Wisdom from Qohelet (Ecclesiastes)

According to Qohelet (Ecclesiastes), the ideal life is not to seek the mere future or gain an immortal life elsewhere. Rather, it is in the here and now. Tomorrow is not in our hands. The world is an uncertain one (Eccl 11:1-6). Heaven and earth are fair to everyone (Matt 5:45; Dao De Jing 5: 天地不仁). Anything can happen anytime to anyone. That reality is not simply because this world is evil but because the nature of life in the world involves vulnerability and death. We are hebel ("vapor, breath" in Eccl 1:2; 12:8). We must say: "I live short and I am breath or vapor." Of course, this reality with "hebel" does not implicate or suggest a life of living carelessly or irresponsibly. Hebel or short-lived life does not mean that our life is worthless or vain. If you think that way, your reading of Ecclesiastes is misleading. 

Rather, ironically, our short life is more valuable and precious than otherwise because we live short. So, the right attitude is to remember our death and value our time so preciously. 

Focus on your valuable life to be happy, enjoy your life in a good way (Eccl 3:12), work with others (Eccl 4:7-12), and love them as you care for yourself. "I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they live" (Eccl 3:12). You need to follow what your heart tells you, not being pressured by others (Eccl 11:9). 

So, the wise person values today and now, remembering his/her eventual death (Eccl 7:2, 4). "It is better to go to the house of mourning than to go to the house of feasting" (Eccl 7:2). "The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning; but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth" (Eccl 7:4).

Conclusion: So, save time (Eccl 12:1-7). Memento mori: Remember that you die. Carpe diem: Seize today. Amor fati: Love of fate.

Confucius and his legacy

Confucius's Golden Rule:

Zi Gong asked: “Can you summarize with one word how we should live in our whole life? Confucius said, “Isn't it empathy or mercy? Do not impose on others what you do not wish for yourself" (Analects 15:24).子貢問曰。有一言而可以終身行之者乎。子曰。其恕乎。己所不欲、勿施於人。

Interesting:
-Hillel: "What is hateful to you, do not do to others; all the rest is commentary" (Shabbat 31a).
-Jesus: “In everything do to others as you would have them do to you; for this is the law and the prophets" (Matt 7:12).


Five Analects of Confucius (source):
“Respect yourself and others will respect you.”
“Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles.”
“To be wealthy and honored in an unjust society is a disgrace.”
“Never give a sword to a man who can't dance.”
“The noble-minded are calm and steady."

Four Books
Great Learning (or alternative)
The Doctrine of the Mean (or alternative)
Analects (or alternative)
Mencius (or alternative)

"Five behaviors of the gentleman most central to the Analects are benevolence (ren 仁), righteousness (yi 義), ritual propriety (li 禮), wisdom (zhi 智), and trustworthiness (xin 信)" (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy).

측은지심(惻隱之心) : 어려움에 처한 사람을 애처롭게 여기는 마음을 뜻한다.
수오지심(羞惡之心) : 의롭지 못함을 부끄러워 하고, 착하지 못함을 미워하는 마음을 뜻한다.
사양지심(辭讓之心) : 겸손하여 남에게 사양할 줄 아는 마음을 뜻한다.
시비지심(是非之心) : 옳고 그름을 판단할 줄 아는 마음을 뜻한다.
광명지심(光名之心): 중심을 잡고 항상 가운데 바르게 위치해 밝은 빛을 냄으로써 믿음을 주는 마음이다.

Love in Confucianism

In the Doctrine of the Mean (one of the Four Books in Confucianism), there is an important phrase that represents Confucius's main thought: 仁者人也 (rén zhě rén yě). See the following calligraphy I wrote. This phrase may be translated as "To love is to become the person." By the way, love (Ren in Chinese: 仁) appears frequently, 106 times, in the Analects of Confucius. The question is: What is Ren or love according to Confucius or how do we interpret it?

 

 *Four Books and Five Classics: 

-The Four Books: Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean, Analects, and Mencius

-Five Classics: Classics of Poetry, Book of Documents, Book of Change, Book of Rites, and Spring and Autumn Annals 

사서는 논어(論語), 맹자(孟子), 대학(大學), 중용(中庸); 삼경은 시경(詩經), 서경(書痙), 주역(周易); 춘추(春秋)와 예기(禮記)를 포함하면 오경이다.

Three moments of human experience and transformation

 

Where should we start as we think about human transformation? I argue that it is marginality. As I wrote a book back in 2013, A Transformative Reading of the Bible, I still hold the view that authentic human transformation needs a moment/attitude of "I am no-one." "I am no-one" is a locus where I find the love of God. With God's grace, I would say "I am some-one." I am that I am. I am confident in myself. I love myself. Then, I may love others. "I am one-for-others." The transformation experience is not a linear movement but a circular one. 

Liberate the Bible

Many read the Bible as a single book, treating it as a metanarrative. But the Bible was written not as a single book and it is a collection of various writings produced in different times for over a thousand years. It involves a multitude of authors or editors, disparate communities, and eclectic ideas. It is necessary to liberate the Bible and put it back in its place. We must interpret various parts of the Bible from diverse perspectives.

Strictly speaking, the Bible does not talk to us. The Bible does not mean, but we (as readers) mean with the text. So we need critical engagement with the text, considering various writings in the Bible seriously, and taking a stand about our interpretation.

Authority is not encoded in the text. It is not knowledge or information. It is the power of God that transforms people and the world. It becomes the catalyst for a new humanity. Through the reader's conscientious engagement, the authority of the scriptures may come alive. That is, through our endless, careful interpretation, the word of God for our time can be unlocked, activated, and communicated to the world.

Eccl 3:1-8 and Hebel

NRSV Eccl (Qohelet) 3:1-8

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:
2 a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
3 a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4 a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5 a time to throw away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6 a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to throw away;
7 a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8 a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

Eccl 3:1-8 should not be understood as fixing God's individual plan for each person. Qohelet does not talk about determinism, so to speak. Hebel (vapor/breath) presupposes all kinds of uncertainties and possibilities in our lives. That is, anything can happen to anyone anytime, be it good or bad. The life of hebel is reminiscent of the Buddhist teaching of annica, which means everything changes. Likewise, there is another similar teaching of Buddhism, which is dukkha ("all are involved in suffering"). While Buddha focuses on suffering, the sheer reality is we live a life of pain and suffering because we are hebel--which is nothing wrong. We need to accept who we are in light of hebel. Do not bother with many things that are not going well. Rather, focus on yourself from a bigger, godly perspective and live a simple life.  

전도서에서 "헤벨"(hebel)의 인생은 결국 불교적으로 표현하면 제행무상(諸行無常)과 일체개고(一切皆苦)와 관련이 있다.  모든 것이 변한다. 만사에 고통이 있다. 전도서에서 만사에 때가 있다는 것이 개별적으로 미리 정해진 운명이 있다는 뜻이 아니라 여러가지 일이 다양하게 일어나며 나의 통제안에 있지 않음을 말한다. 그러니 어떤 개별 사건에 너무 집착말고 크게 보고 나에게 집중하고 소박하게 살라는 것이 전도서의 교훈이 아닐까.

hebel is not the same as a worthless or useless thing

The issue is how we understand things that exist and disappear, including humans. Ecclesiastes (Qohelet) talks about this. However, many misunderstand "hebel" in Eccl 1:2 and translate it as vanity. The literal meaning of the word is vapor or breath. Vapor represents something evanescent. But simply because something is short-lived or disappears eventually, that does not mean that something is useless or vanity. What is discussed in Qohelet is the sheer reality of not-permanent-being. The question is then: How should we live with this reality that seems to be vanity?

I posted a piece of writing on my wall to remind me of this lifelong question.

Faith and Science

There are things we can or must do. We walk and breathe. We are responsible for our lives, working hard, and caring for others. But there are also things that we cannot do or control because we are weak dust. We are dust from the perspective of science. We realize that we are so small compared with endless space. This world or universe seems hollow and worthless. In a "meaningless" world, how can we live or reinvent ourselves? How can we reimagine this world with hope? We need conscientious faith to live well. But blind faith is harmful or dangerous.

What do I care about?

I care about ancient history, literature, and culture. But what I care more about is not the past but the lives of people today, here and globally. I study and teach because of this.

 

An Asian Introduction to the New Testament

I contributed a chapter entitled "An Introduction to Asian Biblical Hermeneutics" to the following book edited by Johnson Thomaskutty (available around Nov. 2021).