This is a Confucian principle I put into practice: To advance, help others to advance. But I also practice a variant of this principle: To advance your child, help other children to advance. Strong communities make strong families and strong children. This is why I have created blogs to advance our children and our communities. Two blogs to advance our children are Plano Parents and Canright on Software and Programming. One blog to advance our communities is Texas Ascendant.
I discuss this Confucian principle on page 108 of my book, Achieve Lasting Happiness, a book that makes Confucianism accessible.
From an older rendition of the Confucian sayings (Analects), the quote goes like this: "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."
Ancient Confucian teachings have many practical applications in contemporary American life. My book puts the Analects into contemporary language to make these sayings accessible.
Robert
The quote I used is from Book VI, CHAP. XXVIII (this is the traditional numbering scheme). The complete section reads as follows:
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.'
