Philosophy & Religion in China  Chinese Folk Religion  Taoism  Confucianism

Religion in Asia  In China and Japan philosophy and religion are not two separate pursuits –People are more than one religion without any conflicts –Oriental religions are complementary –A person might be both Buddhist and Confucian or Taoist and Confucian or all three, each serving a different function in one’s life.

China’s Concerns  China’s concerns are practical & down to earth –Concerns are: How can we achieve longevity? –How can we get along better in our relationships with others? –How should a good ruler lead the people?  Emphasis on harmony, social relationships and practical application of underlying metaphysical concepts

Chinese Folk Religion  Belief in spirits –Polytheistic and animistic  Reverence for ancestors  Yin and yang –Balance of the universe  Astrology  Divination –Future telling

Chinese metaphysics is about…  Energy  Change  Balance  Harmony  Inter-relationships

Chinese Metaphysics Movement of cosmic energies: Rising Falling Expanding Contracting Rotating Represented by and expressed in the “five elements” of nature…

The “Five Elements” Wood Water Metal Earth Productive cycle Fire

The “Five Elements” Wood Water Metal Earth Fire Destructive cycle X X X X X

Chinese Metaphysics Concepts  Chi – life force, life energy (“ultimate”)  Yin-Yang   Tao – the “way” of the cosmos, of nature  Heaven (t’ien) and Earth  “Mandate of Heaven”  Practical applications: I-Ching and Feng Shui

Yin and Yang YIN  Negative force in nature  Dark, cool, damp  Femaleness  Earth, moon, shadows YANG  Positive force  Light, bright, warmth, dryness  Maleness  Sun, Heaven Everything (other than a few objects) is a combination of both forces. When they work in harmony, life is perfect.

Taoism

Taoism: The Way of Harmony with Nature  Very hard to define: can be described by Chinese history or thru its effects on the people, but not as a ‘religion’ with rituals and doctrines  Originated in 6 th century BCE China Nature knows best

Founder  Lao-tzu (or Laozi) –6 th century BCE –Means “Old Master” or “Old Boy” —given by his disciples as title of respect  We know less about him than any other founder of a world religion  Lao-tzu wished to leave China but was required to write down his teachings first. He then left and was never seen again –Truth of story has not been verified

Scripture  Primary text: Tao Te Ching (the “Classic of the Way and its Power or Virtue”) –81 short “chapters” containing the basic philosophy of living in harmony and balance –All human achievements are frivolous  Chuang Tzu (4 th century BCE) –Author of companion text: The Chuang Tzu –Collection of stories exemplifying the wisdom and nature of the Taoist sage

Taoist Teachings 1. The unity behind the universe is mysterious, indefinable force calledTao –The way of the universe or nature’s way –Impossible to define: Best achievement in life is to understand it 2. Life is the greatest of all possessions –Fame, wealth, power, education are illusions and distract from the Tao

Continued… 3. Life is to be lived simply –Innocence is ideal state –Focus on little govt and civilization 4. Pomp and glory are to be despised –These cause strife & discord in life

The Problem for Humans  Problem: disharmony with the universe –When humans depart from the simple, natural way of the universe, they are alienated from the Tao –Suffering comes from trying to conquer nature, altering the universe, & establishing artificial human organizations  Solution: simple life, live in harmony

The Secret to the Good Life  Inaction is the secret of good life –Trying to do good only leads to trouble  Live and let live  By doing nothing, humans have a positive influence on society

Confucianism

A political and social philosophy seeking social harmony on all levels: Within the self …the family …the community...the state …the nation …the world …the cosmos Learning from the past to improve the future

Confucianism vs. Taoism  Confucianism has influenced Chinese society more than anything else  Confucians disagree with some aspects of Taoism –Is govt really bad? –Do social organizations really disrupt the harmony of the universe? –There can be exceptions to the principles

Confucius’ Life Kung Fu-tzu or Kunfuzi “Master Kung”  BCE  Became an accountant to a family at age 17 –Opened his eyes to the system’s injustices—taxes paid by the peasants to support the small wealthy class  Studied & loved art, literature, music…  Married and had a son –Became a teacher for noble families

Life, cont…  Later worked for the govt (believed he could influence social change) –Political aspirations unfulfilled—rejected by many –Experienced imprisonment and an assassination attempt  Eventually worked as an advisor and edited the classic texts. Died 5 years later.  Now revered in China as the “greatest teacher who ever lived” –Although rejected in his own day, became the model for Chinese culture for over 2000 years

Scripture/Texts  The “Five Classics” (of the past, revised by Confucius): –I-Ching (Book of Changes) –The Book of History (Shu Ching) –The Book of Poems (Shih Ching) –The Spring and Autumn Annals (Ch’un Ch’iu) –The Book of Rituals (Li Chi)  The “Four Books” (Confucian teachings from his disciples) –Analects (Lun Yu) –Doctrine of the Mean –The Great Learning –The Book of Mencius (Meng-Tzu)

Goal of Confucianism  Humans are naturally good –What happened? –Must lead by example  To develop one’s Ren/Jen: Humaneness –the innate goodness of humanity, deep empathy, compassion  You can become a Junzi/chun-tzu: the model person or “Gentle Man” Jen is developed through intentional living by Confucian virtues…

Confucian Virtues  Li: principle of harmony that rules everything –Rites/Ritual/the correct way to behave  The Five Relationships –Parent & child –Husband & wife –Older & younger sibling –Older & younger friend –Ruler & subject The partners of each relationship are unequal, but have formal responsibilities to each other Symbol of harmony

More Confucian Virtues  Rectification of names – a person or thing should be true to its name  Reciprocity (shu) – the Golden Rule: –“Do not do to others what you would not want others to do to you”

The Problem for Humans  Disharmony –Comes when humans think of themselves before others—sets a bad example and harms society –Forget their responsibilities to others  The Solution? –reciprocity

Confucianism as a Religion  Deification of Confucius - statues  Confucian Temples – honoring Confucius  Veneration of the ancestors  Rituals within… –the household –the village –the state –the nation

The I-Ching “Book of Changes”  Ancient divination technique (at least 3000 years old)  Intended to guide humans in decision making  Based on combinations of lines representing the ever changing relationship between passive (yin) and active (yang) energy flow of heaven, human, and earth = yang = yin

The Tri-grams Eight combinations of three lines each: wind / wood Fire lake earth mountain water thunder heaven

Using the I-Ching Tool  Symbolism of the lines: – Upper line = energy state of heaven – Middle line = energy state of human – Lower line = energy state of earth  Two sets of trigrams are divined to create a hexagram  Use coins or sticks to divine one of 64 hexagrams  Use I-Ching text to discern meaning of the hexagram and any additional meaning for “changing lines” (energies on the verge of changing)  A skilled interpreter is needed to apply the generic meaning of the hexagram #31

Feng Shui  The Chinese art of placement (geomancy)  Means “wind water”– symbolically, the constant flow of wind and water that creates constant change in the world also affects us  Uses the five elements and the eight directions of the I-Ching as the Bagua tool  Seeks to maintain constant and balanced flow of energies (chi) in a space for improved flow of energy in the people who use the space

Learn more on the Web  Learn more about Yin-Yang and the Five Elements: inyang.asp inyang.asp I-ching sites:  I-Ching Resources includes history of the I-Ching and details about the trigrams:  How to use the I-ching: Feng Shui sites:  Series of pages on Feng Shui theory and application: what_is.asp what_is.asp  Feng Shui products and tips from MJG Designs:

Explore more on the Web  Taoist sites: –The True Tao Homepage: a pleasant place to visit and learn more –Taoism and the Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan: informative on both origins and religious Taoism –About the Tao:  Confucian sites: – an academic review of basic Confucian teachingshttp:// –The Lun Yu (Analects), an English translation online: