Basic Concepts for Better Understanding Confucian Doctrine of the Mean – A Philosophy of Life Leading to the Ultimate Human Purpose.
Basic Concepts for Better Understanding Confucian Doctrine of the Mean – A Philosophy of Life Leading to the Ultimate Human Purpose.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54855/csl.244311Keywords:
Interfaith Dialogue, Care for Our Common Home, Friendship, ChurchAbstract
Self-cultivation and the pursuit of Goodness are the goals of Chinese philosophy. Therefore, Chinese philosophy is concerned with how to live happily and live well, transcending concerns about methodology. At the same time, Eastern thoughts are often expressed in brief sayings, aphorisms, and parables, but they are profound and strongly resonate with people. One of the great masters who influenced Chinese philosophy was Confucius, who had a significant impact on the formation of the concept of the Doctrine of the Mean, which points the way for people to reach the ultimate purpose of life – the Supreme Good. This article focuses on exploring the concepts of Heaven (天), the Way (道), Benevolence (仁), Sincerity (誠), and the Sage (聖人). These concepts, although very basic, are incredibly important for better understanding the Doctrine of the Mean – the path leading to Goodness.
References
Sầm Hiền An & other, Thiên, trans. Nguyễn Duy Hinh (HCM: NXB Khoa học Xã hội, 2003), 19.
Zhang Dainian, Key Concepts in Chinese Philosophy, trans. Edmund Ryden (USA: Yale
Zhang Dainian, Op.cit., 4
Nguyễn Văn Thọ, Con đường huyền nhiệm Trung Dung, bài thuyết trình tại CQPTGL. https://nhantu.net/TonGiao/ConduongHuyennhiemTrungdung.htm accessed February 6, 2023.
Cf. Chunqing Li, Zhong and Zhongyong in Confucian Classics, trans. Yuan Zhu (Beijing: Foreign Language Teaching and Research Publishing, 2020), 14.
Lý Minh Tuấn, Tứ Thư Bình Giải, Op.cit., 1245.
“聖人,” từ điển Hán Nôm, accessed January 31, 2023,
https://hvdic.thivien.net/whv/%E8%81%96.
Nguyên văn: 誠 者 天 之 道 也 誠 之 者 人 之 道 也 誠 者 不 勉 而 中 不 思 而 得 從 容 中 道 聖 人 也
David L. Hall and Roger T. Ames, Focusing the Familiar a Translation and Philosophical Interpretation of the Zhongyong (USA: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2001), 24.
Lý Minh Tuấn, Trung Dung thuyết minh (2001), chương XXV.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Trịnh Thái Sơn, S.J.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal the right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository, in a journal or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
