a (yoga) socio-political manifesto

atRifF  

Nature has priority.¹ It's here first and sustains everything.

The guiding principle is ahimsa. Non-violence translated into deep & skeptic ecology, i.e, the interdependence of human and non-human life in a world out of joint. We cannot understand ourselves if we estrange ourselves from nature, but we're already estranged!    

Socio-political should start bottom-up, not top-down.² We don't need to wait for the top to change. As actors close to the local/regional nodes of action, we can acquire the know-how to build connections and mobilize public opinion to challenge institutional and social alienation.

* From the bottom ---> up: The initial transformation is individual but it doesn't stop there. We are ONE: There is no true path without some form of dharma/activism.³ 

* The aporia of human anthropocentric emancipation: We need to see non-human life under a different optic. The Greeks of ancient times didn't realize that non-Greeks were persons. American plantation owners in the late-18th Century didn't realize that blacks were not inferior brutes. The majority of Americans don't realize that non-human animals are more than just foodstuff. We have an obligation to treat animals with dignity⁴ (our present animal farming needs to be transformed from intensive farming ----> extensive farming).

* The aporia of pollution vs. development: Blaming corporations in order to feel safely excluded from the pollution cycle, while feeding the very thing we try to prevent. We are the world's worst polluters!⁵

* Though it may be a little late, the move towards eco-conservation is a social imperative. Let's fight to stop deforestation, to protect sea life from extinction (due to overfishing), ensuring ecological diversity for future generations. Yes, it seems daunting, but it begins by understanding, doing & telling others. 

* The aporia of technology vs. emancipation: What makes us human is a result of our cultural evolution: language, rituals, arts and technology. Yet, our anthropocentric-based culture is leading us to a dead end. Let's move from an anthropocentric to a bio-centric culture!⁶  Technology = Culture.Technology is not the enemy. Humans cannot live without technology. Yet, technology has the imperative to preserve the delicate balance of Nature. 

* We must learn to curb and manage our waste: Reuse, donate, recycle! Food is the primary ecological exchange of energy. Our corporate-driven, production-intensive food paradigm needs to be redefined, from fast food ----> slow food. ⁷ Let's switch our eating habits and bring back food sacralization. Let's turn environmental degradation and human exploitation into eco-erotics!⁸

* The aporia of development vs. under-development⁹: Our post-Capitalist global society is craft-deprived. Globalization has outsourced our manufacturing and trade/skills base. Let's get back to cooking, arts and crafts, organic horticulture,¹⁰ etc. We should balance our individualistic tendencies with cooperation & communitarianism!

* Let's change our cities, fighting urban decay with environmental sustainability, changing ugliness into beauty.

* Let's become eco-Romantics!¹¹ engaging in heritage conservation, infrastructure efficiency,  mass transit, regional integration, human scale, and institutional integrity.

* Let's transform our neighborhoods, building sustainable structures, limiting urban sprawl, reducing car dependence, promoting pedestrian friendly urbanism.¹²

What to do? 

Flipping Marxist formalism, let's turn the base into the superstructure. Our bid is for a different form of emergence: 

 anti-advertising, 

social graffiti,

urban farming,

nonviolence, 

anarcho-syndicalism, 

building consensus,

civil disobedience,

use social media to advance social change 

potlatch

ACT NOW!

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¹ Aristotle's naturalism can be seen as a forerunner of eco-ethics, as expressed by his dictum Nature does nothing in vain. John Clearly, Aristotle and the Many Senses of Priority, (Southern Illinois University Press, 1988) p. 60. ² We don't have to choose between markets (Welfare Capitalism) or governments, as instruments of emancipation (Communism, planned-economy Socialism). Nor is there need to eliminate markets, trade, private ownership, the welfare state, or the institution of the corporation. What we need to do is bring about new practices for each of these institutions appropriate to a balance between prosperity and conservation. This is the force of emergence: Millions of people joining voluntary movements, discovering that the good life is more fulfilling than the endless cycle of accumulation and consumption. Professor Steven Buechler makes a similar (hopeful) point: "Movements can be crucial switching stations in the direction of history (...)  vital free spaces that promote democratization and restore a meaningful public sphere." See Steven M. Buechler, Social Movements in Advanced Capitalism: The Political Economy and Cultural Construction of Social Activism (Oxford University Press: 2000) p. 214.  Enacting Niyama at the social level can bring about a life of material sufficiency with cultural, intellectual, and spiritual abundance in balance with the environment. By osmosis, the social level can bring about needed changes in the political sphere. ³ One's embeddedness in a particular context: job, household/family, or community can lead one to recognize a problem, learn about community needs, and find a way to make life better through new -or reconfigured- social linkages.  ⁴ According to philosopher Tom Regan, animals have "inherent value" as subjects-of-a-life, and cannot be regarded as a means to an end. See, Tom Regan, The Case for Animal Rights, (University of California Berkeley, 2005) p. 245. ⁵ The United States has 4.2% of the world's population and produces 24% of the world's C0₂ emissions. ⁶ One must be careful not to write off culture, as if humans have fallen from paradise straight into some artificial exile of civilization. This is where the ancient Greeks can help. They understood that us humans are not completely "natural" but rather the site of a collision of nature and culture, which uniquely defines us. See Bruce Thornton, Plagues of the Mind: The New Epidemic of False Knowledge (ISI Books, 1999) p. 96.  ⁷ "Slow food" goes against the received notion that cheap food = good food. Carlo Petrini, the man behind this movement defends the "unpolitical" idea that cheap food is really expensive, bad food, when compared with good, clean, carefully harvested food. He is right. In his book, Petrini advocates the idea of "gusto" (taste) and diversity. There is a correlation between slow food and health, which makes slow food more enjoyable. The locus for this revolucion is la osteria, a place where one can find "traditional cuisine run as a family business with simple service, welcoming atmosphere, good wine and moderate prices." See Carlo Petrini, Slow Food, the Case for Taste (Columbia University Press, 2003) p. 51-58. "Cheap food" is a Capitalist ploy to misrepresent real capital allocation and profit in the name of "abundance," hiding government subsidies for monoculture and intensive production which end up as profit for Big Business in food and energy. Take for instance American corn policies: We subsidize corn while (protect Monsanto's right to sell it to farmers as genetically modified seed). Coincidentally, corn is the foodstuff staple for raising cattle in the US (funded by whom?) and an energy commodity. Wonder why such a labor-intensive commodity such as meat is so cheap? Corn is heavily fertilized — both with chemicals like nitrogen and with subsidies from Washington. Over the past decade, the Federal Government has poured more than $50 billion into the corn industry, keeping prices for the crop — at least until corn ethanol skewed the market — artificially low. That's your Big Mac @ McDonald's, a $5 meal bargain, with 1,400 calories (more than half the daily recommended requirement for adults). ⁸ I thank my friend Gene Ray for his suggestion. I'd like to spin his idea of eco/erotics as an embodied striving for well-being that connects us with the animal and non-animal other (life). The opposite of eco/erotics is eros gone astray, a perversion of Nishkam Karma. A desire in the form of a will-to-control that aims to secure itself by mastering all around it. Ridden with anxiety, this eros reduces other to self. In fact, there are examples of such versions in modern times: Certain "peak" historic moments, when factors motivating nations and individuals, such as the desires for profit, security, and hegemony got transformed militaristic erotics. ⁹ It turns out that the mantra of "emancipated" Communist development in Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean throughout the 1960's-1980's consisted in mimicking the Capitalist "anthropocentric development" model: 1- constant growth, 2- domination of nature, 3- industrialization and technologization of production and society at the expense of environmental degradation, abandonment of agriculture (land reform in this case meant very little, since arbitrary and exploitative prices were set by the bureaucrats, not by the farmers), massive migration to the cities, urban unemployment and loss of crafts skills. The deterioration of nature brought by these mistaken policies, was invoked by the communist  bureaucracies as a step in the right direction for the attainment of development. ¹⁰ Who would think of pursuing horticultural studies in Miami, now, when the expected move of disenfranchised farmers is from the rural areas to the city? Precisely! This overall migration has to do with the switch from farmer-produced to corporate-produced agriculture. How can one reverse it? By encouraging a moresimple living. Diversifying instead of homogenizing food consumption; by making good, simple food (not gourmet food) a desired commodity, so that corporations are forced to alter their mode of production. Surely, one must be watchful of corporation's good intentions! It's all about awareness. Are people ready for it? After the subprime mortgage crisis, the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster, andBP's gulf disaster, the answer is yes. ¹¹ The new eco-Romantic is committed to ecological flourishing, but she is neither anti-technology, nor naive in her political expectations about Messianic utopias. The traditional Romantic lived in a paradox he was blind to. (H)e deprecated technology from his studio in the industrial-brought comfort of the pre-Modern city. We must see the good and bad in technology. The Industrial Revolution cannot be simply undone (the remedy would be worst than the disease). It needs to be transformed. Technology can serve us in using the ecosystem resources more efficiently. On the other hand, there is a strong historical relationship between growth in economic output and growing human demands on the earth's finite ecosystem. We've pushed since 1950's the human burden on the planet's regenerative systems, its soils, air, water, fisheries, and forestry systems beyond what the planet can sustain. Anthropocentric "development" is not the answer. Pushing for economic growth beyond the planet's sustainable limits accelerates the rate of breakdown of the whole. It also intensifies the competition between rich and poor for the earth's remaining output of life-sustaining resources. ¹² See my  "Miami's Urban Mess.

patanjali YOGA (post for comment #3)

well, that was an intense reading of patanjali's sutra!

right off my sleeve and in the mode of brain-storming:

1. the importance of a clear mind,

 1.41. When the agitations of the mind are under control, the mind becomes like a transparent crystal and has the power of becoming whatever form is presented. knower, act of knowing, or what is known.

2. the wheel of samsara, to each its own:

1.30. Disease, inertia, doubt, lack of enthusiasm, laziness, sensuality, mind-wandering, missing the point, instability- these distractions of the mind are the obstacles.

3. the importance of a ritual, of practice, of purpose in our lives.

2.2. This discipline is practised for the purpose of acquiring fixity of mind on the Lord, free from all impurities and agitations, or on One's Own Reality, and for attenuating the afflictions.

4. duck/rabbit,

2.10. These patterns when subtle may be removed by developing their contraries.
2.11. Their active afflictions are to be destroyed by meditation.

5. avidya is everywhere!

2.5. Ignorance is taking the non-eternal for the eternal, the impure for the pure, evil for good and non-self as self.

6. in the west, knowledge = power, but what knowledge? patanjali warns:

 2.6. Egoism is the identification of the power that knows with the instruments of knowing.

7. para-doxa (beyond the law)

4.12. The past and the future exist in the object itself as form and expression, there being difference in the conditions of the properties.

8. dense perplexity (as garlanded creepers & glossy undergrowth) comes before the epiphany,

 2.25. Liberation of the seer is the result of the dissociation of the seer and the seen, with the disappearance of ignorance.

9. just before moksha, wash the dishes! the sangha is here.

4:50. When the deities invite, there should be no attachment and no smile of satisfaction, contact with the undesirable still possible.

for this comment, let's try to bring forth what we've learned so far.

what's on your mind?

on jainism & ahimsa (post for comment #2)

a lot of what we discussed yesterday (tuesday) had to do with determinism vs. free will, i.e., the role of moksha as a form of getting out of the law of karma. at one level jainism seems to endorse that view. but at a deeper level, i think there is no "out."  this is why i posted (below) a more detailed discussion about punyas and papas. please, read it to inform your comments for this thread. there, i address the paradox of radical libertarianism opposing determinism (only to let it in through the backdoor).

then there was the trimurti and the five basic ethical principles. the issue of intention (mens rea) and pleasure came up. we discussed that pleasure is a deep metaphor. i mentioned epicurus as a reference from the west (i like to cross-reference east with west). for epicurus, there are temporary and lasting pleasures, the latter are superior to the former, something jainism would agree with. you see, pleasure by itself is not a liability. pleasure is structural for homosapiens. the problem is when pleasure becomes exponential. the paradox of pleasure is to enjoy it to the point of letting sorrow through the back door.

Note: For this post, let's include our discussion on ahimsa, in light of gandhi's insights. 

remember: i'm closing this post next monday at 11pm. 
 

jainism: karma, punya & papa

Actions that bear positive results and elevate a person are called punya. 

Actions that lead to a negative fruit and degrade a person are called papa.

Imagine that every person has a spiritual "ledger" showing accrued punya credits and papa liabilities. A person who wins a lottery must have had a lot of punya accumulated due to many past positive actions. A person murdered must be experiencing the accumulated effects of past papa.

One's position in life, the family one is born into, one's economic position, one's health and strength, and even what country one is born into and who one marries are considered to be the result of punya and papa. This superdeterministic position recalls (though in a diametrically different position) in existentialism. Sartre (a radical libertarian) makes the point that one is responsible for everything that happens to oneself. Even an earthquake? Yes, because one is within the earthquake's radius. What if one doesn't know? One is responsible for one's own ignorance.   

Is a person born into a family of privilege and class a result of punya? As we know, riches don't guarantee goodness. Is a person born into a hellish condition of war and disease a result of papa? There are said to be heavenly and hellish realms "above and below" this earth that beings are born into as a result of high and low levels of punya and papa.

The expression "seventh heaven," for example, comes from a Hindu idea of heaven. Above this earth there are many levels of heaven and similarly, below this earth there are many levels of hell. The "seventh heaven" is the highest realm, but a heaven and a hell are never permanent.

Caveat: One may go to a heaven as a result of accumulated punya, but once that punya is exhausted through enjoyment, one will move to lower levels of existence (even hell). Think of my mentioning of Patanjali in regards to the implicit paradox contained in moksha.

Similarly, one may fall to a hell as a result of great papa, but once that papa is "burned off" through suffering one will begin to raise again to higher levels of existence.

Earthly regions are considered middle ground where there is both happiness and suffering and because most actions are neither all good or all bad, the results are mixed. Therefore, our lives are mixed in terms of happiness and suffering.

jainism: an introductory text

a good summary on jainism by Sri Jayatilal S. Sanghvi.

big? small?

it may help a bit with our brahman/atman discussion.

on hinduism (post for comment #1)

thanks for a good class. we had a nice discussion introducing some of hinduism's basic categories.

1- the atman/brahman apparent duality, which is really one. ONE leads to this idea of monism and even pantheism (here is a previous phi 2070 post focusing on spinoza's monism).

2- yajna, or sacrifice, as local exchange for the sake of sovereignty. that is to say, one can see yajna as turning upside-down received notions of economic exchange. how? yajna for its own sake. of course, we'll expllore this deeper when we read from the gita

3- maya brings forth what i call hall-of-mirrors effect. some think that maya expresses our ignorance (avidya) but that is too simplistic. maya is constitutive of the side or reality that we call appearance, & appearance and reality are co-terminal, they need & support each other.

take this paradoxical morsel from the gospel of sri ramakrishna:

Disciple: Why has God created wicked people?"
Master: "That is His play. In His maya there exists avidyā as well as vidyā.

very clear. so, maya loves to play games. 

4- ineffability is another term discussed in class. in the upanishdas there is this idea of neti, neti  
which tries to explain brahman as undifferentiated, how can you explain the inexplicable?

i propose this alternative.

5- moksha, the oneness with the ONE. what is the soteriology of hinduism? let me put it in a different way, salvation is brahman's digestion, i.e., eventually --as ONE-- you get reinserted in samsara.

karma: this is a difficult concept and i ask you to be patient with it. i prefer for now to talk about how we reincarnate constantly ourselves as different individuals that evolve from earlier experiences. more of this as we get deeper into hinduism.

____________
say what you want in at least 150 words. please, wear hinduism's clothes. even if briefly, make an informed comment based on the concepts we've discussed. of course, you could remain skeptical and say it, as long as you show you are primed to hinduism's angle. you can post more than one comment, and sometimes that makes for great discussions. i'm the moderator and may interject but this is YOUR forum!

i close the comment option wednesday at 11pm. if you have not made your comment by then, you loose the opportunity to comment for that particular week. remember that comments-to-posts is a for- point assignment and part of your final grade.

List of terms for the final (we'll go over the terms in class on Thursday)

Confucianism and its principles:

T'ien, chün-tzu, jen, zhong-yong and li. Find a detailed explanation of all these terms here.

Taoism and its principles:

Tao (the Way), YING YANG, Being/ Non-being, Cycles, Te and Wu-wei; all here.

Zen and its techniques:

Find a summary of Zen techniques here. See also koan.

if you have not done the remake do it before it's too late

if you didn't pass the 1st quizz, you need to makeup for it and it should be very soon. please contact me. you know who YOU ARE.

post for comment (on the philosophy of Xunzi)

dear ones: feel free to comment on any of these themes as they show in the philosophy of Xunzi:

1- heaven
2- learning
3- the chün-tzu
4- how to govern
5- li (for Xunzi)
6- the danger of obsessions
7- the consequences of man's nature

man's evil can be turned through self-governance, the avoidance of obsession, the observance of heaven and the respect for rituals

For Xunzi's excerpts here.

Mencius

For excerpts from the Book of Mencius: here.

post for comments (sorry i'm posting a bit late)

on our first reading of the analects there was an interesting discussion on the chüng-tzu, jen (ren) and reverence (jing) particularly in the case of our treatment of the elderly.

what's on your mind? say it.

論語

Confucius' Analects.

Confucius the pedagogue

Confucius was born in the small feudal state of Lu (noted for its preservation of the traditions of ritual and music of the Chou civilization). 1- Confucius' ancestors were probably members of the aristocracy who had become virtual poverty-stricken commoners by the time of his birth. His father died when Confucius was only three years old. Instructed first by his mother, Confucius then distinguished himself as an indefatigable learner in his teens.  Continue reading.

let's start the discussion (post for comment)

by oneself evil is done; by oneself one suffers; by oneself evil is left undone; by oneself one is purified. Purity and impurity belong to oneself, no one can purify another.

finally we're reading from the dhammapada. there are several things right off the bat:

1- the insistence of the causal connection of evil & life. in the twin verses of 1:1."we become what we think."  then, 1:5: "hatred can never put an end to hatred". this is a novel way of looking at ethics. wrong actions carry moral (causal) consequences = you reap what you sow is not a metaphor, it's cause & effect! of course, 9:119: "the evil doers may be happy as long as he does not reap what he has sown, but when he does sorrow overcomes him." yeah, there's no way out of paticca samuppada.

2- the control of the mind: "hard is to train the mind, which goes where it likes..." 3: 35
the importance of self-governance of the mind. ..."those who can direct thoughts are freed from the bond of mara" (3:37).

and this one: "make your mind a fortress to conquer maya with the weapon of wisdom".

i doubt something this deep has been said with this simplicity.

the beautiful chapter 4, "on flowers". this stands out: "do not give your attention to what others do or fail to do, give it to what you do or fail to do" 4:50.

3- a central lesson in the dhammapada is that good is objective,  it can be perceived: "the fragrance of the good spread everywhere..." 4:54.  good is an essence.

4-  the importance of self-governance. the self is a refuge, not a place to waste. so, we must keep our house in order. these three are key:

"do not give your attention to what others do or fail to do; give it to what you do or fail to do." 4:50
"if you find no one to support you on the spiritual path, walk alone". 5:61
"a solid rock cannot be moved by the wind, the wise are not shaken by praise or blame." 6:81

(that doesn't mean we don't try to build our own sangha):

"make friends with those who are good and true, not with those that are bad ans false." 6:78

5-  we always come back to food (it's my fault). the point i was trying to make is that food is food, it's neutral = maya.

i'm the one liking or disliking. how come? it's the "I" (the ego) that likes or dislikes.

but isn't this still too much of the self as impediment to dharma? according to the dhammapada once the self is erased, what remains is the cosmic principle, i.e, THE ONE.

what is selflessness? nothing out of this world, just the right expansion to include all other living creatures. so yes, when it comes to taste the self can learn from the expansion of the self. that's why i brought the example of the person that cooks a not-so-tasty dish (but with lots of love) vs. the cook that is an ace and just did the food as mere routine.

which brings me to the prodigal son.

last minute addenda after tuesday's reading:

jose's suspicion of the idea of "detachment" (i.e., if one is detached how can one really truly interact with others and one's own projects?).
counter: it reminds us of arjuna's confusion just before fighting the battle in the bhagavad gita. life is filled with contradictions: are they real or apparent? he/she who knows is wise.

irvin's reservation towards buddhism as a form of social engineering.
counter: the buddhist as no problem biting the bullet. do you have anything against good engineering? par example: morals in homo sapiens, or democracy, or school learning.

repetition is part of the enlightenment recipe. moksha means something as simple as living in contentment. "what is enlightenment? asks the disciple. do the dishes, responds the master." or "the problem is not tweeter, the problem is what people do with it" (a 12 year old honor student from cologne, germany in der spiegel).

veronica's point about "fear."
fear is wired, but so is the ego. what to do about it? use it to your advantage (advantage means spiritual growth).

Vivekananda, Ramakrishna, Aurobindo

in closing Hinduism:

Vivekananda's aphorisms.

Quotes by Sri Ramakrishna.

Quotes by Sri Aurobindo Gose.

my answer to some of your in-class comments on the gita

kids: it may have seemed as if i dismissed some of your valid comments. frankly, we didn't have enough time: find my response here. 

Analects (excerpts)

"The chun-tzu does not, even for the space of a single meal, act contrary to virtue. In moments of haste, he follows Heaven. In seasons of danger, he follows Heaven."

The Master said, "The superior man does not set his mind either for anything, or against anything. He just follows what is right."

The Master said, "The superior man thinks of virtue; the small man thinks of comfort. The superior man thinks of the rituals; the small man thinks of favors he may receive."

The Master said, "A man should say, I am not concerned that I have no place, I am concerned how I may fit in a place. I am not concerned that I am not known, I wish to be worthy to be known."

The Master said, "The mind of the superior man is concerned with righteousness; the mind of the mean man is conversant with profit."

The Master said, "When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see men of a dubious character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves."

The Master said, "The cautious seldom err."

The Master said, "The superior man wishes to be slow in his speech and quick in his conduct."

The Master said, "Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have good neighbors."

The Master said, "The wise find pleasure in water; the virtuous find pleasure in hills. The wise are active; the virtuous are tranquil. The wise are joyful; the virtuous are long-lived." Now the man of virtue, wishing to be established himself, also establish others; wishing to be appreciated, he appreciates others. To be able to judge others by what is nigh in ourselves -this may be called the art of virtue." (Gong and Jing)

The Master said, "Never refused instruction to anyone." (jen)

The Master said, "I do not open up the truth to one who is not eager to know, nor help out any one who is not interested to understand. "

The Master said, "When I walk along with two others, they will serve as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them (their bad qualities and avoid them)."

The Master said, "Heaven produces the virtues that live in me." (anthropogenic principle of Tien)

The Master said, "Respectfulness, without the rules of propriety, becomes tiring; carefulness without the rules of propriety, becomes cold feet; boldness, without the rules of propriety, becomes insubordination; directness, without the rules of propriety, becomes rudeness."

The Master said, "For any important point, learn it as if you are not yet in complete understanding, as if you may not ever get it."

The Master said, "Hold fidelity and sincerity as first principles. Have no friends not equal to yourself. When you have faults, let them go."

The Master said, "The wise are free from confusion; the virtuous from anxiety; and the courageous from fear."

Chung-kung asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "When you go abroad, behave to all as if you were receiving a great guest; employ the people as if you were assisting at a great sacrifice. Do not to do to others as you would not wish done to yourself."

Sze-ma Niu asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, "The man of perfect virtue is cautious and slow in his speech." (Zhong Yong)

Sze-ma Niu asked about the superior man. The Master said, "The superior man has neither anxiety nor fear. When one examines oneself and discovers nothing wrong, what is there to be anxious about? What is there to fear?" (Zhong Yong)

Chi K'ang asked Confucius about government. Confucius replied, "To govern means to rectify. If you lead on the people with rightness, who will dare not to be right?" Chi K'ang asked: "So, how do you punish the criminal for the good of the righteous?" Confucius replied, "In carrying on your government, why should you use punishment at all? The relation between superiors and inferiors is like that between the wind and the grass. The grass must bend, when the wind blows across it." (the idea of rectification of names or Pinyin).

The Master said, "Use the upright and move away from the crooked; in this way the crooked can be made to be upright." Tsze-kung asked about friendship. The Master said, "Patiently counsel your friend, and skillfully show him the way. If you find him impossible to change, stop. Do not disgrace him or yourself."

The Master said, "To lead ignorant people into war is to throw them away."

The Master said, "He who speaks without modesty will find very difficult to convey his point." 

The Master said, "The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in actions."

Shu asked, "With what should I recompense kindness?" The Master said, "Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness."

Tsze-chang asked how a man should conduct himself, so as to be everywhere appreciated. The Master said, "Let his words be sincere and truthful and his actions honorable and careful. If his words be not sincere and truthful and his actions not honorable and careful he will not be appreciated anywhere."

The Master said, "If a man does not think about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand." ("distant," "near" are as pervasive as T'ien, not unlike the Hindu ONE).

The Master said, "He who requires much from himself and little from others, will never be the objects of resentment." (Zhong-Yong, the right balance between actions).

The Master said, "The superior man in everything considers righteousness to be essential. He acts according to the rules of Heaven. He acts in humility. He shows his sincerity."

The Master said, "What the superior man seeks, is in himself. What the mean man seeks, is in others." (the reciprocity implicit in the chun-tzu).

The Master said, "The superior man is dignified, but does not quarrel. He is sociable, never a partisan."

The Master said, "The superior man does not promote someone simply because of his good words, nor does he forgets good words because of anyone."

The Master said, "When the multitude hates a man, it is necessary to examine into the case. When the multitude likes a man, it is necessary to examine into the case."

The Master said, "To have faults and not to change them, this is really having faults." (rectification of names or pinyin, call a spade a spade).

The Master said, "When a man's knowledge is sufficient to him to attain, and his virtue not sufficient for him to hold, whatever he may have gained, he will lose again."

The Master said, "Virtue is more than either water or fire. I have seen men die from treading on water and fire, but I have never seen a man die from treading the path of virtue."

Teachings in "three," "four," "five," and "six"

Confucius said, "There are three friendships which are advantageous, and three which are injurious. Friendship with the upright; friendship with the sincere; and friendship with the persevering: these are advantageous. Friendship with the dubious; friendship with the two-faced, and friendship with the superficial: these are detrimental."

Confucius said, "There are three things men find enjoyment in which are advantageous, and three things they find enjoyment in which are injurious. To find enjoyment in the study of rituals; to find enjoyment in speaking the goodness of others; to find enjoyment in having worthy friends: these are advantageous. To find pleasure in extravagance; to find enjoyment in idleness; to find enjoyment just in excess: these are injurious."

Confucius said, "There are three errors to which the immature are liable. They may speak when they should not: this is called rashness. They may not speak when they should: this is called concealment. They may speak without observing Heaven: this is called blindness."

Confucius said, "There are three things which the superior man guards against. In youth, when he is still physically able, he guards against lust. When he is strong and the physical powers are full of vigor, he guards against pettifoggery. When he is old, and his powers are decaying, he guards against greediness."

Confucius said, "There are three things of which the superior man stands in awe. He stands in awe of the order of Heaven. He stands in awe of wise men. He stands in awe of the words of sages. "The mean man does not know the order of Heaven, and consequently does not stand in awe of them. He is disrespectful to wise men. He makes fun of the words of sages."

Tsze-chang asked Confucius about perfect virtue. Confucius said, "To be able to practice five things everywhere under heaven constitutes perfect virtue." He asked what they were, and was told, "Self-governance, generosity of soul, sincerity, nobleness, and kindness. If you are vigilant, you will not be treated with disrespect. If you are generous, you will win all. If you are sincere, people will repose trust in you. If you are noble, you will accomplish much. If you are kind, this will enable you to enjoy and provide services for others.

The Master said, "Yu, have you heard the six words to which are attached six becloudings?" Yu replied, "I have not." "Sit down, and I will tell them to you. "There is the love of being benevolent without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to a foolishness. There is the love of knowing without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to waste of your mind. There is the love of being sincere without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to a disregard of consequences. There is the love of straightforwardness without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to rudeness. There is the love of boldness without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to insubordination. There is the love of firmness without the love of learning; the beclouding here leads to extravagance. None will succeed."

Tsze-chang asked, "What are meant by the four bad things?" The Master said, "To put the people to death without having instructed them; this is called cruelty. To require from them, suddenly, the full tale of work, without having given them warning; this is called oppression. To issue orders as if without urgency, at first, and, when the time comes, to insist on them with severity; this is called injustice. And, generally, in the giving pay or rewards to men, to do it in a stingy way; this is called acting like a party official."

we finished reading from the gita. what's on your mind? (to be reviewed this thursday in class)