Confucius Analects – Superior Man vs. Mean Man (2)
12.6 The superior man seeks to menifest the admirable qualities of men, and does not seek to manifest their bad qualities. The mean man does the opposite of this.
-> Everyone has strength and weakness. When we facilitates our goods and others’ goods, good is strengthened. When we facilitates our bads and other’ bads (e.g. fuel hatred, laugh at misfortune, blame others), we are mean to others and to our own selves.
13.3 The superior man maintains harmony in diversity; the mean man are similar in disharmony.
-> Great leaders embrace and allow for diversity. Chinese says “A prime minister heart is often so huge that one can row a boat within”. Confucius also recommends the cultivation of understanding and acceptance despite of difference. Even though others are different than our own, our heart is big enough to accommodate them, and not attempt to reject, attack, and eliminate, for if we do so (reject and attack), we would become Mean Man in aligning the bads. The mean man, on the other hand, looks all simiilar being drawn together by benefits and gain. See how often criminal form a gang, and after the crime attack each other to further their selfish gains.
13.4 The superior man has a dignified ease without pride. The mean man has pride without a dignified ease.
-> Dignified people is confident, self-sustaining, and is easy to be with, as they know, accept and respect themselves and others. Prideful people need to constantly be “higher” and “better” than others to sustain its pridefulness, and therefore is demanding to themselves and to others.
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Discussion:
In these 3 chapters, Confucius further described the ideal Superior Man to be one who facilitates goods, allow for diversity, and is dignified and at ease with others. This is in contrast with the animalistic Mean Man, who delights in one’s and other’s bad, single minded in selfish gain, and driven be pride. Which of these qualities do you have? Which direction would you like to go?
With regard to the question: Which direction would you like to go? Do we not all wish to lead the path of the one who embraces all and rejects none?
With regard to the question: Which of these qualities do you have? Is not the problem recognizing in ourselves/ being aware of when we are being selfish and driven by pride?
How do we train ourselves to see ourselves clearly?
Pathway of embracing, counterbalancing, and transcendence -> Yes. Such is the pathway of spiritual students.
How to train and see ourselves? Honesty, honesty, and honesty.
Honesty… ok…
…..but books have been written about how (for example) experimental scientists, excellent scientists, have wanted to see a result so bad… that they actually ‘saw’ it with their own eyes… although it did not exist. How do we learn to distinguish between… our imaginations and reality… how we perceive ourselves and how we really are?
Also, how do we learn to be sensitive enough to the details of all of what we are to actually ‘see’ our greed, our ego, our unkindness… when we are to coarse to sense it?
We might think that we are being honest… but how do we learn to truly be honest?
Feedback from integrous people would help. E.g. teachers, students, family, friends, professional medical and health care practitioners.
Discernment grows with awareness and life experience. Sincerity, humility, and persistence will facilitate the process.
mostly it is simple to be positive but sometimes when the outer world is presenting challenges, i notice my own insufficiencies magnified and then it seems in order to make balance my negativity will come out in a critical way. i am learning that wherever I go, I am always there. there is always the core self with a small s under the surface and when faced with challenges, the things I would like to ‘better’ about myself show themselves. i can meditate, practice, and accept and it still seems these things are there. but yes, i would like to be the ideal man.
Good. The world presents itself as a training ground when we look at it as such.