Mencius said, “He who exerts his
mind to the utmost knows his nature. He who knows his nature knows
Heaven. To preserve one’s mind and to nourish one’s nature is the way to
serve Heaven. Not to allow any double-mindedness regardless of the
longevity or brevity of life, but to cultivate one’s person and wait for
[destiny (ming, fate, Heaven’s decree or mandate) to take its own course] is
the way to fulfill one’s destiny.” [Book of Mencius 7A:1]
Not knowing one’s fate leaves us
into thinking that whatever way we plan our lives, there are things that happen
unexpectedly. One of the unexpected things that could happen is death. Death
might be now, later, after days, months or maybe years. Death could never be
exactly foreseen. This power of fate leaves us the feeling of fear and
insecurity that whatever we do, achieve or acquire could one day be suddenly
taken away from us. We think therefore, if there is the possibility that
whatever we worked hard for could be taken from us without us knowing, why work
hard for it? I don’t know what fate has in store for me. I don’t know for how
long I still have. I don’t know if the thing that I’ve been working so hard to
achieve is really for me. The power of fate gives us uncertainty so therefore,
why should I study hard now to graduate if there is a possibility that I may
not be even alive at the time I am near to my goal?
The Confucian approach
acknowledges that there are things in life that are beyond our control. But,
acknowledging this does not mean that we should not do something to develop
ourselves towards betterment. It does not mean that we should take fate
responsible for everything that happens to us because there are a lot of things
that are also based on what we do with our lives. Most of the times, the things
that we experience is merely a reaction of all our actions; a mirror of
everything that we have done such as things that we should take responsibility
for. What it wants to relay is that we should take hold of whatever we could
take control and leave the rest for fate to intervene, not to leave everything
for fate to work upon our lives and wait for something good to happen.
In Analects 17:2, Confucius
acknowledges that men are born with the innate ability to learn and develop
himself to the fullest of his ability. Given that man is endowed by Heaven with
this capacity, it is his obligation to be the best man he could be which is in
this case, to be a chun-tzu, the noble man, a man of humanity. Now, knowing
that man has the capacity, we now proceed into knowing the Tao which is the
right path towards fulfilment. So, what is the Tao?
Before journeying, we should know
which direction we are going to. We correct our mind-set by knowing to what
purpose and what goal do we want to achieve. In the case of a chun-tzu, he should put his
foot forward into walking towards the path of the Tao (the Way). The Tao, as in
my other article is the natural pattern of things. It is the unchanging
Northern Star that provides a direction for the ones who are lost in direction.
It is a way which is right and moral; not dependent with the trappings of this
world; unaffected by the conditions and material wealth; it is something not to
be given up in exchange for what this world could offer. In setting a firm
goal, we have set a form unto what shape do we want ourselves to be formed into—a
chun-tzu in accordance to the Tao.
At this point, we have put into
mind that becoming a chun-tzu is the goal here. In my previous blog, I have
stated that to cultivate one’s self into becoming a superior man, he first must
understand that the tools towards achieving this is by using the Tao as his
guide, tradition as a reference, and his capacity as a starting point.
Before one could be a chun-tzu,
one should distinguish first the basic characteristics of the superior man he
wanted to be. In our previous discussions, we have come to know that a superior
man is a man of Jen (human-heartedness)
which is rooted from Hsin (filial
piety) and T’i (brotherly respect)
which could be expressed through Chung (conscientiousness) and Shu (altruism), Yi (righteousness), Li (propriety),
and Chih (Wisdom). In knowing what
should be cultivated, we have come to the point where self-cultivation is
needed into becoming a Noble man.
By knowing that we should cultivate
ourselves into becoming a chun-tzu, we have known our nature which is to
cultivate ourselves. By knowing our nature, we have known heaven. But, knowing
is not good enough in order for us to be called wise, therefore, we put what we
have known into action. We practice what we have learned for we may not call
ourselves learned if we do not practice what we preach. Knowing that we should
cultivate ourselves, we should develop ourselves into becoming a superior man.
In being a superior man, we have preserved ourselves and our mind. By preserving
and nurturing one’s self, we have come to serve heaven. Cultivating one’s self
into serving heaven without thinking whether for how long do we have in this
world is the Mandate of Heaven. In Analects 8:13, Confucius said, “Be not
afraid to die for pursuing the Way”. Since there are things we could not take
hold of, we should let the hands of Heaven take grip on the fate we are going
to have. But in saying this, we should also put in mind that we should take
responsibility in what we could control which in this case is by cultivating
ourselves and becoming a chun-tzu in order for us to be of service to the
Heaven. As the saying goes, “Do your best and God will do the rest.”
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