Ren

To me, the meaning of “Ren” in Confucianism is one of the most beautiful and complex descriptions of a virtue. The meaning of Ren is fairly different than a lot of ideologies or religious beliefs. Personally, I see Confucianism as more of an ideology or philosophy rather than a religion but I know the discussion is up for debate. The golden rule of Confucianism is “Do not do unto others what you would not want others to do unto you” (National Geographic Society). I love this belief and truly wish to live by this simple quote. Ren is particularly interesting to me because sometimes I find the quality of human connection quite difficult. Although Ren has been defined in many ways, my general understanding of “Ren” is to love others and the pure connection between human beings. Ren translates to English as “benevolence”, generally one can say that Ren is showing kindness to others, although I find the meaning to be more detailed than simply being kind. Ren is not only being kind and giving love, but the true as well as pure connection to another human being. Humans are a pool of complex emotions and deep inner feelings, sometimes a true and pure connection is not always gentle or kind but should always be pure and true, constantly trying to improve ourselves as well as the human/s we are connecting with. If we are genuinely being pure to one another or truly being honest in our connection to another human being, with our most loving intention at heart, does that necessarily mean kindness, or at the very least gentleness? I personally think all true and pure nature would come from a place of love, kindness and gentleness, the meaning of “Ren”, all intertwined as one. In Confucianism, Ren is an important part of politics, claiming that if a person does not identify with Ren, they would not be a suitable leader. “A ruler lacking such a mandate need not be obeyed, but a ruler who reigns humanely and takes care of the people is to be obeyed, for the benevolence of his dominion shows that he has been mandated by heaven” (Ren (Confucianism)). I believe Ren to be more important to human life than we may believe, as pure and true connection amongst one another becomes rarer as distractions or trauma deter us from loving each other. I would like to embody Ren as a philosophy and have genuine connections with my fellow human beings.

Works Cited

National Geographic Society. “Confucianism.” National Geographic Society, 7 July 2020, www.n “Ren (Confucianism).” The Spiritual Life, 27 June 2020, slife.org/ren-confucianism/.

ationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/confucianism/.