1/26/12

When doing charity it is not often thought of as a selfish act, but once again Confucius gave my class another way to look at what was thought as a common mentality. Confucius belief was that is you do anything, even if it is with the best intentions in mind, you are being selfish. Because you are doing something that makes you feel better is a selfish act. To lead a life of true benevolence we are expected to do kind things without feeling any sort of happiness for yourself for helping another. But the question is what about the people that truly do acts that involve no thought of themselves but only for others. An example would be a soldier jumping on a grenade in order to save others. Hope would that be an act of ones self when you are surfacing your own life? Confucius would say that person was happy that the soldier was content about jumping on the grenade before he died. I feel that if you are doing something that befits others and if you are willing to risk your time or even your life that it should be seen as a kind act, not a selfish thought.