CONFUCIANISM by Pravin K. Shah
Founded:
Confucianism began 2,500 years ago in China.
Founder:
Supreme Sage K'ung‑fu‑tsu (Confucius) and Second Sage Meng‑tzu (Mencius).
Major Scriptures:
The Analects, which contain the basic teachings are among the four classics. Analects was compiled by the students of Confucius after his death. Because it was not written as a systematic philosophy, it contains frequent contradictions and many of the philosophical doctrines are ambiguous. Besides the Analects, Doctrine of the Mean, Great Learning, and writing of Mencius are also sacred books.
Sects:
There are no formal sects within Confucianism. Followers are free to profess other religions yet still be Confucianists.
Adherents:
Estimated at 350 million, mostly in China, Japan, Burma and Thailand.
Goals:
The primary goal of Confucianism is to create true nobility through proper education and the inculcation of all the virtues. It is described as the return to the way of one's ancestors, and the classics are studied to discover the ancient way of virtue. Spiritual nobility is attainable by all men. It is perceived as a moral achievement.
Confucius accepted the Tao (see Taoism), but placed emphasis on the return to an idealized age and the cultivation of the superior man and on the pragmatic rather than the mystical. The superior man's greatest virtues are benevolent love, duty, wisdom, truth, and propriety. Salvation is seen as realizing and living one's natural goodness, which is endowed by heaven through education. The superior man always knows what is right and follows his knowledge.
Path of Attainment:
Besides virtue, the five relationships offer the follower of Confucianism a means for progressing. These five relationships are ruler and ruled, father and child, husband and wife, older sibling and younger sibling, and friend and friend. Ancestors are revered in Confucianism, and it is assumed that their spirit survives death. With respect to a deity, Confucius himself, was an agnostic, preferring to place emphasis on the ethical life here rather than to speak of a spiritual life beyond earthly existence, while guiding men's minds not to the future, but to the present and the past.
Synopsis:
Confucianism, the philosophical system founded on the teaching of Confucius (551‑479 BC), dominated Chinese sociopolitical life for most of Chinese history and largely influenced the cultures of Korea, Japan, and Indochina.
Confucianism is and has been for over 25 centuries the dominant philosophical system in China and the guiding light in almost every aspect of Chinese life. Confucius and his followers traveled throughout many feudal states of the Chinese empire persuading rulers to adopt his social reforms. They did not offer a point by point program but stressed instead the way or "one thread" Jen, which is translated as humanity or love, that runs through all of Confucius' teachings. They urged individuals to strive for perfect virtue, righteousness (called i), and improvement of character.
Confucius as a person was dedicated to the preservation of traditional ritual practices with an almost spiritual delight in performing ritual for its own sake. He taught the importance of harmony in the family, order in the state, and peace in the Empire.
Teachings emphasize a code of conduct, self‑cultivation, and propriety, and thus the attainment of social and national order. Stress is more on human duty and the ideal of the "superior man" than on a divine or supramundane reality. Still Confucius fasted, worshipped the ancestors, attended sacrifices, and sought to live in harmony with Heaven.
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