Meaning Of Tradition

This essay is the result of the author's many years of confusion and self-reflection on her own Dasein.Who are we? How do we exist? When we reflect upon ourselves, "modernity" is a word that we cannot escape from using.The Western world has already spilled a lot of ink regarding the analysis of modernity.But without a doubt, from the perspective of deep ontology Heidegger has made the greatest contribution to this analysis.So-called "deep ontology" always includes the following aporia:Can we still alter our fundamental mode of being in the world? And the answer to this question is decided by our being,and mode of existence,also from what perspective we understand our being;and if we can alter our mode of being,then what direction should we go? And from where can we stand to achieve this change?I have gradually found that Heidegger has deeply thought about these problems. No other thinker can compare with him in the depth of his analysis.And this term of praise is not without foundation.As I point out in this paper,the source(ursprung) was Heidegger's life long preoccupation.His writings express a profound fascination towards understanding our origins.This is Heidegger's starting point for all other thinking.Technology has already uprooted Humanity from it's source.And it is just because of this deep respect for origins that he had this clear and painful reflection upon "uprootedness".And also due to this that my estimation of Heidegger's importance in Western philosophy is not an exaggeration.Tradition is encountered in the self-reflection of our being.And if we honestly reflect upon this,we must be shocked to discover:In those so-called "undeveloped" times,how did our ancestors turn the vast heaven and earth into a warm home,and how have we,on this familiar earth,become strangers?Today,our attitude towards tradition is completely "modernized".And this itself displays our embarassing predicament between modernity and tradition.This attitude of modernity pushes tradition further and further away from us.We seem not to have clearly recognized the following problem:What does tradition really mean to us?This paper is divided into two main sections:"Heidegger Thinking" will help us reflect upon our mode of being;and "The Meaning of Tradition" will serve to show us the traditional mode of "continuity of Man and Nature".In this section we will also use the Yizhuan and Wang Yangming philosophies to serve as examples of this mode of being.In the Heidegger section will focus upon the following problems:1.Technology has become our mode of being.Technology is not just a tool or a goal,but is actually a mode of covering.It is also the case that technology is our being itself.The essence of modern technology is its "enframing"(Ge-stell)."Ge-stell encompasses everything is to say:The essence of Man has been enclosed by a power, questioned by this power,challenged by this power.This power is the essence of technology revealing itself,man cannot control it by himself."(This is the "destiny" of being and its Ge-stell)."Where this enframing exists,the highest danger resides."(On the Question Concerning Technology) Technology has its metaphysical roots,it comes from a dualistic subjective-objective metaphysics.The essence of this dualistic metaphysics is the flourishing of selfish desire.Selfish desire is the falling away from origins.Because the origin has been forgotten,nihilism presents itself.2.Our problems.Today,our attitude towards tradition is technological,this reveals our mode of being itself.Tradition has been objectified.We exploit(bestellen) tradition.This attitude towards tradition reflects our nihilism.But different from the West,our nihilism comes from the undeniable strangeness of tradition.What does tradition mean for us? Why does tradition seem more and more strange and distant? But why are we unable to avoid wanting to come closer to tradition?The unfamiliarity of tradition comes from the fact that our mode of being is fundamentally technological.But in contradistinction to this,tradition is also a mode of being.For us,tradition points in the direction of our origins.The place of our origins is our home,tradition is our dwelling place,it is where we should return.The meaning of tradition.The mode of being of tradition is "continuity of nature and man".The real implications of the meaning of "continuity of nature and man" in tradition seems not to have been thought through."The continuity of nature and man" is not just some thought or basic spirit of Chinese philosophy.It is also not just some ideal for the ancients.It is precisely the mode of being of tradition itself.1."The Continuity of nature and man" in the Yizhuan.This way of being first of all originated from a deep sense of gratitude for the flourishing of life between heaven and earth.Moreover,due to the feeling brought about by the power of ceaseless flourishing giving rise to yin and yang energies,the four seasons,and the six couplings. The origin is the primal parents Heaven and Earth and the ceaseless flourishing they give forth.The ten-thousand things receive there proper place from here.Humanity receives its proper destiny from here.So humans should cultivate virtue to serve tian. "The continuity of nature and man" reveals every aspect of traditionary being,it is itself the essence of tradition.For example,the traditional mode of humanity modeling its Rites and Music(liyue礼乐) on nature;and imitating nature in the implementation of things,etc.The authenticitity of tian.Nature and Destiny come from tian.Yizhuan views the way of tian as the highest efficacy.To properly accept nature and destiny is auspicous, to enjoy tian's gift is the highest authenticity(xin信).Authenticity is belief in tian. Belief in tian is not to make tian into an object for belief,but this belief itself is the "continuity of nature and man."2.Explication of Wang Yangming's philosophy.Since the essence of technology is the flourishing of selfish desire,then the question arises:How can we today conquer selfishness and return to our origins? Authenticity is our starting point.No matter what kind of mode of being(Ge-stell) we live under,there is always the possibility of turning against the way of tian and thereby losing our proper nature and destiny.This possibility is the tension between man and tian.Wang Wangming had a strong feeling for this problem,and this tension is dealt with thoroughly throughout his philosophy.The tian bestowed nature is the most efficacious.This is conscience(liang zhi知).Only because people's hearts are covered by selfish desire do we lose our original efficacy.Therefore we need to do "rectifying processes"(gewu格物) cultivation to return to our original nature.This type of cultivation is called expanding conscience (zhi liangzhi致良知) in Wang Yangming's thought.In his famous "Four Phrase Teaching"(si ju jiao四句教) the aforementioned tension is fully dealt with:"No good, no evil,is the substance of the heart;Good and Evil,the movement of consciousness; Knowing Good and Knowing Evil,is Conscience;Doing Good and Removing Evil,is rectifying processes."The tension between tian and man is fully dealt with by authenticity(xin信).If we today want to "Preserve the pattern of tian,and remove selfish desire" then we must return to an authentic state of being.Understanding of authenticity can only be had in this returning as self-cultivation.Substance is only in cultivation,without cultivation there is no uncovering substance.The saving power is in authenticity.