Day 5 – Diagnosing Microaggressions
Day 3:
Nuturing a Sprout (II)
Live Like a Confucian
Background
Mengzi said, “That which people are capable of without learning is their genuine capability. That which they know without pondering is their genuine knowledge. Among babes in arms there are none that do not know to love their parents. When they grow older, there are none that do not know to revere their elder brothers. Treating one’s parents as parents is benevolence. Revering one’s elders is righteousness. There is nothing else to do but extend these to the world.” (Mengzi 7A15)
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Mengzi said, “How unbenevolent is King Hui of Liang! Those who are benevolent extend from what they love to what they do not yet love. Those who are unbenevolent extend from what they do not love to what they do love.”
Mengzi’s disciple Gongsun Chou asked, “What do you mean?”
Mengzi replied, “King Hui of Liang led his people to war and slaughtered them for the sake of land. When he was defeated, he did it again. Fearing that he would be unable to win, he urged his beloved son to his death in battle. This is what I mean by extending from what he does not love to what he does love.” (Mengzi 7B:1)
Mengzi argues that we all have basic, emotional starting points that we can cultivate into full-blown virtues. In the first part of the “Nurturing a Sprout” exercise, you sought to pay attention to the presence of one of these starting points. Today, your goal is to try to develop this emotional disposition. Of course, there is only so much that you can do in one day! Nonetheless, today’s goal is to see how accessible you find Mengzi’s teaching that we can “extend” our sprouts.
Today's Exercise
Working with the same sprout you chose for Nurturing a Sprout (I), do two things. First thing in the morning, reflect on what types of situations tend to appropriately bring out this feeling in you. What are paradigmatic situations in which you experience that emotion? Second, over the course of the day, look to put yourself in relevantly similar situations (at least three times, if possible). It may help to think about the respects in which the situation is similar to paradigm cases, or perhaps you’ll find that too artificial and distracting. See what works!
After completing the assigned exercise for today, click here to access the prompt for tonight’s reflection and to submit your 1-2 paragraph journal entry.