Truth to be told, I have never been an expert or a big fan of Chinese classic philosophy. Growing up abroad, I have studied more about Plato or Aristotle rather than Confucius or Laozi. Still, I was not truly excited about taking humanity courses at the university since almost everything sounded too profound for me. But when I was browsing the courses description, something captured my attention: Laozi. Although China seems to be a popular keyword in the news nowadays, seeing a Chinese name in a course description is something new to me. Because of curiosity, I chose this course and here I am writing about my final essay about the masterpiece Daodejing by Laozi.
Daodejing constituted one of the main pillars of Chinese classical thinking.
…show more content…
The first character Dao has many meaning in Chinese: the way or the direction; law of nature; morality,etc. The second De commonly means virtue and Jing means book. Translated into English, the title Daodejing can be understood as the book of ways and virtues. This essay is going to focus mainly on the concept of Dao and to compare it with other Western philosophical and religious ideas. At the same time, the essay will discuss how the modern society should behave according to these old …show more content…
It is the origin where everything started. “The Way generates the Unique; The Unique generates the Double; the Double generates the Triple; The Triple generates the myriad things” (Chapter 42). The chapter 14 also indicates that the complete Dao can be understood as the union of Dao itself and every object that emerge from Dao. “Its upper side does not dazzle like strong light. Its under side does not dim like darkness.” The upper side alludes to Dao itself, which has no lights; the under side refers the objects that come from Dao, which are visible and touchable. Dao itself cannot be seen, but every object in this world can be seen because of Dao. Dao itself has no shape, but it can turn into any shape that an object might
Ming China followed Confucianism during this era. The reason these people were forced to read these four books regarding Confucious before they even knew the characters was so that once they learned them, they would only know of Confusism. Had they been taught before, they may have had the ability to read scriptures of other followings; or foreign culture. During this era, spread of foreign ideas was exactly what China was trying to avoid. The purpose of this document is to point out
Document 1 describes “The Four Noble Truths” which were preached by the Buddha. The document shows the steps necessary to obtain enlightenment which appealed to lower-class citizens. Document 1 also shows a connection between Daoism and Buddhism by referring to “the Way” which is the Daoist path to enlightenment while Nirvana is the Buddhist path to enlightenment. Document 2 shows the instability and lack of structure in China following the fall of the Han dynasty. Zhi Dun was a Buddhist and a Chinese scholar who is guiding Chinese aristocrats and high officials indicating doubt within Confucianism.
During early China, many religions, teachings, or philosophies acted as the main or leading idea of the civilization. Thus leading scholars not able to know which one had more an effect on China. The author of document 5 does not choose a side and has equal amount of regard. For example, “all three teachings lead to the creation of an orderly society… must be observed with respect.(Document 5)” The point of view of the author in document 5 was to show that all three teachings happened at the same time and we are unable to know which one had an effect, although the author had a high level of respect.
Ultimately, the response to the spread of Buddhism in China was mainly positive acceptance, but at certain times, negative. As Documents 1 and 2 discuss, one response to the spread of Buddhism was large acceptance. Document 1 explains ‘The Four Noble Truths’ and their significance to the Buddhist way. The main idea is that through ‘The Four Noble Truths’ one can put a stop to their suffering.
The texts Dao De Jing by Laozi written and the Zhuangzi by Chuang Tzu both written between the 4th-3rd Century B.C. both give perspectives of Daoism in different themes. Dao De Jing presents Daoism in a beautiful and mysterious, while the Zhuangzi presents Daoism with anecdotes and paradoxes. In the Dao De Jing, fundamental Daoism believes are beautifully interpreted in mysterious ways. Segment one explains how Dao cannot be explained or named, if so then it is not Dao.
Similar to Confucius, Laozi also sought out a solution to create harmony in a world full of chaos and fragmentation. But Laozi found the solution through Daosim. The three ideas, the Dao, wuwei and yin and yang, are three key concepts in Daoism that leads to the harmony that Laozi strived for. These ideas, although created hundreds of years ago, still deeply influence Chinese thinking and culture
The Three Philosophies Did you know that China had three philosophies? Their names are Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. These all have a big part in history. Confucianism was made by Confucius.
While the literal translation of dao from Mandarin is the “path or way”, from a general philosophical standpoint, the Dao is the way of life, the balance of the universe, and the natural flow of the world. From this definition there stem two main schools of thought on how to maintain this Dao; Confucianism and Daoism. While both of these philosophies define the Dao in a similar manner, each has its own unique characteristics imposed on the Dao and their conceptual idea of how to maintain this Dao are contradictory. The emphasis on the virtues that must be possessed to achieve the Dao have minimal overlap between the two philosophies even though they both strive for the same goal. While neither of these philosophies is necessarily correct, the
The Dao or ¨the way¨ is a universal force and the guide to all things. The way is where all creatures live in harmony except humans. Instead humans must find a way to relate to nature without riches or power. The way states that you should not fight over good and bad and accept things the way they are. The good and bad should be balanced out like the Yin and Yang.
However, in this paper, I will be highlighting on Confucianism and Legalism as these two philosophies differ vastly in their perception on whether human nature is kind or evil. Confucius original name is Kong Qiu and is also known by his honorific name Kong Fu Zi. He lived during the end of Spring and Autumn Period (770BC – 476 BC) and beginning of the Warring State Period (471BC - 221BC). Confucius was one of the few men who have deeply influenced human history by the force of their personal and intellectual gifts and achievements .
Ideal Practitioners in Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism each have their own ideal practitioners described in their teachings. These ideal practitioners provide a role-model and an ideal path for their followers. They also help followers and outsiders understand the important values of each tradition. In regards to Buddhism, this paper will delve into two ideal practitioners; one from Theravāda Buddhism and the other from Mahāyāna Buddhism. Theravāda Buddhism’s ideal practitioner is called an arhat (or Arahant).
In Confucianism Ren and Li enable one to preserve the Dao, when an individual’s Benevolence and the proper manners or behavior pattern combine, a mystical power is produced with human and spiritual relations. Only through ritualized interactions with others and with the spirits can one realize one’s full potential as a human being. Daoism Dao is the primordial entity that exist in an undifferentiated state prior to the coming into being of the myriad things. Daoism evolved out of the same ancient Chinese religious mindset as Confucianism
Daoist philosophies fixated on the harmonious and mysterious workings of nature, harmony being the fact that every living or nonliving thing has its opposite. Daoism is most commonly associated with Laozi; he, “stressed that nature contains a divine impulse that directs all life” (World Civilizations). According to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Laozi’s teachings were the inspiration behind many books, cultural traditions, and works of art. Daoism found its popularity among the upper class who were seeking out a religious way of life. The fact that the wealthy were interested in Daoist morals is quite ironic due to Daoism’s focus on frugal living and modesty.
In this paper, we’ll study some of their famous pedagogy thought to explore what influences they have brought to the Chinese and westerners’ cognition and behavior and why the two civilizations developed in same period would diverge in such a degree. Furthermore, I
Lao-Tzu also known as Laozi was an ancient Chinese philosopher, and the author of the book Tao Te Ching, which is the base of the religion Taoism. Laozi is an inspirational figure for many people; even his works influence Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism also. Here are his top 10 lessons on finding happiness in your life Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is true power.