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| Part 5: On Chinese and Western Cultures and Philosophy |
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…… Zhao: Just like people in other countries, the Chinese people have their fears and worries. They are afraid of natural disasters like earthquakes, tsunamis and influenza. They are also afraid of accidents, such as traffic and other accidents. Additionally, there are so-called man-made disasters-for example, robbery and murders. Even worse than these is war. During the 9.11 event some 3,000 people in the United States lost their lives. China lost 35 million people during the 14-year War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945). Many families suffered deaths during that war. Some families were wiped out. As a result, we still have very vivid memories of those terrible wars. So we can say that every Chinese person is very vigilant about the peril of war in the world today. When we look back on our contemporary history, we can see that the Chinese people have been victims of war. We have never launched wars against other countries but we have been invaded on many occasions. We think that those who launched wars are demons, criminals of the worst sort. In China we have a saying, "Be clear on whom to love and whom to hate." That means we should love the people and hate the demons, particularly those who launch wars. So it is rather difficult for the Chinese people to understand why we should love our enemies, as indicated in the quote from the Bible, "love your enemy". If the enemies have been taken prisoners we will treat them in a humanitarian way, but we cannot say we should love our enemies. And we cannot understand why when your enemy already slaps you on the right cheek, you should turn your left cheek to him. It is extremely difficult to imagine that New Yorkers, for example, should love those terrorists who launched attacks on 9.11. Palau: Do you want me to answer that one? Here's a thought. I think when Jesus says that we are to love our enemies he's speaking about our personal attitude towards the enemy. And what you were saying about hating your enemy in the sense when they attack you, that is an official response to evil. So personally, because I've done evil things, though I didn't start any wars, I can therefore sympathize with evil people, forgive them, and pray for them personally. But if I'm the police chief of Shanghai or the top general in the Chinese Army or the president or Prime Minister of China, then I have an official responsibility to defend the country, whatever it takes. So we can simultaneously hold both things and both are true. If I'm spiritually developed, I can say, "God, have mercy on this evil person," and I forgive them. But since I've got power to defend my country, I've got to go after them-so the ying and the yang. On the one hand, I can say, "Okay, I'm going to pray for this evil person. God have mercy on him." But as a person in authority-boom. That's how I see that expression "love your enemy" in the Gospel of Jesus. Zhao: So that means God may forgive the evil persons, but I will not necessarily do so on justified grounds. Is that so? Palau: It takes a lot of spiritual growth to forgive someone who's done a really evil thing against you. …… Zhao: We hold that human beings must have a sense of ethics. Mencius once said, "Revere the elders in other families as you do your own elders; love the children in other families as you do your own children." (Mencius, 1.7) Palau: Jesus said something similar to what you have just quoted, "Love your neighbor as yourself." Our education is pretty similar in this respect. You have said that there are many similarities between the ethical ideas of Confucius and Mencius and those of the Christian religion. One of the reasons why there are so many common truths may be because we all came from the same source. Chinese thought is especially meaningful because your civilization is over 5,000 years old. Zhao: I find that actually we have much common ground. At the same time we also have different ideas. Just because of these differences, our dialogue becomes more significant. If I had a dialogue with my shadow, I would be exhausted in the end. I would lose interest in such a dialogue. Palau: I would too. …… |
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