Han Wangxi

WHAT is true in this world? What is important? Plato said the soul is more real. If the soul is more real, should we care for the body or the soul? Of course, caring for the soul is humanity’s highest mission.

Thousands of years ago, Mencius asked King Xuan of Qi the same question. Your majesty, why do you conquer and dominate the world? Is it because there is not enough delicious food to eat? Is it because there is not enough beautiful music to listen to? Seeking to satisfy personal desires by conquering to reign over the world is to go astray, like seeking fish on a tree.

In Mencius’ view, compared to the organs of sight and hearing, the heart is more important, because the organs of sight and hearing do not think, but the heart does. Thinking leads to perception. The organs of sight and hearing are small, while the heart is vast. Those who follow their desires for sensory pleasures are far inferior to those who enrich their hearts.

The soul, originating from the world of essence, is bound by the body and unaware of its own nature. Regarding the soul, Plato has a profound statement in “Plato’s Dialogue.” He said that every soul naturally once beheld the eternal realm of truth. But to be aroused by earthly things to recollection of those in the other world is not an easy task for any soul.

Plato said that justice, wisdom, and all that the soul cherishes appear dimly in the shadows of this world; only a few, by a painful effort of thought, have been able to attain to the truth.

In the past, beauty itself shone forth to our eyes, for then we had beauty in our souls. Our souls saw that things were simple, calm and happy, and nothing else interfered with our vision of the truth. But now, our souls are wrapped up in our bodies as though they were a prison; our souls no longer rise to the top and are imprisoned in the dark.

Conscience is the heart of humans. Wang Yangming, a great Confucian scholar of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), once said, “Who doesn’t have roots? Conscience is the innate spiritual root, constantly growing, but when entangled by selfish desires, this root is hindered from sprouting.”

Humans are the hearts of heaven and earth. The human heart is the spiritual root planted by heaven. With this heart, everyone has the foundation to become a sage. What is needed is for the soul to turn towards the light.

In “Mencius,” Cao Jiao asked, “Can everyone be like wise rulers, Yao or Shun?” Mencius replied, “Yes. The way of Yao and Shun was filial piety and brotherly love. If you wear the clothes of Yao, recite the words of Yao, and act like Yao, you are Yao. If you wear the clothes of the tyrant Jie, recite the words of Jie, and act like Jie, you are Jie.”

(The author is a cultural scholar.)

(Translated by Shenzhen Daily)