1. Doctrine of the Mean (a Confucian Classic)
By Henry Chu

2. Introduction
“Doctrine of the Mean” (“Zhong Yong”) is one of the three Confucian classics, along with “The Great Learning” and “The Analects”.
It is also considered as the spiritual teachings of Confucius.
The entire text consists of thirty-three chapters.

3. Introduction
For the sake of this presentation, we will be focusing on the first chapter and elucidate the spiritual insights of the text.
The goal is to show that Confucius’ teaching is the same teaching as those of the other great teachers.
Please note that the text is the presenter’s own translations (there are other translations) and it is done using the temple’s perspective.

4. Chapter One Text
１．天命之謂性，率性之謂道，修道之謂教。道也者，不可須臾離也，可離非道也。是故君子戒慎乎其所不睹，恐懼乎其所不聞。莫見乎隱，莫顯乎微。故君子慎其獨也。 喜怒哀樂之未發，謂之中；發而皆中節，謂之和；中也者，天下之大本也；和也者，天下之達道也。致中和，天地位焉，萬物育焉。

5. Chapter One Text
Heavenly life is called the Soul, following the Soul is called the Tao, cultivating the Tao is call Teachings. The Tao cannot be removed even for minute moment. That which can be removed is not the Tao. Therefore, a gentleman is cautious with that which cannot be seen and anxious with that which cannot be heard. Nothing is more discerning than that which is invisible and nothing is more pronounced than that which is minuscule. Therefore a gentle is most cautious when he is alone.

6. Chapter One Text
Before the bursting of Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, that is the Center. After the bursting, but with proper extinction, that is Harmony. Center is the great Universal origin, Harmony is the mean to attain Tao. When one attains Center and Harmony, Heaven will bestow divine position, all creations will be nourished.”

7. Doctrine of the Mean
“Heavenly life is called the Soul, following the Soul is called the Tao, cultivating the Tao is call Teachings.”
This is the validation that we are all divine beings and our essence (our soul) is bestowed by Heaven.
We all have divine connection, which enables us to receive divine instruction. But overtime, we have been distracted away from the connection and thus lost our way.

8. Doctrine of the Mean
“The Tao cannot be removed even for minute moment. That which can be removed is not the Tao.”
Even though we lost our focus, our divine connections can never be removed and will always remain within us.
Anything of the physical realm can be taken from us (including the physical body) but our soul and divine connection will always remain.

9. Doctrine of the Mean
“Therefore, a gentleman is cautious with that which cannot be seen and anxious with that which cannot be heard.”
A Confucian gentleman is one who understands the Tao and strives to attain the Tao.
Therefore the gentleman is most cautious about the spiritual matters and most sensitive to spiritual realms, which may be invisible and undetectable to the laymen.

10. Doctrine of the Mean
“Nothing is more discerning than that which is invisible and nothing is more pronounced than that which is minuscule.”
Physical realm is the tip of the iceberg and the spiritual realm will reveal the true state of the individual (i.e. aura).
Even the physical realm will leave small details and imprints of the individual that would indicate the spiritual state (i.e. palm or facial readings).

11. Doctrine of the Mean
“Therefore a gentle is most cautious when he is alone.”
Our guardians are also heavenly spies, therefore nothing that we do can escape the divine (including everything in our thoughts).
From this perspective, there is no such thing as privacy.
Therefore a gentleman will focus on the root of spirituality and strives to purify the heart by safeguarding the thoughts.

12. Doctrine of the Mean
“Before the bursting of Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, that is the Center. After the bursting, but with proper extinction, that is Harmony. ”
Any outburst of emotion will disturb the spirit and removing it from the tranquil center.
With discipline, a person can control one’s emotion and not be overrun by emotion. When a person attains this, then a person will not afflicted by the heart and becomes the master of the heart, hence attains harmony.

13. Doctrine of the Mean
“Center is the great Universal origin, Harmony is the mean to attain the Tao.”
When a person attains absolute tranquility and enters the Wu state, he or she will know that all of creations spawn out of that state. Hence it is the great universal origin.
When a person attains mastery over the spiritual realm, then he or she will have the capacity to assist with the creative process and thus becomes a divine agent.

14. Doctrine of the Mean
“When one attains Center and Harmony, Heaven will bestow divine position, all creations will be nourished.”
When one attains such an state, the divine will bestowed with divine rank (i.e. Bodhisattva), which all spirits of spirit realm will respect.
When one attains such a state, his or her essence will permeate to all parts of the universe and all of creation will benefit and be nourished by such energy.

15. Conclusion
“The Doctrine of the Mean” is truly the spiritual teachings of Confucius.
It takes a person who have received the Tao to understand the intricacies of the text thus elucidate the meaning behind.
These text proved that all saints of the past were teaching the same thing, which is spiritual enlightenment and attainment.

16. Questions