Li as Ritual

Ritual or propriety are the classical interpertations of "li." I believe many Americans have a difficult time seeing value in rituals. I have found a very good discription of the benefits of ritual in "The Happiness Hypothesis" by Jonathan Haidt (p.229):

"You can't just invent a good ritual through reasoning about symbolism. You need a tradition within which the symbols are embedded, and you need to invoke bodily feelings that have some appropriate associations. Then you need a community to endorse and practice it over time. To the extent that a community has many rituals that cohere across the three levels, people in the community are likely to feel themselves connected to the community and its traditions. If the community also offers guidance on how to live and what is of value, then people are unlikely to wonder about the question of purpose within life. Meaning and purpose simply emerge from the coherence, and people can get on with the purpose of living."

That paragraph can use a little explanation. His "three levels" are three levels describing humanity: the physical, the psychological, and the sociocultural (p. 227).

The "question of purpose within life" is something of personal importance to the author. In his youth he suffered existential angst and questioned the "meaning of life." As an adult he has refined the question of the meaning of life from "What is the meaning of life" to "Tell me something enlightening about life" and and two sub-questions: (1) "What is the purpose for which human beings were placed on earth? Why are we here?" and (2) "How ought I to live? What should I do to have a good, happy, fulfilling, and meaningful life?"

Confucianism certainly contributes to helping us answer that second sub-question in a flexible, non-dogmatic way.

I believe Jonathan Haidt would appreciate Confucianism if he studied it. So many of his studies have led him to Confucian ideas. He has developed a Confucian understanding of ritual!

What he has not mentioned is how ritual strengthens community. He still has an individualistic view, not a communitarian view.

Robert

Confucians are Engaged

Analect 13.9, also called Book XIII Chap IX in Legge says:

CHAP. IX. 1. When the Master went to Wei, Zan Yu acted as
driver of his carriage.
2. The Master observed, 'How numerous are the people!'
3. Yu said, 'Since they are thus numerous, what more shall be
done for them?' 'Enrich them,' was the reply.
4. 'And when they have been enriched, what more shall be
done?' The Master said, 'Teach them.'

Notice the 1st question: what more shall be done for them?'
and the answer: ' 'Enrich them,'

One reason I like Confucianism is that Confucianism is engaged.

Confucian scholars who believe only in studying are missing, I think, an important aspect of Confucianism: the Unity of Knowledge and Action.

Robert

Education and Confucianism

I was chatting with a lady one day and she said, "Life is learning." How true that is! I was reminded of this line from Chu Hsi, "Everything is a matter of learning."

The wise, older lady I spoke with echoed a Confucian sentiment because true wisdom is universal.

The Chu Hsi quote is 7.27, p. 186, from "Learning to by a Sage, Selections from the Conversations of Master Chu, Arranged Topically," translated by Daniel K. Gardner, ISBN 0-520-06525-5.

That title is quite a mouth full, isn't it! But this book is a treasure of good thoughts.

Robert

We Need to Speak

Chu Hsi said, (7.39)"... If you just spoke about and immersed yourself in human nature and principle, there'd naturally be a difference in your dealings with matters."

I liked this emphasis on speaking. So many who study Confucianism keep their learning to themselves. We live in communities and we must speak out.

Chu Hsi said, (7.45) "... Only the superior man is able to connect with the will of all under Heaven, opening up [his mind] so that its scope becomes vast, thus allowing everyone to feel a sense of plenitude in their hearts. How content they'll be!"

How does one open one's mind and affect others? Through writing and speaking, I believe.

How does one immerse oneself in moral principle? Is it a pool that one can dive into? Does one possess such a large amount of moral principle that is seems like a lake? I think the immersion is into the love of and the investigation of moral principle. Chu Hsi said (7.19), "In all matters examine into the right and wrong."

If you go to the Timeless Way, Dallas, yahoo group, you can search for the "Four Step Process of Self-Transformatin" and see that step 1 is seek truth and step 4 is share hope.

Investigating moral principle is one way to seek truth. Speaking and writing about moral principle is one way to share hope.

The lessons of the ancient sages are as profound and useful today as they ever were.

Robert
The quotes are from "Learning to be a Sage, Selections from the Conversations of Master Chu, Arranged Topically", translated by Daniel K. Gardner, a book I heartily recommend.

More on the Shun's Message of the Mind

I had mentioned Shun's Message of the mind earlier. Here are two versions of it:

de Bary translates it thusly:
"The human mind is precarious: the mind of the Way is subtle.
Be refined and single-minded. Hold fast to the Mean." [de Bary]

Gardner translates it thusly:
"The human mind is precarious. The ontological mind is
almost imperceptible. Be discriminating, be undivided, that
you may sincerely hold fast to the Mean." [Gardner]

You can go to this link to delve deeper into this message.

Robert

Mencius: Good Leaders Promote Good People

Mencius has many good lessons on leadership. Here is one, in Book 3, Part A.4 [1],

"To share one's wealth with others is generosity; to teach others to be good is conscientiousness; to find the right man for the Empire is benevolence. Hence, it is easier to give the Empire away than to find the right man for it."

When the President of the USA has to choose between commuting the sentence or pardoning entirely the Vice President's Chief of Staff because of his crimes, there obviously a problem in the White House when selecting staff.

Leaders who cannot pick honest men to work for them would seem to have a problem themselves with honesty.

Mengzi and Kongzi gave us lessons to teach leadership. We can use these lessons also to judge our leaders.

Robert
[1] Mencius, translated by D.C. Lau, Penguin Books, 1970, page 103.

Paul Yingling, Lynn Turner, and Confucian Leadership

I have written previously about Lt. Col. Paul Yingling. He is an excellent example of Confucian leadership. Col. Yingling wrote an article, A Failure in Generalship, that discusses deeply entrenched problems within the American General staff. Both Confucius (Kongzi) and Mencius (Mengzi) encouraged leaders to listen to criticism and taught that it was, at times, a minister's duty to criticize his lord.

The sage Chu Hsi (Zhu Xi) said, "...we would not dare criticize our elders recklessly, but what harm is there in discussing the rights and wrongs of what they did?" [1]

The Wall Street Journal, Friday June 29, 2007, ran an article on the front page: "Critiques of Iraq War Reveal Rifts Among Army Officers" by Greg Jaffe. The article said Maj. Gen. Jeff Hammond, the commanding officer of Fort Hood, assembled 200 Army captains to tell them Lt. Col. Yingling was not competent to judge generals because he was not a general: "He has never worn the shoes of a general."

General Hammond's comment flies in the face of the all the great sages: Kongzi, Mengzi, and Zhu Xi. Every organization, including the U.S. military, should study the leadership principles of the ancient sages in the Analects and the Mencius.

Another Confucian leadership principle is that you dismiss a subordinate who does wrong or you resign if your superior insists on doing wrong. The Wall Street Journal, July 7, 2007, article "Riding the Tiger" by James T. Areddy and David Reilly mentioned that on May 17 Lynn Turner, the former chief accountant of the SEC, resigned from Glass, Lewis & Co. when it was purchased by Xinhua Finance. Furthermore, he said in his resignation letter that he was resigning because of the purchase by Xinhua Finance. He was explicit when others go silently. The new Chief Financial Officer of Kendall Square Research, a supercomputer company, took one look at the books and promptly resigned. Within a year the company was caught cooking their books and went into bankruptcy.

When leaders do not take action, events run them over. The May 17, 2007 Wall Street Journal article on page 1, "How a Bid to Boost Profits Led to a Law Firm's Demise" by Nathan Koppel, describes how the leadership at Jenkins & Gilchrist knew they had a problem with their Chicago office. They discussed the problem. Five of six directors voted in 2001 to ask a Mr. Daugerdas to leave the firm, but they never did take that step. Eventually, their lack of action drove their law firm into bankruptcy.

Contemporary America can learn leadership principles from the ancient Chinese sages.

Robert
reference [1] Learning to be a Sage, translated by Daniel Gardner, 5.46, page 154

Wen and a Texas Renaissance

Wen, culture, is very important in Confucianism. An example of relating Wen to America is when we encourage Texas to broaden its expectation of good education beyond skilled workers to better leaders and better culture.

Click here to read more about a Texas Renaissance. Confucianism has the power to transform society.

Robert

Who or What is a New Confucian?

A New Confucian, in my view, is someone who believes the West can learn from Confucianism. Here is a Wikipedia article on New Confucianism. John Berthron, Robert Cummings Neville, and Tu Wei-Ming are considered New Confucians.

John Berthrong wrote a book, All Under Heaven, Transforming Paradigms in Confucian-Christian Dialogue where he discusses academic Theology along with Confucianism.

Robert Cummings Neville wrote Boston Confuciansim: Portable Tradition in the Late-Modern World where he expresses the thought that one can be a Confucian and a Christian. Neville's book introduced me to the work of Tu Wei-ming.

So a New Confucian believes Confucianism has much to offer the whole world and would probably be a classical or Neo-Confucian.

One American intepretation of Confucianism is called the Timeless Way, which has a website and a blog. I would say the Timeless Way is a sub-set of New Confucianism.

Robert

The Sixteen Word Message of the Mind

In my studies I ran across a reference to a "sixteen word message of the mind." The book would not tell me what those words were.

I found the words and posted those words at this link.

Robert

The Five Virtues of Confucianism

If you have been curious about the Five Virtues of Confucianism, check them out here

Education is Important to Confucians

Education is one of the core values in Confucianism. This link discusses how morality is the root of education.

People say knowledge is power. Education divorced from ethics and morality is reduced in its power.

Robert

Li as Ritual

Li often refers to rituals or rites which were important to ancient Chinese culture. In American culture we have public and private rituals, but we do not speak of them as rituals. Singing the national anthem at a sporting event is a public ritual. A family meal can be a private ritual.

Rituals bind us together in a society, but we do not talk about them. The Dallas Morning News, December 24, 2006, printed Alan Jacob's interview with P.D. James, the author of "The Children of Men," recently made into a movie. The author, P.D. James, spoke of the uses and importance of ritual.

The musician David Byrne (of the Talking Heads) published a photography book called Strange Ritual. He picked that title because he understood ritual is important to people.

We do not want to be bound to silly or excessive ritual, but the rituals in our life, like a family meal, are important for us to live satisfying lives. It is important we talk about them and respect them.

Robert

Li , Propriety or Decorum, is Still Important

Li is an important concept in Confucianism. Here is a Wikipedia article on li. It originally referred to ritualistic rites. Then it came to mean propriety. Eventually the Neo-Confucianists changed the meaning to "principle."

To show how this ancient concept of propriety is still relevant, let me direct your attention to an article on the front page of the New York Times (Tuesday January 2, 2007): "Lock the Library! Rowdy Students are Taking Over" by Tina Kelley. The article reported that some of the public libraries in Maplewood, New Jersey, have to lock their doors to keep out rowdy middle-school children. The students fight, urinate on the bathroom floor, put graffiti on the walls, and are disrespectful to the librarians.

You might think Maplewood is a ghetto, but it is not. It was selected by Money magazine in 2002 as one of the "Best Places to Live" in America. How did the children of Maplewood, New Jersey, sink so low? They were not taught about propriety, polite behavior, by their parents.

What can Maplewood, New Jersey, do to teach their children good manners? They can teach their children Confucianism. You might think that Confucianism is an ancient, foreign religion, but it is not. It is a vibrant system of universal ethics. There is even a book, Achieve Lasting Happiness, that shows how Confucianism is a good fit for contemporary America.

America needs Confucianism.

Robert