li which Lin Yutang interpreted with three words: rituals, propriety, and good manners, “an ideal social order with everything in its place.” It is the Chinese equivalent of what was known as dhármic behavior in the Hindu world, except that Confucian thought and morality were largely this-world centered, with little interest in an after-world.

For Thales of Miletus, all physical nature arose from water. In Chinese representation, the ideogram for water is often used for Confucianism which is concerned with the nature of human beings.

Another central concept in Confucianism is jen (ren) which is the quality of being human in the best sense of the term. Every positive trait in our treatment of fellow humans would be jen, except that these qualities, like rationality, are within each and every one of us, not always explicitly. Those who have cultivated them become junzi: human beings of a very high order.

An associated idea is shu, a positive quid pro quo it refers to actions that are positive in their intent upon others. It is ethics of the simplest kind, epitomized in the “do unto others…” formula. Confucius is reported to have confessed that he himself had failed in living up to this in his actions toward his own father, king, older brothers, and friends. Perhaps he meant to say that, simple though it is in formulation, it is actually not so in living up to.

Confucius stated that if people are decent towards one another in a family, and are likewise towards other families, it will lead to societal harmony, and eventually to world peace. Thus, this great man of wisdom taught long before the emergence of social psychology and world order that stable and loving families are the key to global peace.

The goal of Confucianism is to build healthy and happy communities. So, among other things, it lays emphasis on poetry appreciation and music, explaining that music brings people together. Again and again Confucius emphasized both precept and example, not saying that one is better than the other.

All these are recommended in a much larger context. Confucius does not talk of heaven or hell, but of a higher order scheme which enables the peaceful flow of things. It is like a smooth path or a gentle stream, calm and serene which carries us all through, indifferent to local puddles and whirlpools.

In Chung-Ying Cheng’s view “Confucianism can be regarded as a universal morality which could be embraced by all human beings, past, present, and future. (It) can be seen as embodying both philosophy and religion without a religious form, but with a profound philosophy by which it can function as a human and humane religion for each person.”

Confucius did not explicitly found a religion. It has been said that this is because he had full faith that every human being can attain self-realization on his/her own, without having to be goaded by an external authority. Eventually, however, Confucius suffered the fate of other thinkers who spoke insightfully on the human condition: He was deified by the devout, and came to be worshiped in temples.

We remember Confucius because his name reminds us of one of the earliest voices calling for humanism: a view in which respect for the other is the key to civilized behavior and global harmony. Like all great truths it is simple in formulation, yet difficult in actualization.

There is more to Confucian wisdom that what pops out of fortune cookies in Chinese restaurants in the U.S. True wisdom is in reflecting and acting rather than in quoting wise men.