moral self, peaceful world

 

"Morality to the self, harmony to the family, order to the land, peace to the world.(修身 齊家 治國 平天下)"

 

This passage in Daxue-Zhangju(大學章句) does not show the logical sequence of the entries, I think. A much deeper meaning lies in the mutual relatedness among them, which leads to the total syncretism of these values.

 

Can there be a moral self without harmony in the family? If it does, it would be nothing more than a display of self-centricism, or just an ornamented form of selfishness.

 

A harmonious family in a land without order? It makes me think of lofty walls around a stately mansion and the herd of fierce dogs therein.

 

An orderly land in a world without peace? We remember, don't we, what imperial Japan did to her neighbors?

 

It is because spring has come that the sparrow returns, not the other way around. [Shenzi]

 

 

While peace was denied by somebody else, there was little point in caring too much about it in our daily lives. Now it is time we got more serious about it. We will begin studying what we can do for it, whereas so far we have been thinking only about what it can do for us. [Orun]