How One Ought To Behave When Wronged Essay

Man being good or evil by nature has long been subject to speculations. While some schools of thought advocate that man is good by nature, some argue that man is innately evil. Perception of what’s good and bad also differs among cultures — differing cultures have differing sets of morals and values. What may be frowned at in one region of the world could be tolerable in other parts. Labeling of a person’s actions and reactions is dependent on a belief system that has been practiced early on. This paper will focus on one of those early advocates of man being good by nature and how thatgoodness should reflect in his dealings with persons whom he believes have wronged him. This paper will discuss the â€Å"germs† advocated by Chinese philosopher Mengzi [c. 370-300 BCE] or Mencius, who was a disciple of the Confucian school of thought — that man is innately good. Mencius argues that man has an innate sense of morality, a born quality of doing what is good. His argument is summarized in this statement: Everyone has a heart that is sensitive to the sufferings of others. The great kings of the past had this sort of sensitive heart and thus adopted compassionate policies. Bringing order to the realm is as easy as moving an object in your palm when you have a sensitive heart and put into practice compassionate policies. Let he give an example of what I mean when I say everyone has a heart that is sensitive to the sufferings of others. Anyone today who suddenly saw a baby about to fall into a well would feel alarmed and concerned. It would not be because he wanted to improve his relations with the child’s parents, nor because he wanted a good reputation among his friends and neighbors, nor because he disliked hearing the child cry. From this it follows that anyone who lacks feelings of commiseration, shame, and courtesy or a sense of right and wrong is not a human being. From the feeling of commiseration benevolence grows; from the feeling of shame righteousness grows; from the feeling of courtesy ritual grows; from a sense of right and wrong wisdom grows. People have these four germs, just as they have four limbs. For someone with these four potentials to claim incompetence is to cripple himself; to say his ruler is incapable of them is to cripple his ruler. Those who know how to develop the four potentials within themselves will take off like a fire or burst forth like a spring. Those who can fully develop them can protect the entire land while those unable to develop them cannot even take care of their parents. 1 It is clear that Mencius meant man to cultivate four values in order to be humane. By having a compassionate heart; a heart of shame; a heart of courtesy and modesty; and a heart of right and wrong, can only a person reach his full potential in order to affect his family and society in positive and fruitful ways. In Mencius’ teaching of having a heart of compassion, he suggests that instead of entertaining negative thoughts against those whom man perceived to have wronged him, man should strive to understand the other party’s possible suffering that lead him to digress from the path of goodness. Man should tap into his inner self and bring forth compassion to understand and help the bad person. As for the person’s becoming bad, Mencius argues that it is not the fault of his human nature, but of a void that is present in that person’s life â€Å"When we do not, by what we do, realize what we desire, we must turn inward, and examine ourselves in every point. When a man’s person is correct, the whole empire will turn to him with recognition and submission. â€Å"2 By being compassionate, the wronged person shows the offender his understanding of the other person’s pain, and his willingness to alleviate that suffering. If man is able to do this, society and humanity will flourish and further spread of evil will be prevented.