A Vision for Humanity
Thanks for sending me an invitation to participate in the vision project. I do not consider myself a visionary. I am just a Confucian scholar with deep concern for the destiny of humankind and our world in the new century as well as the new millennium. But I do appreciate your idea that collective wisdom is needed without putting emphasis on the individuals. I sincerely believe that in a world with only limited resources and serious clash of civilizations, the Confucian tradition with its commitment to the ideal of chung-yung (equilibrium and harmony) would have something important to contribute.
At the present time we are moving from the modern to the post-modern era, absolutism has to be rejected without falling into relativism. This is why I respond positively to Hans Kung's call for a global ethic. Kung's diagnosis that there is no peace in the world without peace among religions is correct; terrorist bombing in London just a few days ago provides another example that such is the case. Judaism, Christianity, Islamism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and other religious or spiritual traditions have pluralistic origins, but common values can be found and conflicts can be overcome only if we try hard enough, just as deep-seated enmity between Germany and France can be overcome. Hans Kung finds that not faith in God, but rather humanum (true humanity) is the universal criterion shared by all the traditions. Each tradition has its own version of the Golden Rule, also similar injunctions such as "do not kill, do not steal, do not lie," etc., and commitments to respect for life, just economic order, life in truthfulness, and partnership between men and women.
But these common values are not established by the inductive method of agreement at the expense of diversity. I believe by giving creative interpretation of the dictum, li-i-fen-shu—Principle is one, but manifestations are many—from Sung-Ming Neo-Confucian philosophy may provide us a better methodology to deal with the situation. Differences between the traditions need not be eliminated, in the meantime unity in diversity may be realized, as the same moon shines over different rivers. By adopting a minimum morality, we are able to steer a middle course between universalism and particularism. Through a radical transformation of consciousness each of us will be able to keep one's own tradition, but no longer exclude the other traditions, take the whole world as a family, and treat other people as brothers and sisters. Perhaps this is seen as an impossible dream, but the alternative would be the eventual total destruction from the clash of civilizations. The model for us to follow is still Confucius, who is said to: be one who knows a thing cannot be done and still wants to do it.