The Peace Weekly, in its feature article on Confucianism, mentions that
the various religions of Korea, in an attempt to promote better
understanding of each others beliefs, are having what are called "Stays"
for two or three days at their places of
worship. Many in Korea, including many Catholics, do not think of
Confucianism as a
religion; for them it's part of the traditional culture. To get a first
hand account of the Confucian experience, a bishop, president of the
Religious Peace Conference of
Korea, along with members of the Conference, visited the Confucian
Scholars Cultural
Center this past month.
They heard a lecture on Confucius (BC
531-479), which explained the basic teachings of
Confucianism, emphasizing the importance of being fully human and loving
toward one another. The Chinese
character ( 仁 ) expresses this well: a person relating with two others.
How Confucians and Christians view this relationship, however, is
different.
For Christians, love includes loving one's enemies. Confucians would
reserve love for those who have treated them well, and would treat
their enemies according to the rules of justice.The lecturer also noted
that familial obligations are serious matters in Confucianism, and that
life belongs not only to the individual but to ones parents and
ancestors as well.
Catholics no longer have a problem with observing in the home the
Confucian rituals for ancestors. But at the introduction of Catholicism
in Korea, there had been a great deal of conflict, with Catholics being
persecuted for not following the rites. The controversy was settled in
1939, when Pius Xll announced that the Confucian rites are not
superstition or idol worship but a
cultural tradition.
A particularly interesting and important
element of Confucian etiquette, a form of politeness the Koreans have
been brought up with, is the ritual bowing. In the rites and in
meeting people and for different occasions, there are different ways of
bowing, and also a difference in the way women and men bow. The Peace
Weekly noted that before Confucianism became the traditional culture and
discipline
of the country, it was a religion, though today not as well known as a
religion,
Deeply interested in how to live properly in the present moment, Confucianism says nothing of the next life or of God,
How many Koreans are Confucians? There is no way of knowing. There
are no rites of acceptance, they don't register
their followers, and they have no clergy or religious; anyone who follows the
teachings of Confucius can be considered a Confucian. Their rites are held in Hyanggyos, the
Confucian temples--there are 234 in the country--on the days of the new and full moon.
The scholar
representing the Confucians wanted those who were "staying" at the Confucian Scholars Cultural Center, to see
and appreciate Confucianism less as a culture and more as a religion.
