Ceremony in Confucian Thought and its application to the modern world

Ceremony is central to Confucian philosophy on cultivating virtue in individuals and in society. The following extract from Wikipedia is illustrative -

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Confucian theory of ethics as exemplified in Lǐ (禮) is based on three important conceptual aspects of life: ceremonies associated with sacrifice to ancestors and deities of various types, social and political institutions, and the etiquette of daily behavior. It was believed by some that lǐ originated from the heavens, but Confucius stressed the development of lǐ through the actions of sage leaders in human history. His discussions of lǐ seem to redefine the term to refer to all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society, rather than those simply conforming with canonical standards of ceremony".

"In the early Confucian tradition, lǐ was doing the proper thing at the proper time, balancing between maintaining existing norms to perpetuate an ethical social fabric, and violating them in order to accomplish ethical good. Training in the lǐ of past sages cultivates in people virtues that include ethical judgment about when lǐ must be adapted in light of situational contexts".

"In Confucianism, the concept of li is closely related to yì (義), which is based upon the idea of reciprocity. Yì can be translated as righteousness, though it may simply mean what is ethically best to do in a certain context. The term contrasts with action done out of self-interest. While pursuing one's own self-interest is not necessarily bad, one would be a better, more righteous person if one's life was based upon following a path designed to enhance the greater good. Thus an outcome of yì is doing the right thing for the right reason."
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"Just as action according to Lǐ should be adapted to conform to the aspiration of adhering to yì, so yì is linked to the core value of rén (仁).Rén consists of 5 basic virtues: seriousness, generosity, sincerity, diligence and kindness.Rén is the virtue of perfectly fulfilling one's responsibilities toward others, most often translated as "benevolence" or "humaneness"; translator Arthur Waley calls it "Goodness" (with a capital G), and other translations that have been put forth include "authoritativeness" and "selflessness."

"Confucius's moral system was based upon empathy and understanding others, rather than divinely ordained rules. To develop one's spontaneous responses of rén so that these could guide action intuitively was even better than living by the rules of yì. Confucius asserts that virtue is a means between extremes. For example, the properly generous person gives the right amount—not too much and not too little".

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It is therefore evident that Ceremony extends beyond Art or Culture in Confucian thought and is meant as a cornerstone of building virtue in the individual and in the society - doing the right thing for the right reason, doing the right thing at the right time and being generous for the right reason and to the right extent.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis, Stephen Green, former HSBC Chairman and long-time ordained priest during his bank chairmanship, wrote "Good Value: Reflections on Money, Morality and an Uncertain World" (Atlantic Monthly Press, February 2010).

There is also much to think about how societies and individuals continue to behave in perpetuating systems and rewards that benefit the few at the expense of the many. Nomi Princs, ex-Goldman Sachs, wrote "It Takes a Pillage - An Epic Tale of Power, Deceit an Untold Trillions" (John Wiley and Sons, 2011) to show how the 1% still keeps on milking the 99%.

Daron Acemoglu and James Roberson wrote "Why Nations Fail" (Profile Books 2012) to show how "extractive" elites and institutions harness the system for their private gains. Althought Acemoglu refers to history and the developing world to support his arguments, Ron Unz, publisher of The American Conservative, asks, as between the U.S. and China, "Which superpower is more threatened by its “extractive elites”? (American Conservative, May 2012). Click here

Therefore, Ceremony in Confucian thought extends well beyond Art and Culture, and beyond the confines of ancient times. Modern-day East and the West have much to learn how Confucian Ceremony can help build the right mindset and behaviour in individuals and societies.

Best regards,

Andrew

www.andrewleunginternationalconsultants.com