King Of Your Own Heart (With Confucius, Jesus, Buddha and The Roman Emperors)

ENLIGHTENMENT PROMPT #25

Rule by force for long

enough and get a king hat -

rule your own heart first.

The King of Nice Festival float. He's styled on Obi Wan Kenobi from Star Wars and decorated with figures from popular culture. Photo by Catherine Buchanan.

As we passed the King of Nice float in Place Masséna yesterday my wife took this photo from the car window. It made me think of a video I saw a few days ago regarding The Great Learning where Confucius talks about the correct relationship between leaders and society. 

The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue throughout the kingdom, first ordered well their own States. Wishing to order well their States, they first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their persons. Wishing to cultivate their persons, they first rectified their hearts. Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.

Things being investigated, knowledge became complete. Their knowledge being complete, their thoughts were sincere. Their thoughts being sincere, their hearts were then rectified. Their hearts being rectified, their persons were cultivated. Their persons being cultivated, their families were regulated. Their families being regulated, their States were rightly governed. Their States being rightly governed, the whole kingdom was made tranquil and happy.

From the Son of Heaven down to the mass of the people, all must consider the cultivation of the person the root of everything besides.

It cannot be, when the root is neglected, that what should spring from it will be well ordered.

-Confucius, The Great Learning

Confucius (孔子; pinyin: Kǒngzǐ; lit. 'Master Kong'; c. 551 – c. 479 BC), was a Chinese philosopher of the Spring and Autumn period who is traditionally considered the paragon of Chinese sages. Confucius's teachings and philosophy underpin the East Asian culture and society, and remain influential across China and East Asia to this day. His philosophical teachings, called Confucianism, emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, kindness, sincerity, and a ruler's responsibilities to lead by virtue.

Depiction of Confucius by Wu Daozi (685–758), Tang dynasty

In the Western tradition, the first parallel to Confucius’ teaching that comes to my mind is Jesus Christ’s Parable of the Sower which also discusses the successful and unsuccessful growth of the spiritual self. 

"Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.

Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."

And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

— Jesus, New Testament, Mark 4:3–9

This beautiful example of early Christian iconography (2nd or 3rd century) is from the Roman catacombs. It depicts our Lord Jesus as the Sower from the parable in Matthew 23, Mark 4, and Luke 8. Together with the Good Shepherd and Pantocrator (Almighty), it is one of the most ancient and enduring images of Christ.

Jesus explains the meaning of the parable to his disciples. I’ve replaced “word” with the Taoist equivalent “Tao”, meaning the way of the movement of heaven and earth, to see if that helps open up a new perspective:

“The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the Tao and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of adhering to the Tao, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who understands what is involved in following the Tao, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke his pursuit of the Tao, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who understands the Tao and follows it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Jesus (c. 6 to 4 BC – AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many other names and titles, was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the central figure of Christianity, the world's largest religion. Ethical teachings of Jesus include loving your enemies, refraining from hatred and lust, turning the other cheek, and forgiving people who have sinned against you.

Both Confucius and Jesus have the idea that a correct foundation is essential for human development, especially so for someone who wishes to hold themselves up as a leader of others. 

For Confucius the foundation is self-cultivation, self-awareness, for Jesus it is following “the word”, an idea closer to the Taoist “tao” than Confucius’s self-cultivation. For both Taoism and Christianity, self-cultivation is a by-product of a correct alignment of humanity to the greater power that lies behind but also generates the changes of the physical world. 

Both are paths to virtue and a leader walking these ways is far more desirable than an ego-driven leader who is motivated by personal fears and desires.