Chapter 2: The Asian Sages: Lao-tzu, Confucius and Buddha Archetypes of Wisdom Douglas J. Soccio Chapter 2: The Asian Sages: Lao-tzu, Confucius and Buddha

The Sage A therapeutic figure who combines religious inspiration with extraordinary insight into the human condition, the sage is the oldest of the philosophical archetypes. Our survey begins with two of the most influential sages of all time – Confucius and Buddha.

The “Tao” In ancient Asian cosmologies, all events were said to be interconnected. And the harmonious interaction of all things was referred to as the Tao. While the word literally means “way” or “path”, the Tao cannot be precisely defined or “named”. It is variously translated as the source of all existence, principle of all things, the path of the universe, or the moral law.

Yin and Yang In this cosmology, Heaven and Earth form a single reality, in which nature consists of two opposing but inseparable forces, comprising a sort of Heaven-Earth. These are the forces of yin and yang. Yin (the passive element of Earth) is weak, negative, dark, and destructive. Yang (the active element of Heaven) is strong, positive, light, and constructive. Together they form a perpetual balance whose interplay constitutes the natural order of things.

Lao-Tzu Lao-Tzu (c.575 B.C.E.), was the first great Asian sage. who wrote the Tao te Ching. Its opening lines tell us that absolute dogmas and theories pale beside living itself, beside the ever-flowing Tao. The Way cannot be adequately captured in words thus Lao-tzu must express himself in often paradoxical fashion. The Way is not a concept to be grasped cognitively or logically. Lao-tzu advises that we prefer yin to yang. Lao-tzu’s ideas are best captured in the Doctrine of wu wei.

Confucius – The Social Sage Confucius (551-479 B.C.) is the Latinized name of K’ung Fu-Tzu, a legendary teacher who vainly political office so that he could initiate a series of governmental reforms. A collection of his conversations, known as The Analects, is the single most influential book of Asian Philosophy.

The Tao of Confucius If there is no fixed division between yin and yang, Heaven and Earth, the natural and the supernatural, then the way of the universe - the Tao - cannot be understood analytically (i.e., in terms of individual parts or objects). Instead, Confucius felt that the Tao could best be realized through training and the learning of social customs. In the Analects, Confucius confines his teachings to the proper course of human conduct.

The Period of Warring States Civil Wars, lasting more than 500 years, led Confucius to focus on practical, rather than theoretical, questions. Instead of, “What is the truth?”, his concern became, “Where is the Tao?” or “Which is the proper Way?” Therefore, in his Doctrine of the Mean, Confucius addresses the need for a balance between human conduct and the Tao. This was a radical departure from traditional Chinese emphasis on spirits and gods. The emphasis here is on humans.

Humanism The name given to any philosophy that emphasizes human welfare and dignity is humanism. In general, humanism is based on the belief that human intelligence and effort are capable of improving present conditions. Confucian humanism stressed the learning and preserving of social customs. For that reason, concern with personal growth and governmental order – with what we might now call the relation between the individual and the State – became most important in the teachings of Confucius.

The Golden Mean So, for Confucius, learning the Tao means learning how to moderate human affairs, how to keep them in balance by finding the “Golden Mean” or point of equilibrium. We can get a fuller sense of his teachings about the Mean, by learning a few Chinese terms used by Confucius: Li – a sense of propriety, how things ought to go. Te – the power to affect others without using physical force. Chun-tzu – the morally superior person who has both “li” and “te”. Hsiao-jen – the base or vulgar person who thinks only of himself, and lacks both “li” and “te”.

The Buddha The original meaning of “the Buddha” in Sanskrit is the Awakened or Enlightened One, and refers to Siddhartha Gautama (c. 560-480 B.C.), the son of a powerful prince in what is today Nepal. Protected from the outside world, he had no sense of poverty or suffering – until he learned from his servant, Channa, that “there is no escape – old age, sickness, death – such is the lot of all men.” This “opened Siddhartha’s eyes” and set him on a journey in search of answers to life’s most troubling questions (to which he found no satisfying answers).

Asceticism Tiring of gurus and ordinary sages, Siddhartha settled in a grove of trees on the outskirts of an Indian village, forming a small community with a few other seekers. Attempting to gain control over his own mind, he became an ascetic – that is, a person who turns away from pleasure and severely limits their desires in order to achieve salvation or peace of mind. For six years he meditated and fasted, concentrating on his original questions. But still he found no answers.

A Middle Path In his efforts to subdue his body, Siddhartha nearly destroyed it. Realizing that ascetic self-denial is not an adequate way of life, he began to honor his spirit by honoring the body housing it. When the others were disgusted that he had begun to eat again, he learned that one must not worry about what others think if wisdom is to be found. But having realized that his body was an important instrument in his search, he realized that the Way cannot be found by either indulgence or denial. We must walk a Middle Path.

The Awakening While sitting under a fig tree one day, a young woman gave him a golden bowl of rice milk, saying he reminded her of a figure she had seen in a vision. When he finished the milk, he threw the bowl into the river, where it miraculously floated upstream (symbolizing that his teachings go against the currents of our ordinary thinking). “Here I shall remain until I am answered or dead,” Siddhartha said. This he did, until 49 days later (without eating), when what Buddhist tradition refers to as “the greatest event in human history” occurred (in May of 524 B.C.): he was “awakened”. From that point on, the tree became known as the Bodhi Tree – the Tree of Wisdom.

Nirvana According to Buddhist teachings, it is impossible to “explain” the awakening. But a rough idea might be that saw himself and all of life as part of an unending process of change, that the universe is a system of interconnected inseparable parts, composed of all varieties of life forever moving from one form to another. Siddhartha had reached a state of bliss and utter detachment called “nirvana”. This is a state of emptiness or “no-thing-ness”, where the individual ego is annihilated, and so, released from suffering.

The Bodhisattva Siddhartha now faced an important decision – remain in the state of nirvana or share his vision with others. At last, the “Great Heart of Infinite Compassion” prevailed, and the Buddha chose to remain among the people. One who does this to help others is known as a “bodhisattva” among some branches of Buddhism. A bodhisattva is not a “savior”, or one who intercedes for others, but an enlightened being who voluntarily postpones his own nirvana to help other conscious life-forms find “supreme release”.

Karma and Dharma It is easy to confuse terms that sound alike. “Karma” refers to “the law of moral causation, to acts of the will expressed in thought, word, or deed”. Good or bad karma thus results from our own actions, and should not be confused with fate or predestination. Dharma, on the other hand, refers to “the cosmic order of the universe”. Our task is to see that our lives – and those of all creatures - reflect that order.

The Four Noble Truths The Buddha’s Basic Teachings: Suffering is the condition of all existence. Suffering comes from being self-centered. This egocentrism can be understood, overcome, and rooted out. This can be done by following a simple Eightfold Path of behavior, which brings a change in outlook.

The Eightfold Path Right Understanding Right Purpose Right Speech Right Conduct Right Livelihood Right Effort Right Mindfulness Right Meditation

The Buddha’s Legacy Ultimately, Buddha calls on us to adopt a way of life, rather “having a philosophy” as we understand in the West. One of the most difficult things for us to accept is that we must find a way of living a meaningful life in the absence of absolute answers. In contrast to Western notions of “one, true God”, who is distinct from his creatures, for Buddha – and Asian sages generally – “all is one”.