Justice Theory
4. 'Idalah in ancient China and India
In Far Eastern civilizations, such as China and India, in Confucianism and Buddhism and others there is glaing evidence of attention paid to 'idalah. Here, we will irst treat in passing 'idalah in ancient China's political thought and then touch on the subject in ancient Indian political thought.
Confucius, the greatest thinker of ancient China defines government as righteousness and 'idalah as its utilization.
"To govern signiies doing everything correctly. If the pince undetakes the guidance of people out of ighteousness and upightness, no one will dare not to be righteous. If you govern out of right and 'idalah, what need remains for killing and beating?"
From his perspective, the government has a heavy responsibility for attaining this harmony and lending order to people's affairs so that 'idalah will ind expression.
The main duty of government is to organize the affairs of the country and the nation in a way as to fulfill his duty rom top to bottom in conformity with his standing and status in society so that the king is the king, the servant the servant, the father the father, the son the son, and no one transgresses his limit.
In Indian thought, too, reliance on behavior and the creation of harmony between belief and behavior is raised in a way that knowledge and action mingle genuinely. Moreover, Darma, in the tradition of ancient India, is indicative of the world's ethical order and conveys the concept of 'idalah and virtue and itual within whose rameworks Indians should live.
"Anyone talking about Darma has spoken the exact truth."
In the Buddhist perspective, the middle way (the eight steps) or the way to a relief from suffeing would not also be accomplished minus internal journey [towards God], although it relies on an inner purity. Therefore, in the second step, that is, ighteousness and upightness in thought, correct thought has three dimensions:
1- Thought free rom pleasure and carnal desire, 2- thought ree from ill will, 3- thought free rom tyranny, which pave the ground for realization of 'idalah.
Moreover, the ith step signiies correct life, and living based on 'idalah. In other words, one should avoid a lifestyle associated with the harassment of others and should cease doing those acts and activities detimental to others. '
Generally speaking, the path to perfection in Buddhism is knowledge and 'idalah. By knowledge, it means understanding the self, instincts, bonds and needs, 'idalah in this perspective means that we should build our life on a moral basis so that accordingly, we can attain perfection through moderation and a middle way.
By and large, 'idalah in eastern mentality has been raised in two dimensions of monotheistic religions (Zoroastianism, Judaism and Chistianity) and human schools of thought and philosophies (such as Confucianism and Buddhism). The latter predominantly treat the signiicance of 'idalah and its standing in practical life and methods of its implementation. The former view 'idalah as a fundamental principle, without which life has no meaning; and other human laws are erected on its basis. The One God is the embodiment of general and real 'idalah and His 'idalah is a point of depature and the real pattern for the realization of human 'idalah.
Source:
"Justice Theory" book by The Institute for Compilation and Publication of Imam Khomeini's Works
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