Zen Kitsch

People seem to have an affection for kitsch. Lately I’ve seen a notebook with a cover showing the Chinese / Japanese Character for Zen (禅) and the following lines:

If there is light in the soul, 

     there will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person, 

    there will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house, 

    there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, 

    there will be peace in the world.

Nice lines, but these lines have nothing to do with Zen. I’ve found another translation:

If there is righteousness in the heart, 

    there will be beauty in the character.
If there is beauty in the character, 

    there will be harmony in the home.
If there is harmony in the home, 

    there will be order in the nations.
When there is order in the nations, 

    there will peace in the world.

And I’ve found this Chinese translation:

如果有正義在心， 將有美麗的性格。

如果有美麗的性格， 將有和諧的家。

當有和諧在家， 將有治安在國家。

當有治安在國家， 將有和平在世上。

And still another one:

如果有正義在心， 就會有美麗的性格。

如果有美麗的性格，就會有和諧的家。

當有和諧的家， 國家將有治安。

當有治安的國家， 世上將有和平。

Both translations use modern Chinese; I consider the second one the better translation. So these lines can’t be the source, if we follow the idea, it could be a quotation by Confucius. But I haven’t found the original (classical) Chinese text (maybe in the analects). Another source links the quote to Sai Baba.

What is kitsch here? The line “If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.” is debatable, but I won’t consider it kitsch. However, linking Zen to some lines that obviously have nothing to do with Zen.

Link:

https://coastalwellbeing.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/notebook-zen-burgundy-600x600.jpg

PS.: If I’ll find the original lines should they be Chinese, I’ll add them here.