For Wednesday, July 10, please read through the selections from Confucian teaching (pp 111-144) in your Novak anthology. Choose one or two selections from Confucius that you think would be particularly useful reminders in American society today, some things worth learning from Confucian teaching. Explain why you think those ideas particularly important. Please bring your Novak anthology to class. As with the selections on Buddhism, I am more concerned with the quality of your reading than the quantity. It would be great if you could read all 33 pages, but all I really need you to do is to read enough to get a good sense of Confucian teaching.
I admire the Confucianism respect for age. As a parent of almost 4 teenagers, what a joy it would be to experience filiality: to receive the "utmost reverence" from your children..."They who thus serve their parents...will be free from pride...will not be quarrelsome...contribute beef, mutton to nourish their parents...." (Novak, 125) I feel that American society needs more respect and reverence for the elderly and for parents. I feel this is important because not only can we learn a lot from our parents and older people, but they deserve to be treated well because of all the sacrifices they made for us.
ReplyDeleteI also liked the part about teaching, since I am a teacher. "I have never grown tired of learning nor wearied of teaching others what I have learnt." (Novak, 115) I often tell my students about the importance of learning something new every day, of being "teachable" and to enjoy learning. I think all Americans will benefit from learning with eagerness, to read a book instead of mindlessly watching TV or playing videogames, to strive for self-improvement.
Confucius not only emphasized respecting our parents, but our older siblings. Kinda a bummer for the youngest child...
DeleteThere are many good references for teachers. I love being a teacher and a student!
Me,too, Deirdre!
Delete"The Master said, He who by reanimating the Old can gain the knowledge of the New is fit to be a teacher." (Novak, p 115)
ReplyDeleteWe must learn from our own experiences and the experiences of others. We must remember and understand history in order to live a good life.
"The Master said, A noble mind can see a question from all sides without bias. Small minds are biased and see a question only from one side." (Novak, p 129)
Today's politics are getting so extreme opposites. No one seems to be able to see from anyone else's position, let alone the majority in the middle. We need to be aware everyone does not live like us and it is okay. The way that I do things is not necessarily the way it is best for someone else.
I found a few things in our Novak book about Confucian teaching that could be useful reminders: “When things are investigated, knowledge is extended, when knowledge is extended, the will becomes sincere..., the mind is rectified..., the personal life is cultivated..., the family will be regulated..., the state will be in order; and when the state is in order, there will be peace throughout the world” (Novak, 134). One to go along with this is on page 118 where Confucius teaches that you can’t force change, but you can lead by example.
ReplyDeleteI think these are both good lessons for everyone to learn. In order to lead you first need to get your own life in order then continue on through life leading by example. In my life, I think my parents did an excellent job leading by example. Because they lived the way they taught me, I found it really easy to follow their teaching, respect them, and do what they asked of me. One example, my parents never gave me a curfew because I gained their trust. They could trust me to do the right thing and follow what they always taught me to do so they wouldn’t have to worry about where I was, who I was with, or what I was doing (plus I always told them anyway).
One teaching that would be useful in our impatient society is, "Do not wish for quick results, nor look for small advantages. If you seek quick results, you will not attain the ultimate goal. If you are led astray by small advantages, you will never accomplish great things." (Smith, 159)
ReplyDeleteHere is another, "When it comes to Goodness one need not avoid competing with one's teacher." (Novak, 128)
These two even fit together. Too often, people sell themselves short and get distracted from pursuing real Goodness, because they have never cultivated the life that persists and will not stop short of great things. It is easy to look at others, particularly teachers or other "experts", and forget that any thing of excellence in them is not naturally so but was developed by great focus and perseverance and a resisting of shortcuts or sidetracks.
I wish every one of my students would outdo me, especially in "seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness"! May I not stop short of or get distracted from doing everything possible to motivate and set the bar high for them.