I saw the light of mercy in the *Analects*!

 I’ve caught a glimpse of that light of mercy once again.

Or so I’d like to say, but the truth is, I didn’t actually see it this time. Still, it felt essentially the same. I really *did* see it before, though. This time was a bit different—a feeling that sort of gently seeped in. Someone once said:

"Faith like fire won't do; it must be faith like water."

It was that kind of sensation—seeping in like water. Who was it that said that? Let me see... ah, I remember:

"Shin'ichi Yamamoto."

Now, I feel like I might end up like that refined gentleman of old (Ariwara no Narihira), finding myself:

"Overwhelmed by emotion, words fail me."

But there’s no helping it given my clumsy writing skills. I’m writing this fully aware that I probably won't be able to convey it properly.

"The Master's Way consists of nothing but *chū* and *jo* (loyalty and empathy)." (*The Analects*)

Ito Jinsai’s commentary: "*Chū* means devoting oneself entirely; *jo* means putting oneself in another's shoes. When you pour out your whole heart, the distinction between self and other vanishes. When you empathize with another's heart, their itch or pain resonates as if it were your own. Zengzi (his disciple) believed that the two characters *chū* and *jo* fully encapsulated the Master's (Confucius's) Way."

I had previously said I wouldn't quote from sacred texts, yet here I am, breaking my own vow. Is Confucianism a religion? Are *The Analects* a sacred text? I suppose it doesn't matter.

To regard another as oneself is called love; it is called compassion. If *chū* and *jo* aren't love, what are they? If *chū* and *jo* aren't compassion, what are they?

Hearing this makes me feel like:

"If one hears the Way in the morning, one may die content in the evening." (This, too, is from the Analects)

But actually, dying in the evening wouldn't be "content" at all, would it? Having finally heard the Way, I want to walk that path as far as I can. So, I can't afford to die just yet. With that in mind, for my annual checkup this year, I decided:

"I'm going to get a cancer screening, too!"

But when I checked the box for "colorectal cancer screening," my wife said:

"Don't do it—it'll make the toilet dirty!"

It seems my wife is more worried about the toilet getting dirty than about my life. No, I’m definitely going to get the screening! Not just for colon cancer, but for stomach and lung cancer too.

I’m currently working through a series on Japanese masterpieces—having gone from Nakae Tōju, Kumazawa Banzan, and Yamaga Sokō to Itō Jinsai’s *Rongo Kogi* (Ancient Meanings of the Analects)—but I can’t seem to move past that point. Come to think of it, they’re all Confucian scholars. Are Confucian scholars the only ones who wrote masterpieces in the Edo period (17th–19th centuries)?

It turns out it really was true when Muhammad said,

"God sent a prophet to every single nation."

Even in China, 2,600 years ago, they were preaching about love—or perhaps compassion, *ren* (benevolence), or *chūjo* (loyalty and empathy). The idea that the "Way" lies in you and I becoming one. I believe the path to unity is what religion is all about, and Confucius was teaching that long ago.

"When you pour your whole self out, the distinction between others and yourself vanishes."

I really like that part.

"My Way is pervaded by a single thread." (*The Analects*)

Jinsai states, "Loyalty and empathy (*chūjo*) are the beginning and the end of the sage's learning."

So, love is both the starting point and the goal. (That’s how Christianity would put it, right?)

It begins with mercy and ends with mercy. (That’s how Buddhism would put it, right?)

Since Jinsai calls it the "sage's learning," he seems to view Confucianism more as a discipline of study than a religion.

I suppose it doesn't really matter which one it is. They’re all saying the same thing—aiming for the same goal.

I had already reached the point of thinking, "I don't really care about Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, or Hinduism anymore," but now that Confucianism is in the mix, I feel even more like,

"I don't really care."

And while we're at it—drawing borders and fighting between nations—I feel the same way about that:

"I don't really care."

That’s my personal stance, but I wish humanity as a whole would hurry up and reach that state of unity. After all, we’re already heading that way economically and through information technology.

Guided by love and compassion...

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