Chapter 7 Section 6: Mandate of Heaven, Ghosts and Gods

In the era of Confucius, the authority of the emperor of Zhou declined, as did the power of the supreme god that the Zhou people revered—the heaven.When advanced people consider policy policies and personal actions, they only look at the needs and possibilities of reality, and no longer care about the will of heaven.Confucius belonged to this kind of person. In his view, whether a person has moral cultivation, whether a country's politics is clear, etc. are determined by people, and have nothing to do with heaven.He said: "Benevolence is so far away? I want benevolence, and I am so benevolent." ("Shuer") This means that whether a person can reach the realm of benevolence, independent of external factors, depends on whether he has "desire for benevolence" If you have a strong belief in ", you will definitely become a benevolent person.Confucius also advocated that "government depends on people" ("Book of Rites · Doctrine"), that is to say, it does not depend on God.Take the state of Wei as an example. Duke Ling of Wei is fatuous and innocent, but Wei did not perish. Is it the result of God's blessing?Confucius thought it was not. The reason was that there were several virtuous officials in charge of several important departments in Weiguo, which supported the political situation of Weiguo.Mozi, who advocated theism, criticized: "Confucianism regards heaven as unknown and ghosts as ungods." .

But Confucius was not a true atheist, he never denied the existence of gods and ghosts.For example, the sky occupies a lofty place in his heart. When he is in danger, he will use it to encourage himself. Huan Qu, the doctor of the Song Dynasty, wants to kill him. He said: "God has given me virtue, what can Huan Bi do to me!" ( "Xianwen") When the princes did not support and everyone ignored him, he said: "God knows me!" Let heaven despise me!" ("Yong Ye") He also said: "Praying is useless if you offend God." ("Bayi") It should be said that these all reflect the remnants of old religious concepts.For Confucius, the almighty heaven in the past could only be called upon when necessary, and this imaginary existence comforted and supported him, a lonely walker.

Under the Supreme God Heaven, there are all kinds of gods and ghosts. The traditional concept believes that they all have the ability to benefit, do good, and harm evil.Confucius' basic attitude towards them is to "keep them at arm's length".Disciple Fan Chi asked what is wisdom?Confucius replied: "The righteousness of serving the people is to respect ghosts and gods and keep them at a distance. It can be said to be known." ("Yong Ye") Smart people concentrate on doing things related to people's livelihood instead of flattering ghosts and gods.That is to say, he held a skeptical and alienated position towards ghosts and gods, and he wanted to get rid of the shackles of the old religious concept, but he refused to break with it.Therefore, when encountering such problems, Confucius put them aside.Zilu asked how to serve ghosts and gods, and he replied: "If you can't serve people, how can you serve ghosts?" He also asked what happens after death, and he replied: "How can you know death if you don't know life?" ("Advanced" ) taught Zilu to try to understand life, learn to serve people, and put aside issues such as ghosts and gods.Zigong asked the dead if they had knowledge or ignorance?Confucius said, if you say you have knowledge, I am afraid that filial sons will bury their parents generously and harm the living;So can't say.If you really want to know the answer, you can experience it slowly when you die. (See "Shuo Yuan · Identifying Objects")

In the religious concepts since the Yin and Zhou dynasties, there is the theory of destiny.The so-called Mandate of Heaven is the command of the Supreme God.The sky in Confucius' mind is no longer a vivid god, but can issue orders and manipulate human beings, and of course life has a new meaning.He believes that fate is an unknowable and irresistible external force, which can bring happiness or misfortune to people.In some of his words about heaven, that sky actually refers to fate.Bo Niu was a virtuous man, but he got a serious disease. Confucius went to visit him and said that it was his fate: "If he perishes, he will die! This man has this disease, and this man has this disease!" ("Yong Ye 》) It should not be God's arrangement for a good person to get a bad disease. This kind of unreasonable thing can only be attributed to fate.So what aspects of life can fate play a role in?Zixia said: "Shang (Zixia's surname is Bu Mingshang) has heard it: life and death are determined, wealth and honor are in the sky." of.That is to say, in Confucius' view, life and death, longevity, wealth and poverty, etc., are determined by fate and heaven (also fate).But life cannot determine people's spiritual life and moral life.Man does not have autonomy in the field of real life, but he has autonomy in moral life. He can choose good or evil, and he can reach a high moral realm through hard work.In social life, fate can also affect many things. For example, the deeds and failures of the Tao in a certain period of time are determined by fate.Confucius said: "When the Tao is about to go, it is fate; if the Tao is about to abolish, it is fate." ("Xianwen") So in this situation, should people obey the fate and not follow the Tao?No.Zilu said: "The official of a gentleman is also to practice his righteousness. If the way is not good, he knows it." ("Weizi") Although a gentleman already knows that the way is not feasible today, he should still do his duty, that is, practice the way .Confucius himself is exactly like this. After he was 50 years old, he spent 14 years traveling around the world and lobbying the princes, but he was met with indifference and blind eyes. When he already knew that his way could not be followed, he still continued to run, not afraid of starvation and suffering. , Regardless of the danger to life, insist on walking the way.From his personal point of view, this is based on his moral conscience and fulfilling his due obligations. From the social point of view, he believes that the Tao can be prevailed in the world after all. It will not be in vain, and it will definitely play a positive role in the way of Tao in the future.

In short, Confucius acknowledged destiny, but he was not a determinist.In terms of wealth and longevity, he has nothing to ask for, and everything is left to itself. His inaction shows that he doesn't want to fight, not that he doesn't dare to fight.In terms of moral cultivation and the way of benevolence and etiquette, he has a strong pursuit, is indomitable, and fights to the end. Although he has a life, he doesn't take it seriously.So from this perspective, fate is not an object for people to submit to, but an object for people to fight against.It is the true meaning of life to obey the inner moral conscience and fight against the blind force of external life.