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Mengzi 3A5. To turn toward oneself and discover integrity—there is no greater delight than this. To firmly act out of sympathetic understanding83—there is nothing closer to benevolence than this.

Those who are crafty in their contrivances and schemes have no use for shame. If one is not ashamed of not being as good as others, how will one ever be as good as others? That which they know without pondering is their best knowledge. When they grow older, there is none that does not know to respect its elder brother. There is nothing else to do but extend these to the world. Simply be like this.

Mengzi 6A6. Mengzi 6A6 and 2A6. Mengzi 7A17 and 7B If plucking out one hair from his body would have benefitted the whole world, he would not do it.

Mozi loved universally. If scraping himself bare from head to heels would benefit the whole world, he would do it. Zimo held to the middle. But if one holds to the middle without discretion,89 that is the same as holding to one extreme. What I dislike about those who hold to one extreme is that they detract from the Way. They elevate one thing and leave aside a hundred others. They have no standard for food and drink because their hunger and thirst injure it.

Is it only the mouth and belly that hunger and thirst injure?! Human hearts too are subject to injury. Gao Yao had a sanction for his actions. He would have secretly carried him on his back and fled, to live in the coastland, happy to the end of his days, joyfully forgetting the world. We know nothing about Zimo beyond what this passage tells us. His tutor asked on his behalf to let him mourn for a few months. Even doing it one extra day would be better than stopping completely.

What I had been talking about before was a case in which he did not do it, even though nothing prevented it. In relation to the people, they are benevolent toward them, but do not treat them as kin.

They treat their kin as kin, and then are benevolent toward the people. They are benevolent toward the people, and then are sparing of animals. A benevolent person has no enemies in the world. When the one who was supremely benevolent [King Wu] attacked the one who was supremely unbenevolent [Tyrant Zhou], how could the blood have flowed till it floated the grain-pounding sticks? On the three-year mourning period, see Analects Mengzi 3A5 and 1A7.

To bring them into harmony and put it into words is the Way. To extend this reaction to that which they will bear is benevolence. People all have things that they will not do. To extend this reaction to that which they will do is righteousness. If people can fill out the heart that does not desire to harm others, their benevolence will be inexhaustible.

If people can fill out the heart that will not trespass, their righteousness will be inexhaustible. If people can fill out the core reaction96 of not accepting being addressed disrespectfully, there will be nowhere they go where they do not do what is righteous.

If a scholar may not speak and speaks, this is flattering by speaking. If one should speak but does not speak, this is flattering by not speaking. These are both in the category of trespassing. The scholars of my school are wild and hasty, advancing and grasping, but do not forget their early behavior.

Those who are wild advance and grasp. Those who are squeamish have some things that they will not do. He could not be sure of getting them. Hence, he thought of the next best. The ancients! If he also failed to get those who are wild, he desired to get to associate with those who disdain to do what is not pure. These are the squeamish. They are the next best. The village worthies are the thieves of virtue.

Their words take no notice of their actions, and their actions take no notice of their words. Born in this era, we should be for this era. To be good is enough. Eunuch-like, pandering to their eras—these are the village worthies. Why did Kongzi regard them as thieves of virtue? They are in agreement with the current customs; they are in harmony with the sordid era in which they live.

That in which they dwell seems to be loyalty and trustworthiness; that which they do seems to be blameless and pure. The 99Unfortunately, we know almost nothing about these three individuals. However, there is an interesting and revealing anecdote involving Zeng Xi in Analects But you cannot enter into the Way of Yao and Shun with them. I hate weeds out of fear that they will be confused with grain. I hate glibness out of fear that it will be confused with trustworthiness. I hate the tunes of the state of Zheng out of fear that they will be confused with genuine music.

I hate purple out of fear that it will be confused with vermillion. If the standard is correct, then the multitudinous people will be inspired. When the people are inspired, then there will be no evil or wickedness. New York: Penguin Books. This is still the best complete English translation, and includes several helpful appendices. Lau published a revised, two-volume translation in Hong Kong in but it is not widely available in the United States.

Legge, James, tr. New York: Dover Books. Secondary Works Graham, Angus C. Originally published in A critique of Wong [], cited below.

Atlanta, GA: Scholars Press. A good examination of Mengzi and how he differs from one of his Neo-Confucian interpreters. Lau, D. On Mengzi 6A1 ff. Essays on a variety of passages and topics relating to Mengzi. Shun, Kwong-loi. Provides a survey of the secondary literature on many passages and problems in the Mengzi. French, Theodore E. Uehling, and Howard K. Wettstein, eds. XXI, pp. On the virtue of courage in the Mengzi, particularly as dealt with in passage 2A2. Ivanhoe, eds. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing.

Discussion of the role of desires and other motivations in Mengzi and some other early philosophers. Wong, David. Discusses some of the issues raised by Mengzi 1A7. See also Ihara [], cited above. Yearley, Lee H. The present version of the text consists of short passages, from a variety of sources, over half of which are rhymed. These were collected together into a single volume of eighty-one chapters that were then divided into two books. The text may have reached its present form sometime during the third or perhaps second century B.

But in the Mawangdui version, the order of the Books is reversed, giving us the Dedaojing. Though it was probably cobbled together from different sources, the Laozi may well have been assembled during a relatively short period of time and perhaps by a single editor. When it was put together, China was near the end of a prolonged era of fierce interstate rivalry known as the Warring States Period see Important Periods. In it we hear the lament of a time tired of war and chaos, one yearning for a bygone age of innocence, security, and peace.

The text denounces wars of expansion and government corruption, and traces both complaints to the unbounded greed and ambition of those in power. The text claims that it is unnatural to have excessive desires and having them will not only not lead to a satisfying life but paradoxically to destitution, want, alienation, and self-destruction. The Laozi appeals to an earlier golden age in human history, before people made sharp distinctions among things.

This was a time when values and qualities were not clearly distinguished, when things simply were as they were and people acted out of pre-reflective spontaneity. Chapter thirtyeight describes the history of the decline of the Way from an earlier golden age to its present debased state. The dao declined as civilization and human self-consciousness arose. The Laozi urges us to return to the earlier, natural state when the Way was fully realized in the world.

Human beings have a place in the dao but are not particularly exalted. They are simply things among things a view well represented by the marvelous landscape paintings inspired by Daoism.

The text is more a form of philosophical therapy than the presentation of a theory. We are to be challenged by its paradoxes and moved by its images and poetic cadence more than by any arguments it presents. Nameless, it is the beginning of Heaven and earth;3 Named, it is the mother of the myriad creatures. And so, Always eliminate desires in order to observe its mysteries; Always have desires in order to observe its manifestations. These two come forth in unity but diverge in name.

Their unity is known as an enigma. The gate of all mysteries! Chapter Two Everyone in the world knows that when the beautiful strives to be beautiful, it is repulsive. Everyone knows that when the good strives to be good, it is no good. Long and short off-set each other. High and low incline into each other.

Note and rhythm harmonize with each other. Before and after follow each other. For other passages that discuss the Way and names, see chapters 32, Chapter Three Not paying honor to the worthy leads the people to avoid contention.

Not showing reverence for precious goods13 leads them to not steal. Not making a display of what is desirable leads their hearts away from chaos. Sages enact nonaction and everything becomes well ordered. The seminal study of this idea, which explores the notion across different schools of early Chinese philosophy, is Edward G. For similar ideas, see chapters 9, 17, 34, and This and the previous line occur together in chapter Vast and deep!

It seems to be the ancestor of the myriad creatures. It blunts their sharpness;17 Untangles their tangles; Softens their glare; Merges with their dust. Deep and clear! It seems to be there. I do not know whose child it is; It is the image of what was before the Lord himself!

Is not the space between Heaven and earth like a bellows? Empty yet inexhaustible! Work it and more will come forth. An excess of speech will lead to exhaustion,20 It is better to hold on to the mean. Before and during the ceremony, they were protected and cherished, but as soon as the ceremony ended, they were discarded and defiled. An unbroken, gossamer thread; It seems to be there. But use will not unsettle it. Chapter Seven Heaven is long lasting; Earth endures. Heaven is able to be long lasting and earth is able to endure, because they do not live for themselves.

And so, they are able to be long lasting and to endure. This is why sages put themselves last and yet come first; Treat themselves as unimportant and yet are preserved. Is it not because they have no thought of themselves, that they are able to perfect themselves? Chapter Eight The highest good is like water. Water is good at benefiting the myriad creatures, while not contending with them.

It resides in the places that people find repellent, and so comes close to the Way. In a residence, the good lies in location. In hearts, the good lies in depth. In interactions with others, the good lies in benevolence. In words, the good lies in trustworthiness. In government, the good lies in orderliness.

In actions, the good lies in timeliness. Only by avoiding contention can one avoid blame. If you make your blade too keen it will not hold its edge. When gold and jade fill the hall none can hold on to them. To be haughty when wealth and honor come your way is to bring disaster upon yourself.

To withdraw when the work is done is the Way of Heaven. Cleaning and purifying your enigmatic mirror, can you erase every flaw? Caring for the people and ordering the state, can you eliminate all knowledge?

When the portal of Heaven opens and closes, can you play the part of the feminine? Comprehending all within the four directions, can you reside in nonaction? To produce them! To nurture them! To produce without possessing;25 To act with no expectation of reward;26 To lead without lording over; Such is Enigmatic Virtue! But only by relying on what is not there,28 do we have the use of the carriage. By adding and removing clay we form a vessel. But only by relying on what is not there, do we have use of the vessel.

By carving out doors and windows we make a room. But only by relying on what is not there, do we have use of the room. And so, what is there is the basis for profit; What is not there is the basis for use. Chapter Twelve The five colors blind our eyes. The five flavors deaden our palates.

The chase and the hunt madden our hearts. Precious goods impede our activities. This is why sages are for the belly and not for the eye; And so they cast off the one and take up the other. Revere calamity as you revere your own body. What does it mean to be apprehensive about favor and disgrace? To receive favor is to be in the position of a subordinate.

When you get it be apprehensive; When you lose it be apprehensive. The passage is not a rejection of the pleasures of the senses nor does it express skepticism regarding the senses per se. Rather, like the view one finds in Zhuangzi, chapter 2 see pp.

What does it mean to revere calamity as you revere your own body? I can suffer calamity only because I have a body. When I no longer have a body, what calamity could I possibly have? And so, Those who revere their bodies as if they were the entire world can be given custody of the world.

Those who care for their bodies as if they were the entire world can be entrusted with the world. Its top is not clear or bright, Its bottom is not obscure or dark. Trailing off without end, it cannot be named. It returns to its home, back before there were things.

Greet it and you will not see its head; Follow it and you will not see its tail. Hold fast to the Way of old, in order to control what is here today. The ability to know the ancient beginnings, this is called the thread of the Way. Chapter Fifteen In ancients times, the best and most accomplished scholars; Were subtle, mysterious, enigmatic, and far-reaching. Their profundity was beyond understanding. For other examples see chapters 16, 25, 28, 30, and Cautious, like one who fears his neighbors on every side.

Reserved, like a visitor. Opening up, like ice about to break. Honest, like unhewn wood. Turbid, like muddy water. Who can, through stillness, gradually make muddied water clear? Who can, through movement, gradually stir to life what has long been still? Those who preserve this Way do not desire fullness. And, because they are not full, they have no need for renewal. Chapter Sixteen Attain extreme tenuousness; Preserve quiet integrity. The myriad creatures are all in motion!

I watch as they turn back. To know constancy is to be accommodating. To be accommodating is to work for the good of all. To work for the good of all is to be a true king.

To be a true king is to be Heavenly. To be Heavenly is to embody the Way. For other examples, see chapters 19, 28, 32, 37, and Those lacking in trust are not trusted. When wisdom and intelligence come forth, there is great hypocrisy. When the six familial relationships are out of balance, there are kind parents and filial children. When the state is in turmoil and chaos, there are loyal ministers.

Cut off benevolence, abandon righteousness, and the people will return to being filial and kind. Cut off cleverness, abandon profit, and robbers and thieves will be no more. This might leave the people lacking in culture; 36This line appears again in chapter For other passages concerning the concept of trust, see chapters 49 and For other examples, see chapters 23, 25, 51, and For examples see chapters 19 and Embrace simplicity.

Make few your desires. Chapter Twenty Cut off learning and be without worry! How much distance is there really between agreement and flattery? How much difference is there between the fair and the foul? What other people fear one cannot but fear. Yet still not at its limit! The multitude are bright and merry; As if enjoying a grand festival; As if ascending a terrace in springtime.

I alone am still and inactive, revealing no sign;42 Like a child who has not yet learned to smile. Weak and weary, I seem to have nowhere to go. The multitude all have more than enough. I alone seem to be at a loss. I have the mind of a fool! Listless and blank! The common folk are bright and brilliant. I alone am muddled and confused. The common folk are careful and discriminating. Confucian philosophy provides insightful discussions and examples of how the body serves the moral mind not only causally but also constitutionally.

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