Final lecture

Eastern philosophies

Overview

• Hinduism• Buddhism• Confucianism• Daoism• Shintoism• Judaism• Sikhism

Overview

Thought

West East

Critique of thought (philosophy) Wisdom

Ethical, moral, spiritual, religious, & political views

Hinduism: background

• Combined ideas from Indus river people (3000 BCE) and Aryan immigrants to India (1500 BCE) produced a more developed system: Hinduism.

• Basis of the caste system: A cosmic man on dying divided himself to create different kinds of people– the brahmins (priestly class) from his mouth– the warriors and rulers from his arms– the merchants and farmers from his thighs– the servants from his feet.

• Rebellion against the caste system led to the development of Buddhism and Jainism.

Hinduism: Belief, Thought, Philosophy

• Brahman = soul of the universe; essence of all things, has no beginning, no ending

• Atman = your soul, composed of Brahman, animates your body, is also timeless– when you die, it will inhabit another body

substance dualism

Hinduism: Belief, Thought, Philosophy

• How to gain Liberation / Transcendence beyond need for making distinctions between things: understand atman is Brahman

• Suffering is due to seeing atman and Brahman as different• Difficult; because Brahman is infinite, hard to comprehend

– Shankara (8th Century): non-dualist version of Hinduism: there is only one true essence, Brahman, and everything else is an illusion

– Ramanuja (11th Century): qualified non-dualism: no matter how much we comprehend Brahman, we remain atman. Constant remembrance and submission to Brahman gives us enlightenment, yet we remain atman

Om

• This most sacred Sanskrit symbol represents the reverberating sound of Brahman throughout the universe. Om is the most powerful (and shortest) mantra.

• Speaking and meditating on this sound leads to a connection to Brahman and his power, enlightenment, & immortality. Other mantras (chants) do the same (the gods themselves are swayed by the sounds)

Buddhism

• A charismatic leader Siddhartha Gautama, born in Nepal around 500 BCE, reacted against the Brahmanical culture which limited sacrificial practices to the priestly class (a limited segment of society with high access to enlightenment)

• His ideas spread throughout India and the rest of the world because they are so adaptable to the customs of other cultures.

• In the 7th Century, Muslims invaded and devastated Buddhist universities and practically squashed out Buddhism in India. Still, because Buddhism coexisted with Hinduism in Indian culture, there are great similarities (cross-influences) between these two religions.

The story of Buddha

• “Prince Siddhartha ventured beyond the palace walls four times, accompanied by his Charioteer Chandaka…” Seen on treks: old, sick, dead, monk

• From palace to a life of asceticism• From asceticism to the Bodhi tree• Enlightenment, and crystallized realization of the

Four Noble Truths: 1) suffering, 2) its origins, 3) cessation of suffering, and 4) the path leading to cessation

Buddhist belief, thought, philosophy

• We live in a causal universe (like determinism)• Life is cyclic (as in Hinduism), and full of suffering• Suffering could be a direct or indirect result of deeds

(actions, whether virtuous or immoral), yours or those of others; deeds contribute to systemic suffering within the community

• Enlightenment (escape from the cycle) is achieved by fully understanding the cycle, and how it works – As in Hinduism, “salvation” is knowledge-based, not

action based

A branching in Buddhism

• Four main branches: – Theravada (Thailand, Sri Lanka, Myanmar)– Mahayana (China, Tibet, Japan)– Zen (Japan)– Tendai (Japan)

1. Theravada Buddhism: the ultimate goal is to become an arhat (enlightened by meditating on the Buddha’s Dharma).

A branching in Buddhism

2. Mahayana Buddhism: felt Theravada Buddhists were doing too little. They set the ultimate goal as becoming a bodhisattva (one who will attain enlightenment via perfection of wisdom and compassion)

• Through lifetimes of building wisdom and compassion to reach enlightenment, nearing that final lifetime, one gains powers, the ultimate one is the power to create “Buddha Fields” or Pure Lands– Righteous and devout people can be reborn into one of these Pure

Lands, where life is easier and more conducive to gaining enlightenment• The biggest difference between Theravada and Mahayana is

Mahayana campaigns. Followers teach to show compassion and gain believers

A branching in Buddhism

• “Zen is the gate to enlightenment, and the koan (riddle) is the guide.”

• Koans were posed by masters to pupils to ponder on. When they could respond in a satisfactory way (immediately or after years of pondering), the master would reward them with another riddle.– Consider the sound of two hands clapping. What, then, is

the sound of one hand clapping?– As there is no gate [to enlightenment], come, let me tell you

how to cross it.• Fewer than 10% of Buddhists in Japan are Zen

A branching in Buddhism

• Tendai is an eclectic version of Buddhism influenced by a monk who returned from a visit to China

• In the 12th Century, lots of fighting fueled belief that people who died in battle were eligible to be reborn in the True Pure Land (a heavenly rebirth); anyone can achieve rebirth in this heaven by reciting the name of Amida (the Buddha of the western Pure Land of Jodo)

• All classes could access heaven; very appealing• This is the main form of Japanese Buddhism (over 33%)

Confucianism

• Kongzi, or “Confucius” (~500 BCE) was a teacher who tried to bring back traditional values (care for family, etc)

• With support of the Han dynasty, Confucianism was infused in Chinese schools and has been until recently (a long history of support)

• Confucianism lacked spiritual substance, which led to its downfall with competitors Buddhism and Daosim

• But Neo-Confucianism made a strong recovery

Confucianism

• Confucius opened education beyond the aristocrat class, quickly attaining thousands of students, and 72 disciples.

• When asked what kind of man he was, he said, someone who learns and teaches tirelessly

• Confucian (traditional) ideals were hindrances to social upheaval; these were not based on Confucius but on writings of his predecessors– maintaining status quo (the yin-yang of things)– filial piety (the government being the social extension of one’s

parents) • However Mohists argued caring for friends and family is biased caring,

and the ethical person should practice impartial caring

Neo-Confucianism

• Skipped based on time restriction

Then Communism came

• skipped

Daoism• How should we live an authentic life, in harmony with the Dao? What’s

the best way to preserve life and avoid injury? It’s best done in isolation. Another way is through non-action, or “action which does not disrupt the natural way of things (p.139).” For example, by standing still, one can make muddy water clear.

• Everything begets its opposite. Daoism critiques Confucianism, saying rightness begets wrongness, as when caring for some results in partiality toward them. Daoists argue for spontaneous caring action (as opposed to premeditated caring which results in being partial)

• Confucianism and Daoism are opposite with respect to government– Confucianists honor the government who takes care of them as an extension

of parents– Daoists feel government is an obstruction to personal freedom, oversteps

individual rights

Daoism

• Lao Zi, founder of Daoism, saw the world getting uglier, so he got on his water buffalo to leave the world to find solitude and peace (hence valuation of solitude among Daoists). A gatekeeper near Tibet, sensing the master would leave this world, asked him to please down his wisdom, which he did in the Dao De Jing (Daoist Bible) as a collection of aphorisms meant to give a sense of serenity and mystery to readers / listeners.

Defining Daoism

• All things came from Dao, but Dao has no beginning• Water, like the Dao, is soft, yet it prevails against stronger

things, like stone or metal. Following the Dao:– Governments should do nothing, let the state develop by itself– People should not aspire to greatness or focus on objects of

desire because this leads to its opposite—reversal of fortune. – We should live simple, peaceful, meek lives, “holding fast to the

submissive [nature of self]” to find strength.– Confucius instructed us to follow the active yang / laws of

Heaven: take action, right wrongs– But Lao Zi instructed us to follow the inactive yin / laws of nature:

be passive, meek, and content with non-interference

Shinto

• Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, & especially Shinto tend to adapt and integrate features of one another

• Shinto is defined by belief in the kami (gods): the sun, moon, earth, storm, darkness, etc. There are countless gods. The gods animate the universe (reminiscent of Brahman and atman in Hinduism)

• Evil? Gods have bad sides, demons have good sides. There’s no devil—only evil within certain contexts– priests exorcise fox spirits from people, but the same fox spirits

aid the rice god as his messengers– Tengu is a “demon” but also a guardian of the gods

Shinto & Buddhism

• skipped

Jewish philosophy

• skipped

(Hughes, 2005)

Sikhism• Inner turmoil and societal problems are because humans are selfish, wanting to

dominate and exploit others, which leads us to hate and fear one another, causing anxiety and fear. The solution is to strengthen the “self” in you, to strive for values consonant with your needs and your environment.

• To be rejoined with the Creator, we must cultivate His character traits: love, truth, wisdom. Also, we should have well-being through internal and external efforts (correct understanding; good diet).

• When you have the capacity to remain aware of yourself and of the forces in the world, you will not feel threatened and anxious by them. “Lead a life of contentment, adjusted to the environment. God’s directions are within us to act in a particular way…”

• Asceticism (common in Hinduism and Buddhism) is important in Sikhism: Ascetics cultivate inner control and enhance awareness of their needs so that, once finished with an ascetic lifestyle, life is sweeter. This is contrary to other religions which emphasize the painfulness of the ascetic lifestyle as a way to curb desire for pleasure or fear of pain.

Singh, 1979

References

• Littleton, C. S. (Ed.) (1996). Eastern wisdom: An illustrated guide to the religions and philosophies of the East. (main source)

• Harrison, V. (2013). Eastern philosophy: The basics.

• Hughes, A. W. (2005). Jewish philosophy A-Z. • Singh, D. (1979). Sikhism: A modern and

psychological perspective.

Final exam

• Ch.6,7,8,10,12