Thirty-Six Eight-Diagram Arrays: The Array of Ethical Relations

Xuefeng

“Ethical Relations” refers to the relationships established between individuals based on various factors such as generation, status, seniority, gender, and degree of kinship. These relationships include those between grandparents and grandchildren, parents and children, spouses, siblings, uncles and nephews, aunts and nieces, in-laws, rulers and subjects, superiors and subordinates, leaders and followers, employers and employees, masters and disciples, teachers and students, and so on.

Various roles in society, such as the President, Vice President, Secretary of State, Prime Minister, Ministers, Governors, Mayors, County Magistrates, Bureau Chiefs, Section Chiefs, Town Chiefs, Village Chiefs, and ordinary people, form a hierarchical array. Similarly, roles in a corporation like Chairmen, CEOs, managers, team leaders, and staff members form another array. In religious contexts, the Pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, monks, and believers form yet another array. In a family context, relationships between grandparents, parents, children, and grandchildren form an array.

From these principles, we derive a network of relationships: familial relationships, relationships with nature and society, relationships among divine beings, ethical human relationships, moral norms, ethical principles, order of relationships (sequence, order, structure), generational relationships, matching relationships, party relationships, military relationships, relationship charts, quality of relationships, noble relationships, prestigious relationships, tribal relationships, material relationships, experiential relationships, quality of relationships, intimate relationships, listed relationships, peer relationships, and so on, forming a network of relationships.

Ethical relations uphold the order in human society, establishing a clear hierarchy and maintaining orderliness among individuals based on mutual respect and deference. Every individual, regardless of who they are, navigates their life within this matrix of ethical relations, embedded in this intricate web of interpersonal relationships. Should anyone breach these ethical relations, they will face the punitive consequences of this ethical matrix. Such transgressions may include “violating norms and ethics,” “disrupting societal relations,’ “disregarding moral principles,” or “behaving worse than beasts,” resulting in a moral torment or societal condemnation.

By binding individuals within these ethical relations, people are provided with guidelines to follow, preventing chaos and disorder. However, being trapped within these ethical relations, individuals become ensnared in a perpetual cycle of life and death, unable to escape the inevitable realm of existence. They are also unable to escape the confines of the territories of different qualities of LIFE.

For instance, the influence of parental relations within the ethical array is so profound that it becomes difficult for individuals to escape. Similarly, marital relations within the ethical array constitute a significant portion of one’s life, meaning that half of one’s happiness or misery is created by their spouse.

Once interpersonal relationships are established among individuals, they inevitably come under their influence. Aspects such as consciousness, thought, emotion, spirit, lifestyle, daily routine, diet, ideology, and so on, are unable to form an independent and complete personality and self-system. They cannot achieve harmony.

The entire operation of human society is constituted by the array of ethical relations.

To transcend to a celestial state, to escape the confines of the realm of necessity and enter the realm of freedom, one must escape the ethical array.

Buddha said, “All sentient beings are equal,” but within the ethical array, equality among sentient beings is difficult to achieve.

The reality of life’s cycle of reincarnation tells us that the ethical relationships between individuals in this life differ greatly from those in past and future lives. One’s grandmother from a past life may become their daughter in this life, their wife in this life may become their mother in the next life, their children in this life may have been enemies in a past life, and someone who helped them in this life may have been their dog in their past life… The relationships between people, what are they exactly? If we limit our understanding of relationships to the present moment, everything seems clear, but if we expand our understanding to encompass a broader span of time and space, everything becomes confusing and difficult to discern.

It’s quite troublesome! Quite complex! It’s a headache! It’s better to treat everyone equally and love all sentient beings.

How to escape the ethical array?

Cultivate independent consciousness, cultivate a complete personality, follow the laws of life and existence according to the will of the Ancestor of Buddha, the Greatest Creator, heed the teachings of Christ Jesus, Buddha Shakyamuni, and the celestial Laozi, establish moral guidelines for a happy, joyful, free, and blessed life. Regardless of who you are, as long as you can make me happy, joyful, free, and blessed, I’ll play with you; otherwise, I won’t. Regardless of who you are, as long as you can help my life ascend to the realm of freedom and reach heaven, I’ll play games with you; otherwise, goodbye!

However, one must still fulfill their responsibilities and obligations and repay their debts.