Must-know Chinese concepts

Just finished reading this brilliant and remarkable book, by Michael Puett and Christine Gross-Loh, from Harvard university. The book brings crucial concepts of Chinese philosophers (Laozi, Confucius, Mencius etc). It is an essential reading for those who want to get some guidance on how to live a life of genuine fulfillment and meaning. It also gives significant advice for those aspiring to be business or political leaders. Lastly, it is a major source for understanding the Chinese way of conducting social interactions and the fundamental basis of their societal psychology.

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THE PATH

The importance of the Goodness: it is the ability to respond well to others; the development of a sensibility that enables you to behave in ways that are good for those around you and to draw out their own better sides.

The importance of rituals (a very Confucius concept): not only rituals help prevent us from becoming stuck in any one role, but also training ourselves in rituals means learning when and how to create or alter them. Rituals help you to alter the things that you do and thus alter the direction of any situation.

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The heart-mind as one (if you know Chinese characters, the symbol that represent heart 心 is the same one that represent mind and core and spirit 心): good decisions are made when heart and mind are integrated. When heart and mind are integrated, we know which response brings out the best in us and those around us.

Why you shouldn’t “be true to yourself”: because is better to be able to overcome yourself and stay aware of the complex, ever-changing world and your complex and ever changing self. The most expansive decisions come from laying the ground so things can grow. Being true to yourself is being rigid. But being active means creating optimal conditions and responding to whatever various situations arise. Means laying the ground in which change can grow.

Understanding “the Way”: the Way is the universe. Is the understanding of our own weakness. When we understand our weakness, we can actually harness power of weakness. There is no Great Way, any enlightenment that we reach by going on hikes and retreats and meditations. The Way is something simple that we do in our daily interactions with the world around us. Once we understand how everything is interconnected and appreciate how, paradoxically, there is more power in weakness, we understand the workings of influence (rather than strength).

True power does not rely on strength and domination: strength and domination render us incapable of relating to others and the things around us. The instant we see the world as a set of overt power balances, the instant we have differentiated ourselves from others – whether through imposing our will, competitiveness, or estrangement – we have lost the Way.

On vitality: all humans possess some divine potential. The inward training says that everything we experience comes from energies called qi. We should train ourselves to lessen our dependence on external things and not allow things to disorder our senses. Not allow ours senses to disorder our mind. Vitality comes from balance and alignment.

Why we should not accept the world “as it is”: because this is a rigid and limiting concept. This idea is destructive. The path is creative. Nothing is natural. We should open ourselves to the possibilities and give us the opportunities to construct things anew. We are on the Way on we are learning how to better our relationships, when we are altering the situations and creating an infinite numbers of new worlds.

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Read the full book: PUETT, Michael and GROSS-Loh, Christine. The Path: what Chinese philosophers can teach us about the good life. Sin & Schutters paperbacks, 2016.

For other resources:

On Chinese philosophy (in Portuguese): https://youtu.be/ZfXCjisIWBo

The couple live in Shanghai and work with Chinese philosophy to create a better life for foreigners living in China and willing to adapt to the Chinese lifestyle.

On Buddhism (in English): https://youtu.be/vATy0jKfEE0

Yelan is a Chinese artist who applies the Buddhist philosophy in her paintings and in her daily life.

On society and business philosophy (in English): https://youtu.be/dccx1TG_eK0

Helena and David explain some daily habits of Chinese people and how they adapted their business style to the Chinese culture.

On Chinese government (in Portuguese): https://youtu.be/HXc_CqGi5Jc

Doctor Grace explains how the Chinese government controlled and influenced society to combat Covid-19.

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