the most recent chapter i read in God Is Not One was about Confucianism. it's so different from the Christian religions i was surrounded by while growing up that it was kind of like a breath of fresh air. it's not better, it's just not the same bullshit i'm used to hearing. i think one of the most interesting thing about this religion, which is prominent in China, is that most people in China don't consider themselves as belonging to any one religion. there's a saying that Chinese are Confucians at work, Daoists at leisure, and Buddhists at death. i don't know enough about these subjects to fully understand the saying at this time, but i like the idea of pulling from different religions to get a more complete view on life.
Confucius is a guy that lived around 500 BC. he was very well educated on many different topics and became a teacher who, like Socrates, liked to teach by asking profound questions. he considered himself a transmitter of ancient truths. he identified chaos as the problem with the human condition and that the solution was order and the techniques to achieve order was through ethics and ritual. he taught his students to become an "exemplar person" by cultivating two qualities: ren (human heartedness) and li (ritual/etiquette/propriety).
Confucianism isn't about the afterlife and God. it focuses on our actions in the world, in particular our social relations. it focuses on how we can use rites, etiquette, and ethical actions to create social harmony. it became popular in China after a period of great turmoil, when the thing that was desired most was harmony. in Confucianism, the everyday world is profoundly spiritual. they treat seemingly ordinary interactions as sacred ceremonies. according to Prothero, "Confucians do affirm that our human nature comes from Heaven, that the good life is a life lived in accordance with this nature, and that a good state carries out the Mandate of Heaven."
Confucians always believed that every human had the ability to improve and even perfect themselves. they focused on relationships between individuals and felt that the only way to improve yourself was through your relationships with others. they say that these relations are hierarchical by necessity. they focus on five relationships: ruler/subject, parent/child, husband/wife, elder brother/younger brother, and friend/friend. each of these relationships is supposed to have two-way mutuality and reciprocity rather than one-way obedience. "parents and rulers are to care for their children and subjects, and children and subjects owe loyalty and respect to parents and rulers." Confucians also focus of five important values: human-heartedness, justice, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. social harmony is achieved by cultivating the five relationships and the five values.
there are aspects of Confucianism that sound nice to me. i like the idea of focusing on the spirituality of the everyday world. i also think the values it focuses on could make it a positive influence on its followers. but the idea of focusing so much on rites and behaving just so is not something that appeals to me. i can't control my every move like that. i've never been big on tradition and rituals in general and tend to rebel when someone tries to limit my behavior too much.
i know that in this modern world there is an updated version of this religion known as New Confucianism. they "attempt to be faithful to the core teachings of Confucianism but to state them in modern, universal terms, and in a dialogue with world cultures." this updated version may be more American-friendly and lack the anti-feminist feel that the older religion has. it will be interesting to see how this religion continues to develop and how it may or may not spread in America.
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