Return to Korea 3: Confucian SpiRITUALity

Through rituals Heaven and Earth join in harmony, the sun and moon shine, the four seasons proceed in order, the stars and constellations march, the rivers flow, and all things flourish... Through rituals the root and the branch are put in proper order. (The Xunzi, ancient Confucian text)

A few readers have been surprised on my return to Korea. I am here for a short time, teaching this summer school course at the same Ewha Womans University ... even dwell in the same room as before. My dozen students (pictured below in a group-work time) are mostly from East and Southeast Asian countries, and thus this blog will be on what I call the "O.S." the Operating System, the Worldview of this part of the world.

Confucius was conservative; he innovated nothing. Living 2,500 years ago in a very chaotic China, he taught that a return to wisdom and rituals of the past would lead the people to peace and stability. Over a thousand years later, when his spiritual descendants, the "Neo-Confucian" Chinese Song and Korean Joseon dynasties, found themselves in a position to put Confucius' theories into widespread practice, they naturally turned to ritual as the means of harmonizing society.

Even if one does not agree with his program, his strategy was masterful. 

1. Get everyone grounded - through ritual and education - with their proper "station" in society.

2. Mold the people with repetitive ritual, like braces on teeth, slowly and inexorably straightening the crooked, introducing a worldview where their station and contribution are shown as contributing to the general welfare. Show them as useful to the greater good.

3. Societal rituals, elders, departed ancestors, teachers, government officials trained in Confucian principles - and in some places and times, males - are the leaders and guides along The Way (Dao, or Tao) to the good and well-ordered society.

4. Individuality à la Western Enlightenment is not a good idea. Group, family and nation come first. As the Japanese say: See that nail? Pound it in, so it will not snag the cultural fabric. 

My conclusion is this: If you count the sheer number of people who have come under the influence of a thinker, then Confucius is the most influential person in human history. 

The Analects are the collected wisdom teachings of Confucius. I begin teaching this text with Book 2, verse 1: Master Confucius said: When one rules by means of virtue, it is like the North Star – it dwells in its place and the other stars pay reverence to it.

This is an essential lesson for us in the West attempting to unscrew the so-called inscrutable East: Authority, propriety and morality reside in the inner person, influencing others like gravity, or the way dance music seems to make one involuntarily move. The best ways to get this authority is to build and educate one's inner character. The more moral character one has, the better one can influence society. Education remains the #1 acceptable way to advance one's influence in this part of the world. 

It's an OS for an entire civilization. Confucianism is the invisible-but-nourishing water in which my students ritually swim, and it is all-at-once humbling and exciting to teach them the properties of this ritual-laden water.

Last week, we visited Chong Myo, the preeminent shrine to Confucian values in Seoul, a UNESCO-recognized site where twice each year the spirits of the kings from Korea's last dynasty are evoked, and honored with rituals (there's that word again), food and drink, and honorific music and dance. 

My students with Chong Myo guide Ms Yoon who recognized me (It's Professor Marc!) from my last visit in April 2013.

My own videos from that ritual are here and here. They show Korea's Number One Intangible Cultural Asset, the orchestra and ritual dance by 64 dancers. A shorter (and more professional) video that introduces the entire ritual is here.

For society to lose ritual is to lose its way. To engage in ritual is to find the way (the Tao), identity and purpose.

This blog has been brought to you by the word "ritual."

Return to Korea 2: What to do about North Korea?

From Carnegie Endowment

 SEOUL, 6 July 2014 - This blog has treated North Korea twice: first here, and then here. Those were tense times, in the U.S. mindset at least, thanks to Fox and CNN, with their ads to sell and market share to raise. 

Meanwhile, North Korea, its Juche ideology and its never-ending all-in-the-family cult of personality parade without pause, making the news with the occasional missile advancement, and Dennis Rodman visits.

IBITimes

Let us be clear. North Korea is not a Hermit Kingdom, nor is it a "failed state." It is a grim place to visit or to live, little doubt. North Korea has removed itself from the the dialogue tables frequented by South Korea and the USA (or is it that all sides have done the removing?), so one is tempted to J'accuse! the N.K. leadership of a facile culpability for its ills.

People of good will may dispute this, so I shall stop there with that point.  

What can one do about North Korea? Now? If one is concerned how the price of North Korea's existence is paid by its most vulnerable citizens, as I am, one may get involved with two of many aid groups to those vulnerable people.

1. In Black Mountain, NC, Christian Friends of Korea began in 1995 as the famines and the abject suffering of the nation emerged as regular news items. This organization specializes in food, agricultural and medical aid. 

2. In Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada), a former student of mine in Korea, Susan Ritchie, founded and now directs First Steps. This morning she visited the church I attend in Seoul, where we had a joyous and surprising reunion. First Steps focuses upon child nutrition. 

Susan Ritchie with this blogger, 6 July 2014.

I know the people in both organizations, and trust them in all matters. Their members are Korean-fluent, and utterly dedicated to their work.

As you consider Korea with me, help me remember all of Korea.

Yours in unification,
Marc

PS: In the preparation of this blog, I happened upon many blocked websites, censored by the South Korean side. Here is the message I received at least 5 times.