Confucius - How To Be A Gentleman (Confucianism)

jinsa is a Chinese philosophical term often translated as gentleman or superior person Confucius employed this term in his works to describe the ideal man in Confucianism the sage is the ideal personality however it's a very hard path to follow and so Confucius created the concept of Junsu which is significantly more achievable by any given individual Confucius was one of the greatest eastern philosophers of all time and he believed in encouraging good virtues careful thinking and discipline he also believed that if rulers could become better people the ruled would follow their example yielding a better community for everyone thus Confucius talked to philosophy rich in benevolence and good behavior employing an ideal archetype in which moral qualities could be symbolized Confucius states that there are five virtues that make up a true gentleman according to him an individual who can practice all five of them can be considered a superior man a portrayal of true manhood or put simply a gentleman although it should be noted that while Confucius spoke of gentlemen and true manhood he was merely a victim of the age that he lived in and of course these lessons apply to all people equally not just men but before we go ahead with the virtues of a gentleman let me quickly introduce you to this video sponsor which is Skillshare Skillshare is a brilliant online learning community with thousands of online courses that will help you master your real-world skills through project-based classes with a simple premium membership you can access hundreds of online classes taught by experts that will help you to step up your creativity and fuel your career without putting your life on hold each class is broken into convenient bite-sized lessons and features a hands-on project to put your newly learned skills into action if you're just starting out with a new skill like animation or wish to enhance your existing skill set skill share will help you to reach your new goal by connecting 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however share two notions every human being has the capacity to possess gen and gen manifests itself when a virtuous person treats others with humane Ness it manifests itself in the inner mind in love and compassion for people and in avoiding harm or Envy towards anyone according to Confucius being a gentleman does not require a high social rank a fine appearance or an eloquent manner of speech rather it requires that one embody goodness in one's relationships with others according to Mencius one of the best-known students of Confucius the virtue of Shen is naturally present in everyone for example if a child were to fall into a well you'd naturally go and try and save the child you don't have to love the child to save them you'll save them because of your instinct to care and it's this that shows that compassion is present in everyone in situations like this a person who holds a who cares attitude is one without a human heart in the modern world many of us are guilty of this who cares attitude many of us for example regularly pass homeless individuals on the street without acknowledgement the best way to practice the virtue of gem is by following Confucian is Golden Rule which is what one does not wish for oneself one ought not to do to anyone else it means people should treat others as they would want to be treated themselves if everyone were to follow this rule everyone would be treated well ensuring order and harmony in wider society for Confucians the most natural and important site for the expression of Shen is the family it's only by cultivating love among family members that the nation in turn can demonstrate love this is so because a nation is a combination of homes which are made up of different family members without love and mutual respect by all family members whether parent or child it's impossible to instill the high moral values we'd like to see everyone achieve as such the more families that do demonstrate mutual love and respect the more harmonious coexistence of the wider community where the local national or global things will improve on a national level if a government really is one of gem one which takes could care of its people and in theory there would be no crime or poverty number two the virtue of Lee in the words of Confucius look not at what is contrary to propriety listen not to what is contrary to propriety speak not what is contrary to propriety make no movement which is contrary to propriety Lee is proper conduct through participating in various cultural practices that will develop the superior person the English meaning of Lee is the way things should be done it is a virtue of community and one's interactions and responsibilities towards others according to Confucius the gentleman must be aware of the way he should act and function within a society Lee is closely related to fairness and justice and one can best cultivate their character by understanding what it entails Lee primarily encompasses the establishment of the five constant relationships and to participate in these relationships well the five constant relationships outline how one should act in society being the relationships between parent and child husband and wife all younger siblings and friends and even ruler and subject with these constant relationship guidelines Li sets up a hierarchy between the two people and defines terms for the accepted responses and actions between them a parent is to be loving a child obedient an elder sibling is to be gentle and younger siblings respectful husbands are to be good and fair and wives understanding older friends are to be considerate younger friends reverential rulers should be benevolent and subjects loyal this means that if you're in government then as a gentleman you should be kind and work towards the betterment of your people if you're a regular citizen then you should be loyal towards your elected head this rule also applies in your professional life if you are in a position of power in your workplace then you should be moral fair and lead by example if you are an intern or just starting out with your career then you should be loyal and respectful to your seniors if one follows the concept of Li each of these relationships will be marked with harmony and since three out of these five relationships deal with family confucius asserts that when the principal relationships of the family is tranquil Li will slip into the culture all of society from the home to the village to the nation will be tranquil another aspect of proper conduct and participating in proper cultural practices is zal this is to practice what is referred to as filial piety which means having reverence for your family it means that family is our priority according to Confucius a gentleman should have a profound respect for his parents and should practice filial piety especially when his parents get old filial piety is how children show their gratitude by repaying their parents for their kindness love and caring people from Asia are often more communal and family orientated therefore children have more respect for their elders and will take care of aging parents in their own homes until they die this is completely opposite to what the majority of us follow in the West we are unusually focused on individualism and consumption and hence all too often we show very little respect for our aging parents and extended family we're so busy developing our own careers raising kids and being absorbed in our own lives that we send our aging parents to institutions according to Confucius when parents are alive a good son does not stray too far from his parents children should always take care of their aging parents as they helped us to grow up and without them we wouldn't be in this world to begin with our parents made a lot of sacrifices for us in their lives and the gentleman will always show his love and gratitude for elderly parents by taking care of them the third way of conducting oneself properly in society is Confucius's idea of doctrine of the mean doctrine of the mean is the way in which one should make decisions in life in which the best decision is always the middle between unworkable extremes taking the middle road as Confucius said would guide one to the way things should be done it means living in moderation not striving for excess and to always value compromise Confucius tried to establish these customs because at that time everyone was living in a very chaotic period of Chinese society due to States constantly fighting among themselves but the world today is very different and far more complex and this is primarily due to our need to over-consume according to the World Health Organization worldwide obesity tripled between 1975 and 2016 other studies show one in eight American adults is an alcoholic one divorce happens every 13 seconds and over 16 million adults are said to have gone through depression in the United States alone so slow down for your health for people around you and for your fellow less fortunate countrymen who might benefit if you consume less number three the virtue of Shem Confucius tells us if either wealth or poverty are come by honestly there is no shame Shin is usually understood as honesty integrity trustworthiness faithfulness or sincerity Confucius held faithfulness to be an indispensable vert to for a human being it is considered as an essential concept of Confucianism and is commonly recognized as the standard of value and virtue for Chinese people Confucius taught his disciples to be honest and told them that in study if you know a thing say you know it if you don't know say so he thought that it was the correct attitude towards study because only a man of faithfulness should be appointed some task otherwise survival would be hardly possible he also called a man without faith mien and kept an aloof distance from them once Trust is broken it can never be fully regained although I'm sorry can make certain ugly situations better it can't heal rifts or set things back to how they were before if someone finds out that you've lied to them they'll never be able to fully trust you again even if you spend the rest of your life being a complete Paragon of honesty and integrity the person you lied to will always wonder if you're being dishonest on some level you can be sincere to your very marrow but they won't ever have true faith in you again according to Confucius honesty is necessary whether in ruling a country or conducting oneself honesty is a prerequisite to establishing good relationships ensuring friendly coexistence and normal communication as honesty is key to promoting understanding building trust and improving relationships in business circles honesty and faithfulness can improve market confidence aid interactions with international markets and boost economic growth on a national and global level honesty is an important guarantee for a society to exist and develop a faithful and honest government can help unite all citizens and promote the fast development of a society hence a gentleman should always be honest because honesty is the foundation upon which one can enhance his self-cultivation settle down and get on with his pursuits and gaining achievements number four the virtue of cheer according to Confucius by three methods we may learn wisdom first by reflection which is noblest second is by imitation which is easiest third by experience which is the bitterest the fourth virtue is cheer which is best translated as practical wisdom it's the innate knowledge by which one judges right and wrong good and evil practical wisdom allows a person to make correct judgments regarding actions which leads to appropriate conduct and adherence to ritual and roles within relationships and social structures this practical wisdom also stems from the Confucians love of learning and according to this a gentleman should always have an active role in the learning process when a person learns it is at first only ideas but as these ideas are reflected and reasoned out through thought and practical application they become knowledge an accumulation of this knowledge with practical application becomes a specialized form of wisdom practical wisdom the three most effective methods to learn wisdom according to Confucius are one learning wisdom by reflection according to Confucius this method is the noblest one reflection is about you becoming aware of your own thinking processes it enables assessment of the why and how of learning and what needs to be done as a result if your everyday life is full of chaos you might not be ready to reflect upon new subjects you desire to learn you'll need to prepare Diaries and observations of your understanding so that you can come back to it frequently and attach further context to learning wisdom by imitation Confucius says this is the easiest method to learn it's a social form of learning where you pick up from one another via observation imitation and modeling it includes attention memory and motivation a good example of this would be watching videos on Skillshare 3 learning wisdom by experience according to Confucian philosophy this is the bitterest way to learn your uniqueness your character and your life all that is cast by your experiences each one of us goes through different transformations with mixed variables which remain unique and challenging man is the product of these learning experiences no comes but wisdom remains and that comes from experience and maturity this virtue is important for many reasons but probably the most important is due to the danger of ignorance according to Confucius one who is ignorant or does not desire to learn is in danger of leading a foolish existence and spreading folly among other people in a sense it precedes the other virtues because without wisdom one will have no sense of ethics or social skills or even just plain common sense the other virtues require for guidance the act of learning and living in wisdom brings with it virtue and a meaningful impactful life number five the virtue of e Confucius says the superior man is easy to serve and difficult to please if you try to please him in any way which is not accordant with right he will not be pleased e can be described as righteousness and justice it signifies what is right Confucius considered righteousness as part of the essence of a true gentleman as an essential human virtue e is something good a man values and holds important but the desire to be righteous often conflicts with other values such as power influence or wealth let's say that your office colleagues talk badly about someone in his absence you know gossiping is bad but you don't want to go against your colleagues you bow to peer pressure and you too start gossiping this is cowardly according to Confucius you should not do what you do not feel is right according to Confucius when a person knows what's right it's that person's responsibility to act on it regardless of the risk to not act rightly is less of a problem than knowing what is right and not doing it because ethical behavior will only result when moral considerations take precedence over competing values and inner desires and managed through the development of virtues that make up a moral character Confucianism just like stoicism believes that one should never compromise on the virtue of his character for example if one is obtaining wealth by compromising one's moral then that wealth should not be kept while Confucius emphasized the importance of cultivating moral virtues within one's heart and mind he insisted that once cultivation of character must involve extending those virtues to others the difference between a morally superior and a morally deficient person is that the former has understood what is righteous in one's own self and extended it to others while the latter is devoted only to satisfying his or her own interests learning for the Confucians has two purposes the first is to learn to be an upright moral person this is the ideal of a gentleman or a superior person after the gentleman has cultivated virtues and elevated his character it is then possible for him to apply what he's learned to serve the people and the state is considered the ultimate purpose of learning and a moral obligation of a true gentleman one begins life in a family and then moves outward towards increasingly more complex social relationships these relationships help define the person and influence their ethical characteristics and so we can see human growth as a broadening of vision of relationships and of the ethical bonds that hold people together from the teachings of Confucius there is no indication that a gentleman looks upon his endeavors and looks down upon those below him but rather a gentleman's endeavors poor others towards him so if you enjoyed this video please do make sure to check out the full philosophies for life Channel and 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Channel: Philosophies for Life

Views: 117,010

Rating: 4.8551402 out of 5

Keywords: Confucius, how to be a gentleman, junzi, ren, ren confucianism, confucius teachings, confucius quotes, chinese philosophy, confucius life lessons, confucianism, stoicism, taoism, lao tzu, confucius philosophy, philosophy, life lessons, marcus aurelius, confucius analects, confucius analects quotes, motivational quotes, life motivation, motivation, confucius lessons, how to be a man, xi, xin, li, zhi

Id: 6naRXRquxEg

Length: 19min 31sec (1171 seconds)

Published: Fri Jan 17 2020