The Teachings of Confucius, Buddha and Lao Tze

 Confucianism is a system of beliefs based on the teachings of Kong Fu Zi (first called Confucius by Europeans)  Confucius developed a practical philosophy for life and government  His ideas focused on:  proper conduct for all  respect for elders  education  government service  hard work

 This code of behavior involved five relationships:  ruler and subject  parent and child  husband and wife  sibling and sibling  friend and friend  Confucius believed that in these relationships people should be:  loyal  courteous  honest  faithful  obedient to those in authority Confucius taught that everyone should follow a certain code of behavior. If people followed the code, their relationships would be harmonious and enjoyable

 The Analects  The sayings of Confucius were remembered by his followers and were later compiled in a book of Analects (sayings), perhaps having been expanded on in the meantime. Through them we discover Confucius' notions of the virtues, i.e., the positive character traits, to which we should aspire.

 Daoism is a religion based on the teachings of Lao-Tze (which means “old master”), believed to be the first Daoist philosopher  Lao-Tze taught that the goal of life is to achieve oneness with the Dao, a universal force connected to nature that cannot be explained, only experienced and felt  Daoism teaches that humans should see themselves as part of nature and should understand change as part of everything.

 Daoism stresses that the best way for humans to find peace is by living simply, in harmony with nature  Lao-Tze taught that to discover how nature works you must sit by a river, feel a breeze, or observe a drifting cloud.  Notice that nothing in nature strives for fame, power, or knowledge, so neither should you

 Daoists do not believe in strong government, but that happiness and peace can be achieved by thinking about nature, not by following societal rules and laws.

 Daoism teaches that harmony comes from balancing the opposite forces of nature, called yin and yang  Yin’s attributes: female, earth, dark and cold  Yang’s attributes: male, sky, light, and heat

 Tao Te Ching  (tao—meaning the way of all life, te—meaning the fit use of life by men, and ching—meaning text or classic)  A collection of Lao-Tze’s teachings, but not written by him.  Most likely written by teachers and students of Daoism

 Buddhism is a religion based on the life and teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, which means enlightened one  Gautama lived in India  Buddhism was brought to China around A.D. 200 by Buddhist monks and traders

 The Buddha’s teachings are summed up in the Four Noble Truths:  1) all life is suffering and pain;  2) suffering and pain are caused by desire for wealth, pleasure, fame, and power;  3) to end suffering one must overcome desire;  4) to overcome desire, one must follow the Middle Way.

 The Noble Eightfold Path describes the way to the end of suffering  It is a practical guideline to ethical and mental development with the goal of freeing the individual from attachments and delusions;  it finally leads to understanding the truth about all things.

 The Middle Way is a philosophy of life that stresses virtuous conduct, and compassion for all living things.  This leads to calmness and purity of mind

 Buddhism preaches reincarnation  the idea that when a person dies, the soul is reborn in a new body  The first goal in life is to attain nirvana, the condition of desiring nothing.  When one attains nirvana, he or she breaks the cycle of life and death, and is no longer reincarnated into an earthly life of suffering.  The final goal for Buddhists is to devote their lives to bringing others to enlightenment. Enlightenment LifeDeathRe-birth

 The Tripitaka  the earliest collection of buddhist writings and the most sacred text in Theravada Buddhism  The word means "the three baskets and refers to the way the texts were first recorded  The Vinaya Pitaka (discipline basket) contains precepts for monks and nuns  the Sutta Pitaka (teaching basket) contains the discourses of Buddha  the Abidhamma Pitaka (metaphysical basket) contains Buddhist theology  The Sutras  Mahayana and Vajrayana sects of Buddhism recognize hundreds of additional sutras recorded by masters after the time of the Buddha  These writings are known as the Sutras  The Sutras were put into writing between the second century bce and the second century  Heart Sutra  Diamond Sutra  Lotus Sutra

 Get your clickers ready….

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 Identify which philosopher is most likely to have said each quote…

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