加密数字货币交易所-《论语》详解：给所有曲解孔子的人-子曰：道，不同、不相为谋

Confucius said: The Way is not the same, and does not conspire together.

Detailed explanation: Since the compilation of the Analects, the punctuation of this sentence has always been “The Way is not the same, and does not conspire together,” interpreted as “Between good and evil, right and wrong, one cannot cooperate or conspire; people walking different paths cannot plan together,” etc. It equates people with differing opinions or aspirations as unable to work together. This treats “hearing, seeing, learning, acting” and the “Way of the Sage” as an elite small group, and considers the “Way of the Sage” as a small or private path, which is contrary to the spirit of “harmony without uniformity” in the Analects and Confucianism. Imagine if “The Way is not the same,” then what is “harmony without uniformity”? Could “harmony without uniformity” be just a boring game played within an elite group of gentlemen practicing the “Way of the Sage”?

The correct punctuation should be “The Way, not the same, and does not conspire together.” The common misunderstanding arises from treating the character “相” as a level tone adverb, but this is only the later meaning of “相.” “相,” in the fourth tone, originally means “observe,” extended to “judge a person’s fate based on appearance,” and then to “choose.” Here, “相” means “choose,” and “不相” means “not choose.” “谋” means “solicit opinions or solutions to difficult problems,” extended to “plan or discuss methods,” etc. In the Analects, there are also phrases like “谋道” (plan the Way) and “谋食” (plan for food), which are consistent with the meaning of “谋” here.

The Way, the Way of the Sage, is like a great river— it does not “choose” nor does it force “uniformity.” It is “not the same,” “not conspire together.” “The Way of the Sage” in “谋” (planning) is “not the same,” “not conspire.” “Not the same” means “different,” as mentioned in the previous chapter “Attack the heresy, and this is harm to oneself.” One cannot attack “difference” or seek to eliminate “difference,” otherwise it would violate “not the same,” which contradicts the “Way of the Sage.” “Not conspire,” means “not to conspire based on appearances,” all choices are based on assumptions or standards, i.e., “based on appearances.” The most common example is “judging by appearance,” extended to include judging by thoughts, viewpoints, ideologies, economic levels, etc. All are based on appearances, which is contrary to the “Way of the Sage.”

“Different” and “not conspire” are closely related. “Different” is the realization of “not conspire,” and “not conspire” is the prerequisite for “different.” Only with “not conspire” can “different” be possible; otherwise, the premise is “conspire,” based on appearances, which makes “difference” impossible. The result would only be some kind of abstract standard or a uniform template clone. Only when “difference” is truly achieved does “not conspire” have meaning and can be realized; otherwise, “not conspire” is just a superficial slogan. The “Way of the Sage” ultimately is based on “difference.” Only with “difference” can there be “Great Unity” (“Datong”). The key to “Great Unity” is not “sameness,” but “greatness,” encompassing all, like “Heaven and Earth,” rather than having flowers of only one color or birds of only one call. True “Great Unity” is not “sameness in Great Unity,” but “difference in Great Unity.” To have “difference,” one must first achieve “greatness.” Without “greatness,” there is no “difference.” Without “difference,” there is no “Great Unity.”

Besides the three “not” statements in the general outline of the Analects, the sentence “The Way, not the same, and does not conspire together,” is a very important chapter in the Analects. In later sayings, the significance of this chapter is often elaborated. For example, there is the saying “The gentleman is harmonious but not uniform,” and “There are teachings without discrimination,” etc. But these are just specific expressions of the ideas in this chapter, subordinate to it. The importance of this chapter lies in establishing the highest principle for the gentleman practicing “the Way of the Sage”: that is, “not the same,” “not conspire.” It must be emphasized that “not conspire” does not mean individuals do not choose their own actions or thoughts, but that when dealing with different individuals or groups, one cannot use an authoritative or divine, arbitrary way to “conspire” based on appearances. This point must be made clear. **$ZEN **$TESTZEUS **$ZETA **