Cheng Hao on "Benevolence" and "Sincerity"

Cheng Hao said: Scholars must first know ren. The benevolent one is in harmony with the object. Righteousness knows all the truth. Knowing this, we should only respect the village in good faith, and there is no need to prevent inspections, and there is no need to exhaust them. (The Second Journey, p. 16)

Learners need to first understand the connotation of "benevolence." Ren is intimately connected to all things in heaven and earth. Righteousness and wisdom are all manifestations of benevolence. If you understand this truth, and stick to it with sincerity, you don't need to deliberately prevent inspections, and you don't have to try your best to understand it, and you can have a sense of benevolence.

Confucius put forward the concept of benevolence as early as the Spring and Autumn Period, Confucius emphasized the meaning of love more, and "benevolent people love people" is the main meaning of its many meanings. The benevolent person here obviously does not contain the concept of heaven and earth and all things. It is at this point that Cheng Hao's "benevolent person and material being the same body" is a breakthrough and development of Confucius's benevolent lover, expanding the lover to love things, love heaven and earth and all things. From this, we can give birth to the idea of ecological civilization of benevolent people, the idea of fraternity of the world's great unity, and the idea of a community with a shared future for mankind. Of course, Cheng Hao is more concerned about the importance of Ren in handling social relations. In his view, righteousness, wisdom and faith are all benevolence, benevolence is the basis of the other four, with benevolence, you will see righteousness and courage, you will abide by social moral norms, you can distinguish between right and wrong, and you can keep your promises.

And how can we achieve benevolence? Confucius did not give a clear answer. Cheng Hao clearly put forward that "to live with sincerity and respect", only by achieving a sincere and respectful heart can we practice benevolence. And this kind of sincere respect is to remove one's own selfishness and have the heart of "grand duke", the heart of selflessness and selflessness. With this kind of sincere respect, there is no need to deliberately stick to it, nor to pursue anything, and it can naturally achieve the benevolence and the same thing, and be one with all things in heaven and earth: not only for others, for other things, for the collective, for the country, for all sentient beings, as a community of destiny, but also for all natural things, as a community of destiny. It will be a harmonious and symbiotic world of common destiny and justice. (October 3)