The Way is not far from Man, and Man is not far from Heaven (RG)

"What Heaven imparts to man is called human nature. To follow our nature is called the Way. Cultivating the Way is called education. The Way cannot be separated from us for a moment. What can be separated from us is not the Way." - pg. 98

"Therefore the ruler must not fail cultivate his personal life. Wishing to cultivate his personal life, he must not fail to serve his parents. Wishing to serve his parents, he must not fail to know man. Wishing to know man, he must not fail to know Heaven." - pg. 105

The "Way" as described in the Doctrine of the Mean seems to involve the cultivation of one's personal nature (that given by 天, or Heaven) into someone who very naturally fulfills their social obligations and relationships, while taking his nature into account and not neglecting it. As Confucius describes below: 

"Confucius said, "The Way is not far from man. When a man pursues the Way and yet remains away from man, his course cannot be considered the Way...Therefore the superior man governs men as men, in accordance with human nature, and as soon as they change [what is wrong] he stops. Conscientiousness and altruism are not far from the Way. What you do not wish others to do to you, do not do to them." 

The above quote would imply that the ideal ruler, once it is clear that no faults are arising from the behavior of his subjects, ceases to stop imposing anything on them, as there is no reason to change them and there is therefore nothing to impose. Having guided them successfully in the fulfillment of their natures, there is no need to alter what they are doing, otherwise one would be lack consideration for the well-being of others. Confucius said, "In archery we have something resembling the Way of the superior man. When the archer misses the center of the target, he turns around and seeks for the cause of failure within himself." - pg. 102 

This archer analogy gives a description of self-inquiry in order to fix external outcomes - the archer, or whomever is doing the self-inquiry, is asking: "What about the way in which I have cultivated my nature has brought about this outcome, and how can I make it better?" Is this not like going back to the root (as described in The Great Learning), the root being one's inner nature? The cultivation one creates out of one's natural self is that which causes both the good and bad outcomes we produce externally - and this will have an effect on oneself and the human beings to whom we should treat with conscientiousness. For that matter, different people will be at stages of self-development, and require different kinds of guidance: "Some are born with knowledge of these virtues. Some learn it through study. Some learn it through hard work." - pg. 105

From what we have seen in the Analects, the Master encourages different behaviors in his disciples depending on what their behaviors belie, and gives them different instructions on how to cultivate themselves. This makes sense, given that people might have different needs and will require different kinds of guidance - this is taking into account their personal natures at the same time that you refer back to yours (and the effects that you all create). Refer back to Heaven, and you will refer back to the root. 




Comments

  1. Krishnan VenkateshMarch 29, 2022 at 10:48 AM

    Nice insights here. You're showing how Buddhism and Confucianism do in fact complement each other, since both are built on accurate introspection. All our interactions, all our successes and failures, emanate from our thoughts. Samsara is our own minds! Nothing can be changed if we are unable to see our own minds clearly.

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