Analect 7.19+7.37: Anxiety and Ease

 We've talked a lot about how the Confucian way seems to be at least partially fueled by anxiety and time consciousness. Just a couple of analects that come to mind are 2.4 that discusses Confucius' "spiritual biography" in terms of the passing of time and 1.4 that introduces Master Zeng's method of self examining himself every night before bed. However, analects 7 seems to give us a different version of the Junzi. 7.19 features the Master scolding Zilu for not characterizing him as "the type of person who is so passionate that he forgets to eat, whose joy renders him free of worries, and who grows old without noticing the passage of years." This characterization of Confucius does not paint him as a man who is constantly consumed by self-improvement and his limited time on earth, but rather one who lives in an almost care free manner. Likewise, in 7.37, Confucius tells us that "the gentleman is self-possessed and relaxed, while the petty man is perpetually full of worry." This only serves to further confirm that the proper type of a Junzi is one who appears externally relaxed, while those who have not yet begun the Confucian way are consumed by worry. How do we reconcile these two sides of the Junzi, the anxious and the at ease? Is this part of what is meant by wu-wei? 

Comments

  1. JakeFebruary 8, 2022 at 1:28 PM

    Yooo I found this chapter to have a lot of strange messages about anxiety too. There were the many examples that you pointed to about the more relaxed gentleman though in 7.3 the Master states on the topic of self cultivation, "Such potential failings are a source of constant worry to me". I found this Analect to be "sehr voll of angst" ya?

    I too wonder how were are supposed to reconcile these qualities of the Confucian way. I had not thought of if it in regards to wu wei but now you have got the wheels turning.

    -Jake

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  2. Krishnan VenkateshFebruary 15, 2022 at 11:53 AM

    I remember Flaubert once remarking that an a writer needs to have a well-ordered life -- because then it frees him up for disorder in art. Similarly, I find it hard to relax if there are a lot of unfinished tasks gnawing at me -- let alone regrets and anxieties caused by my way of being. Could it be that Confucius is saying, Take care of what needs to be taken care of, and then it's easy to relax?

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