What
were the ancient ways that Confucius sought to revive?
The
main principle: Jen (human heartedness) (pronounced "ren")
Social
harmony was approached through the cultivation of true humanity in each
individual. The basic goal of Confucianism is to become more fully human. Jen
is "human heartedness", living up to true humanness - our innate
potential for goodness, empathy and love (no "original sin" in
Confucianism). The goal of the kind of person to be - to live by moral values
rather than for selfish, personal gain. Such a person who emulates Jen is
called a "chun tzu" - a "great man", a man of
virtue in the Confucian sense.
Huston
Smith explains Jen:
Jen
is achieved through several practices:
Filial
Piety
(Hsiao): respect for parents, extended to include ancestors and
other relationships. The Chinese ideogram for Jen implies two people. Jen is
built on respect for The Five Relationships:
parent
and child
older
and younger sibling
husband
and wife
older
and younger friend
ruler
and subject
Each
individual in the relationship has a different but equally significant
responsibility to the other.
(cheng ming): living up to one’s
position in society. A father should act as a good father, a ruler should act
as a good ruler. If one member in a relationship does not live up to his name
the other is not expected to either. A bad father does not deserve the respect
of his son; a bad ruler does not deserve the respect and obedience of his
subjects.
Reciprocity
(shu): the Confucian "Golden rule": "do not do to others what you
would not want others to do to you" (called "reciprocity" because
it involves a reciprocal relationship between the two sides - look it it up a
dictionary). Confucius was the first to call this
rule "golden" some 500 years before Jesus spoke it and it appears in various
forms in most religions.
Li
:
rites and ritual, propriety (etiquette)
Originally
referring to rites and sacrifices made to the ancestors.
For
Confucius, Li became any ritual action and must be done from the heart
(from Jen) rather than being empty ritual.
The
gentleman, the man of Jen (the chun tzu), will follow rituals both
official and mundane in all his behavior.
Social
rituals (e.g. a handshake or a bow) are just as significant as religious
ritual.
These
actions maintain social harmony and reinforce Jen.