忠經 Zhong Jing #17
報國章 Repay Nation Chapter
(PD) Mt Seoraksan Republic of Korea
Skies, earth, footprint...
(Photo clarity, angle, and wording by Larry Neal Gowdy)
Copyright ©2019 November 06, 2019
The seventeenth chapter of 忠經 (Zhong Jing) is titled 報國章, which is loosely interpreted to be Repay Nation Chapter.
The core word within the chapter is 報 (bao). Of the numerous possible English synonyms, as a noun the word can infer 'bulletin, newspaper, periodical', while as a verb the word might imply 'announce, report, tell', or, 'repay, reciprocate, respond'. Within how the word is used in context with the chapter's surrounding words, 報 best fits the modern idea of fairness towards what was received from someone else: 'repay'.
Honorable people, people who value fairness, whose intelligent minds actively evaluate balances of right and wrong, they hold firm the insistence that they give a balanced value in return to what they have received. The chapter is almost like an extension of the Confucian quote 'Junzi bosom fairness, tiny people bosom favor'.
The following quotes are lightly edited draft translations of the sentences within 報國章.
Serve-as-be people minister person-ist official when noble
Minister it-him official blessing-prosperity
Noble solid-true bestow-confer it-him
Before after polished congratulate-celebrate
All-everyone noble it-him virtue
Polished frame-lattice-standard ancestor examine-test-verify
Congratulate-celebrate hang-bend-down-hand-down child grandchild
Not deliberate-think repay nation
How devotion {also} {begin-start-!-?}
Devotion then certainly-will repay
Not repay wrong devotion
Noble child(junzi) have-be not-have-nothing happiness-prosperity and-as-well-as useful-beneficial-advantage noble
Not-have-nothing have-be happiness-prosperity and-as-well stop-discontinue person-ist {also}
Noble approach heaven under(Nature)
Who-whoever-anyone not serve-as-be official (?)
Food-eclipse earth-soil it-him hair-careless-rash
All-Everybody nominal-office noble virtue
Dull-muddle-headed highway lost-confused when-regard day month
Noble child(junzi) him-it bosom emperor-god kindness-mercy-charity
Therefore cease-lay-down rest mountain forest
Have-be capable detailed-thorough nation
Furthermore lotus-water-lily noble happiness-blessing-prosperity position-rank and-as-well not-have hear-well-known how-why-here (?)
Repay nation it way have-be four
One-alone say tribute(Gong) virtuous
Advance-progress obtain its talent-ability
Noble able-to end-extreme
Two say-name offer-present-display place-way
Admit-receive-accept equal-to-someone's-face its good
Noble able-to rely-on behavior-conduct-walk
Three say-name stand-erect-upright merit-achievement
Merit-achievement I-we its breast-undertake-bear
Noble able-to not-have misfortune-worry
Four say-name interest-desire-to-do-flourish-begin sharp-favorable-advantage
Increase-prosper cause-convey-deliver-send its thick-substantial
Noble able-to give-take-part foot-walk
Virtuous person-ist nation it trunk-main-part
Trunk able-to use-take-advantage-of stand-erect-upright
Plan-way person-ist nation it rules-customs-compass
Rules-customs-compass able-to use-take-advantage-of persist-hold-carry-out
Merit-achievement person-ist nation it will-would-ready-prepared-take-help-support-follow
Help-support-follow able-to use defend-resist
Sharp-favorable-advantage person-ist nation it expenses-need-apply
Expenses-need-apply able-to use give-supply
Correct all-everybody repay nation it way
However-only its capable-ability and-as-well it
Each-individually use its-their capable and-as-well repay when-regard nation
Way-dao present-while-such-this broad-extensive {carry-yi-!-?}
Poem say "Not-have speak-talk, not reward-toast
Not-have virtue, not repay"
Condition-situation-furthermore devotion official it-him when-regard nation {is-as-!-?}
Summary people-person it-him among-between
One-alone speak-talk one-alone virtue still-method-similar certainly-will repay
Noble official it-him righteousness
Heavy-important kindness-mercy heavy-important how-why-here-herein
According-to-similar ask-approve forget-neglect-omit {also}
Four ways of repaying one's nation... tribute, one's place, upright merit, desire national advantages... all four ways are correct, all four have merit... but the big question today, is to ask... are the four ways today performed out of fairness, or done because of something else, or are they done at all?
An interesting recent experience was to stand outside of a shop, watching the thick bluish clouds approach from the west, feeling the cooling west winds, smelling the remnants of a distant forest fire, and then leisurely evaluating the area's place. To the west, power lines ran beside the busy street, the power lines not being orderly, nor uniform... on top of buildings were satellite dishes of different sizes, mounted willy-nilly, not mounted uniformly... to the south was a busier street with more haphazard power lines plus a disorderly electrical relay station, beside the relay station was a tall tower with numerous microwave antennas mounted non-uniformly-haphazardly... in all directions the buildings were of different shapes, different styles, not uniform of place, not uniform of visual design, not of harmony with anything, parking lots were almost full with cars parked haphazardly, people wearing unmindful clothing, people walking unmindfully, the cars on the streets were moving erratically as the drivers were driving unmindfully and selfishly, and within the countless other observations, the sum said that the culture did not care about its place, not so much as to care to keep one's own properties reasonably clean and organized. The untidy everything was an expression similar to what is seen within the unkempt homes of hoarders, of there being many, many things, but none placed in uniform order... not tidy, not clean, not mindful, the owners' only aim being to merely have a lot of stuff.
The fairness of repaying for what an individual has received from their communities and nation, was not found... the people unfairly consume, and consume more, without thought and without caring that they have created an environment that reciprocates fairly the people's own behavior.