PureInsight | March 19, 2006
[PureInsight.org] The topic of changes in human morality and notions is huge. This article will talk about the subject on a profound level.
Human culture is imparted by the divine beings. Noble thoughts
and morality were highly valued in the old times, and it was especially
true in the East. In ancient times, sages in both the East and the West
taught people to do kind deeds, follow the course of nature and
restrain their desires. The people during that time indeed
practiced what the sages taught them. Although their material
lives were not as prosperous as those of today's people, many people
attained happiness. Happiness does not only come from material
gains, but it comes more so from people's inner peace and
harmony. Many people think today, "We modern people are not bad
people at all." In fact we think so because we don't know what it
was like when human morality was good. People in ancient times
did well because of kind human natures and belief in the divine rather
than pursuit of material interests.
As humankind places more and more emphasis on material interests,
people understand the teachings of the sages in history less and less.
Many people have distorted the meanings of the words of sages due to
their pursuit of fame and self-interest. For example, a Chinese
philosopher named Zhu Xi in the Song Dynasty brought up the points of
"Preserving the heavenly principles and extinguishing human
desires." He completely denied humankind's material needs.
In fact, he couldn't practice his theory himself. However, as a
result, his points greatly damaged Confucianism. Confucius didn't
deny normal human desires. He even said, "Food and sex are part
of human nature." Confucius was not against wealth, either.
He simply commented, "Wealth obtained from unkindness is like floating
clouds to me."
As the traditional eastern and western morality gradually decayed,
humankind established a new set of systems and laws to maintain and
restrain the society. However, this restraint is based on
people's pursuit of material interests. The fundamental
assumption is that everyone is selfish. Only through improving
systems and laws can people maximize their personal interests without
harming others'. Modern people think this type of society is the
best, the most rational and the optimum in terms of human
interests. People therefore deny morality, deny the kind nature
of human beings, and think that mankind is a type of being that pursues
maximum self-interest. A philosopher named David Hume even said,
more than 200 years ago, that morality ultimately rested upon
sentiment, therefore it was not rational.
It is true, to some extent, that a complete set of rules and laws can
protect people from harm. For example, manufacturers of phony products
will be punished by law. In a society governed by a complete
legal system, out of consideration of their own interests, merchants
might display certain virtues such as credibility. However, the
external manifestation does not come from the heart. It relies on
a good system and legal structure. In addition, traditional moral
values have not completely disappeared. But a lot of the kindness that
people display is superficial. For example, if a store associate is not
nice to customers and cannot serve customers with a smile, he might be
fired.
Sometimes even superficial manifestations cannot be maintained.
For example, people don't think wanton sexual behavior and
homosexuality hurts others' interests. Therefore they don't
believe such behavior is bad and eventually accepted such behavior.
In many countries in the East, especially in China, people have lost
traditional morality. However, a good system and legal structure
is not in place. Therefore the society has deteriorated to the
point that even superficial societal order is difficult to maintain.
Can the current situation last long? The answer is no. It
is not possible in China. The current situation in China in fact
shows that it is hard to maintain even now. In the western world,
it is also impossible. No matter how perfect the external system
and laws are, they cannot govern people's hearts. If everything
is governed by law, and everything is solved in court, it's still
impossible for society to be crime free, as the law enforcers and
legislators might commit crimes themselves. In addition, when
there are too many laws, there are too many rules. Eventually
there are very few things that people can do legally.
The freedom of religion is one of the key reasons that the western
morality hasn't decayed as fast as morality in China. The western
governments haven't destroyed traditional morality. Traditional
morality and religions have maintained society in a way that systems
and laws cannot. However, as humankind emphasizes more and more
material interests, they deviate more and more from the original
teachings of the sages. Religions themselves are transforming to
a type of external manifestation of quality and culture. The
commercialization of religions, scandals involving the clergy, and so
on, are eroding religions and people's hearts. Therefore, western
society cannot maintain the current situation for long.
If human morality cannot be restored to the original level, humankind is going towards destruction.
Where is the hope of morality restoration? Traditional human
culture and religion cannot shoulder this responsibility today.
Why? Today's people do not understand the ancient books and
scriptures any more. For example, many people understand the
"Bible" in this way: as long as they admit they are sinful and
admit Jesus is God, they can go to Heaven if they say they believe in
Jesus. If this is true, why did Jesus say so many words in the
past? In China, the ancient culture and religions have been
destroyed in political struggles. They have been made objects of
scoffing and criticism by the generation educated and brought up by the
Chinese Communist Party.
Among all beliefs and spiritual pursuit of today's people, I find that
only Falun Gong can take the responsibility for restoring human
morality.
Falun Gong is also called "Falun Dafa." Mr. Li Hongzhi founded
Falun Dafa based on his own cultivation. Ever since Falun Dafa
was introduced to the public in 1992, numerous people have benefited
from the practice. Many recovered from hopeless diseases.
The popularity of Falun Dafa comes from not only the health benefits,
but also the emphasis on following the principle of
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. Falun Dafa cultivators do
not smoke, gamble or do evil. They do not hate or fight back when
people treat them badly. They tolerate others. They work
hard and do not accept bribes. They were everything good for the
country, the family and the society. They remember at all times
to be a good person and follow Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
On March 17, 1997, "Dalian Daily" published an article "anonymous
elderly person helps everyone anonymously." The article talked
about an elderly person who built four roads in a year for the
village. The length of the roads added up to 1,100 meters.
When asked where he was from and who paid him to do so, the elderly
person said: "I practice Falun Gong. I do not charge for
doing something good for people." He is only one of the Falun
Gong practitioners. More and more people took the path of
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. During 1992 and 1999, Falun
Gong spread to more than 20 countries and regions in the world.
At the beginning of 1999, the number of cultivators in China alone was
100 million. Who else could provide a cultivation system to
people and make it so popular in such a short time?
However, the Chinese communist leader Jiang Zemin was overwhelmed by
his jealousy of Falun Gong's popularity. He overrode other
leaders' opinions and announced that Falun Gong was a cult. He
launched a brutal persecution. He used the entire nation's
systems to persecute Falun Gong practitioners and even ordered his
regime to "ruin their reputations, destroy them financially and
extinguish them physically." He ordered that "beating Falun Gong
practitioners to death can be considered as suicide." Up to
December 2005, 2,790 Falun Gong practitioners have been confirmed to
have been persecuted to death.
Facing the persecution, Falun Dafa practitioners have not bowed to
brutality and pressure. They have validated the power of Falun
Dafa in changing people's hearts and directing people towards
kindness. In order to clarify the facts to people who have been
misled by the communist propaganda, many Falun Dafa practitioners have
risked their jobs, their physical freedom and even their lives to
appeal to the central government for Falun Dafa. They try to
inform people about the truth of the persecution via many ways.
Their behavior concentrates and nurtures the power of kindness
tremendously and calls forth the conscience and righteousness of the
human world.
During the more than six years of brutal crackdown, Falun Dafa
practitioners in mainland China and overseas have withstood the evil
persecution by the biggest totalitarian regime in the world.
Falun Dafa not only hasn't been destroyed, but also is becoming more
and more the focus of the world and the peak of human world. All
of this has validated the magnificence of the
Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance teachings of Falun Dafa. In
China, practitioners peacefully clarify the facts of the persecution
everywhere. More and more people have understood the truth of the
persecution and the rogue nature of the Communist regime.
Overseas, Falun Dafa has spread to more than 60 countries and won over
1,000 proclamations. More and more people have taken up the
practice. In Taiwan alone, the number of cultivators increased to
more than 300,000 from 3,000 in 1999. Jiang Zemin, who launched
the persecution in 1999, has now been sued in the courts of many
countries such as the United States, Germany and Belgium. He is
counting his days in fear.
Falun Dafa practitioners have validated their beliefs to the people of
the world: Falun Dafa can truly enable people to achieve
kindness. The power of Falun Dafa is beyond any force in the
human world. Falun Dafa is truly the hope for the restoration of
human morality.
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2005/12/2/25999.html
