APOSTOLADO EN SUS ÚLTIMOS AÑOS

If humans naturally tend toward goodness and if all humans have the seeds of morality in their mind/heart, then why don't we see sages everywhere? The mere fact that Mencius needed to advocate the pres­

ence of moral sprouts, and the importance of moral virtues, demon­

strates that even in his times, most people were not acting in the moral way. So, what explains the discrepancy between humans' innate good­

ness and their manifest badness? If morality is natural to us and yet we are not moral, then there must be some reasons why we fail morally. If people often fail morally, then there has to be a way to teach people to avoid moral failures. Mencius' explanation for moral failures and his pedagogy on moral cultivation are thus closely linked.

Even though Mencius stressed the existence of moral sprouts in hu­

man nature, he never denied that the desire for physical comfort and material goods is also part of human nature. He called our sensory organs "the minor part" and the mind/heart "the major part" of our bodies.25 According to Mencius, the senses would desire food, sex, and other material goods on their own, and these desires seem to be compet­

ing with the desire of the mind/heart. Under this view, our mouth de­

sires delicious food, our ears desire pleasing sounds, and our eyes desire beautiful sights, just as our mind/heart desires moral virtues. The mind/

heart has four functions: thinking (reflecting); feeling (having emotions and sentiments); willing

(zhi:

that which makes resolution); and the 76

Mencius (Mengzi)

employment as well as the cultivation of the moral

qi.

Moral failures, in most cases, are the result of the mind/heart's not fulfilling its functions.

With the competition between mind/heart and senses, between moral volition and sensory desires, Mencius endeavored to explain why innate moral inclinations do not guarantee mature morality. Sometimes our sensory desires and our moral sense can direct us to different directions;

hence, we have moral conflicts. If we go with our sensory desires and deviate from the moral path, then we are paying too much attention to the

minor part,

while neglecting the

major part

of ourselves. For exam­

ple, someone who is intent on having the most delectable food may spend all her time thinking about ways to obtain it. In Mencius' judg­

ment, this person is enslaving the mind/heart to serve the senses. Fur­

thermore, the mind/heart's not fulfilling its function contributes greatly to our moral failures. The mind's main function is to think or to reflect on one's behavior. If the mind does not think, does not reflect, then it cannot compete with the senses. Secondly, if one's mind does not have a strong will, then even when one wishes to do good, one can easily give up midway. Thirdly, one's heart contains all the natural moral senti­

ments. If one does not employ these sentiments in one's moral delibera­

tion, then one can easily lose sight of one's intrinsic goodness. Finally, if one's mind does not employ the

qi

properly or if the mind fails to cultivate the right

qi,

then this energy can interfere with the resolution

and lead the mind astray.

The notion of

qi

_{in the}

Mencius

is hard to analyze fully.26 It could be viewed as a form of energy that occupies the whole of the human body, being controlled by the mind/heart, or in particular, by the will. Mencius sometimes used the expression "the flood-like

qi"

to describe it. In response to his student's demand for an explanation of this "flood-like

qi,"

Mencius says:

It is difficult to put into words. It is a qi that is supremely great and supremely unyielding. If one cultivates it with uprightness and does not harm it, it will fill up the space between heaven and earth. It is a qi that unites righteousness with [Dao] . . ^. . It is produced by accumulated righteousness . . . . If some of one's actions leave one's heart unsatisfied, it will starveY

If the

qi

is cultivated by one's accumulated righteousness, then it can be viewed as one's moral spirit. But at the same time, this

qi

also seems to have a physical dimension in that one can fix one's resolution

(zhi)

_to

direct the flow of one's

qi.

With resolution, one can move the

qi

_{to aid}

one in overcoming

undesirable

temptations.28 Mencius thinks that one's moral spirit

(qi)

can be manifested in one's appearance or in one's 77

Ancient Chinese Philosophy

comportment. He says: "That which a [superior person] follows as his nature, that is to say, [humanity], righteousness, [propriety], and wis­

dom, is rooted in his heart, and manifests itself in his face, giving it a sleek appearance. It also shows in his back and extends to his limbs, rendering their message intelligible without words. ,,29 What is within us will naturally be manifested externally. Our eyes, in particular, are the telling mark of our inner world: "Of what is present within a person, nothing is more ingenuous than the pupils of the eyes. The pupils can­

not hide one's evil. If, in one's bosom, one is upright, the pupils will be bright. If, in one's bosom, one is not upright, the pupils will be shady. ^,dO If we want to understand others' intent, therefore, there is no better way than to look at their eyes while listening to their words.

Mencius' explanation for the causes of moral failures can be summar­

ized as follows:

1

The mind does not think (one lacks reflection on what is good in one's nature}.31

Mencius quotes Confucius' remark, "Hold it fast and you will preserve it. Let it go and you will lose it. ,,32 He thinks that this is a perfect description of the mind. If the mind does not perform its function of thinking, then soon it will be lost in one's pursuit of physical pleasures.33

2

One's lost mind/heart is not retrieved.

Mencius says: "A basket of food and a bowl of soup - if one gets them then one will live; if one

doesn't get them then one will die. But if they are given with con­

tempt, then even a homeless person will not accept them. If they are trampled upon, then even a beggar won't take them. However, when it comes to a salary of ten thousand bushels of grain, then one doesn't notice propriety and righteousness and accepts them . . . . Is this indeed something that one can't stop doing? This is called losing one's fundamental heart.,,34 Some people would not go against their own principles for a small gain; however, they would do just any­

thing in order to aggrandize their wealth and power. In so doing, they are forgetting that initially there was something that they would not have done under any circumstance. Losing the sense of what not to do is losing the sense of righteousness.

3

One undernurtures one's moral endowment.

Using the analogy of planting, Mencius explains the constant effort needed to develop

moral sprouts. Even if there is something very easy to grow, if one exposes it to sunshine for one day and then to coldness for the next ten days, it simply will not survive.35 Similarly, our moral sprouts cannot mature into moral characters or ethical behavior if we occa­

sionally do one good deed, and then repeat bad acts continually.

78

Mencius (Mengzi)

4

One pays too much attention to the minor qualities in their nature (such as the desires for food and sex) or to the minor parts in their bodies (sensory organs such as the palates).

Mencius says, "Those who follow their greater part become great humans. Those who follow their petty part become petty humans. ,,36 Mencius believed that material desires can often distract one from one's effort in cultivating virtues. Even though he never advocated the elimination of physical desires, he did exhort people to reduce physical desires.

He says: "There is nothing better for the nurturing of the heart than to reduce the number of one's desires. When a man has but few desires, even if there is anything [in his original heart that] he fails to retain in himself, it cannot be much; but when he has a great many desires, then even if there is anything [in his original heart that] he manages to retain in himself, it cannot be much. ,,37

5

One maims one's good nature with repeated vile deeds.

Using the analogy of a barren Mount OX,38 whose trees had been completely hewn down with axes or hatches and whose newly formed shoots have been constantly grazed by oxen and sheep, Mencius states that if one abuses one's originally good nature with repeated bad deeds, then one will end up being not far from brutes. Those who become tyrants, sociopaths, professional hit men, serial killers, etc., are those who have maimed their initial human nature. Few would believe that there is any trace of goodness left in these people. Bryan Van Norden thinks that the analogy of Mount Ox demonstrates that Mencius held the view that "some humans have no sprouts of mor­

ality. ,,39 However, even with the barren Mount Ox, Mencius points out that it is not in the nature of the mountain not to have any trees.

By the same token, it is not that these depraved people do not have moral sprouts or intrinsically good human nature. As soon as the abuse is stopped, a vile person could be morally renewed, just as a barren mountain could grow new trees. Therefore, Mencius' claim on the universality of moral nature is not curtailed even when it comes to extremely vicious people.

6

Weakness of the will or weakness of the desire to do good.40

_{As the}

mind can fail to think, so too can it fail to firm up one's initial resolution to do good. For example, we can decide that we will give to charity on a regular basis. But such good resolutions often do not last long. Soon we are back to the old habit of giving in to our own extravagant indulgences, rather than giving money to charities. Such weakness of the will also explains our failure in moral cultivation.

7

Self-denial or self-abandonment.

Mencius says: "Those who have the four moral sprouts and yet tell themselves that they

cannot

_be

79

In document P. ÁNGEL PEÑA O.A.R. EL BEATO MARCOS DE AVIANO Y LA DEFENSA DE EUROPA (página 49-53)