2The Ten Doctrines

2.1 What the doctrines are for

2.1.1 The ten core essays of the Mozi are known together as the Ten Doctrines (十论). The Community takes them as a shared program of practice. When you affirm them on becoming a Mohist, you are saying "I am willing to act this way," not swearing "I believe this is true."

2.1.2 The Community asks no one to profess belief in Heaven, in spirits, or in anything supernatural. Within the Community, Heaven's Will (天志) and Ghosts (明鬼) are practiced as two attitudes: there is an objective standard above any ruler, and one should act as if watched. How the historical Mohists understood these two essays is a topic for weekly study, not a condition of joining. (Test: precedent)

2.1.3 A Mohist may hold reservations about any doctrine and argue against it openly in 墨辩. The doctrines are objects of testing, not premises exempt from it.

2.1.4 No leader may refuse admission, release someone from an assignment, or limit anyone's speech because their reading of a doctrine differs.

2.2 The ten affirmations

2.2.1 Impartial care (兼爱) — We value every person's welfare alike. Regard others' states as your own, others' households as your own, others' persons as your own. In the Community, impartial care becomes concrete through care pairs, the Care Fund, and the 非攻 Corps.

2.2.2 Against aggression (非攻) — We oppose every act of aggression, whether by a state, an institution, or a person. Killing one person is wrong; killing a hundred does not become right because the number is larger. Mohists make the 非攻 pledge on joining, chapter 3.

2.2.3 Exalting the worthy (尚贤) — We give responsibility to people who are capable and honest, without regard to birth, wealth, or connection. Every assignment in the Community is made this way, chapters 4 and 7.

2.2.4 Shared standards (尚同) — We act under common standards and report what we see upward, truthfully. 尚同 is not obedience to a person; it is a shared standard, and it only works if what happens below can reach those above.

2.2.5 Frugality (节用) — We do not spend resources where they benefit no one. Mohists affirm the 节用 standard on joining, chapter 3.

2.2.6 Simple funerals (节葬) — We say goodbye to the dead simply and keep resources for the living. The Community prescribes no form of funeral; it only recommends restraint.

2.2.7 Heaven's Will (天志) — We accept that there is an objective standard above any ruler, any Juzi, and any majority: whether an act benefits everyone. Mohists measure themselves by it and measure their leaders by it too.

2.2.8 Ghosts (明鬼) — We act as if someone is always watching. Keeping the rules when no one is checking is the core of a Mohist's character. The Community builds this attitude into its institutions through open records and public fund reports.

2.2.9 Against extravagance (非乐) — While anyone still lacks food, clothing, or rest, we do not spend on luxury. This is not opposition to music or art as such; it is opposition to display while people are in need.

2.2.10 Against fate (非命) — We do not attribute outcomes to fate. Effort works, method works, organization works. This is the premise of everything the Community does. (Test: results)

2.3 Using the doctrines

2.3.1 The 每周一篇 schedule rotates through the Ten Doctrines. Each week's discussion is framed by the Three Tests, chapter 6.

2.3.2 In your annual Three Tests self-review you may choose one or two doctrines and look back at what you did, what you observed, and what came of it.

2.3.3 Public Community material that cites a doctrine gives the source in the Mozi and, where needed, a note on the secular reading. Leaders speaking for the Community may not describe Heaven's Will or Ghosts as the Community's beliefs.

2.3.4 The order of the doctrines follows the traditional arrangement of the Mozi and does not rank them. If one had to be named first, it is impartial care; the other nine are impartial care worked out in different situations. (Test: precedent)

2.4 The doctrines and this Handbook

2.4.1 The chapters of this Handbook map to the doctrines as follows: chapters 3 and 8 chiefly carry out impartial care; chapters 4 and 7, exalting the worthy; chapters 5, 6, and 13, shared standards; chapter 9, frugality and against extravagance; chapter 10, against aggression; chapter 14, the accountability that Heaven's Will and Ghosts require.

2.4.2 Where a provision of this Handbook plainly conflicts with one of the doctrines, a member may raise it under chapter 14 and the Council deals with it under chapter 15.