有所为,有所不为——孟子天命观之启示

Something They Can Do, Something They Will Not Do——The Inspiration from Mencius’ View of the Mandate of Heaven

天命观是孟子哲学体系的根基。孟子之天有自然之天、主宰之天、义理之天和命运之天四种涵义,这四种涵义是相互涵摄的,此四种不同的天论生成不同的天命概念。儒家的天、天命从来都是与人相关联的,由不同的天之涵义所形成的天命观给予人两方面的启示:其一,天命之种种限制,加深了人对主体能力有限性的认识;其二,个体可明确付诸努力的方向,即确信自我的力量。简而言之,即有所为,有所不为。二者皆由修身之功体现于个体之生命历程中,在二者处笃诚修身以求与天相参合,方能达于“上下与天地同流”的境界。

The view of mandate of heaven is the foundation of Mencius’ philosophical system. Mencius’ Heaven has four meanings: Heaven as substantial nature, Heaven as God, Heaven as Ethics, and Heaven as fate. These four meanings are mutually connoted. These four different kinds of Heaven theory produce different concepts of mandate of heaven. Confucianism has always been associated with people, and the concept of mandate of heaven formed by different connotations of Heaven has given people two inspirations: First, the limitations of mandate of heaven deepen their understanding of the limited ability of the subject;second, the direction of individual efforts can be clearly defined, that is, the conviction of self-power. In short, there is something they can do and something they will not do. Both are embodied in the life course of the individual by the work of self-cultivation, and in both cases, one can cultivate oneself sincerely in order to be in harmony with Heaven, and only then can one reach the state of “flowing abroad above and below together with Heaven and Earth”.