将会影响世界。。。
从儒道佛到中医理论，都被拿来验证和谐社会。。。
和谐社会不仅会在一国建成……听起来很熟悉。。
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Harmonious society will impact the world
By Lau Nai-keung (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-10-20 06:25
"Harmonious society" is indeed a Chinese concept quite alien to Western culture - so much so that many translate the term as "social harmony."
Social harmony is but one component of a harmonious society, which embraces a wide range of harmony, from the internal harmony of individuals to the ultimate harmony between the human race and nature.
It is more encompassing than the globally popular "sustainable development," which deals only with the balance between economic development, social development and environmental conservation. Sustainable development is a functional approach with an emphasis on intergenerational justice but very little metaphysical philosophical content.
Needless to say, balance is a far cry from harmony. It can be a solution, but never an ideal.
Conflicts are everywhere. To a Westerner brought up in an individualist egoistic tradition and with a problem-solving attitude, they must be proactively resolved.
Let us look at Western medicine: as pathogens are everywhere, doctors and medical scientists are always on the lookout to find ways and means to eradicate them. In theory, we will ultimately be safe in a pathogen-free environment. We all know this is impossible, but to most Westerners, it is the only way out.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that through paying more attention to environmental and personal hygiene, and enhancing our immune system, we can co-exist with pathogens most of the time without annihilating one another, and will only have to fight them on the rare occasions when they breach our natural defence system.
It is again quite improbable that we can live happily side by side with pathogens, but this is another direction to pursue. Moreover, it does not preclude us from developing our arsenal against pathogens. Not believing that there is only one way to nirvana is also part of the harmonious society psyche.
The above is only one illustration of how an all-encompassing harmonious outlook differs from the now-dominant Western culture. In a nutshell, in the ideal state of a harmonious society, various levels of contradictions can co-exist. This is pluralism in its widest sense - as in our natural ecosystem, which is the ultimate expression of harmony.
If we emulate nature, and blend in with it, we will be in harmony with nature and part of a harmonious natural symphony.
But it all has to start with one's internal harmony, graduating into family harmony, then social harmony and so on. The secret is not to over-emphasize the individual at the expense of the interest of a higher order - not to miss the forest for the trees, so to speak.
Traditional Chinese culture, whether Confucianism, Buddhism or Taoism, advocates forgetting or even voiding the self. If you look at the world from a holistic angle, all our differences seem trivial, and not worth killing one another over.
从儒道佛到中医理论，都被拿来验证和谐社会。。。
和谐社会不仅会在一国建成……听起来很熟悉。。
————————————————
Harmonious society will impact the world
By Lau Nai-keung (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-10-20 06:25
"Harmonious society" is indeed a Chinese concept quite alien to Western culture - so much so that many translate the term as "social harmony."
Social harmony is but one component of a harmonious society, which embraces a wide range of harmony, from the internal harmony of individuals to the ultimate harmony between the human race and nature.
It is more encompassing than the globally popular "sustainable development," which deals only with the balance between economic development, social development and environmental conservation. Sustainable development is a functional approach with an emphasis on intergenerational justice but very little metaphysical philosophical content.
Needless to say, balance is a far cry from harmony. It can be a solution, but never an ideal.
Conflicts are everywhere. To a Westerner brought up in an individualist egoistic tradition and with a problem-solving attitude, they must be proactively resolved.
Let us look at Western medicine: as pathogens are everywhere, doctors and medical scientists are always on the lookout to find ways and means to eradicate them. In theory, we will ultimately be safe in a pathogen-free environment. We all know this is impossible, but to most Westerners, it is the only way out.
Traditional Chinese medicine believes that through paying more attention to environmental and personal hygiene, and enhancing our immune system, we can co-exist with pathogens most of the time without annihilating one another, and will only have to fight them on the rare occasions when they breach our natural defence system.
It is again quite improbable that we can live happily side by side with pathogens, but this is another direction to pursue. Moreover, it does not preclude us from developing our arsenal against pathogens. Not believing that there is only one way to nirvana is also part of the harmonious society psyche.
The above is only one illustration of how an all-encompassing harmonious outlook differs from the now-dominant Western culture. In a nutshell, in the ideal state of a harmonious society, various levels of contradictions can co-exist. This is pluralism in its widest sense - as in our natural ecosystem, which is the ultimate expression of harmony.
If we emulate nature, and blend in with it, we will be in harmony with nature and part of a harmonious natural symphony.
But it all has to start with one's internal harmony, graduating into family harmony, then social harmony and so on. The secret is not to over-emphasize the individual at the expense of the interest of a higher order - not to miss the forest for the trees, so to speak.
Traditional Chinese culture, whether Confucianism, Buddhism or Taoism, advocates forgetting or even voiding the self. If you look at the world from a holistic angle, all our differences seem trivial, and not worth killing one another over.
