The Great Learning is one of the most important Confucian works. It is very short. The Legge translation is 334 words long. You can read it aloud in 2 or 3 minutes, yet spend years pondering its marvelous wisdom.
I studied various translations of The Great Learning over the years, but it was not until I was preparing to discuss it in a new book that I began to understand it. I saw it having three sections, with the middle section being a blue-print for society.
I was so moved by The Great Learning that I stopped writing my book. I started The Timeless Way Foundation, and I started running for the local school board. The vision of society in The Great Learning was so compelling it became an important part of my life.
The wars in Vietnam and in Iraq, and the repeated economic meltdowns in 2001 and again in 2008, are good evidence of a serious and persistent problem in America, a problem casting a menacing shadow over the future, threatening our children's safety and prosperity, a problem demanding solution.
Something has gone wrong in America. It will be up to our children to decide the source of the problems and make corrections. I believe we need to provide them the best education and communities so they will have the right mind and heart to save America, to save themselves.
I believe The Great Learning offers valuable insight. I have expressed a few thoughts on my website where I describe one view of The Great Learning, a view I call The Winding Spring Process of Education.
Here is a copy of The Great Learning in HTML and a copy of The Great Learning in PDF. Everyone should study it, think it through for themselves, then consider how it might apply in our lives today. I believe it is most pertinent.
Robert Canright
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Analects of Confucius on the Web in Nice Format
Legge's translation in a nice presentation
http://afpc.asso.fr/wengu/wg/wengu.php?l=Lunyu&no=0
It's in English, French, and Chinese
Robert
http://afpc.asso.fr/wengu/wg/wengu.php?l=Lunyu&no=0
It's in English, French, and Chinese
Robert
Friday, August 22, 2008
Confucianism & Stoicism; Reading & Writing
There is a lot of linkage between Confucianism and Stoicism. They are certainly not the same, although there are some similarities in beliefs, like a shared belief in a moral law at work in the universe.
Even some of their techniques are similar. In my blog, Education for the 21st Century, I pointed out that Han Yu, 768 - 824 A.D., recommended a simple writing style called guwen. Chu Hsi (Zhu Xi) had a lot to say about how a student should read. For example:
"There is layer upon layer [of meaning] in the words of the sages. In your reading of them, penetrate deeply. If you simply read what appears on the surface, you will misunderstand. Steep yourself in the words; only then will you grasp their meaning." 4.9 (page 129) in "Learning to be a Sage" translated by Daniel Gardner.
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote this about his education:
"... I was to be accurate in my reading, and not content with a mere general idea of the meaning..." Meditation 7, Book 1.
In Meditation 7 he also says he was taught to use a direct style of writing, avoiding "verbal conceits."
It is good for a Westerner who is studying Confucianism to also study Stoicism in order to appreciate the universal nature of Confucianism.
Robert
Even some of their techniques are similar. In my blog, Education for the 21st Century, I pointed out that Han Yu, 768 - 824 A.D., recommended a simple writing style called guwen. Chu Hsi (Zhu Xi) had a lot to say about how a student should read. For example:
"There is layer upon layer [of meaning] in the words of the sages. In your reading of them, penetrate deeply. If you simply read what appears on the surface, you will misunderstand. Steep yourself in the words; only then will you grasp their meaning." 4.9 (page 129) in "Learning to be a Sage" translated by Daniel Gardner.
Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius wrote this about his education:
"... I was to be accurate in my reading, and not content with a mere general idea of the meaning..." Meditation 7, Book 1.
In Meditation 7 he also says he was taught to use a direct style of writing, avoiding "verbal conceits."
It is good for a Westerner who is studying Confucianism to also study Stoicism in order to appreciate the universal nature of Confucianism.
Robert
Monday, August 11, 2008
What Confucius Said About Wisdom
Kongzi, called Confucius by Westerners, was one of the wisest men to live.
Click here to read what Confucius said about wisdom.
Robert
Click here to read what Confucius said about wisdom.
Robert
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Analect 6.28 ( VI.XXVIII ) of Confucius, Helping Others
A friend wrote something very thoughtful in a personal blog about helping others. I was reminded of Analect 6.28, where it says, "To advance, help others to advance."
Here is 6.28 in its entirety, translated by Legge:
1. Tsze-kung said, 'Suppose the case of a man extensively conferring benefits on the people, and able to assist all, what would you say of him? Might he be called perfectly virtuous?'
The Master said, 'Why speak only of virtue in connexion with him? Must he not have the qualities of a sage? Even Yao and Shun were still solicitous about this.
2. 'Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.
3. 'To be able to judge of others by what is nigh in ourselves;-- this may be called the art of virtue.'
Within this Analect you see "wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others," which I render as, "To advance, help others to advance."
Does this mean that if you are ambitious you should help others with the expectation they will be able to pay you back? No. In other writings Kongzi (Confucius) says you should not be calculating in your relations with others.
The Bible says, what good is it to gain the world and lose your soul? To advance yourself, you must advance as a complete human. Growing in money or possessions without growing in character or virtue is not real growth, but the illusion of advancement. You must help others selflessly and spontaneously, without calculation. It is satisfying in itself.
Allow me to share a couple of good memories.
I was on our high school chess team at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans. In a chess match agains Holy Cross High School I saw a fresman at Holy Cross demolish a senior on our team at the 1st board position. I asked the freshman if he would like to join me when I drove uptown to play chess against adults at the Echec Carre chess club, meeting at the Milton Latter Library on St. Charles Avenue. He wiped out the adults, and they were serious players. One adult, a former Louisiana State Champion, avoided playing the kid because every time he played the kid he lost and dropped rating points.
Jim Rousselle was that kid. Jim became the Louisiana State Chess Champion while he was still in high school. He defeated a tournament of strong adult players because I recognized his talent and introduced him to the adult chess world, which was very hard to discover at that pre-Fischer time.
I did not benefit materially by helping Jim into the broader chess world, but I felt joy in watching him fulfill his potential as chess player. He would read a chess game and remember all the moves. Once, when I got to his house to drive him to the club, he set up a chess board and replayed a spectacular game of Frank Marshall's. He made all the moves from memory and it truly was an amazing game. And it was amazing to see Jim's talent and love of the game. This was all decades ago, back in the 70's and it is still a fond memory.
Here's another, more recent, example. When I was teaching Math at a Charter school in Texas, I overheard a smart young man telling a classmate he wanted to go to MIT. I mentioned to him that he should make an effort to do well on a test in his future called the PSAT because he might win a National Merit Scholarship. Later, I mentioned this to his mother and she said her son had related this to her.
Wow! A young man who listens! I was impressed that he listened to me, so I next mentioned to him that he should become a proficient programmer in C and C++ before he arrives at MIT. He asked how so I gave him a book on programming in C. Next, he tells me that reading is not enough. He has to write and run programs to really learn C, and how can he do that? Wow, this boy is really applying himself and coming to the right conclusions. So I tell him he should look for a C compiler he could purchase on the internet. Yes, he takes that next step and discovers it is hard to find a C compiler to purchase on the internet.
Next, I gave him a C compiler. When the rest of his 6th grade classmates were having cookies and Cool Aid on the last day of school, he and I were in the computer lab. I showed him how to install a compiler on a computer and how to write and execute C programs with the compiler. Installing and using a new software tool is a pain in the neck. I would modify a program and try to run it again, and have trouble. "Why doesn't this work? It worked a moment ago?" I would say. He said, "Mr. Canright you pressed that other button last time." And he was right. He watched intently and remembered what I did.
Was he a great student? He sat in the very back of the class and goofed off, but he got perfect scores on his math tests. He was home schooled and his parents put him and his sister in a charter school for one year. I don't believe he came back next year. His mother felt he could advance faster with home schooling. I did not return to this school next year because I needed a higher salary. Each of us was at this school for only one year. We met. I helped him get started on his road to MIT. Then we went in different directions.
I did not profit at all by helping this young man. It cost me money to help him: I gave him a book and a compiler. But I got great satisfaction in seeing a young man with ambition and talent apply himself. How many 6th graders do you know who would give up a fun time to install a compiler onto a computer? He was a special kid and I felt enriched by just getting to see this side of him.
If we love humanity we are enriched when we help others grow.
If you calculate the profit in helping someone, you cheat yourself by the very thought of personal profit.
Robert
Here is 6.28 in its entirety, translated by Legge:
1. Tsze-kung said, 'Suppose the case of a man extensively conferring benefits on the people, and able to assist all, what would you say of him? Might he be called perfectly virtuous?'
The Master said, 'Why speak only of virtue in connexion with him? Must he not have the qualities of a sage? Even Yao and Shun were still solicitous about this.
2. 'Now the man of perfect virtue, wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others; wishing to be enlarged himself, he seeks also to enlarge others.
3. 'To be able to judge of others by what is nigh in ourselves;-- this may be called the art of virtue.'
Within this Analect you see "wishing to be established himself, seeks also to establish others," which I render as, "To advance, help others to advance."
Does this mean that if you are ambitious you should help others with the expectation they will be able to pay you back? No. In other writings Kongzi (Confucius) says you should not be calculating in your relations with others.
The Bible says, what good is it to gain the world and lose your soul? To advance yourself, you must advance as a complete human. Growing in money or possessions without growing in character or virtue is not real growth, but the illusion of advancement. You must help others selflessly and spontaneously, without calculation. It is satisfying in itself.
Allow me to share a couple of good memories.
I was on our high school chess team at Brother Martin High School in New Orleans. In a chess match agains Holy Cross High School I saw a fresman at Holy Cross demolish a senior on our team at the 1st board position. I asked the freshman if he would like to join me when I drove uptown to play chess against adults at the Echec Carre chess club, meeting at the Milton Latter Library on St. Charles Avenue. He wiped out the adults, and they were serious players. One adult, a former Louisiana State Champion, avoided playing the kid because every time he played the kid he lost and dropped rating points.
Jim Rousselle was that kid. Jim became the Louisiana State Chess Champion while he was still in high school. He defeated a tournament of strong adult players because I recognized his talent and introduced him to the adult chess world, which was very hard to discover at that pre-Fischer time.
I did not benefit materially by helping Jim into the broader chess world, but I felt joy in watching him fulfill his potential as chess player. He would read a chess game and remember all the moves. Once, when I got to his house to drive him to the club, he set up a chess board and replayed a spectacular game of Frank Marshall's. He made all the moves from memory and it truly was an amazing game. And it was amazing to see Jim's talent and love of the game. This was all decades ago, back in the 70's and it is still a fond memory.
Here's another, more recent, example. When I was teaching Math at a Charter school in Texas, I overheard a smart young man telling a classmate he wanted to go to MIT. I mentioned to him that he should make an effort to do well on a test in his future called the PSAT because he might win a National Merit Scholarship. Later, I mentioned this to his mother and she said her son had related this to her.
Wow! A young man who listens! I was impressed that he listened to me, so I next mentioned to him that he should become a proficient programmer in C and C++ before he arrives at MIT. He asked how so I gave him a book on programming in C. Next, he tells me that reading is not enough. He has to write and run programs to really learn C, and how can he do that? Wow, this boy is really applying himself and coming to the right conclusions. So I tell him he should look for a C compiler he could purchase on the internet. Yes, he takes that next step and discovers it is hard to find a C compiler to purchase on the internet.
Next, I gave him a C compiler. When the rest of his 6th grade classmates were having cookies and Cool Aid on the last day of school, he and I were in the computer lab. I showed him how to install a compiler on a computer and how to write and execute C programs with the compiler. Installing and using a new software tool is a pain in the neck. I would modify a program and try to run it again, and have trouble. "Why doesn't this work? It worked a moment ago?" I would say. He said, "Mr. Canright you pressed that other button last time." And he was right. He watched intently and remembered what I did.
Was he a great student? He sat in the very back of the class and goofed off, but he got perfect scores on his math tests. He was home schooled and his parents put him and his sister in a charter school for one year. I don't believe he came back next year. His mother felt he could advance faster with home schooling. I did not return to this school next year because I needed a higher salary. Each of us was at this school for only one year. We met. I helped him get started on his road to MIT. Then we went in different directions.
I did not profit at all by helping this young man. It cost me money to help him: I gave him a book and a compiler. But I got great satisfaction in seeing a young man with ambition and talent apply himself. How many 6th graders do you know who would give up a fun time to install a compiler onto a computer? He was a special kid and I felt enriched by just getting to see this side of him.
If we love humanity we are enriched when we help others grow.
If you calculate the profit in helping someone, you cheat yourself by the very thought of personal profit.
Robert
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Richard Rorty and the Ru Jia
I believe Richard Rorty is an American who exemplifies virtues of the Ru Jia. “Ru Jia” means “school of scholars” and is another name for Confucianism. Confucians are also referred to as the Ru.
Here is a quote from a lecture about Rorty:
"We do not learn moral education by the teaching of philosophy, not by rational speculation, but by becoming sensitized to the suffering of others."
That lecture also attributed these thoughts to Rorty:
1.) "Liberalism is the realization that cruelty and humiliation are the worst things we can inflict on one another."
2.) "Solidarity is the glue that holds society together, and it can be expanded through acts of identification with those previously considered as 'others.'"
Here are what I see as attributes of American Ru Jia:
a) They are compassionate and sympathetic to the suffering of others.
b) They look beyond society as a mechanism and see it as a source of identity (the "identification" mentioned above).
c) They look to improve the lives of the people.
d) They believe in morality.
e) They believe in the importance of education and culture.
Americans can look within our own American or Western tradition for people to emulate who are also in the tradition of the Ru Jia.
Robert
P.S.
The lectures I've referred to here are "Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition" from the Teaching Company. Rorty is lecture 81, found in Part 7 of the lecture series.
Here is a quote from a lecture about Rorty:
"We do not learn moral education by the teaching of philosophy, not by rational speculation, but by becoming sensitized to the suffering of others."
That lecture also attributed these thoughts to Rorty:
1.) "Liberalism is the realization that cruelty and humiliation are the worst things we can inflict on one another."
2.) "Solidarity is the glue that holds society together, and it can be expanded through acts of identification with those previously considered as 'others.'"
Here are what I see as attributes of American Ru Jia:
a) They are compassionate and sympathetic to the suffering of others.
b) They look beyond society as a mechanism and see it as a source of identity (the "identification" mentioned above).
c) They look to improve the lives of the people.
d) They believe in morality.
e) They believe in the importance of education and culture.
Americans can look within our own American or Western tradition for people to emulate who are also in the tradition of the Ru Jia.
Robert
P.S.
The lectures I've referred to here are "Great Minds of the Western Intellectual Tradition" from the Teaching Company. Rorty is lecture 81, found in Part 7 of the lecture series.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Wang Yangming's Community Compact
If an American community wanted to write a compact, the following text from Wang Yangming would be a great preamble.
"The responsibility for all this should be shared by ... government officials and all of you, old and young.
Alas! Nothing can be done to change what has already gone by, but something can still be done in the future. Therefore a community compact is now specially prepared to unite and harmonize all of you. From now on, all of you who enter into this compact should be filial to your parents and respectful to your elders, teach your children, live in harmony with your fellow villagers, help one another when there is death in the family and assist one another in times of difficulty, encourage one another to do good and warn one another not to do evil, stop litigations and rivalry, cultivate faithfulness and promote harmony, and be sure to be good citizens so that together you may establish the custom of humanity and kindness....
All of you, both old and young, do not remember the former evil deeds of the new citizens and ignore their good deeds. As long as they have a single thought to do good, they are already good people. Do not be proud that you are good citizens and neglect to cultivate your personal life. As long as you have a single thought to do evil, you are already evil people. Whether people are good or evil depends on a single instant of thought. You should think over my words carefully. Don't forget...."
Wang Yangming, 1472-1529
This is a brilliant exposition of the right attitude to have going into a community compact. I am too humbled by Wang's brilliance to try to add anything to what he said. I will only mention American historical context: during his lifetime Columbus discovered the New World (1492) and the Jamestown colony was started in Virginia (1508).
Robert
"The responsibility for all this should be shared by ... government officials and all of you, old and young.
Alas! Nothing can be done to change what has already gone by, but something can still be done in the future. Therefore a community compact is now specially prepared to unite and harmonize all of you. From now on, all of you who enter into this compact should be filial to your parents and respectful to your elders, teach your children, live in harmony with your fellow villagers, help one another when there is death in the family and assist one another in times of difficulty, encourage one another to do good and warn one another not to do evil, stop litigations and rivalry, cultivate faithfulness and promote harmony, and be sure to be good citizens so that together you may establish the custom of humanity and kindness....
All of you, both old and young, do not remember the former evil deeds of the new citizens and ignore their good deeds. As long as they have a single thought to do good, they are already good people. Do not be proud that you are good citizens and neglect to cultivate your personal life. As long as you have a single thought to do evil, you are already evil people. Whether people are good or evil depends on a single instant of thought. You should think over my words carefully. Don't forget...."
Wang Yangming, 1472-1529
This is a brilliant exposition of the right attitude to have going into a community compact. I am too humbled by Wang's brilliance to try to add anything to what he said. I will only mention American historical context: during his lifetime Columbus discovered the New World (1492) and the Jamestown colony was started in Virginia (1508).
Robert
Friday, January 18, 2008
Economics and Confucianism
I've been thinking about the application of Confucianism to economics.
Here's what the Confucian scholar Yan Yuan (a.k.a. Yan Xizhai, 1635 - 1704) wrote:
"...culture is not just the Odes, History, and the Six Arts; an impressive personal presence, clear speech, the military,farming, hydraulics, the use of fire, finance, grain, labor, and risk -- anything that can refine who I am and embellish
the fundamental forces in the universe -- all are part of culture."
Finance, labor, and risk are part of economics!
There is definitely a connection between economics and Confucianism.
Robert
The quote is from page 79, "Confucian Moral Self Cultivation,
2nd Ed." by Philip J. Ivanhoe (2000)
Here's what the Confucian scholar Yan Yuan (a.k.a. Yan Xizhai, 1635 - 1704) wrote:
"...culture is not just the Odes, History, and the Six Arts; an impressive personal presence, clear speech, the military,farming, hydraulics, the use of fire, finance, grain, labor, and risk -- anything that can refine who I am and embellish
the fundamental forces in the universe -- all are part of culture."
Finance, labor, and risk are part of economics!
There is definitely a connection between economics and Confucianism.
Robert
The quote is from page 79, "Confucian Moral Self Cultivation,
2nd Ed." by Philip J. Ivanhoe (2000)
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