greetings! recently read/skimmed thru the lincoln anthology ed. harold holzer. if this is all i get to share with you (think of these things like you are a kid again and i am reading to you snippets of what are meaningful things to me) from one entry by donggill kim 'lincoln and confucian virtues'. it comes the closest of anything i've read about lincoln to catching the essence of his beauty.
'confucius was born in the small state of lu in the year 551 b.c. what his ancestry was we cannot know, but it is probable that there were aristocrats among his forebears...as a young man he had to make his own living at tasks that were more or less menial..at the age of 17 he was made an inspector of the corn-marts and distinguished himself by his industry and energy in repressing fraud and in introducing order and integrity into the whole business. he also had considerable difficulties with his wife. the following words of his own give us some clue..women and people of low birth are very hard to deal with. if you are friendly with them, they get out of hand and if you keep your distance, they resent it. (one of my dad's words were to be careful not to be too friendly or too unfriendly with women...maybe he read confucius)
he was next appointed inspector-general of pastures and flocks and the result of his judicious measures, we are told was a general improvement in the cultivation of the country and the condition of the people. the death of his mother, which happened in his 23rd year, brought him to a turning point. he shut himself up in his house to pass in solitude the 3 yrs of mourning for his mother. ..lincoln's .mother died when he was 9. he did not mourn..but all his life he cherished and adored the image of his mother. for him, she was a noble, affectionate, good, and kind mother..lincoln said..'all that i am, or hope to be, i woe to my angel mother'..on the morning of the funeral of willie, the 3rd son of ..lincoln..he confided..'i had a good christian mother and her prayers have followed me thus far thru life'.
confucius returned to his home state..but an unworthy change of magistrates made him unhappy and restless. he then proceeded to chen, where he was not much appreciated;..afterwards to tzec where he became one of the king's ministers. he was dismissed after a short time thru the intrigue of cunning courtiers. he began to wander again, but state after state refused his efforts at reform. he was misunderstood and in some instances persecuted. once he was imprisoned and nearly starved; and finally, seeing no hope of securing the favorable attention of his countrymen while he was alive, he returned in extreme poverty to his native state and spent his last years in the composition of literary works, by which posterity at least might be instructed.
lincoln's wanderings came to an end at relatively an early stage of his life. his life pattern in reality, however, remarkably coincides with what conf. suffested as ideal. evidently in his old age the sage said:
at 15 i set my heart upon learning
at 30, i had planted my feet firm upon the ground
at40, i no longer suffered from perplexities
at 50, i know what were the biddings of heaven
at 60, i heard them with docile ear
at 70, i could follow the dictates of my own heart; for what i desired no longer overstepped the boundaries of right.
even though linc did not reach 60..it may not be presumptuous to say that he had the potential to hear 'the biddings of heaven..with a docile ear..and able to follow the dictates of his own heart' without transgressing the standards of right. linc constantly sought the 'divine will' during the difficult war days. even earlier, when leaving springfield..'with a task..greater than that which rested upon washington', linc said 'without the assistance of that divine being,who ever attended him, i cannot succeed. with that assistance i cannot fail. trusting in Him, who can go with me and remain with you and be everywhere for good, let me confidently hope that all will yet be well'. in his last public address on apr. 11, 1865..'we meet this evening, not in sorrow, but in gladness of heart. the evacuation of petersburg and richmond, and the surrender of the principal insurgent army, give hope of a righteous and speedy peace whose joyous expression can not be restrained. in the midst of this, however, He, from whom all blessings flow, must not be forgotten. a call for a national thanksgiving is being prepared and will be duly promulagated'.
..in light of confucian teachings, it can be reasonably asserted that linc was the type of leader that confucius was so anxious to give to the world as an ideal human being, chun-tzu..the word..originally meant a son of a ruler...he is a gentleman to be bound by a particular code of morals and manners. therefore superiority of birth alone is inadequate; chun-tzu must possess superiority of character and behavior..and what is the way of the gentleman..at home in his naive village his manner is simple and unassuming, as though he did not trust himself to speak. at court when conversing..his attitude is friendly and affable...
robert ingersoll reminiscing about..linc..'linc was an immense personality - firm but not obstinate. obstinacy is egotism - firmness, heroism. he influenced others without effort, unconsciously; and they submitted to him as men submit to nature, unconsciously. he was severe with himself and for that reason lenient with others. he appeared to apologize for being kinder than his fellows. he did merciful things as stealthily as others committed crimes. almost ashamed of tenderness, he said and did the noblest words and deeds with that charming confusion - that awkwardness - that is the perfect grace of modesty..a great man stooping, not wishing to make his fellows feel that they were small or mean'..
moderation in conduct and opinion is a well-known hallmark of the true gentleman. the chun..avoids the absolute, avoids the extreme. mencius tells us that conf..was one who abstained from extremes...when linc said his policy was to have no policy, it was an expression of his determination to take a road of moderation even if it was crooked and winding. in fact, he never had a policy he 'simply tried to do what seemed best as each day came'..
but the chun..should be keen and alert all the time.kung said: 'the gentleman has 9 cares. in seeing he is careful to see clearly, in hearing he is careful to hear distinctly, in his looks he is careful to be kindly; in his manner to be respectful, in his words to be loyal, in his work to be diligent. when in doubt he is careful to ask for information; when angry he has a care for the consequences, and when he sees a chance of gain, he thinks carefully whether the pursuit of it would be consonant with the right'...the chun..has to base his character on righteousness while conducting himself according to propriety, expressing himself in modesty, and becoming complete in sincerity..but without courage, how can one remain both moderate and right?..linc..always had the courage to carry out his middle-of-the-road policy.
j.g.randall..describing linc..'his greatness arose from a combination of qualities in a balanced personality. one could never define his conduct as springing from mere automatic reaction. it came rather from informed study and mature reflection. mere slogans and stereotypes did not impress him. he was a simple man - he was unpretentious in manner and straightforward in expression - but he was never extravagant. he combined humanitarianism with practical common sense. he attained a position of lofty eminence and moved among the great without making other men feel small..he could assert himself without becoming a dictator. he had ambition, but without selfishness. if a colleague, a subordinate, or a cabinet member were attacked, he would take the blame upon his own shoulders. sometimes he would write a letter as an outlet for overwrought feeling, think it over, realize that it might wound the recipient and then withhold it'.
master kung (i take it he means confucius) would have been exceedingly happy if he had found one like linc among his disciples! the gentleman CULTIVATES HIMSELF SO AS TO GIVE REST TO THE TROUBLED WORLD. (wow, no wonder i am attracted to linc..i am an exact opposite!) those who have abilities but act arrogantly are no gentlemen because they break the harmony of the world.
in the confucian ethical system poetry, rites and music are important and essential for the training of the chun-tzu. the master said..'let a man be first incited by the songs, then given a firm footing by the study of ritual and finally perfected by music'.
orientals seem to make a distinction between literature that instructs and literature that pleases, or literature that is the vehicle of truth and literature that is the expression of emotions. ..the former is objective and expository, while the latter is subjective and lyrical...conf said, 'why is it that none of you study the songs? for the songs will help you to incite people's emotions, to observe their feelings, to keep company, to express your grievances. they may be used at home in the service of one's father; abroad, in the service of one's prince'...conf loved poems because they expressed joy without being licentious and fierceness without being injurious.
it is an undeniable fact that linc was fond of poetry. in fact his very first extant writing was done in the form of verse:
abraham lincoln
his hand and pen
he will be good but
god knows When
the originality of this is questioned, but linc did write 'my childhood-home i see again' (1846). a man does not write poems at that age unless he has some talent or at least some propensity for verse. jacques barzun, acknowledging linc's 'literary genius' maintains the he had a literary style that was 'clear, forcible, individual and distinguished'. linc stopped composing verses as his public responsibilities grew heavier...
after poetry, rites. li is the chinese character for rites. li is to govern the moral, social and religious activities of a man. etymologically, li is religious in nature and in the course of its evolution, it came to include all forms of rituals and everything in connection with the proper conduct of the chun..the original meaning of li was to sacrifice; it still has this sense in modern chinese. confucius thot, if rulers were gravely serious in sacrificing to their ancestors, why should they not be equally so in attending to the govt of the realm? if ministers treated one another with courtesy, in the daily intercourse of the court, why should they not be equally considerate toward the common people, who were the backbone of the state? thus he said to one of his disciples that, wherever he went in the world, he should treat all those with whom he came in contact with as if he were receiving an important guest. some so-called confucian classics deal with extremely minute matters of etiquete. but conf himself conceived of li quite differently, it was the spirit that counted and he was contemptuaous of those who believed that, by mere ostentatious show of expensive trappings they could excel in li.
linc was a completely unconventional american..he seemed to disregard clothing and in privacy wore as little of it as possible. however..he never failed to dress properly according to his status in life and society...linc was thoughtful and careful even in small matters. he wrote to thurlow weed on mar. 15, 1865 and said: 'everyone likes a compliment. than you for yours on my little inaugural address'. frederick douglass remembered..'i could not have been more than 10' from him when mr. linc saw me; his countenance lighted up and he said in a voice which was heard all around, "here comes my friend douglass" '. linc gave him a cordial handshake and even asked for his opinion about the inaugural address. linc had, in his own words a 'peculiar' ambition in life. he said in 1832 '..i have no other so great as that of being truly esteemed of my fellow men, by rendering myself worthy of their esteem'. linc practiced li all his life.
finally, music. after an exhaustive study on linc and the music of the civil war, kenneth a. bernard concludes: '..linc was one of our most 'unmusical' presidents. he never studied music, never had any training in it and knew nothing of its technical aspects; he could not play any instrument (except possibly the harmonica), could not read music, nor could he really sing. linc..was, in short, no musician. yet 2 significant facts are clearly evident when one thinks of linc and music. he was extremely fond of music and , as president, he heard more music than any other occupant of the white house.
in view of all those confucian virtues that linc possessed so abundantly, it is appropriate to call him a real chun-tzu, a perfect gentleman in the eyes of educated orientals.
john dos passos...'linc spoke at trenton of his anxiety 'that this union, the constitution, and the liberties of the people shall be perpetuated in accordance with the original idea for which that struggle was made'. this idea was based on belief in individual liberty and individual responsibility. it depended upon the belief that there was a divine spirit in man which ever strove for the good. the truth of this conviction cannot be tested by logic or proved by scientific experiment, but the contrary cannot be proved either. inevitably the moment comes when we have to take the leap of faith..by faith i mean whatever conviction produced A FEELING OF PARTICIPATION IN A COMMON ENTERPRISE (me: opposite the rampant individualism we all are now laden with) .a civilization is a common enterprise. when faith is lost, civilizations coast along on their momentum for a while, but soon they start to rot and disintegrate. much more than on material well-being or on technological successes their survival depends on an inner imperative which causes men to reach for what is good for them instead of what is bad for them. self-governing institutions particularly depend on individual responsibility for the choice between what is right and what is wrong.
if americans cease to be dedicated to 'that something more than common' that linc spoke of, the republic he gave his life for has no more reason for being. the continuing process that faces the generations alive today is the adjustment of the methods of self-govt and of the aspirations of individual men for a full life to the changing shape of mass-production society. there is nothing easy about such an assignment. the alternative is the soggy despotism that pervades 2/3rds of the globe. even partial success will call for the rebirth of some sort of central faith as strong as linc's was. only then may we continue to entertain the hope that this 'government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish form the earth'.
reinhold niebuhr 'the religion of abraham lincoln'
a belief in providence..'the Almighty has His own purposes. "woe unto the world because of offenses! for it must needs be that offenses come' but woe to that man by whom the offense cometh". if we shall suppose that american slavery is one of those offenses which, in the providence of God, must needs come, but which, having continued thru His appointed time, He now wills to remove, and that he gives to both north and south this terrible war as the woe due to those by whom offense came, shall we discern therein any departure from those divine attributes which the believers in a living god always ascribe to Him?'..linc's faith is closely akin to that of the hebrew prophets, who first conceived the idea of a meaningful history...the chief evidence of the purity and profundity of linc's sense of providence is the fact that he was able to resist the natural temptation to do what all political leaders, indeed all men, have done thru the ages: identify providence with the cause to which he was committed.
alone among statesmen of the ancient and modern periods, linc had a sense of historical meaning so high as to cast doubt on the intentions of both sides, to put the enemy into the same category of ambiguity as the nation to which his life was committed..2nd inaugural address.."neither party expected for the war the magnitude or the duration which it has now attained. neither anticipated that the cause of the conflict might cease with, or even before, the conflict itself should cease. each looked for an easier triumph, and a result less fundamental and astounding. both read the same bible; and pray to the same God; and each invokes His aid against the other..it may seem strange that any men should dare to ask a just God's assistance in wringing their bread from the sweat of other men's faces..but let us judge not, that we be not judged. the prayers of both could not be answered - that of neither have been answered fully"...linc's achievement to embrace a paradox which lies at the center of the spirituality of all western culture: affirmation of a meaningful history along with religious reservation about the pariality and bias which human actors and agents betray in their definition of that meaning...he had a lack of fanatacism, a spirit of magnanimity..
a conscientious politician is compelled to relate all the moral aspirations and all the moral hesitancies of the social forces of a free society to the primary goal, the survival of the community. in the political order, the value of justice takes an uneasy 2nd place behind that of internal order...he finally acted for the whole nation in the emancipation of slaves..a moral imperative.may be significant that the moral ambiguities in the idealism (acting primarily for the continuance of the nation, a nation made of people of all stripes of belief about slavery) of this man proved themselves religiously superior in the end...
well all i have is 55 minutes until the library closes. this library is kind of like a church to me. i have a number of people here who act like the really like me and enjoy my company. i don't meet that anywhere else. so it is my desire to make other places like this as best i can. at mision i have started to get up and go around and greet others and i have noticed that instead of the norm, which is kind of like sanctified ignoring of others rather than enthusiazing with them, that some others are starting to do the same thing. maybe they say, hey, if the gringo can do that so can we...i don't know. but i'm asking God to use me to start 1st a warm glow and then out of that a raging fire where from that place love will burst out in neighborhoods and families and spread and run around the world. first, i've got to abide in Jesus constantly so the warmth of His enthusiazing over me can catch..
there's an article on the front desk, 'are libraries unnecessary?', which talks about how libraries are being defunded and closed. my favorite line, a sign from the gilpin county public library in colorado , beckons with 'free coffee, internet, notary, phone, smiles, restrooms, and ideas'! reminds me of the spirit here...my best home away from the dark, silent house on chestnut st. though mision is growing a little...maybe God will give me some family there too one day.
c.s.lewis..'christians, then, believe that an evil power has made himself for the present the prince of this world. and, of course, that raises problems. is this state of affairs in accordance with God's will or not? if it is, He is a stange God, you will say: and if it is not, how can anything happen contrary to the will of a being with absolute power?...
God created things which had free will. that means creatures which can go either wrong or right. some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; i cannot. if a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad..
of course God knew what would happen if they used their freedom the wrong way: apparently He thot it worth the risk. perhaps we feel inclined to dis agree with Him. but there is a difficulty about disagreeing with God. He is the source from which all your reasoning power comes: you could not be right and He wrong any more than a stream can rise higher than its own source. when you are arguing against Him you are arguing against the very power that makes you able to argue at all: it is like cutting off the branch you are sitting on.
if God thinks this state of war in the universe a price worth paying for free will - that is, for making a live world in which creatures can do real good or harm and somthing of real importance can happen, instead of a toy world which only moves when He pulls the strings - then we may take it it is worth paying.
this week worked 52 hours or so...so if i am actually paid rate for them that would bring me somewhat close to even for an avg. of 10 hr. per week for the year so far. this year has been a war zone in some regards,a paradise of walking with God at times. my 7 daily (*) habits have taken quite a hit. but maybe if they didn't i would be moved back into some sick form of self-righteousness. who knows what God is doing ...o, i know one thing. He is answering in the affirmative my growing prayer: 1. make things so difficult for me that i have to constantly look to You for guidance, help, encouragement, strength, etc. 2. make things so difficult for me that what i do will start to take on the shape of a miracle, will move others to glorify You (don't see this near happening anytime soon that's for sure...but my desire that He not me be seen) 3. make everything so difficult that i am more and more filled with gratitute and thanksgiving to You for everything.
the Church at mision has been a real blessing in this area. they are providing the scaffolding for God to build me into a growing house of praise to Him..make me a house of prayer too Lord!!!!
God gave me a snippet of music after so long a silence in this area. 2 days ago i was singing 'just a closer walk with Thee' with such ...i can't describe it in words..as i haven't had before Him in spirit for so long. i can't wait for heaven. oh Lord, to think i get to walk and commune with You which this whole day has been one long spell of (since i made the decision not to keep trying to catch up on the endless 'to do' list early this a.m.!!!) oh how good You are...
there is a famine in the land. a famine of hearing the words of the Lord. raise up truth speakers!
since 1985 more than 210,000 people have been killed and more than 4.5 million have been uprooted in columbia.
bulletin insert on buddhism.
siddhartha gautama was born around 563 b.c. in southern nepal..at 16 he won himself a bride..by performing many feats of mental and physical prowess. but, even with his wealth and lofty situation he was continually troubled by scenes of human suffering and pain..on his 29th birthday, he left his wife and children on a search for truth. for 6 yrs he wandered the world, experimenting with yoga, asceticism, and even starvation. then, on the 6th anniversary ..he spent a night under the pipal tree. and for the rest of his life, he traveled, spreading his dhamma (teachings) about the way of enlightenment.
enlightenment or nirvana is a tate of mind free from desire (from which all suffering stems)..therefore if you rid yourself from all desire, all suffering will cease..it is ironic that at the heart of buddhism is the desire to be free from desire.
one can attain this state of nirvana by following the 8fold path. its steps are
right views
right resolve
right speech
right conduct
right livelihood
right effort
right mindfulness
right concentration
in fact, this religion has-
4 sets of rules for 4 great offenses
13 rules required for formal participation in the brotherhool
30 rules
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