The Dao In Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke

The base layer of many cultures is their religion, or philosophy of how they should live. The religion, or beliefs of a culture or region, can shape and mold that society in many different ways, whether it is how they view society, nature, and civilization or how they treat one another. Both Daoism and Confucianism played a pivotal roll in the development of Asian cultures. Confucianism came from the early teachings of the Dao or the “way of life” which began “The classical period beginning in the Xia, Shang, and Zhou kingdoms, including the justly famous Warring States philosophers at the end of the Shou kingdom from (1700-221 BCE), while Daoism started after in 200 BCE. While Daoism started to develop in 200 BCE and on. Both Daoism and Confucianism believed in the power of the Dao or the “way of life”. Although, while the followers of Confucianism had much more leeway and had the freedom to create their own destiny, in Daoism, the people let the Dao determine what path their life would take.

Daoism and Confucianism are very different philosophies. The thought of the two ruling together is very hard and unrealistic to imagine, but not impossible. Both believe in very basic morals such as, not stealing, cheating, lying, or killing. They also believe in treating people well. Daoism strongly believes every living thing including bugs are equal. Confucianism believes that people eventually with following Confucianism beliefs and becoming a gentleman then you are perfect and equal to everyone.

Although there are many of similarities between Daoism and Buddhism, there are also several contrasting reasons that the philosophy Daoism believed that everyday life could be peaceful and happiness, but they must follow the way of Dao and the way of nature. If they break the rules, they will not receive peace and harmony. Nevertheless, Buddhism is an idealism and they believed that we can rebirth. Everyone had to pay for their action. If a man did a bad action in his life, he must need to experience some pains before he could receive Enlightment.

Confucius only taught around 3,000 students during his lifetime in the Zhou Dynasty, but his ideas and values became integrated with the Chinese culture of the past and the present (Ames). He created a syllabus for mastering the “six arts” and inspired those who followed his principles to become effective citizens. Although no one knows much about his life, he greatly influence the way China grew into what it is today.

Dao in Confucianism represents the entire normative human order. The Dao in Daoism antedates Tian and acts as the basis of the natural order. While in Confucian Dao they hold the ideal political-social-ethical order ordained by tian for the people. Confucianism encourages their perfectibility through self-effort the teaching of ethics and good movement. The primacy of the Confucian Dao requires superior human beings, sages and men of virtue to exert their highest effort to actualized its ideal design. While the Daoist purpose as the pro creator of the cosmos and everything in it to recognize the universal importance of the human body, physical

Unfittingly, the most popular portrayal of Buddha’s attitude towards philosophy is illustrated by his “Parable of the Poisoned Arrow”. The parable is a response to the skeptic’s enquiries into the Buddha’s metaphysical views. To summarize this parable; a poisonous arrow wounds a man. His companions and relatives wish to provide him with a surgeon. But, the man says, “I will not have the arrow removed until I know who it was that wounded me.” He goes on fruitlessly, asking his companions several irrelevant, pointless questions about the physical characteristics of the person who wounded him, his assailant’s hometown and even goes on to question the make-up of the arrow. Buddha with this parable is allegedly trying to highlight the futility

Daoist philosophy places emphases on an instinctive awareness, supported by balanced contact with nature, and rejects everything that is not natural. The principles of the Daoist encouraged isolation from humanity for personal development in nature and attaining balance between yin and yang. Confucian philosophy seeks order and social stability. The philosophy states that junzi (superior person) who has ren (human heartedness), exemplifies the ideal social order sought. An individual could become a junzi by promoting certain qualities like understanding of suffering and a quest of morality and righteousness. Confucius and his disciple Mencius had an influence on Chinese thought and social practice. Chinese traditions of worshiping deceased ancestors and exceptional leaders inspired the growth of Confucianism as a philosophic custom and religion. Confucianism was established as the state’s official doctrine by Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. However, both philosophies of Confucianism and Daoism believed that anyone can develop wisdom or skill, regardless of social status or birth.

Doaism and Confucianism are the top two ancient styles of living in China, where they both originated in 550 B.C.E (before common era). I believe that Daoism and Confucianism are both the top religions/styles of living in Ancient China, while they have some similarities they are much more different than they are similar. Both are not only ways of living but, they are a way of life.

Since human’s earliest years, we have relied on religion to guide us in countless situations; it influences almost everything we do. During the Classical Period in China, religion played large roles in many significant decisions. The three most prominently displayed religions at the time were Legalism, Confucianism, and Daoism. Though their unique teachings separated them from each other, each had equal impacts in the shaping of early Chinese civilization and culture.

The Daodejing, similar to the Analects, was written during the Warring State period, a time when the Zhou kingdom disintegrated into a series of feudal states fighting for power—a time of fragmentation and chaos. The Daodejing was written for Daoist, educated men, and people interested in Daoist teachings. The Daodejing was written to inform people, therefore, it was written as if speaking to a student. Laozi, the author of the Daodejing, although has no proof of existence, is believed to be a keeper of archives in the royal court and a teacher who travelled around China. The purpose of the Daodejing is to articulate Laozi’s ideas on Daosim and inform people about his philosophy.

Under the influence from his buddhist family, Dong created a personal belief system - unexplainable, which meant not everything could be explained, the world was full of miracles. The Cosmic Dance was regarded as deputy of the belief, due to the contained standpoint of ancient Chinese astronomy as ‘sky was a circle and land was a square’. It sounded absolutely absurd at present, but was intended to convey that the acquired knowledge about the universe might not be real. As Dong mentioned, world was wonderful, universe was divine, while human’s cognition was currently finite. Nevertheless, the concept could be treated as impetus for human as well - the only way to break through boundedness of cognition was exploration and

Nearly everyday in our lives, we see banners, magazines, newspapers, as well as posters telling us to be environmental friendly and to stop pollution. But do people listen to the advices? Do people realize that pollution is one of the biggest global killers? Pollution is the number 1 cause of death in the developing world; it kills approximately 10 million people every year. It’s hard to tell when and where pollution began. When a volcano erupts, it sends toxic gas into our atmosphere causing air pollution, meaning that pollution has always existed on Earth. But, the cause of pollution becoming the number 1 cause of death is not because of natural disasters. It’s because of us, humans. Every day activities

It can be said that opposites attract as well as complement each other. Within the religions of Daoism, Confucianism, and Shinto lay harmony, respect, and ethical behavior towards nature, ancestors, oneself, and others. Although Daoism and Confucianism are native to China and Shinto to Japan, East Asian cultures integrate these religions and practices with openness and acceptance. They are the light and dark without reference to good or bad as the opposites necessitate one another. (Fisher, 2014, 201) Instead the interwoven religions of Daoism, Confucianism, and Shinto compliment each other in addition to having distinct differences.

Together the symbolisms and metaphors illustrate the ideas which are beyond literal interpretation. Just as Nora had come to realise, it is what is hidden beneath the surface that

Our earth is the most precious gift of the universe. It is the sustenance of ‘nature’ that is the key to the development of the future of mankind. It is the duty and responsibility of each one of us to protect nature. It is here that the understanding of the ‘environment’ comes into the picture. The degradation of our environment is linked with the development process and the ignorance of people about retaining the ecological balance. Indeed, no citizen of the earth can afford to remain aloof from the issue related to the environment. It is therefore, essentially important that the study of the environment becomes an integral part of the education process. Environmental education increases public awareness and knowledge about environmental issues or problems. In doing so, it provides the public with the necessary skills to make informed decisions and take responsible actions.