Universal Love II

Master Mozi said: The principle by which a benevolent person manages affairs is always to promote benefit for the world and eliminate harm, taking this as his own duty. Since this is so, then what are the benefits of the world? And what are the harms of the world? Master Mozi said: Now if states attack each other, clans plunder each other, people harm each other, rulers and ministers fail to show grace and loyalty, fathers and sons fail to show kindness and filial piety, and brothers fail to be harmonious and cooperative—these are all the harms of the world.

Then, when we examine how these harms arise, do they arise from mutual love? Master Mozi said: They arise from the lack of mutual love. Now the feudal lords know only to love their own states and not the states of others, so they unscrupulously mobilize the full force of their states to attack others' states. Now the heads of clans know only to love their own clans and not the clans of others, so they unscrupulously use the full strength of their clans to plunder others' clans. Now people know only to love themselves and not others, so they unscrupulously apply their full strength to harm others. Therefore, if feudal lords do not love each other, there will inevitably be open warfare; if clan heads do not love each other, there will inevitably be mutual plunder; if people do not love each other, there will inevitably be mutual harm; if rulers and ministers do not love each other, there can be no grace and loyalty; if fathers and sons do not love each other, there can be no kindness and filial piety; if brothers do not love each other, there can be no harmony and cooperation. When all people in the world do not love each other, the strong will surely dominate the weak, the many will surely plunder the few, the rich will surely insult the poor, the noble will surely look down on the humble, and the cunning will surely deceive the simple. The reason why all the world's calamities, plundering, resentment, and hatred arise is precisely because of the lack of mutual love. Therefore, the benevolent person considers it wrong.

Since it is considered wrong, what should be used to change it? Master Mozi said: Use the method of mutual love and mutual benefit to change it. Then, what is this method of mutual love and mutual benefit? Master Mozi said: Regard others' states as one's own state, regard others' clans as one's own clan, regard others' lives as one's own life. Therefore, if feudal lords love each other, there will be no open warfare; if clan heads love each other, there will be no mutual plunder; if people love each other, there will be no mutual harm; if rulers and ministers love each other, there will be grace and loyalty; if fathers and sons love each other, there will be kindness and filial piety; if brothers love each other, there will be harmony and cooperation. When all people in the world love each other, the strong will not dominate the weak, the many will not plunder the few, the rich will not insult the poor, the noble will not look down on the humble, and the cunning will not deceive the simple. The reason why all the world's calamities, plundering, resentment, and hatred can be made not to arise is precisely because of mutual love. Therefore, the benevolent person praises it.

Yet now the gentlemen of the world say: Yes, if universal love were practiced, it would be good. Even so, it is something difficult to accomplish in the world, a far-fetched and impractical thing. Master Mozi said: The gentlemen of the world simply do not understand the benefits of universal love and do not discern its reasoning. Now consider attacking a city or fighting in the open field, sacrificing oneself for fame—these are things that the common people of the world consider difficult to do. Yet if the ruler likes them, then the officers and people can do them. How much more so is it with mutual love and mutual benefit, which are different from these? For whoever loves others will surely be loved by them in return; whoever benefits others will surely be benefited by them in return; whoever hates others will surely be hated by them in return; whoever harms others will surely be harmed by them in return. What is difficult about this? It is simply that rulers do not adopt it as a policy for governing, and officers do not take it as a standard of conduct.

Formerly, Duke Wen of Jin liked his officers to wear poor clothes, so his ministers all wore robes of sheepskin, hung their swords with leather belts, and wore coarse silk caps when appearing before the ruler in court or walking in the court. What was the reason for this? The ruler liked it, so the ministers did it. Formerly, King Ling of Chu liked his officers to have slender waists, so his ministers all ate only one meal a day to restrict themselves, inhaled and then tied their belts, and had to lean against the wall before they could stand up. After a year, the whole court had gaunt and sallow faces. What was the reason for this? The ruler liked it, so the ministers could do it. Formerly, King Goujian of Yue liked his officers to be brave, so he trained and taught his ministers to make them harmonious and united. He set fire to a boat and tested his officers, saying, "All the treasures of Yue are here!" The king himself beat the drum to urge the officers forward. When the officers heard the drum, they broke ranks and vied to throw themselves into the fire and die, over a hundred on his left and right. The king then struck the gong to make them retreat.

Thus Master Mozi said: As for restricting food and drink, wearing shabby clothes, and sacrificing oneself for fame—these are things that the common people of the world consider difficult to do. Yet if the ruler likes them, then the masses can do them. How much more so is it with mutual love and mutual benefit, which are different from these? For whoever loves others will surely be loved by them in return; whoever benefits others will surely be benefited by them in return; whoever hates others will surely be hated by them in return; whoever harms others will surely be harmed by them in return. What is difficult about this? It is simply that rulers do not adopt it as a policy for governing, and officers do not take it as a standard of conduct.

Yet now the gentlemen of the world say: Yes, if universal love were practiced, it would be good. Even so, it is something that cannot be carried out, like trying to lift Mount Tai and leap over the Yellow River and the Ji River. Master Mozi said: This comparison is not apt. Lifting Mount Tai and leaping over the Yellow River and the Ji River can be said to be extremely vigorous and powerful. But from ancient times to the present, no one has ever been able to do it. How much more so is it with mutual love and mutual benefit, which are different from this—the sage kings of antiquity actually practiced it. How do we know this is so? In ancient times, Yu the Great governed the world. In the west, he cut through the West River and the Yu Dou, to drain the Qu River, the Sun River, and the Huang River. In the north, he built dikes for the Fang River, the Yuan River, and the Gu River, directing them into the Houzhi Di and the Huchi Dou, splitting the flow at Dizhu and opening the Dragon Gate, to benefit the people of Yan, Dai, Hu, Mo, and the West River region. In the east, he drained the accumulated waters of the Great Land, built dikes for the Mengzhu marsh, divided them into nine rivers, to control the flooding in the east and benefit the people of Ji Province. In the south, he dredged the Yangzi River, the Han River, the Huai River, and the Ru River, making them flow eastward into the Five Lakes region, to benefit the people of Jing, Chu, Gan Yue, and the Southern Yi. This speaks of the deeds of Yu the Great, and now we are to practice universal love. Formerly, King Wen of Zhou governed the western lands, shining like the sun and moon, his radiance illuminating the four quarters and the western lands. He did not bully small states because he was a great state; he did not bully the widowed, the orphaned, and the solitary because he had many people; he did not plunder the grain and livestock of farmers because he was strong and powerful. Heaven looked down upon King Wen's kindness, so the old without sons were able to live out their years; the solitary without brothers were able to live among the multitude; the young who lost their parents were able to have support and grow to adulthood. This speaks of the deeds of King Wen, and now we are to practice universal love. Formerly, King Wu of Zhou was about to sacrifice to Mount Tai, so he made this proclamation: O Mount Tai! The virtuous descendant, King of Zhou, has this matter: The great work has been accomplished; the benevolent have been employed, to serve the Shang, Xia, Man, Yi, Chou, and Mo people. Even if there are close relatives, they are not as good as the benevolent. If the myriad regions have faults, let them all rest on me alone. This speaks of the deeds of King Wu, and now we are to practice universal love.

Thus Master Mozi said: Now the gentlemen of the world, if in their hearts they truly desire the world to be rich and detest its poverty, desire the world to be orderly and detest its chaos, then they should practice mutual love and mutual benefit. This is the law of the sage kings, the great way of ordering the world, and it cannot but be exerted with effort.