"Benevolence" appears frequently in "The Analects of Confucius". According to Mr. Yang Bojun's statistics in "The Analects of Confucius", "Benevolence" appears 109 times.
"Benevolence" is the core idea of Confucius and Confucianism.
Confucius said: "The benevolent is the same." Confucius hopes to achieve the goal of being a world by the improvement and perfection of people.
Benevolent lover
What is Ren?
According to "Shu Wen Jie Zi", benevolence, pro and also, from the person, from the second.
Two meanings may be read from the glyph: one is that benevolence exists among humans, and there is no benevolence among animals. The so-called "rule of the jungle" and "the weak eat the strong" are also true; the second is that benevolence only exists among two or more Manifestation is an important criterion for dealing with the relationship between people.
It shows that the essence of benevolence lies in the affection and love between people in human society.
In "The Analects", Confucius did not have a clear definition of benevolence. Different objects and different times have different opinions. Even if they are directed at the same person, they have different opinions on different occasions.
Confucius was the most succinct in answering student Fan Chi's question in "The Analects of Confucius: Yan Yuan," he said: "Love."
There is a difference between people who are close to each other. Who loves who loves?
In "The Analects of Confucius · Xueer", Confucian disciple Youruo put forward that "filial piety is the foundation of benevolence".
Filial piety refers to good parents; brother, the same as "ti", refers to good brothers.
"The benevolent loves others", first of all, you must love your relatives, parents, brothers and sisters. If a person does not even love his family and relatives, it is difficult to love others. If you do not "love others", you cannot be said to be a benevolent person. .
Therefore, in the view of Confucianism, "filial piety" is the foundation of benevolence.
How to love someone?
There are two main points: one is loyalty and the other is forgiveness.
In "The Analects of Confucius: Yong Ye", Confucius said: "He who is benevolent, he wants to stand up and builds a person, he wants to reach and achieves. It can be called a benevolent way to be close and take examples."
The so-called benevolence means that if you want to stand up, you must also help others to stand up; if you want to develop, you must also help others to develop together.
In everything you can compare yourself to think of others, it can be said to be a benevolent method.
In "The Analects of Confucius: Wei Linggong", Confucius put forward: "Don't do to others what you don't want."
The last point "I want to stand up and build others, I want to achieve and reach others" is to say benevolence from a positive perspective, is a responsibility to others, is dedicated to helping others, and the focus is on "loyalty."
This point emphasizes "forgiveness", which is a restraint on oneself. What you don't want should not be imposed on others.
It is also the "way of loyalty and forgiveness."
This is the specific content of benevolence, and it is also the consistent thought of Confucius.
Confucius's comment on benevolence is also familiar to us, that is, "denying oneself and restoring rituals for benevolence".
This was put forward by Confucius when he answered Yan Yuan's question in "The Analects of Confucius: Yan Yuan".
Confucius said: "It is benevolence to deny oneself and restore rituals. One day to deny oneself and restore rituals, the world will return to benevolence. For benevolence depends on oneself, and by others?"
The benevolence mentioned here includes two aspects, one is to restrain one's desires, and the other is that words and deeds conform to the rules of etiquette, and the two are closely integrated.
Benevolence is the inner cultivation of mind and nature, and rituals are various external regulations, and the two are actually interlinked.
The so-called "self-denial and restoration of rituals" means that everyone regulates their actions and consciously makes their thoughts and behaviors conform to rituals (that is, social ethics and ethics).
In the final analysis, the practice of "benevolence" still has to start from oneself, and "self-denial" can "love others".
The highest state of benevolence is "beneficial to the people and able to help the people", which can be said to be a saint.
According to "The Analects of Confucius: Yong Ye", Zi Gong said: "If there is a lot of benefit to the people and can help the people, how can it be called benevolence?" Zi said: "What is benevolence! It must be holy! Yao and Shun are still sick!"
"Benefit to the people and help the people" means that it can give a lot of blessings to the people and can benefit the people in general.
Confucius believes that such a person is just benevolence, and he is simply a saint.
Here is a higher realm than human beings: saints.
The benevolent loves others, loves parents, and loves elder brothers is the basic; it is a higher requirement to have the world in mind and to help others.
Not benevolent
Which manifestations are not benevolence?
Confucius has some expressions on this.
In "The Analects of Confucius: Xueer," he puts forward: "Spoken words and colors, fresh and benevolent."
It means that those who speak bluntly have very little benevolence.
"Qiao" and "Ling" originally mean beautiful, but the meaning here is different. They are superficially good, pretending to be good, and insincere.
"Spoken words" refer to rhetoric, insincere, and words that are not what you really want.
"Ling Se" refers to a good face on the surface, but not from the heart. In fact, it is hypocritical and flattering.
Confucius regarded people who like to say beautiful things and tell lies as unkind people.
With rhetoric and skillful rhetoric, it is often better to say than to sing, but there is no action. It is not benevolence to say one thing and do another.
The surface is pleasant, but the heart is bitter and vicious, and it is not benevolent.
Confucius likes dull people, advocating simplicity and opposing rhetoric; advocating that you should be cautious when speaking, doing what you say, and then speaking, opposing just saying nothing, staying in words; advocating true feelings and opposing false feelings.
To judge whether a person can be called "benevolence", Confucius is very cautious.
In "The Analects of Confucius · Gongye Chang", Meng Wubo asked Confucius's disciples whether they were benevolent.
He asked: "Zilu is benevolent?" Confucius replied: "I don't know." Meng Wubo asked again.
Confucius said: "You also, the country of a thousand generations, can govern its riches, but don't know its benevolence."
Zilu can be responsible for military service and military affairs in a country with a thousand vehicles.
But as to whether he has benevolence, Confucius said he didn't know.
Benevolence refers to a person's xinxing, nature, and inner benevolence, rather than a certain aspect of talent.
Zilu, Ranqiu, and Gongxichi are very capable of Confucius' disciples, but Confucius only talked about their talents when answering questions from Uncle Meng Wu.
Zilu can be responsible for the military service, military and political work of a large country, and Ranqiu can be a doctor in charge. Gongxichi is good at diplomacy and can receive distinguished guests neatly.
When Uncle Meng Wu asked if the three of them were benevolent, Confucius said, "I don't know."
Confucius has a high standard of benevolence, and he generally does not allow people to be benevolent.
Even he himself dare not call benevolence.
In "The Analects of Confucius and Shuer" Confucius claimed to be "If you are sage and benevolent, how can I dare."
In Confucius' view, to talk about benevolence, only those who can think of the common people in the world are worthy of it, such as the "Yin Zhi San Ren" (weizi, Jizi, Bigan).
Confucius believes that talents do not necessarily have benevolence or virtue.
Although the three students, Zilu, Ranqiu, and Gongxichi, have their own talents and strengths, and even have a deep cultivation of benevolence, Confucius still does not easily accept benevolence.
This shows that there is benevolence in their behavior, but benevolence is not pure and has not reached the highest state.
Benevolence is so great, how dare you say it lightly.
Gou Zhi Yu Ren, no evil
Confucius regarded the role of benevolence very much. He said in "The Analects of Confucius Liren": "If you are committed to benevolence, there is no evil."
It means that if a person is determined to benevolent, he will not do evil.
If you have benevolence in your nature, you will have good thoughts, and you will be good, choose good, do good, and be perfect.
Confucius also said: "The benevolent can be good and evil."
It means that only those who are benevolent can truly like and hate people.
The reason is that they are not selfish, objective and fair.
Everyone loves and hates, there are people who like, and people who hate.
But sometimes due to unwiseness, the one you like may be the bad person, and the one you hate may be the good person.
What's more, he has his likes and dislikes out of selfishness, and his likes and dislikes are not out of his own mind, but out of interests.
For personal gain, he can reverse right and wrong, treat evil as good, treat bad people as good, and treat good people as bad.
The love and hate of the benevolent is not selfish. They do not start from selfishness, but from the great way. "Yes" is "Yes", "No" is "No", good is good, evil is evil, no Changes due to the temptation of interests, will not be changed due to loud noises, and will not be changed due to power status.
Since benevolence is the most important character of a person, a person cannot do anything against benevolence at any time.
Confucius said in "The Analects of Confucius Liren":
"Rich and nobility are what people want, and they don’t get there. Poverty and humbleness are what people do. You don’t get what you do, and you don’t go. A gentleman will go away from benevolence and evil. Almost fame? A gentleman will break his benevolence without the end of the meal, so he must be inferior, and he must be victorious."
Many people think that Confucianism only talks about "benevolence and justice" but not benefits, but that is not the case.
Confucius did not deny human desires. He knew very well that people tend to pursue material things.
Therefore, he especially emphasized that it must be obtained by the "Tao", and that it must be pursued and selected in a proper way.
Among them, benevolence is the foundation and the standard.
This kind of concept of benefit and wealth based on benevolence is not for the time being, but insists on at all times and under any conditions, especially in the rush, when it is most difficult to persist, and when it is in a rush.
why would you say so?
This is because it is relatively easy to do benevolence and benevolence when people are in a calm mood and in a good situation, and it is much more difficult to do benevolence and benevolence when in a hurry or when drifting away.
With the pursuit of benevolence, in the eyes of Confucius, benevolence is even more important than life.
He said in "The Analects of Confucius: Wei Linggong":
"A person with lofty ideals is a benevolent person. If there is no survival to harm benevolence, there is a murder to become benevolence."
Confucius' view of life and death is based on benevolence as the highest principle.
Life is very precious to everyone, but there is more precious than life, that is benevolence.
"No survival to harm benevolence" means not to harm benevolence and virtue because of greed and fear of death. "Killing oneself into benevolence" means that people would rather give up their lives and preserve benevolence at the critical moment of the survival of the country and the nation.
"Kill oneself and become benevolent" is also rooted in the hearts of many people with lofty ideals and has become their life criterion.
I want to be benevolent, but benevolent
Benevolence is noble and important. To reach this level requires constant efforts, but this is not something everyone is willing to do.
In "The Analects of Confucius Liren", Confucius said: "One day I can use his power to benevolence? I have not seen those who have insufficient power. I have not seen it."
The reason why Confucius vigorously advocated benevolence is that on the one hand, benevolence is indeed a person's best character, and on the other hand, it also shows that there were not many benevolent people in the world at that time, and benevolence was not happy.
Therefore, Confucius lamented that he had not seen anyone who could one day use his power to practice benevolence.
People in this situation are not due to lack of strength, but lack of intentions.
In response to this phenomenon, Confucius pointed out that the key lies not in strength and insufficiency, but in whether there is benevolence and benevolence in action.
Although the standard of benevolence is very high, and there are few people who can achieve benevolence, Confucius has repeatedly emphasized that we must move towards the goal of benevolence. As long as we work hard, benevolence will be achieved.
In "The Analects of Confucius: Shuer", Confucius said: "Benevolence is far away? I want benevolence, but benevolence is the most powerful."
It means, is Ren far away from us?
I want to be benevolent, so benevolence comes.
Benevolence is a person’s innate nature, not an external thing. Therefore, “I want benevolence, but benevolence is the most important thing.” Here, Confucius emphasizes the subjective initiative and practicality of a person’s moral cultivation. All actions, benevolence comes.
If you don't pursue it hard and don't take any action, benevolence is far away from us.
It is important not to make an excuse that benevolence is far away from us and cannot be achieved without trying hard to practice.
Confucius himself is a model who never violates benevolence and practices benevolence throughout his life. Although he dare not call benevolence, he is a true benevolent and a saint who transcends benevolence.
Author: Wang Xiaoyang