CHAPTER 2
SELF-CULTIVATION AS A RESPONSE
TO HUMAN PREDICAMENTS
Has Confucius’s thought any relevance for life today? This is a question
that has provoked much feeling among Confucian scholars. In the West,
the main trend in the study of Confucius’s thought is to engage it dialogically with contemporary philosophy,55 and such engagement has made
positive contributions toward elevating Confucius’s thought among professional philosophers. However, the significance of Confucius’s thought
goes beyond pure academic interest: it addresses fundamental questions
about human existence that can have a practical impact on those who
appreciate it. How can a person live a life of realization and fulfillment in
response to illness and death? How is the tension between independence
of self and the necessity of human affiliation to be resolved in response
to frustration and loneliness?56 In what way should human beings commit their faith to the order of ultimate reality? These questions generally
fall into three categories—the personal, the social, and metaphysical—
each of which is treated here in separate chapters, primarily for the sake
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AN EXISTENTIAL READING OF THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS
of convenience; some overlap is inevitable between the metaphysical
and the social dimensions of Confucius’s thought, as well as between the
social and personal dimensions.
To be sure, Confucius did not explicitly raise these fundamental questions about human existence in the Analects. But in order to make the
text meaningful today, modern readers can ask questions themselves
and derive possible answers from the text. Indeed, this is how I engage
the text throughout this study. If various faith traditions are different
responses to the human condition,57 the Analects can be read as a record
of one such response. In chapter 1, I mentioned that Confucius was concerned with several different things and that his concerns can generally
be categorized as personal, social, and metaphysical. This chapter deals
with the personal dimension of Confucius’s thought.
According to Confucius, full humanity could be realized only through
participation in the life of a community, whether it be small or large.
However, Confucius’s emphasis on life’s social dimension does not
necessarily neglect its personal dimension. After all, society is made up
of individuals, each with distinctive characteristics. In order to achieve
social harmony, an individual needs to achieve personal harmony, and
to do this, one first needs to come to terms with oneself as well as with
one’s own actions. In Confucius’s teaching, coming to terms with oneself involves practicing restraint when necessary and cultivating wisdom, courage and a love for learning. A person who learns from distilled
cultural tradition is able to appropriate cultural meanings and live with
a high purpose. With the wisdom gained through tradition as well as
through interaction with people, one learns how to cope with different
kinds of reality. Courage gives one the ability to enact what one has in
mind. These qualities or personal virtues enable an individual to live a
harmonious life, free from fragmentation.
This chapter examines the personal dimension of Confucius’s thought
through a discussion of ji (己; self), xue (學; learning or cultivation),
zhi (知/智; wisdom), and yong (勇; courage). Although a distinction
is made between social and personal dimensions, there are (as already
mentioned) some areas where the two overlap. For instance, though ren
Self-cultivation as a Response to Human Predicaments
33
is love oriented toward other people, it also involves a process of personal cultivation, a process that presupposes a person or self with respect
to whom cultivation takes place. Contrary to the generally held belief
about the “selflessness” of Confucius’s thought,58 Confucius did in fact
acknowledge the distinction between the self and others, as indicated in
several places in the Analects:
1.
2.
3.
子曰:“古之學者為己,今之學者為人.”(14:24)
The Master said, “Men of antiquity studied to improve themselves; men of today study to impress others.”
子曰:“…夫仁者,己欲立而立人,己欲達而達人.”(6:30)
The Master said, “Now, on the other hand, a benevolent man helps
others to take their stand in so far as he himself wishes to take his
stand, and gets others there in so far as himself wishes to get there.”
子曰:“…己所不欲,勿施於人.”(12:2)
The Master said, “Do not impose on others what you yourself do
not desire.”
These examples demonstrate three kinds of relationships between the
self and others. The first shows that the self and others are in opposition;
and the second illustrates that the self and others are distinct, but a ren
person is able to move beyond this distinction and be empathetic toward
others. The third example is the famous “Negative Golden Rule,” by
which the self is restrained in encounters with others. In order to foster
a deeper understanding of the relationship between the self and others,
I present in the next section a structural analysis of the self in the Analects, illuminating the personal dimension of Confucius’s thought.
JI ( ;
THE
SELF)
IN
CONFUCIUS’S ANALECTS
In Confucius’ conception, the self has a structure of its own. It involves
psychological, physical, and sociological aspects. Self-cultivation, therefore, is to refine the self in such a way that it is in complete harmony
with the world.
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AN EXISTENTIAL READING OF THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS
The Psychological Aspect of the Self
Confucius believed that there is a psychological stratum of the self that
motivates various human actions. Human beings see the world through
innocent eyes, yet the mind gravitates toward the things that it should
not see. People listen through innocent ears yet are drawn to depraved
music. People may speak with the best intentions, but unbeknownst to
the speakers, their words often hurt others. Someone may behave correctly yet remain unaware that the way he or she moves might offend
other people. As external activities, seeing, listening, speaking, and
moving suggest something about the internal self. Carrying out these
activities should start with properly overcoming the self:
顏淵問仁.子曰:“克己復禮為仁.一日克己復禮,天下歸仁
焉.為仁由己,而由人乎哉?”
顏淵曰:“請問其目.”子曰:“非禮勿視,非禮勿聽,非禮勿
言,非禮勿動.”
顏淵曰:“回雖不敏,請事斯語矣.” (12:1)
Yan Yüan asked about benevolence [ren]. The Master said, “To
return to the observance of the rites through overcoming the self
constitutes benevolence. If for a single day man could return to
observance of the rites through overcoming the self, then the whole
Empire would consider benevolence to be his. However, the practice of benevolence depends on oneself alone, and not on others.”
Yan Yüan said, “I should like you to list items.” The Master said,
“Do not look unless it is in accordance with the rites; do not listen
unless it is in accordance with the rites; do not speak unless it is in
accordance with the rites; do not move unless it is in accordance
with the rites.”
Yan Yüan said, “Though I am not quick, I shall direct my efforts
towards what you have said.”59
This passage points out that overcoming the self starts with the body:
seeing is related to the eyes, listening is related to the ears, speaking
is related to the tongue, and movement is related to the entire body.
Self-cultivation as a Response to Human Predicaments
35
Significantly, in this conversation between Confucius and his most
advanced disciple, the cultivation of the self is, on the most basic level,
cultivation of the mind-body process.
The Physical Aspect of the Self
The Analects clearly teaches that the self is not a “bodiless self”; rather,
the self is fully enmeshed in many aspects of human existence.60 Though
Confucius emphasized moral cultivation, he also wanted people to guard
against the temptations that naturally arise from the body, in particular,
from blood and qi:
孔子曰:“君子有三戒:少之時,血氣未定,戒之在色;及其
壯也,血氣方剛,戒之在鬥;及其老也,血氣既衰,戒之在
得.”(16:7)
Confucius said, “There are three things the gentleman [exemplary
person] should guard against. In youth when the blood and ch’i
[qi] are still unsettled he should guard against the attraction of
feminine beauty. In the prime of his life when the blood and ch’i
have become unyielding, he should guard against bellicosity. In
old age when the blood and ch’i have declined, he should guard
against acquisitiveness.”
Interestingly, these warnings are directed to junzi, exemplary people. To
serve as moral exemplars, junzi should take care of their physical bodies
as well as their moral selves.
Shen (身) is the term used in the Analects to designate both the moral
aspect and the physical aspect of self. This can be seen in the following
passage:
曾子曰:“吾日三省吾身—為人謀而不忠乎? 與朋友交而不
信乎? 傳不習乎?”(1:4)
Zengzi said, “Every day I examine myself [shen] on three counts.
In what I have undertaken on another’s behalf, have I failed to
do my best? In my dealings with my friends, have I failed to be
trustworthy in what I say? Have I passed on to others anything
that I have not tried out myself?
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AN EXISTENTIAL READING OF THE CONFUCIAN ANALECTS
When Confucius used the term “examining myself,” he did not mean
a physical or medical examination; he referred to an intellectual
self-examination, what one does each day. This self-cultivation is particularly important for those in high office.
子曰:“其身正,不令而行;其身不正,雖令不從.”(13:6)
The Master said, “If a man is correct in his own person [shen],
then there will be obedience without orders being given; but if he
is not correct in his own person [shen], there will not be obedience even though orders are given.”61
The correctness of shen is the result of what Tu Weiming called “ritualization of the body.”62 Through ritualization, one internalizes the social
norms such that one is always able to align oneself with those norms in
any circumstances. Finally, shen refers to life itself but this life’s value
is superseded by the ideal of benevolence (ren; see Analects 15:9). It is
clear, then, that the self is embodied and the body is cultivatable. For
Confucius, self-cultivation is a process of the ritualization of the body.
The Sociological Aspect of the Self
In the Analects, the self is never construed as something totally separate
from others. In other words, ji (己; self) is never an isolated individual
but is a social being. Confucius’s accounts of friendship are especially
relevant to understanding his conception of ji. As a social being, a person
needs to choose wisely those with whom he or she wishes to associate.
Therefore, friendship becomes one of the top concerns in the Analects.
子曰:“…主忠信.無友不如己者.過則不憚改.”(1:8)
The Master said, “… Make it your guiding principle to do your
best for others and to be trustworthy in what you say. Do not
accept as a friend anyone who is not as good as you.
“When you make a mistake, do not be afraid of mending your
ways.”63
Confucius even went so far as to specify what kinds of friends are considered good and bad (16:4). Undoubtedly, friends play a very important
Self-cultivation as a Response to Human Predicaments
37
role in a person’s socialization process, which should be oriented toward
the goal of ren. Zengzi, too, made this point:
君子以文會友,以友輔仁. (12:24)
A gentleman[An exemplary person] makes friends through being
cultivated, but looks to friends for support in benevolence.
Confucius realized that the more a person becomes socialized, the
greater that person’s demand for social recognition. Confucius discouraged people from making such unnecessary demands for recognition on
one’s superiors or on those who one associates with, because if these
demands are too great, one will deviate from personal cultivation, which
should be the center of one’s life. As long as one cultivates the self, one
will be recognized sooner or later (1:16, 4:14, and 15:19).
The Self and Cultivation
Through self-cultivation, personal harmony is attained; when personal
harmony is attained, social harmony results as a matter of course. The
following conversation between Confucius and Zigong illustrates this
point:
子路問君子.子曰:“修己以敬.”
曰:“如斯而已乎?”曰:“修己以安人.”
曰 : “ 如 斯 而 已 乎 ?” 曰 : “ 修 己 以 安 百 姓 . 修 己 以 安 百
姓,.堯舜其猶病諸?” (14:42)
Tzu-lu [Zilu] asked about the gentleman[exemplary person].
The Master said, “He cultivates himself and thereby achieve
reverence.”
“Is that all?”
“He cultivates himself and thereby brings peace and security to
his fellow men.”
“Is that all?”
“He cultivates himself and thereby brings peace and security to
the people. Even Yao and Shun would have found the task of
bringing peace and security to the people taxing.”