KEEP THE OLD WARM

The Master said: ‘Love of courage and hatred of poverty brings lawlessness. Excessive hatred of those who are not humane although human also results in lawlessness.’ – 孔夫子 Master Kong (Confucius) The Analects 8:10

Lawlessness…..let us interpret this as a state that eats away at the fabric of a great civilization in subtle ways, in the end bringing pointless animosity, suffering, and even violence. Such a state is thus not fitting of a noble and civilized species that humanity aspires to be. Confucius warns of three ways this can come about that are seldom recognized.

Love of courage: If we love courage, it is not using courage when it is needed, but seeking out ways to display our courage out of vanity. We will not reserve courage for the moments it is demanded, but will seek our own glory and pleasure in exerting ot. This will reinforce a will to display and dominate, seeing situations as all or nothing for us to win. We cannot fall in love with our own courage and glorify ourselves out of proportion. This breeds conflict, envy, resentment, and other ill feelings that will cause unnecessary strain and strife and eat away at the order and law of a great civilization. Do you see yourself or others today who are in love with their own “courage” and what it does? Courage is good, powerful. Addiction to displaying courage, is vain, and can be detrimental.

Hatred of Poverty: If we hate poverty, we look down on it. We see it as something to avoid, to criticize, and without virtue. Now, we do not have to love poverty as saints and martyrs do. However, hating poverty causes us to strive unnecessarily towards riches and wealth. We see enough wealth disparity in the world today. Hating poverty and loving riches is not a healthy outlook as a civilization. A more sober look at riches and poverty, seeing one perhaps more favorable than the other is better. We can not see poverty as evil, but as a place that humbles us, brings us down to earth where the majority of humanity lives, and to understand a collective plight. From there, with understanding and empathy for poverty, we can strive to a better and richer life out of wisdom, not a craving for excessive wealth. If we hate poverty, we will be tempted by riches. Do not hate it, understand it, know it as a state most live in around the world, and strive upward with a love for that which lives below.

Excessive hatred of those who are not humane although human: Everyone is human. Many are not humane and are difficult to love. Humane being wise, just, and loving. Not humane being the opposite. Confucius says, only excessive hatred of these difficult people makes a civilization worse. When we hate these people who are not humane and are likely making the world a worse off place with excess, we are also making the world worse. We can be stern in critique of such people, leave them to their own devices, observe them to see how and why they do wrong. However, we cannot hate them and hate them the more. That results in collective hatred of such people and is a feeling that is not easy to cast off. Do not let this seed of hatred for such people take hold. That is the least we can do. And how much better off our civilization is when we all do not excessively hate others who are making mistakes, large or small.

Loving our own courage, hating poverty, and excessively hating those who do wrong; these things do not improve our civilization. Let us together reserve our courage for when it is called for, empathize with poverty, and understand and or be stern with those who do wrong, without hating them to excess.