Confucian ethics are at the core of East Asian culture.
Today, with the rapid Westernization of Asia, many are discarding Confucian values and codes; nevertheless, for thousands of years, its moral philosophy has guided family life and molded the conduct of kings with the values of benevolence, righteousness, and propriety.
Father Moon has high regard for Confucian moral teachings; he calls them “close to the laws of Heaven.” The Confucian Five Relations of parents and children, ruler and subject, husband and wife, elder and younger siblings, and among friends define what he believes is a superior ethic for all humanity.
Father Moon holds that God inspired Confucianism. He affirms that in its concept of Heaven, Confucianism presents a notion of God, however vague. Confucianism’s weakness, he explains, is its vague understanding of God (Heaven) and, as a consequence, its inability to properly link Heaven and earth in daily life.
Then, with profound insight, he proceeds to offer a solution that utilizes the best of Confucianism: The relationship between God and human beings is a parent-child relationship, and its ethic is one of Confucian filial piety.
In other words, we should attend to God as we would our parents, and the Confucian ethic supplies the best description as to what that attendance requires.
01Confucian Ethics
Oh, how great is the divine moral law of the sage Confucius. Overflowing and illimitable, it gives birth and life to all created things and towers high up to the very heavens. How magnificent it is! How imposing the three hundred principles and three thousand rules of conduct! They await the man who can put the system into practice. Doctrine of the Mean 27
When one follows unswervingly on the path of virtue, it is not to win advancement. When one invariably keeps one’s word, it is not to establish the rectitude of one’s actions. A gentleman merely follows the norm and awaits his destiny. Mencius VII.B.33
From the Son of Heaven [the emperor] down to the common people, all must regard cultivation of the personal life as the root or foundation. There is never a case where the root is in disorder and yet the branches are in order.
Great Learning
Benevolence (jen), rectitude (i), propriety (li), and wisdom (chih)… There are only these four principles. There is nothing else. Chu Hsi
What is the foundation of natural benevolence (jen)? The heart that sympathizes with pain. What is the foundation of a commitment to the common good (i)? The heart that is repelled by vice. What is the foundation of respect for social and religious forms (li)? The heart that is willing to defer. And what is the foundation for wisdom (chih)? The heart that can tell true from false. People have these four foundations like they have four limbs. A man who says he cannot practice them is calling himself a criminal. A man who says the ruler cannot practice them is calling the ruler a criminal. Everybody has these four foundations in himself. If these four foundations can be filled in on a broad scale, it will be like a fire starting up, it will be like a spring bursting through. If they can be filled in, it will be enough to create and preserve the world order. Leave them unfilled, it will be impossible for a man to take care of his father and mother. Mencius II.A.6
The gentleman works upon the trunk. When that is firmly set up, the Way grows. And surely proper behavior towards parents and elder brothers is the trunk of Goodness? Analects 1.2
Now filial piety is the root of all virtue, and the stem out of which grows all moral teaching… Our bodies—to every hair and bit of skin—are received by us from our parents, and we must not presume to injure or wound them: this is the beginning of filial piety. When we have established our character by the practice of the filial course, so as to make our name famous in future ages, and thereby glorify our parents: this is the end of filial piety. It commences with the service of parents; it proceeds to the service of the ruler; it is completed by the establishment of [good] character.22 Classic on Filial Piety 1
What are “the things which men consider right”? Kindness on the part of the father, and filial duty on that of the son; gentleness on the part of the elder brother, and obedience on that of the younger; righteousness on the part of the husband, and submission on that of the wife; kindness on the part of elders, and deference on that of juniors; with benevolence on the part of the ruler, and loyalty on that of the minister— these ten are the things which men consider to be right. Book of Ritual 7.2.19
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Many of Confucius’ teachings are close to the laws of Heaven. (31:292, June 4, 1970)
Confucianism teaches the principled way of human life. What is its central theme? “As all things proceed according to the way of Heaven through the stages of sprout, growth, harvest and [winter] storage, a person’s character develops by the principles of benevolence (jen), righteousness (i), propriety (li), and wisdom (chih).”
People should cultivate their character by these principles and so accord with the Way of Heaven. Confucianism thus places character as the standard for the human being, but not necessarily love.
People practice and cultivate benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom in the context of the Three Bonds—[loyalty] between a king and his subjects, [filial piety] between parents and children, and [fidelity] between husband and wife—and the Five Moral Disciplines—closeness between parents and children, righteousness between a king and his subjects, distinction between husband and wife, order between elder an younger brothers, and trust between friends. (296:272, November 10, 1998)
According to Eastern thought, when two people are walking along a road, the older person should go first. Why? Because he came into the world first. There is an attempt to arrange human relationships according to the orderliness of nature.
He who comes later walks behind; that which is higher is placed higher; and that which is lower is placed lower… By clearly establishing all relative positions, there is a sense of unchanging order. (168:252, September 27, 1987)
Confucianism teaches the Three Bonds and Five Moral Disciplines.24 The Five Moral Disciplines consist of: closeness between parent and child; righteousness between the king and his subjects; distinction between [husband and wife, order] between elder and younger; trust among friends. The Three Bonds refer to loyalty, filial piety and fidelity. All people should fulfill these essential values.
Providentially, Confucius’ teaching was like the proclamation of the heavenly archangel. Through the elements of Confucian morality, Heaven sought to establish social conditions that would protect against Satan and set up a society resembling the external form of Heaven. (205:179, August 28, 1998)
Who is a son of filial piety?
According to Confucianism, he attends his parents with his life out of his deep love for them. What is a loyal subject? He offers himself for the king’s service and even sacrifices his life for his king, who represents Heaven. (143:153, March 17, 1986)
Throughout Korean history, Confucianism taught the duty of filial piety. When the parents passed away, according to custom, their children would mourn for three years while living in seclusion on a mountain.
They truly had a heart to do so. What can the Korean people be proud of before the world?
Regardless of their position and worldly success, when their parents passed away they abandoned everything to fulfill the duty of filial piety. Confucianism established this good tradition. It was in fact God’s preliminary education for the Korean people to go his way. There can be no objection to it. (181:217, October 3, 1988)
Our relationship with God should be a parent-child relationship. What is the nature of this relationship? It is a vertical relationship. The teachings of Confucianism provide a correct understanding.
Our relationship with God, our Father, is as undeniable and indisputable as our relationship with our parents. Are we our parents’ children: could either physical force or theoretical arguments persuade us otherwise?
Likewise, the knowledge that we are born as sons and daughters of God our Heavenly Father, cannot be contested by anyone. (198:298, February 5, 1990)
In our individual lives, shouldn’t we relate to Heavenly Father as filial children? As regards the national-level providence, shouldn’t we relate to Him as loyal subjects?
The traditional Confucian values—the Three Bonds and the Five Moral Disciplines—make sense.
Filial piety, and loyalty towards Heavenly Father are based on these traditional values. We cannot be filial children to Heavenly Father if we are not first filial to our parents. We cannot be loyal subjects of Heavenly Father if we do not first demonstrate loyalty to our nation. (7:66, July 12, 1959)
02The Confucian Concept of Heaven
Heaven helps the man who is devoted; men help the man who is true. He who walks in truth and is devoted in his thinking, and furthermore reveres the worthy, is blessed by Heaven. I Ching, Great Commentary 1.12.1
Yüeh-cheng Tzu saw Mencius. “I mentioned you to the prince,” said he, “and he was to have come to see you. Amongst his favorites is one Tsang who dissuaded him. That is why he failed to come.”
“When a man goes forward,” said Mencius, “there is something which urges him on; when he halts, there is something which holds him back. It is not in his power either to go forward or to halt. It is due to Heaven that I failed to meet the Marquis of Lu. How can this fellow Tsang be responsible for my failure?” Mencius I.B.16
All a gentleman can do in starting an enterprise is to leave behind a tradition which can be carried on. Heaven alone can grant success. Mencius I.B.14
When under siege in K’uang, Confucius said, “With King Wen dead, is not culture (wen) invested here in me? If Heaven intends culture to be destroyed, those who come after me will not be able to have any part of it. If Heaven does not intend this culture to be destroyed, then what can the men of K’uang do to me?” Analects 9.5
Revere the anger of Heaven, And presume not to make sport or be idle. Revere the changing moods of Heaven, And presume not to drive about at your pleasure. Great Heaven is intelligent, And is with you in all your goings. Great Heaven is clear-seeing, And is with you in your wanderings and indulgences.25 Book of Songs, Ode 254
Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Confucius, through his teachings, taught about many aspects of human morals and ethics… Confucius knew about God’s aspect of principled laws, but not about a personal God, a God having intellect, emotion, and will.
This makes Confucianism an archangel-type religion. It has influenced the world in morals and ethics, especially in East Asia. (295:174-75, August 28, 1998)
Confucianism’s teaching about God is symbolic. It does not contain any concrete content about God’s character or attributes. Its teachings are focused on morals and ethics.
For example, one of its main teachings is: “If you do good deeds, you will be blessed; if you do not, you will be punished.” (53:231, February 28, 1972)
Confucius said, “Those who live for the sake of goodness will be blessed by Heaven, but to those who do not live for the sake of goodness, Heaven will bring misfortune.” What does he mean by “Heaven”? It is ambiguous. That is why his teaching sometimes appears to be a religion and other times not. (38:260, January 8, 1971)
In Korean custom, a person receiving a gift from someone his senior must take it with both hands. This symbolizes that a person can only receive when he becomes a ‘level’ base for the older person’s love.
He receives by setting himself at a ninety-degree angle to the giver. We have a saying in Korea, “the heart of the people is the heart of Heaven.” Our rules and customs were formed by the logic of the [vertical] conscience, to be employed in fulfillment of the horizontal. (171:237, January 1, 1988)
This means that there must be a meeting of Heaven and Earth. Heaven must connect with the [horizontal virtues of] benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom.
Yet, in Confucianism, they were not successfully connected. Hence, its concept of Heaven is vague, the Four Virtues are vague, and people do not know how to link them.
Due to this ignorance, the substantial standards of these two forms could not be manifested in history; therefore, they were washed away. How, according to the Unification Principle, do we manifest the dual characteristics [vertical and horizontal]? How can we then establish a realm of substance, and what form will it take in society? I am talking about the substantial realm of recreation.
What human beings desire most is not knowledge, not power, and not money. We desire accomplishments of love: Love between teacher and disciple, love between parent and child, love between king and subject—does not love enter into all these relationships?
By the same token, Heaven also needs loving sons and daughters. Hence, the Principle speaks of love between Heaven and the sons and daughters of Heaven. (185:272, January 17, 1989)
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