Confucianism/Richel Albright

What is the human condition? In Confucianism the human condition focuses on morality and ethics, to put it in a western sense. Confucians believe there are two types of people, Realists and Mohim. Realists believe that people are inherently bad and will at some point do things that are in his or her best interest, rather than the good for the common man and woman. Nor are they concerned with the happenings of tomorrow, next week, month or year. People are concerned with what is going on currently and how it is affecting them. Therefore, people believe realists should be controlled. While Mohim’s believe that people really are good and if they’re left to live on their own and not needing control because people cannot be forced to do anything. But Confucius did not follow either realist or mohim practices.
What is the solution to this condition? There are five keys to follow in the solution to the human condition. They are Jen (Ren), Chun Tzu, Li, Te and Wen. Jen is about having good intentions and doing good deeds, which leads to how you make your choices in life. Chun Tzu means the “mature person” which just means to have a big heart and not be vain or selfish. Li is the way in which things are done. There needs to be direction and rules as to the way things are done. It also means “constant,” this is represented in the five relationships in life – husband to wife, parent to child, older sibling to younger sibling, older friend to younger friend and ruler to subject. This serves as a reminder to how each person should treat the other – a parent should be loving to their child. Te refers to power, more importantly the parties in power. The people must trust those in charge. While Wen means Arts of peace, as in music, art, literature, etc. Doing this is supposed to help your mind and make you higher in the Confucian order when you excel in an art.
How do we move from problem to solution? The five steps aforementioned is how one moves from the problem into a solution. Since there is no afterlife in Confucianism one must life their lives under these orders and laws.
How is it best to live the solution in our own lives? The best way to do this is live these five laws. Having good intentions, having a big heart, being constant in your relationships, trust in the power and excel in an art. While this may work for some people I, personally, have a hard time getting behind it. There seems to be no reward in the end – no heaven, no hell, no enlightenment. Just being a good person. It makes it seem that there is no bigger picture in the end, your life, after you are gone, will not matter, people will not remember you. I think if this were how I was supposed to live my life I would feel there’s clearly no reason for me to do good, there’s nothing for me in the end.