By Liam Ballinagar

Born Kong Qui in 551 B.C. to poor parents, Confucius, as Westerners have come to know him, had one main interest in life; he wanted to find a way for the government to better take care of it’s people. During the Eastern Chou Dynasty, Confucius’ family was rich, but they had angered the Emperor and had their land and wealth striped from them. Kung Fu Tzu as the Chinese people called him was a hard-working child; and later on, as he grew up, people said he was fair and polite. Confucius loved to learn things, though, so his family sent him to Zhou, the Imperial City, to study at school.

While in school, it is believed that Confucius met and befriended Lao Tzu; who later became known as the founder of Taoism; a philosophy based on the law of opposites – no love without hate, no day without night, no male without female…the Yin and the Yang. Later, when Confucius finished school he returned home to Lu to teach. When Confucius turned 35, he became interested in politics. It is believed that he tried to petition the Duke of Lu to give him money and land, but this request was denied and he fell back on teaching.

He did spend some time as the city Magistrate; and later, the Chief Minister, when he was 50 years old. Confucius, though, became dissatisfied with the way the Duke of Lu governed and he resigned his post. He then left Lu, only to return in the twilight of his years. Confucius spent those years in between, traveling from town to town around China with his friends and students. From time to time, he was known to advise different rulers of different regions. Often, the advice he gave was considered traitorous or wrong; and on one occasion he was even jailed for 5 days!

At the age of 67, Confucius finally returned to his beloved hometown to settle down. He died at the age of 72. The philosophy of Confucius is two-fold, but multi-faceted. Confucius believed that peace could be achieved if people did their duty. That duty was to cooperate with society by obeying the laws of the government, the Emperor; doing their duty for their parents and family, doing right by their children, and doing their duty to their ancestors and gods. If the people rebelled against their duty and anarchy prevailed then the world would be filled with unhappiness and strife.

On the other side, the government should do it’s duty for the people, and the Emperor should not ask too much of his people, be fair and just, and help them as they have helped him. The Basis of Being understands this and through it’s words it seeks to convey the same message, as long as all work toward a common goal – irregardless of how they get there, all will be well. Does this mean it is okay to do something evil if the outcome is good? Not necessarily, but the fact remains that something good can and will come from something bad. It’s life – it happens.

Since it was Confucius’ goal to make people and especially governments behave better, the Chinese government disliked him and his ideals. But, as with most great men, his ideas were adopted by most Chinese Emperors posthumously. The sometimes-cryptic philosophy of Confucius can be summed up in a story that people have shared about him: A Student of Confucius, Zi Lu, asked him, “When we hear a good idea, should we start on it right away?” Confucius told him that that would not be wise.

Ran Yu, another student asked the same question of him in another instance. To this, Confucius said, “Of course, you should start on it immediately.” Still, another student, having witnessed both exchanges became confused. “Confucius,” he asked. “Why did you answer the same question from two different men differently?” To this he replied, “Ran Yu has a hard time making decisions, so I encouraged him to be bolder. Zi Lu, on the other hand, sometimes does things without thought, so I reminded him that he should be careful. Is it not natural that two different people should have different answers…?”

And, here is the fundamental truth of the Basis of Being; one’s path through life may not be the same as another one’s path, but the goals remain the same…to live life and do it well. There is nothing cryptic about this concept, if a concept is what it can be called – more of an epiphany at the least. The teachings of Confucius and the Basis of Being fit well together. The Basis teaches us that as long as there is progress, things are good. Confucius taught that any forward progress is, at least, progress.

The Basis Of Being supports all beliefs that lead to a prosperous and peaceful lifelong pursuit of happiness for not only ourselves, but those around us.

What is the Basis of Being?

The Basis Of Being is a groundbreaking book broken down into 13 Chapters of 28 Maxims each. Written by Liam Ballinagar & Gamble Leidolf; edited by Corine San Crainte, this wonderful pocket sized guide will change your life forever. With 364 Pearls of Wisdom, you can make but one alteration a day and by the end of 12 months, you might not recognize yourself. But of course your good deeds will have been rewarded and come back to you tenfold. Thank you for considering the Basis Of Being. If you are ready for the Future: CLICK HERE