Confucianism

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Confucious

The east and west are two very separate cultures and ways. They are greatly varied in many aspects of life, but similar in several others. I will examine western thinking both past and present and present how Confucian thought has influenced it for the better. This essay will examine and compare the way nature is perceived in the eastern tradition of Confucianism, and how we in the west perceive it from the predominantly Christian point of view. I will also explain the growing problem that arose from the eastern imitation of the west, and in return, how we in the west are beginning to imitate their original religious views in order to help improve on the awareness of our own and to help Mother Nature in the process.

In the beginning, at least according to the book of Genesis in the biblical tradition, God created mankind last as his opus maximus of creation. The book of Genesis 1:28 says:

". . . and God blessed them; and God said unto them:
Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and
subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea
and over the fowl of the air, and over every living
thing that creepeth upon the earth"(Bible).

Christian thinking took this to mean that they had free reign to do what they pleased. This can best be seen in Webster's second edition, where "Dominion" is defined as:

"Sovereign or supreme authority; the power of
governing and controlling; independent right of
possession, use and control; sovereignty, supremacy;
also domination"(Webster).

Unfortunately, we did often use and abuse. I do not think this was what God had in mind. If the bible was written with this view of dominion in mind, then upon the return of Jesus when he is to have dominion over man, I would most definitly not want to be present.

Scientists in the seventies and eighties told us that the Earth was at "two minutes to midnight". This term basically means that at our current rate of destruction, we would have approximately twenty years, until the Earth is completely unrecoverable. Upon this realization, the west then began to issue a series of repairs and recycling procedure to help slow the countdown and, if possible, to wind back the clock.

The west was and still is, the greatest polluter and consumer of our natural resources for our amount of inhabitants. We seen it as our God given right to be the top of the proverbial food chain. As that top contender, we seen it as our God given right to crush and eliminate other natural competitors for resources and food. Survival of the fittest if you will. This view which was started due to the ever encreasing power of the western nations, became adopted among the eastern ccountries and in their imitation of these western nations, many competing countries greatly increased their own destruction rate which in turn quickened the ticking of the doomsday clock.

It was not imitation in its own right which caused all this, but also the demand to keep competitive with the western nations for fear of being invaded by them, or by the loss of its own people to the glamours of western life. It was only lately that we realized the amount of destructiveness this form of "flattery" caused by fear, envy, and competition had caused the Earth.

It was never openly admitted, but it obviously was always secretly believed in Christianity that once we had ruined this planet God would either repair it, give us a new one to live on, or deliver us all into heaven to live with Him. Since we had this belief of "use it all today for tomorrow we die", we did not have to worry about other menial things like the destruction of the rainforest, radioactive waste, water and air pollution, the green house effect, and a rate of extinction second only to the that seen during the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Like undisciplined children we once expected our loving "Heavenly Father" to clean up our mess while we did nothing but sit back and pretend to be pious worshippers. It was only after years of constant chastising by environmental organizations and dropping attendance rates in church that the mainstream Christian churches began to reverse engines and offer a reinterpretation of the Bibles scriptures regarding nature.

This sudden about face caused a renewed growth in environmental concern in the west and then worldwide which resulted in a slower rate of destruction than before. It is still an ongoing struggle, but at least the doomsday clocks ominous ticking has begun to slow.

Confucian thought regarding nature is not an issue of dominance, but rather, an issue of harmony. This harmonious blend of human and nature does not serve to exploit the weaknesses of animals but uses the combined abilities of animals and humans to help create a better Earth for us all. By realizing ourselves as being a part of nature, not alien to it, we learn to better accept our role within it. As a result, we do not outwardly destroy nature for our own individual ends.

This Confucian concept tells us of Yin and Yang; the natural cycle of life and death; the way and flow of nature and the universe, and of human kinds creation as an essential part of nature not as a separate being. To paraphrase Ludwing in the book entitled The Sacred Paths: Understanding the Religions of the World, ‘. . . humans form a triad with Heaven and Earth'(Ludwig 424). We are seen as a type of bridge between the realms of Heaven and Earth, master over all by being servant to both.

This concept is superior to the Christian view in the sense that it makes us responsible for our own actions. In Confucian thought, T'ien or Heaven, was a personal force which was tied directly to the human being and our relation to others. Earth and heaven were not truly separate entities in the sence that they affected one another.
Since they have no "Heavenly Father" to clean the mess they make of Earth, so it becomes their responsibility and duty to do so. ‘The natural view of man in Confucian thinking is much more positive than in Christianity. There is no original sin, no inheritent evil, and no dependence of a saviour to deliver them from their own guilt'(Thompson 15). Without the offer of a heavenly escape or the arrival of a spiritual janitor, they are forced to care for the the force of Earth and Heaven as it cares for them. The harmony they enjoy is also the harmony they help create which makes for a cosmic cycle of retribution.

The Confucian principle regarding animals is one of respect for, but not the reverence of animals. ‘Confucious would hunt and fish, but he would not take unfair advantage in the process of it. He would not use a net while fishing, but he would instead use a line, he would not shoot a roosting bird, but he would shoot one that was not in its nest or at rest'(Regan 146-147).

Confucian views on animal rights is one of a responsible hunter. Do not kill for sport, eat what you kill, and do not take unfair advantage over your prey. Hunt as an animal hunts; not with weapons and tactics of mass destruction such as stampedes; but with a more "one on one" type of strategem.

Confucians believe in the priority of human life over animals life, but not in the exploitation of animal life for the mere whims of man. In the past, sacrifices were allowed as the ritual of sacrifice and its effect on humans outweighed the rights of the sacrificial animal. Humans have a moral responsibility to look after animals, but only as a living creatures that should not be harmed unless deemed necessary.

The devout Confucian will allow for the experimentation of animals, but only so far as it is not done without real benefit to the human race or animal kind. Cosmetics research would be a prime example of what would not be tolerated, whereas necessary medical research would be an example of what would be deemed allowable for the use of animals.

We in the west need to make a theology of redemption for all creation. We need to do this not to minimize the special place of the work of Christ and now of ourselves in this process, but new creation must logically be a process which includes all things, not just humans.

"New creation is Man centred-this we may
affirm in faith-but it cannot logically be man
monistic, i.e., for man only. Man participates
in Christ's recreating of creation. This is the
object of redemption"(Linzey 75).

According to world renowned animal activist and humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, "Until he extends his circle of compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace." A truly ethical person, at least according to Schweitzer:

". . . tears no leaf from a tree, plucks no flower, and
takes care to crush no insect. If in summer he is
working by lamplight, he prefers to keep the window
shut and breathe a stuffy atmosphere rather than see
one insect after another fall with singed wings upon his table.
If he walks on the road after a shower and sees
an earthworm which has strayed on to it he bethinks
himself that it must get dried up in the sun, if it does
not return soon enough to the ground into which it can
burrow, so he lifts it from the deadly stone surface,
and puts it on the grass. If he comes across an insect
which has fallen into a puddle, he stops a moment in
order to hold out a leaf or a stalk on which it can save
itself" (Linzey 5).

In all, Christianity itself is not to be blamed, but merely previous Christian thinking. As it is said in the book of psalms:

"Thy righteousness is like the great mountains; thy
judgments are a great deep: O Lord, thou preservest
man and beast"(Psalms 36:6).

Or in the words of the Reverend Thomas Berry;

"Every being has its own interior, its self, its mystery,
its numinous aspect. To deprive any being of this
sacred quality is to disrupt the total order of the
universe. Reverence will be total or it will not be at
all"(Harris 2).

Berry is not alone in his Christian reverence for animal life. The Christian Cardinal John Henry Newman hits us with a low blow with his statement that; "Cruelty to animals is as if man did not love God" (Harris 2).

Christians have often ignored quotes like these. It ladened our hands with the blood of thousands of years of exploiting our fellow creature and nature. We as humans will be held solely accountable for the abuse and harm done to our Mother Earth and her animals, and in turn tainting our relationship with God. We cannot go back in time to repair the wrongdoings of yesterday, but we can act now to save our tomorrow.

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