Chinese Philosophies Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism and Buddhism

Confucianism Kong Fuzi lived BCE A time of warfare and unrest Focus: The Importance of How People Relate to One Another Education overcomes ignorance People are good Ideal ruler is an educated, moral person who guides society by good example.

Five Relationships Ruler to subject Father to son Husband to wife Older brother to younger brother (The above are unequal relationships) Friend to Friend (based on love and mutual respect)

Duty is the path to harmony

Only virtue gives one the right to rule, not heredity.

Virtue can be acquired through education.

Daoism Lao Tzu lived around 604 BCE. Little known. “the way” is the life force of all natural things. Yin and Yang are complementary principles. Against all organizations, including formal education. Least government is best. Ideal ruler doesn’t govern. Harmony created if people follow the dao. Nonaction, simplicity, humility, quiet, plainness, and peace emphasized.

Don’t interfere with the affairs of others (individuals or states)

Those who know, do not speak of it. Those who speak of it do not know it.

Water seems weak, always seeks the easiest way, always flows downhill, yet will wear away stone.

Daoism stresses harmony with nature, Confucianism stresses harmony between people.

Legalism Attributed to HanFeizi ( BCE) Persecuted Confucian scholars and gave philosophy a bad name People are naturally evil. They are motivated by fear and greed. Punishment/Reward is necessary to control behavior. Severe punishment is necessary to prevent undesirable behavior. (Death penalty)

Legalism (continued) There is no absolute right or wrong. Laws replace morality. Government should be based on world as it exists. (Reject tradition and supernatural) Good ruler maintains and expands borders. He uses laws, rewards and punishments

A ruler should govern his subjects by the following trinity: Fa ( 法 f ǎ ): law or principle. Shu ( 術 shù): method, tactic or art. Shi ( 勢 shì): legitimacy, power or charisma.

Strength, not goodness is important

Buddhism Spread from India in 1 st Century CE Not concerned with governing but with individual behavior. Controls all aspects of daily life A Buddhist doesn’t eat meat, kill, believes in rebirth, and believes that how a person lives affects his future existence.

Buddhism (continued) Every living thing is part of a universal spirit. A person who practices good moral conduct, discipline and meditation moves upward to “nirvana”, which ends the painful rebirths. Eightfold Path/Four Noble Truths

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When you do something, you should burn yourself completely, like a good bonfire, leaving no trace of yourself. —Shunryu Suzuki

"The only way for a ruler to rule is with an iron fist and pen to write strict laws." -Alex Downey

A man who has committed a mistake and doesn't correct it, is committing another mistake.

If you seek, how is that different from pursuing sound and form? If you don't seek, how are you different from earth, wood or stone? You must seek without seeking. —Fo-Yan

Without an acquaintance with the rules of propriety, it is impossible for the character to be established.

In fact, whatever comes is recognized as "violence" only when we oppose it. To deal with it we go along with it - this is the weapon that deals a death blow to violence.

Have no friends not equal to yourself.

Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.

Those who do not study are only cattle dressed up in men’s clothes.

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it. —Dogen

The great self reflects things, but does not change them. -- Chang Chung-yuan,

There is nothing you can do about the world. You can only follow what is natural in pushing the myriad things ahead. There is no getting to the bottom of the changes they undergo. You can only grasp the essential destination and lead them there. -- Huainanzi, translated by D. C. Lau and Roger T. Ames

"People are not simple enough to structure their lives around how other people act or behave." -Alex Downey

Let us dig our gardens and not be elsewhere: Let us take long walks in the open air... Let us bathe in the rivers and lakes... Let us indulge in games... Let us be more simple: simple and true in our minds above all. Let us be ourselves. —Robert Linssen