Good Confucianism book (pdf) - Department of Physics

168 Neo-Confucianismhave an exhaustive knowledge of the principles of all things, we can cometo an inner enlightenment, a knowledge of the principle that contains allthese things, the Supreme Ultimate.All things can be understood by reasoning, thinking, and reading. Self -cultivation is important for Zhu Xi, just as it was for early Confucians.Study is the way to self - cultivation; knowledge comes before action. Wemust cultivate a calm mind/heart, like still water, unstirred by emotionsthat can overwhelm it like waves on the water.We can all become sages, as Confucius and Confucians have alwaysmaintained. The sage gets rid of the obstructions of qi and finds the principlewithin. Clearly this is an intellectual way to sagehood: the humanproblem is an intellectual problem that can be solved intellectually throughstudy and thought. If we think, focusing on principle, in “ quiet sitting, ” wecan come to the conclusion that the Supreme Ultimate itself is reflected inus. This is an inward way where we focus, in the end, on our own natures,our own principle, our own inward processes.Zhu Xi has given Confucianism a formally set out cosmology thatlinks the structure of the universe with the moral and political concernsof human beings. Our moral behavior is behavior in harmony with theSupreme Ultimate. This allows Confucianism to now compete with systemslike Buddhism.Zhu Xi, like the Neo - Confucians before him, called for learning forlearning ’ s sake, not just to pass the examinations. Real learning would makea man a responsible adult, taking on family and social responsibilities. ZhuXi firmly believed that by understanding and practicing the search for principle,a student can come to understand the true teachings of Confucianismand internalize them – not just learn them by rote.Politically there is a principle for the organization of a state and that isthe moral Dao of early Confucianism. The ancient sage - kings, Confucianheroes like the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius himself, all knew, and livedby, this principle. When the ruler and government follow it, there will begood government. Political reform is based on the reform of the individualand that, in turn, is based on a deep philosophical understanding. As withearly Confucianism, the best ruler is a sage, but, according to Zhu Xi, asage who has gotten rid of the blockages of qi and reaches the principlewithin, the Supreme Ultimate.Zhu Xi argued adamantly against Buddhism. He said that it is becauseBuddhists do not understand principle that they think that this world isnot real, but an illusion. Buddhists think that human nature is not reallyreal: it is an illusion that changes at every moment and is brought togetheronly by particular circumstances. They are wrong, says Zhu Xi, becausethey do not understand principle. Principle is eternal, and the belief thatnothing is eternal is wrong.