Kung Fuz (confucianism): not a religious leader was a defender of Chinese tradition-Both rulers and the ruled should act with respect, humility, and self-control.…
The first grouping is documents two and five, written by scholars who strongly favor Buddhism. The second was written by scholar, author and aristocratic confidant Zhi Dun circa 350 CE a time of dysfunction and war in China. It praises the benefits of living a Buddhist life, which include entering Nirvana, the level of Enlightenment and the extinction of desire and consciousness, with the ability to behold the Buddha. The fifth is from Zong Mi, leading Buddhist scholar favored by the Tang imperial household early 9th century. It offers that Confucius, Laozi, and the Buddha were perfect sages, and that there philosophies lead to a orderly society. It is unique in that it offers to coexist among the three and intertwine them to perfect society.…
Over its long history Buddhist has developed into a wide variety of forms, ranging from an emphasis on religious rituals and worship of deities to a complete rejection of both rituals and deities in favor of pure meditation. But all share in common a great respect for the teachings of the Buddha, ‘The Enlightened One’”(Religion Facts). Originally Buddhism was centered on the individuals who lived in moderation to decrease their suffering, but evolved into monks and nuns who worshipped Buddha as their god. One of the main beliefs of Buddhism is true enlightenment, also known as nirvana. In this novel the main reason Hsun-ching tried to get the sutra was so Wei-ching could achieve enlightenment but he soon realizes, “It is as Buddha said all along: Enlightenment cannot be found in books. It must be experienced directly! Foolish as I was, I did not take him at his word” (260). Another example of Buddhism in the novel is when Wei-ching talks about how the must temporarily soil themselves to help someone else perform a good deed, “Wei-ching picked his teeth for a moment, then said ‘It is true that one should not eat meat or dink liquor. But it is even more true that Buddhist must be compassionate. That man needed to prepare us a good meal, to redeem himself for ignoring religion during his life. If we had refused, we would have prevented him carrying…
Describe the ways Confucian values permeate this society. Describe some of the practices and beliefs of Buddhism as it is expressed in The Death of Woman Wang.…
Although Buddhism was not accepted when it was first introduced to China, it has its positive aspects and was later on respected. In these documents, the authors- whether they may be a Chinese scholar, Confucian scholar, or a Buddhist scholar- display either animosity towards Buddhism, enthusiasm and encouragement towards the teachings of Buddhism, or a neutral opinion of not only the Buddhist ways, but the Confucian as well.…
While the influence of Buddhism brought negative and positive responses from Chinese and Confucian scholars, Emperors, and Buddhists, it also brought an unbiased response toward Buddhism from Buddhist and Chinese scholars. An Anonymous Chinese scholar presents an unbiased response with the use of questions and answers.( Doc3) Although the scholar establishes a set of questions and answers that give a guide to defend buddhism against HOSTILE questions, he shows a sense of coexistence between Buddhism and COnfucianism. ( Doc 3) In addition, Zong MI, a Buddhist scholar also shares his unbiased response toward Confucius, Laozi, and Buddha. H e aARGUES for equality of all the philosophies as well as emphazies that they all lead to…
In Document 3 a Chinese scholar contradicts himself, his questions are against Buddhism but his answers are for. The questions are showing his arguments against Buddhism’s spread but the answers are giving the reasons why it should spread. It is almost like pros and cons. The last question in his first series asks: “Can the writings of the Buddha exceed the Classics and commentaries and beautify the accomplishments of the sages?” Then as an answer he compares Confucianism and Buddhism saying “To compare the sages to Buddha would be like comparing a white deer to a unicorn” obviously stating that Buddhism is the better of the two religions. So he must accept Buddhism’s spread but wouldn’t mind having Confucianism and Daoism as other religions in the country. In Document 5 Zong Mi, a Buddhist scholar, is for Buddhism but doesn’t disagree with the teachings of Confucianism or Daoism. He says that “Confucius, Laozi, and Buddha were all perfect sages,” which shows his tolerance for the other religions. He explains how these “sages” based their teachings on different people’s and the needs of the age. Zong Mi says “the sages” used different approaches to the peoples but they all encourage good deeds being perfected, the punishment of wicked deeds, and reward for good ones. He likes the idea of Buddhism but, like the Chinese scholar in Document 3, has no problem with other religions. They all kept order in the society at the time and should be respected in his…
Throughout history, many cultures have experienced a Golden Age when great advances were made in a variety of different fields. A Golden Age is a period in history of immense peace, prosperity, and happiness. Two cultures that have experienced a…
Name and briefly describe three of the philosophical teachings of t’ai chi, and for each, explain how it encourages stress reduction.…
1.It was more violent and the weapons became stronger. Bigger guns and better tanks ect.…
While feudal warlords fought over land, the people of China suffered. Even in the midst of this semi-civil war, they had to deal with the nomadic Mongolians attacking their northern border. The people needed something to put their faith in, and that is where they found Buddhism. In a time of so much death, destruction, and despair, Buddhism alleviated people’s sorrows by explaining how to stop the miseries of their lives through the Four Noble Truths. (Document # 1) People like the scholar Zhi Dun promised that those who followed the Buddhist Scriptures and lived the Buddhist lifestyle would be rewarded with Nirvana, the extinction of desires, and the in the afterlife. (Document # 2) Zhi Dun would have followed Buddhism because the invading nomads were driven by greed to pillage and plunder, that having no desire for material things would lead to peace. Those who converted to Buddhism gave up the Confucian way of life, which put importance on family, property, and having a place in society. In the work, “The Disposition of Error”, a Chinese scholar defends Buddhism by saying these things were decadent luxuries of the bourgeoisies, which only provide a desire for more of the luxurious items/activities. He argued that failure to fulfill desires only leads to sorrow, and that wisdom and the Buddhist way of life could replace those desires, therefore replacing the sorrow. (Document # 3) Due to of all said wondrous promises, and the fact that the…
Is difficult to accept the world the way it is, just as it comes. Sometimes we tend to force things to happen and in response we just create more problems, making ourselves unhappy and suffer unnecessarily. Sometimes the best thing to do is to let things go and let them take a natural curse, in order to be leaded to success, whatever that is in each of our lives. Correspondingly, Tao Te Ching and Border Town, focus on Taoism and in both the idea of wu wei is deeply express by giving meaning to life through the constant flow of nature. Moreover, Taoism is centered in the spiritual level of self. It is an ancient religious and philosophical system that started in China. Tao meaning “the way,” can’t be described with words, neither can it be conceived…
emphasis on their attainment and practice in order to become a Jun-zi, or superior man (ibid, 143). Knowing one's place within the five relationships and actively participating in them, or understanding the rectification of names is the religion's central means in obtaining order (ibid, 145). Including the ruler-subject, friend-friend, husband-wife, elder brother-younger brother, and most importantly, the father-son foundation relationships, followers of the Confucianist religion all have specific roles to which they must abide, unlike those in Daoism (ibid,…
1.) According to Lao-tzu, what must the ruler provide the people with if they are to be happy?…
Hzun Tzu’s belief is that Human’s nature is inherently evil and required rites to keep them in check. If we did not have rules, the world would be a scary place to be in. Without rules, us as human beings would allow the inherently evilness to consume us. Rules are ideally put in place to restrict certain behaviors like: theft, robbery, homicide, fraud, etc. However, rules certainly do not stop these acts from occurring. When the acts are committed, there are consequences that will be dealt with, whether its jail, prison, probation or the…