作者：汤汉 Tong, John 年份：1977
PREFACE
Last year, Fr. Mark Fang, professor of Sacred Scripture of Fujen University, Fr. Edward Malone, assistant secretary of the Federation of Asian Bishops' Conferences and I went to pay a visit to Rev. Peter K.H. Lee at the Christian Study Centre on Chinese Religion and Culture, which is situated on the top of a hill in Shatin. Built in the style of a Chinese Buddhist monastery, it had been used as a Buddhist temple. Later it was bought by a Lutheran Community for the purpose of holding dialogue between Christians and Buddhists. Now it has extended its usage and become the Christian Study Centre. The environment was enchanting; to be there was like being in a fairyland. After a little chat Rev. Lee took us to have a look at the environment. Passing through an arch on the slope of a hill we saw a couplet which says:
"Many walk along the wide road where they find no true happiness,
Few enter the narrow gate wherein is found eternal life."
宽路行人多并无真乐，
窄门进者少内有永生。
It is very interesting that this couplet connects together true happiness and eternal life. It struck us most because among us there were Chinese who are deep in the Eastern culture and there was also an American who reflects the western culture. Besides, we were at a place which was once used as a Buddhist temple and now as a Christian Study Centre. It happened also that I was thinking of writing something on joy. So I copied the couplet at once and use it now as an introduction to my essay.
A. THE TWO ESCHATOLOGICAL TRENDS OF TODAY
As there is a close relationship between joy and eternal life, I would like first of all to introduce the two modern eschatological trends before going deeper into the topic "joy".
About a decade ago, two scholars, Howard Clark Kee and Franklin W. Young, in their book A Study on the New Testament, had pointed out that the two trends of Modern Eschatology were already evident in the early church persecution period. According to their point of view the first conflict between the Christians and the Roman Empire started at the time of Nero (54-68 A.D.). In July 64 a great fire broke out in Rome which lasted for six days and the greater part of the city was burnt to ashes. Though it was said that this great fire was caused by the irresponsible act of Nero, it might well have been due to the lack of communication between the Christians and the Romans of those days. So Nero could make use of the anti-Christian feeling of the people and lay the blame on the Christians, thus distracting the public attention. The second conflict took place at the time of Domitian (81-96). Domitian was the first Emperor who proclaimed himself a god, not only within his own capital but also to the boundaries of the Empire. So he looked upon all Christians who would not worship him as god as disloyal to the Empire and condemned them to death.
Kee and Young point out that these two incidents gave rise to two reactions among the early Christians - the pacificatory and the uncompromising attitudes. The former can be presented by the authors of the First Letter of Peter and of the Letter to the Hebrews. By means of these letters they warned their brethren in Christ not to be agitated by the coming of suffering, but that they should be patient in waiting, looking upon suffering as chastisement from God, because Christ himself had also suffered while on earth. They had no intention to rouse the hatred of believers against the Roman Government; on the contrary, they advised them to respect the Emperor and his Government. The uncompromising party was represented by the author of Revelation. He asked believers to stand firm in faith when faced with the threat of persecution, of suffering, of death. Through the description of the struggle between the Child and the Red Dragon he wanted to project the contest between the power of God and the influence of Satan. The result of it was that the Child who represented the resurrected Christ gained control over the Red Dragon which represented the Roman Government. This school prophesied that the relation between the state and the church would one day come to an end and he asked believers to be strong in their faith in resisting the evil power of the time.
Finally Kee and Young also point out how the two different attitudes developed into the two modern eschatological trends of thoughts. The pacificatory party adopted the Greek thought of Plato which, when joined to the historical concept of the Christian religion, formed a pattern. According to this pattern things on earth are the imperfect miniature of the heavenly perfection. Therefore the eschatological hope of believers is not based on the imperfection of the present world compared with the perfection of the world to come, but on the imperfection of the present world with the perfection of the future heaven. The uncompromising party adopted the Jewish apocalyptic literature, using strange phenomena and signs to express faith, and reminding the contemporary church of the belief that the redemption of the Lord will be perfected, moving from the perfection of the earth to the perfection of the world to come. If they wished that the new heaven and the new earth would appear sooner, they had to trust in the promise of the Lord, not dreading suffering but participating in all life's practical activities.
These two schools of eschatological thought, appearing in the early church, not only deeply influenced her life, but also prevails in the theological field of this century and gave rise to a conflict in the Catholic Church in the forties between the eschatologists and the incarnationalists. It also gave rise to the flux of the theology of hope in the Protestant churches in the sixties. Recently, with the motto of "theological indigenization" Christian faith has been sifted of its western accessories, i.e., of the western culture which has been appended to the explanation of faith; and study has been made into the various cultures and traditions and, especially through the eastern religious mysticism, into the innate spirit of Scriptural eschatology.
Last month by chance I picked up the magazine Ching Feng (Chinese edition) vol. 48 and came across two articles about "Joy". "The spirit of Joy in Chinese Philosophy" by John Wu was rich in content and feeling, making for easy reading. The second article is a book review by Liu Po-Chuen on "Moltmann's Joy and Theology". It stirs the reader to raise critical questions about his own actual state of joy and to reconsider it. I personally think that these two articles on "Joy" find expression in the two eschatological trends, the former carves out Joy's inner transcendance and the latter stresses its social liberating action. These strike me and have set me thinking. Now I will try to examine the joy of a Christian from these two angles.
B. THE TWO THEOLOGICAL VIEWPOINTS ON JOY
Searching for happiness is one of the purposes of life. Men of all times and places are keen on working for it and yet they cannot clarify the different strata of the concept of joy. Some look upon material enjoyment as happiness; other relish friendship as happiness. Aristotle, the Greek philosopher rightly classified joy into two types: that of a temporary nature he termed pleasure; that of a permanent nature he termed happiness. But I personally prefer a definition given by a writer who picks out three words and gives them a meaningful significance. They are "pleasure", "happiness", and "joy". The happy feeling which comes from the material and through the five senses is called pleasure; the relish experienced in human relationship is called happiness; and that blessing which comes from God and never changes is called joy. All these come from different strata of joy, closely related yet different. Indeed throughout the Old and the New Testaments joy is particularly connected with Israel or with the whole church. Joy is not the sudden fruit of faith; it is the chief strain running through the whole relation with God. The Encyclopaedia of Scriptural Theology by Alan Richardson minutely points out that joy has its source in the life of God; it is part of the gift from God. It is also the expectation of the final blessedness. Only at the final coming of God will our joy be completed. Therefore in the Old Testament many passages deal with this expectant joy; and with a strong eschatological sense, the Jews look upon joy as inseparable from total salvation (Is. 12:3; 6:10; 65:18-20; Ps. 126). In many of the New Testament parables about the Kingdom of God the concept of joy and the awesome presence of God are linked together (Jn. 3:39; 17:13; Rev. 19:7). All in all, in Scripture joy is always referred to its eschatological reality. This reality, due to the death and resurrection of Christ, has been partially realized in the life of man, and also guaranteed the actualization of the future total redemption.
The joy which the Scripture refers to is not only a passive concept but also an active one: it is a promise and a gift from God, the death and resurrection of Christ being its first fruit. Also it requires the cooperation of man to break all fetters - to free himself and the world in order to receive the salvific joy of God and to bring it to completion. The theology of joy today strives to answer the following question: "How can we live the true spirit of joy in the framework of salvation history?" Theological thought has also been influenced by these two eschatological trends and look at joy from two different strata.
(1)Looking at joy from the Interior Stratum
This system of thought usually begins with the phenomena of life. It seeks first to experience the painful phenomena of birth, old age, sickness and death and then to examine the psychological reaction of people in general when faced with such phenomena of life. Lastly, it searches for the right attitudes of Christian faith when faced with the same phenomena of life.
"Phenomena of life" usually refers to what the existentialists call the pattern of existence and, also as Heidegger says, "Death is the most fundamental pattern of human existence."Because on the day we were born we started proceeding toward death, just like a flower that blooms is going toward its withering. Life and death are so closely connected that they give rise to "anxiety" and "suffering".
How do the people generally react when faced with such phenomena of life? E. Kubler-Ross, after a long period of observation, had written a book. The Last Journey, in which she synthesizes the general psychological reaction into five main streams: 1. denial and refusal; 2. resistance and anger; 3. gambling and bargaining; 4. frustration; 5. involuntary acceptance. Why are such negative psychological reactions experienced? There is no other reason except that man looks upon death as the end or extremity of life, so that he cannot help feeling sad, regretting that he has not yet done his best and it is already time to die.
But facing the same life phenomena, what attitude does Christian faith inspire in us? First of all we should know how Christ faced these life phenomena, and then we see how we Christians should follow his footsteps along the same path. Salvation history tells us that God, because of his love brought forth for mankind. This love is like a calling which requires a life-long response from man. This, in turn, brings about a communication of life. But because man unfortunately committed sin, he lost his way and broke the relation between man and God and between man and man. Therefore Christ lowered himself and became man; and with his own life he reveals to us the way to respond. His life is a total act of obedience to God the Father. He takes the body of a slave, being obedient unto death on the cross, and having emptied himself, he lets the love of the Father fill his whole being. After his Ascension into heaven he continued to act in his believers, so as to have his salvific plan realized. Through the indwelling of the Spirit in man and his inspiration he helps man to be conscious of self and to participate in the act of dying and rising. Therefore Christ and his faithful followers do not look upon death as the end and extremity of life but as a change. Everyday they meet the changes of life with joyful hearts and these changes in life simultaneously bring them a more profound interior joy.
Today the spirit of joy, abundantly hidden in salvation history, has become very bright and clear due to research into Eastern culture and the study of Buddhism. Buddhism also acknowledges that the interior of man has been enslaved by fame and profit. To obtain the joy of liberation he has to practise the art of "breaking through" and "unifying". "Breaking through" means a way of going deeper into life, to break all fetters. "Unifying" is the art of experiencing and recognizing the real "me", rendering the union of the unlimited with the limited. Through the subtle ply of a landscape the Chinese poet, Su Dung Po, was able to give an inkling of the Zen flavour:
The mist of Lu Shan, the tide of Zhe Giang;
Till a man with longing fore his visitation,
Lave a man with void hind his apprehension;
The mist of Lu Shan, the tide of Zhe Giang.
庐山烟雨浙江潮，
未到千般恨不消，
及至到来无一事，
庐山烟雨浙江潮。
Dr.Daisetz Suzuki, the Japanese Zen Master, in his book Zen Buddhism, points out that this is also the view point of the following quotation: "Before a man obtains 'enlightenment',he sees the mountain as mountain and the water as water. When he has learnt the theory of enlightenment through the guidance of a qualified master, he sees the mountain not as a mountain and the water not as water. But when he really arrives at the place of repose, he sees the mountain as mountain again and the water as water again."
Continuing his explanation. Dr. Daisetz Suzuki, "Before achieving enlightenment we see the mountain as mountain. This is because we look at the mountain with the concept of general knowledge and with the analysis of our intellect. The mountain then is lifeless. After achieving enlightenment, we do not look upon the mountain as a natural feature, standing high in front of us, but we transform it into one with all things and the mountain is no longer a mountain. But when we are really enlightened we have already united the mountain to our lives and also our lives into the mountain. Then the mountain becomes a reality, and it has life.
The movement from "seeing the mountain as mountain" to "seeing a mountain not as mountain" is the "breaking through" stage; and the movement from "seeing the mountain not as mountain" to "seeing the mountain as mountain again" is the "unifying" stage. If we connect the stages of breaking and unifying together, and locate it in the faith of Christ, making use of it to transform our lives, by dying to the old self and giving rise to the new self, well, is not this the Paschal Mystery? No wonder, John C. H. Wu in his essay points out that Confucianism leads us to leap over the barrier between self and men; Taoism helps us to leap over the barrier between self and things; Buddhism leads us to leap over the barrier between life and death. Thus our whole life is indeed a journey from the little "me" to the real "me". Arriving there, can we refrain from sighing and saying with St. Paul, "I live, but it is not I that live, but Christ lives in me"? And can we not feel that everyday, every month is but that festive day in creation, in which every minute and every second is filled with excitement and joy?
(2) Looking at Joy from the Social Stratum
After having looked at joy from the interior stratum, now let us turn to look at joy from the social angle. This system of thought usually begins with the social phenomena and leads us to question the purpose and the characteristics of enjoyment provided for ordinary people by politicians, capitalists and cultural leaders. It formulates a critique of the particular theory of amusement. Then it tries to find a way of liberation, with the eye of faith, in order to offer real respect and progress to the nature of men.
The so-called social phenomena are referred to by Moltmann in his book Theology and Joy as the suffering and struggle of life. In the society of today politicians make use sports, competitions, philately and other activities to give the people a moment's relaxation of the spirit. Capitalists give the labourers an occasional holiday of rest; cultural leaders arrange programmes of amusement for the public. Apparently they are very much concerned for the people, but in reality this is only a sort of anaesthesia, hoping that after a moment's disciplined relaxation and repose, they can extend further pressure or squeeze out more work. Well, what is the aim and characteristic of this amusement? Is it for the common people or just for the few on top? Do these enjoyments bring us a greater freedom or a greater bondage?
Of course a Christian cannot stand aside with folded arms and watch all these unjust phenomena! First of all, since he is man, he is automatically a part of the society and has duty to participate and to promote social justice, so as to render perfect the creation of God. Besides, since he is also a Christian, he has the duty to abolish the fetters of social injustice, so as to render the continual influx of the salvific gift which Christ, by dying and rising from the dead, has gained for us. As St. Luke says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19)
How should we participate positively in promoting social justice? Moltmann in his essay also suggests to us the way of breaking through and unifying. In breaking through, he clearly points out that we should root out the concept of utilitarianism and pessimism. So-called utilitarianism takes the achievement of fame and profit as the standard of one's success. Pessimism implies the attitude of not daring to thrust oneself forward, but knowing only to kneel down and beg for pardon, when faced with injustice. Both attitudes of life should be abolished, for if they remain, the just society will never appear, and real and permanent joy is only an utopia. In unifying, it means to affirm the value of everyone's life and work so that he will be respected by others and thus help oneself and others to obtain a complete and thorough human development.
Although Christ spent only three years on earth to spread the good news, before this period he had spent thirty years of hidden life, walking quietly the ordinary path, using his simple life to affirm the value of life, manifesting the greatness of humanity even through lowly work. Therefore after abolishing utilitarianism we ought to establish positively the right concept of value, not taking fame and profit and success as standard but measure it with dedication and intention, so that the life and work of everyone in society will be respected. Besides, despite the fact that what we see in politics, finance and social culture do not correspond to our ideal, we are still full of hope, and through the signs of the times and from Christ who came to serve, we learn to offer our lives, to replace selfishness with love, to promote the progress of the society. Pedro Arrupe Superior General of the Jesuits, in his essay "Men for others", has emphatically expressed this thought and also has realistically suggested to us the following three practical points:
1. Live a simple life — this asks us to resist persistently the tide and fashion of the consumer society, not to follow suit with relatives and friends in buying luxurious goods; but through simple lives we should try to have an excess to be shared among poor and needy brothers.
2. Not to take unjust profit — this implies that we should not care only for the income of our production and neglect the heavy burden laid on the others. Attention should also be paid that although we are in a neither high nor low position in society and apparently we are not oppressing anyone, in reality we are using the neither high nor low means to sustain the oppressing system, or indirectly we are oppressing the victims.
3. Reform the unjust system — this is a further step and it is also the most difficult one. It requires of us to dedicate ourselves to the thorough reform of the unjust system, to arouse the consciousness of the oppressed and to help them in practical ways to fight for the victory of justice.
With confidence, strength and the guarantee given us by the death and resurrection of Christ, we not only see clearly but also can go forward courageously towards the goal we are longing for. Human history will surely break through the present state and arrive at the state of completion. While we are alive, we shall surely have to labour. But this labour will no longer be a bondage or a yoke; it will originate from freedom and be motivated by love. The Lord will wipe away all tears from men's eyes and there will be no more grief or pain (Rev.21: 2-4). We will enjoy the joy of eternal freedom in the city of God, as described by Isaiah, "Arise, Jerusalem, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you … And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising… Then you shall see and be radiant, your heart shall thrill and rejoice… " (Is. 60:1-6)
C. EVALUATION AND CONCLUSION
The two perspectives introduced above, of course, point to two aspects of the one joy. They are not exclusive but complementary to each other. For if we start from our heart and stop in our heart, although we can become light of spirit, be made happy, yet we shall be led to an individualism lacking in constructive effect to the society. Contrarily, if we start with society and stop with society, although we can give service to the people and the world, we shall surely loose our interiority and become a lost generation.
I personally think that because of the difference of Eastern and Western cultures our ways of searching for joy are also different. Here are two examples to illustrate this point:
Example 1. It is said that when the Buddha Sakyamuni was preaching on a certain hill, he took a flower and showed it to the people quietly, not uttering a word. His disciples looked at one another, not understanding what he meant. Only his eldest disciple Mahakasyapa gave a knowing smile. Then the Buddha said, "I have a wonderful way which is hidden from sight. I will not write it down or preach it abroad; but I hand it on to Mahakasyapa." Why is a smile so important which enabled Mahakasyapa to inherit the honourable office of his master to rule the monastery? Nothing very special! It is because Eastern people, unlike Westerners, who stress differentiation more, take the interior stratum and the social stratum and combine them into one. Therefore Eastern people think that if joy starts from the interior, then with incessant fostering, it will naturally extend outward and come to the social stratum and then to the whole mankind. In like manner, if it starts from the social angle, it will also go from the exterior to the interior, enabling real joy to reach the depth of one's soul.
Example 2. Bertrand Russell said that when he was young, he was always unhappy. Later, he learnt to extend his attention to others, and be a person who always gave, who enlarged his own interests and set his emotions free. Then, and only then, could he taste joy and really become the locus of the feelings and happiness of others. The example of Russell can represent the attitude of the majority of the Westerners in their search for joy. They stress differentiation and try first of all to distinguish clearly the social angle and the interior angle and then begin searching for happiness.
But regardless of the stress of Eastern culture on joining and the Western culture on differentiation, I think that for complete joy, deep commitment is indispensable.
In fact, N. Z. Zia in his book Christianity and Chinese Thought has examined Christian faith and the New Chinese Cultural Movement. He correctly points out that the New Chinese Cultural Movement, in order to oppose the "man-consuming culture" and further, in order to oppose "man-consuming man", has drawn many men into the modern tide of Lenin-Marxism. In order to rebuild the national fortunes and its tradition, we should interchange, criticize and harmonize Eastern and Western cultures. Therefore, what Christian faith can offer to Chinese thought is the taking of its innate mysticism and its social service and combine them together so that everyone can at once be a thoroughly new man in Christ through the grace of salvation, and so make suffering China experience the real taste of joy.
To conclude, it is worthwhile to use another Buddhist story to remind ourselves that we should put unceasing effort into our commitment. Tradition says that Su Dung Po and the monk Fo In were good friends. They lived on opposite banks of the river and they often communicated with each other. One day after his Zen exercise Su Dung Po felt very tranquil and comfortable, so he wrote a poem on the wall:
I bow down my head in concentration.
Though the sun is shining brightly,
But not even the eight winds can move me,
As I sit at the lotus position!
稽首天中天，
毫光照大千,
八风吹不动，
端坐紫金莲。
Not long after, Fo In came to visit Su and read the poem. He took up the brush and wrote by its side, "Foul Air!" and then crossed the river back to his monastery. After his quiet sitting, Su saw the two words and he recognized the handwriting of Fo In. He was enraged! He crossed the river, thinking of getting hold of Fo In in revenge. But when he arrived at the monastery, he found the door closely locked; and on it were written two rows of words:
What the eight winds could not have moved,
Some foul air across the river has pushed!
八风吹不动
一屁打过江
Instantly Su Dung Po realized that he was still far behind in fostering the feat of unifying, for he himself knew only how to rely on words and on superficial feeling. Therefore he dared not knock at the door but quietly took the same boat and returned home.
From this, we can learn that St. Paul's "Rejoice always in the Lord" is indeed profound and practical knowledge!
(Translated by Sister Dorothy Cheng)