Chinese Philosophy: Key to the Oriental Mindset

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Chinese PhilosophyKey to the Oriental Mindset

• Mr. Oberholtzer
• K-212

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Chinese Philosophy Shapes Culture

• Chinese culture values the group over the
  individual
• Chinese philosophy focuses on introspection,
  social and personal harmony, cooperation and
  patience.
• Rationale China is a crowded country to survive
  everyone has a responsibility to the greater
  whole!

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Buddhism The Noble Truths
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Buddhism

• 1/8 of the world is Buddhist
• Buddhism began in India and was exported to China
• Buddhism is a western word in the east it is
  known as Buddha-Dharma or the teachings of
  Buddha
• Buddhism is focused on discipline and a set of
  beliefs concerning right behavior in the world

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Buddhist Beliefs

• Budh in Sanskrit means to wake up, to know
• Buddha means the awakened or enlightened one
• There is no one book outlining all the beliefs of
  Buddhism, but all Buddhists share the same basic
  belief system
• Buddhists believe in reincarnation and a cycle of
  birth, death and rebirth on the path to
  perfection everyone seeks enlightenment
• Buddhism is about accepting life as it is and
  achieving the discipline to react to adversity
  with calm assurance and mastery. Buddhism is
  centered around correct behavior at all times

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Buddhist Beliefs

• All Buddhists believe in the idea of no-self,
  that people err when they identify too strongly
  with their own personal existence in any one life
• SamsaraWheel of Life everyone is destined to an
  endless cycle of rebirth and misery
• Goal of Buddhism Nirvana, the release of the
  cycle and the end of the self.

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Images of the Buddha
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Siddhartha Gautama The Buddha

• Siddhartha Gautama lived 2,500 years ago in India
• Wealthy, he led an indulgent life as a young man,
  wasting time and money
• He then sought truth through self-denial and
  ascetism. This ultimately failed to enlighten.
• After meditation, one day he sat under the Bo
  tree (short for Bohdi or enlightenment) and
  attained bliss and knowledge. He sat for 49 days
  in the Immovable Spot while he contemplated
  lifes great truths.

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The Buddhas Mission

• When Siddhartha Gautama awakened, he became the
  Buddha (Enlightened One)
• He preached to 5 people at first, then he founded
  an order of monks
• He taught privately and publicly for 45 years
• Siddhartha died in 480 BCE at about the age of 80
• Goal To make his inspiration about the nature of
  life available to others for their betterment.
  Better living through discipline!

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The Four Noble Truths

• 1st Truth all life is suffering, pain and
  misery.
• 2nd Truth suffering is caused by selfish craving
  and desire
• 3rd Truth this selfish craving can be overcome
• 4th Truth The way to overcome this misery is
  through the Eightfold Path. Discipline will allow
  the individual to triumph over his base and petty
  desires!

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The Eightfold Path toward Enlightenment

• 1. Right Knowledge
• Knowledge of what life is about knowledge of the
  4 Noble Truths
• 2. Right Aspiration
• Devotion to enlightenment
• 3. Right Speech
• Speaking with clarity and kindness
• 4. Right Behavior
• Reflection on behavior moral and ethical
• 5. Right Livelihood
• An occupation that keeps one on the path
• 6. Right Effort
• Training the will and curbing passions
• 7. Right Mindfulness
• Self-examination and awareness
• 8. Right Concentration

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Buddhism And Ancestor Worship

• In China and Japan, where ancestor worship has
  long been practiced, Buddhists have an All Souls
  Festival for the Dead that serves two purposes
• (1) to remember the dead
• (2) bring final peace to the souls of the departed

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Buddhism Today

• Anyone can follow Buddhism get on the path!
• What counts is that you are on the road to
  enlightenment, not actually achieving it!
• Many famous people are Buddhists
• Richard Gere, Tina Turner, Kirstie Alley

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Taoism(Daoism)

• Tao The Way way of thought or life
• Started by Laozi, a teacher and philosopher
• Basic Points
• Tao is unnamed and unknowable it is the unifying
  element of all Taoism is nature-focused
• All is one, despite apparent differences
• Opposites counterbalance each other perfect
  harmony all are one!
• Good moral conduct is rewarded with good health,
  luck and long life
• All types of Taoism have in common the quest for
  a harmonious, well ordered existence
• Taoism emphasizes the individuals and the
  groups need for unity through mysticism, magic
  and ceremony.

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Sun Tzu The Art of War

• Basic principles for warfare philosophy governs
  Chinese military strategy for thousands of years
• Sun Tzu said The art of war is of vital
  importance to the State. It is a matter of life
  and death, a road either to safety or to ruin.
  Hence it is a subject of inquiry which can on no
  account be neglected.
• The Art of War is governed by five constant
  factors, to be taken into account in one's
  deliberations, when seeking to determine the
  conditions obtaining in the field. These are (1)
  The Moral Law (2) Heaven (3) Earth (4) The
  Commander (5) Method and discipline.
• Everyone is united behind the leader, morally and
  militarily, to achieve victory!

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Sun Tzu and the Chinese

• Use moral superiority of the people to win the
  war
• The five cardinal virtues of the Chinese are (1)
  humanity or benevolence (2) uprightness of mind
  (3) self-respect, self- control, or "proper
  feeling" (4) wisdom (5) sincerity or good
  faith. Here "wisdom" and "sincerity" are put
  before "humanity or benevolence," and the two
  military virtues of "courage" and "strictness"
  substituted for "uprightness of mind" and "self-
  respect, self-control, or 'proper feeling.'"
• Use organization, drill, guile, superior strategy
  and tactics
• The best way to win the war is by avoiding
  fighting altogether!
• The Chinese have used these principles to resist
  outside invaders for thousands of years the
  principles are taught in the US military
  academies and business schools around the USA

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Confucianism Wisdom of the East

• Confucius (551-479 BCE) was a philosopher and
  teacher
• He believed that all human beings were innately
  good and that misbehavior was the result of
  miseducation
• Correct behavior and moral living would wipe out
  most problems problems solved through education.
• Confucius was concerned primarily with improving
  life on earth for people.
• Confucius was not an innovator of ideas, but a
  collector and disseminator of wisdom one of the
  worlds greatest teachers!
• Confucianism is called a religion, but more
  accurately it is a system of moral conduct
• The Analects represented a collection of wise
  proverbs by Confucius that are still studied and
  followed.

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Ancestor-Worship

• Ancestor-Worship common practice of worshipping
  deceased ancestors generally done privately in
  the home at a shrine.
• The basis of ancestor worship seems to stem from
  two principle ideas (1) that "those who have
  gone before" have a continual and beneficent
  interest in the affairs of the living and (2)
  more widespread, uneasiness, fear of the dead,
  with practices to placate them. The later ideas
  more often serve as a form of dispensing emotions
  than of worship.
• In China, the main importance of this worship is
  the continuity of the family and reverence for
  the wisdom of the elders.
• The practice is very ancient extending back
  before 1000 BC. The practices, essentially a
  family affair, is held in homes and temples and
  consists of prayers and offerings before tablets.
  
• It is accompanied by an elaborate burial systems,
  and afterwards visiting the graves with deep
  respect and a horror of trespassing on or
  despoiling the graves.
• The practitioners participate in the worship out
  of filial virtue without any sense of fear of
  gain which helps to preserve a strong sense of
  family solidarity.
• A state worship of Confucius, which may coincide
  with the family worship, involves an extension of
  reverence for the wisdom of the elders, a mark of
  respect and honor for a great teacher rather than
  giving to those honored power over human affairs.

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Impact of Chinese Philosophy

• Creation of a polite, group oriented society that
  values respect for elders, manners, deference to
  authority and close families
• The characteristics of patience, fortitude, and
  perseverance repression of individualism in
  favor of group harmony
• Direct cultural conflict with the West
• Basis on ongoing dispute and disagreement with
  the West.