Sunday, July 05, 2009

Knowing the Mandate of Heaven

The Master said,

‘Without recognizing the decrees of Heaven, it is impossible to be a superior man.’

‘Without an acquaintance with the rule of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established.’

‘Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.’

[Analects 20 .3 Legge]

To be a Junzi or a right person for Tao is not that easy and simple. It takes decades of earnest and sincere self study, practice, and cultivation.

Over the years through discussions with my Daoist friend, through observations and reflections, one has learned how and why Heaven is on the side of the good. [Refer Tao Te Ching]

Through studies of ancient Chinese history including the four Confucian books and the five Classics, pondering while blogging, posting comments, and providing suggestions to like minded friends and strangers, one may have recently discovered why and when Heaven issues its Mandate. (The Yi gave an advice almost a decade ago, to discuss the studies with likeminded fellows. And the World Wide Web turned out to be a rather good place for such discussions and further studies; a great contribution by science and technology.)

The great sage, Confucius knew the decrees of Heaven (Tian Ming) when he was fifty. Every Confucian and/or Yi student has the potential to learn to know it, if we put in the extra mile of effort.

It is possible that some may get to know the Mandate of Heaven before they reach fifty, but being a slow learner; this student has already been a few years too late!

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