LA BATALLA DE VIENA

One remark in the

Great Treatise

was frequently quoted by neo­

Confucians as the definition of

dao.

It says: "One cycle of

yin;

_{one cycle}

of

yang,

this is called

'dao.'

What continues it, is 'Good.' What com­

pletes it, is 'nature. ",22 Apart from seeing the definition of

dao,

_{we also}

see here the concept "Good" defined as the continuer of

Dao.

_{To con­}

tinue

Dao

is to aid the creative and nourishing functions of Heaven and Earth, of

yang

_and

yin.

This task constitutes the highest moral goodness for humankind. As the

Commentary on the Judgment

on the 27th hexagram

Yi

(Providing Nourishment) says: "Heaven and Earth provide 36

Yijing (I Ching):

The Cosmological Foundation

nourishment for all beings. The holy man provides nourishment for men of worth and thus reaches the whole people. ^,,23 Human beings are related to all creatures as their preservers and nurturers; moreover, the sage (the holy man) is related to the rest of humankind as their leader and protector. The "Good" becomes a "Mandate from Heaven" - it depicts our categorical moral duty.

Lik Kuen Tong explains:

What the Great [Treatise] here means by the "Good" must not be con­

fused with the conventional conception of moral good which owes its specific meaning to the objectified and fixated posturality of a moral code or ethical system. The Good as the "continuer" of integrity and flexibility is the absolute good of Being itself in the primordial morality of its posturing power, not the "relative good" of our actions judged from the standards of our consequent moralities.24

We may say that since

Yijing

defines the "Good" on the basis of

Dao,

which governs the whole universe, this is

Good

in the absolute sense. To aid others in their fulfillment of life's potentials is not relative to indi­

vidual or cultural perspectives; it is simply

good

in and of itself. This unqualified assertion of the meaning of our moral sense and the content of our moral duty in

Yijing

became the theoretical foundation for Con­

fucian ethics.

Equilibrium (zhong) and harmony (he)

Under the principle of

reversal,

once a development reaches its extre­

mity, the opposite development takes shape.

Yijing

describes a natural harmony in the world of Nature, which balances

yin

_and

yang

_{in the}

state of

equilibrium

^- the balance between two extremes. The Chinese word

zhong

is commonly translated either as "equilibrium" or as "the mean," since it connotes both. The mean is not just the strict middle point between two extremes; rather, it is a state of intrinsic harmony.

Hence, some elements could be more than others, as long as the in­

equality does not disturb the harmonious balance. The two notions,

the mean

_and

harmony,

are often used in conjunction.

Yijing's

notion of the mean is not relative to human judgment. It depicts a cosmic state both before, and after, any disturbance in the flow of

qi.

In other words, it is a natural state of the cosmos, to which all other unnatural states will eventually return. As the 24th hexagram

Return

says, "Return. Success.

Going out and coming in without error. ,,25 We can envisage a cosmic pendulum in the constant movement of

yin

_and

yang.

The goal of the 37

Ancient Chinese Philosophy

movement of

qi

is not to keep the pendulum resting still at the middle point, since this eliminates movement. With the constant swing between two ends, the pendulum maintains a consistent flow. This consistent movement is harmony itself. When the mean is understood as equili­

brium, the allowance for variance is much greater. A development to­

ward one end or the other is not necessarily violating the principle of the mean, as long as any deviation eventually returns to the mean. Since the flow of

qi

is naturally ordered in accordance with

Dao,

it contains within itself the natural state of equilibrium and harmony. Such is the Truth, or the Way

(Dao),

of the world.

Based on the assumption of a morally ordered universe,

Yijing

_takes

the goodness of human nature as given. Humans are born with moral attributes. In

Yijing,

it is said that everything receives its true nature from the creative force of

Qian

and keeps being transformed by it until everything "comes into permanent accord with the Great Harmony. ^,,26 Humans have the purest and the most harmonious combination of

yin

and

yang;

hence, we are the most superior of all living things. The thesis that human nature originally possesses

equilibrium

_and

harmony

_was

later elaborated in one of the Confucian classics: the

Doctrine of the Mean,

allegedly written by Confucius' grandson. The

Doctrine of the

Mean

opens with this remark:

--What Heaven imparts to man is called human nature. To follow our nature is called the Way [Dao] . . . . Before the feelings of pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy are aroused, it is called equilibrium (the Mean). When these feelings are aroused and each and all attain due measure and degree, it is called harmony. Equilibrium is the great foundation of the world, and harmony its universal path. When equilibrium and harmony are realized to the highest degree, heaven and earth will attain their proper order and all things will flourish.27

This esoteric remark is much better illuminated in the context of

Yijing.

If human nature comes from Heaven, then it is naturally good. To follow our nature is to "continue"

Dao;

hence, it is naturally good.

Moral goodness for human beings is thus to follow our nature. Within our inborn nature are emotions such as pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy.

Before these emotions are aroused, we are in a state of equilibrium, since our nature is equilibrium itself. Once our emotions are aroused, we need to moderate them so that they are in a state of harmony. In this way, moderation

(the mean)

and harmony are closely linked again.

When the human world can attain equilibrium and harmony within itself and further extends them to the world of Nature, then the task of

38

In document P. ÁNGEL PEÑA O.A.R. EL BEATO MARCOS DE AVIANO Y LA DEFENSA DE EUROPA (página 37-40)