Megan Davies

Asian Philosophy & Religion

Wijitha Bandara
May 3, 2018

Asian Philosophies and Religion

Asian philosophies and religions date back thousands of years and are some of

the oldest and most complicated subjects in the history of the world. Here, I will attempt

to condense those thousands of years into a few, haphazardly organized pages and try

to convince my Philosophy teacher, with a Ph.D., that I have even the most rudimentary

understanding of the infinite rabbit hole that are the major Asian Philosophies.

In the Intro to Asian Philosophies and Religions, we mainly studied the

philosophies that were either born or saw revivals in South and East Asia around 5th

century BCE.

The first major philosophy we studied in class, was Confucianism, which was a

philosophy that was developed in the 5th century BCE China, by Kong Zhongni, also

known as Kong Fuzi, whose name was later westernized as Confucius, because,

somehow, his real name wasn’t good enough. Perhaps Kong Fuzi’s, name was as hard

to pronounce for westerners as it is to eat a spicy serving of mayonnaise.

Nonetheless, Kong Fuzi was born at a time of great unrest in China (551 BCE)

and his philosophy was developed in response to the moral and societal decay that was

the result of the Warring States Period in China (453-221 BCE). As a student, and

member of the Ru Jia scholarly tradition, Kong Fuzi began to study the ancient chinese

written works called The Five Classics, which detailed the ideals and practices of
bygone, noble Chinese rulers. Kong Fuzi was inspired by concepts contained within the

Classics and, after taking a position in government, began to see just how defunct and

corrupt society and government had become. With his two fold perspective, as a

scholar, and as a government official, Kong Fuzi developed a philosophy and an

operational system of moral principles that he believed, if followed, would bring about

peace and harmony to China and beyond.

Kong Fuzi’s system includes the practice of 5 principles, which are:

1. Ren- (human heartedness) - Acting with virtue and from love.

2. Li- (propriety) - Following customs and traditional ceremonies.

3. Xiao- (filiality) - Reverence and respect for family.

4. Yi- (rightness) - Acting with moral.

5. Zheng Ming- (rectification of names) - Abiding by the definition of

something.

Kong Fuzi believed that peace and harmony begins with oneself. Once each

person adheres to each of the principles, stated above, the peace and harmony will

spread to family, friends, to neighbors, to government, etc, until peace and virtue is

attained in society.

Though, Confucianism wasn’t adopted right away as China’s leading philosophy,

due to there being competing philosophies in China at the time. However, there were a

few philosophers that are responsible for the eventual acceptance of Confucianism into

government and Chinese society as a whole. Those people were Mengzi, and Dong

Zhonshu.
 Mengzi was born more than a hundred years after the death of Confucius, but

the teachings of the Five Principles inspired Mengzi so much that he spent most of his

life traveling from place to place, in an effort to see Confucianism adopted as the state

cult. Dong Zhonshu a scholar, and born hundreds of years after Confucius, was

eventually able to help the principles of confucianism become adopted by society.

The adoption of Confucianism was long and difficult, due, as stated above, to

conflicting philosophies of the time. Two of the main philosophies that competed with

Confucianism were Legalism and Taoism.

Legalism was based on the belief that humans were inherently inclined to wrong-

doing and they needed strict laws and punishments to keep them in line and to keep

peace and order in society. As is clear, this is a stark contrast to the foundations of

Confucianism that, for the most part, was based on the belief in human potentiality and

goodness, through self-cultivation.

The other main philosophy that arose as a response to the Warring States Period

in China was Taoism, which was attributed to a man named Laozi who is said to have

developed the concepts that are present in the Taoist religious text, Tao Te Ching.

Though, many of the Taoist concepts are said to have originated in China long before

Laozi.

Tao literally means “the path” or “the way,” and is described in the Tao Te Ching,

and later, the Zuangzi, as being the the course of nature and all things.

The Tao Te Ching, is dated back to around the 300 BCE. There is some

controversy over the origins and dating of the Tao Te Ching by scholars, though, with

some believing the collection was created by one man, Laozi or “Old Master,” around
500 bce, while others believe it was an anthology of oral verses that were compiled

around 300 bce, by many authors.

Whether or not Tao Te Ching was written by one man or many, the Tao Te Ching

plays an integral role in Taoist religion and philosophy. As stated before, the moral

deterioration and unrest of the Warring States Period in China was an impetus for the

birth of three new, and starkly contrasted philosophies. What made Taoism so different

from the other two philosophies, Confucianism and Legalism (which both, at their core,

require much active shaping and molding people and society), was the concept of

taking inspiration from nature, and to let things be without forcing them. This concept of

simplicity and humility is echoed throughout the Tao Te Ching and is directed to those in

places of power. Within the Tao Te Ching is the counsel given to government and

military to strive for less, to let go of greed and to live simply. This, no doubt, is a

response to the suffering of the Chinese proletariat and moral decline, due to the greed

and ambition of the power-hungry government.

Another important Taoist text is the Zhuangzi, which was written by the sage

philosopher, Zhuang Tzu, in around the 4th century, BCE. The Zhuangzi is a collection

of fables and stories and is said to be an even more comprehensive work of Taoist

philosophy than the Tao Te Ching.

As mentioned above, Taoism is inspired heavily by observing nature and its flow.

From this observation came the concept of wu-wei and spontaneity. The first of which,

means non-action, and can be better translated to mean non-interference. Wu-wei

means to abide by the flow of things, avoid forcing things to happen and allow things to
happen in their own time. As stated in the Tao Te Ching, “Nature does not hurry, yet

everything is accomplished.” This statement speaks to the core principles of Taoism.

The next concept, spontaneity, can be described as living and acting in the

present moment and using subconscious intuition gained through life experience and

observation be the leading guide in one’s actions.

As Taoism grew in popularity, it began to be interpreted in unique ways and

branched off into two distinct sects of Taoism: Religious Taoism and Cosmological

Taoism. The first, Religious Taoism leaned heavily on ceremonies, rites and worshiping

of entities. The second, Cosmological Taoism, was more mystical in nature and leaned

heavily on personal cultivation of the Three Treasures, shen, chi and jing, in an effort to

attain immortality. These two main branches exist today in the practice of Taoism in

China, and throughout the world.

Next, in class, we studied Hinduism. Hinduism originated in the Indus Valley, in

what is now India. Though, the practitioners of ancient Hinduism did not refer to is as

such. They simply referred to their spiritual practices and ways of life as the Dharma.

Vedic texts date all the way back to 1700 BCE, however, the most influential vedas to

modern Hinduism were compiled between 400 BCE and 200 BCE, with their purpose to

explain what the aims were in life, and how to achieve them. These Vedic texts were

known as the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Dharma

Shastras. The end of the Vedas were called the Upanishads which came to mean “to sit

down, and near” they were also known as “Vedanta.”

 Hindu philosophy and Dharma is said to have no beginning, and no founder.

Arguably the oldest religion in written history, Hinduism evolved over time as a

conglomeration of tribal myths, rituals and systems of spiritual practices.

At the core of Hinduism are the concepts of Dharma, Brahman, Atman, karma,

samsara, meditation, moksha, puja, .

1. Dharma being the right way of living.

2. Brahman being the ultimate reality, which is infinite, omnipresent, eternal,

etc.

3. Atman being the ultimate self, which could be described as one’s soul.

4. Karma being consequence, either good or bad, based directly on one’s

deeds.

5. Samsara being the cycle of birth and rebirth based on one’s karma.

6. Moksha being the release from the cycle of rebirth and death.

7. Meditation being a practice of mental concentration and contemplation.

8. Puja being the act of worshiping deities.

Another integral part of Hindu practices is the caste system or varna. It is

believed that that the sacrifice of Purusha, or “the cosmic man,” by the gods is what

created all life. Each part of his body represented each level of the caste system. From

his mouth came the highest caste, the Brahmins, or priests. From his arms came

Kshatriyas, or leaders, such as kings. From his thighs came the Vaishya or farmers, and

from his feet came the servants or Shudra.

 It is said that the Buddha, then Siddhartha Gautama, was born into what was

likely a Kshatriya family because he was born to a ruling-class family between the 5th

and 6th centuries BCE near the Nepali/Indian border, and was prophesied to become

either a great ruler or a great spiritual leader. His father desired Siddhartha to become a

great ruler, so he went to great lengths to keep him from knowing about the perils of life.

However, eventually as Siddhartha got older, he was exposed to them and the shock

caused Siddhartha to contemplate life, which initiated a change in his life path and the

quest to discover how to end human suffering.

He left home and became an ascetic monk, likely of Jainism, which requires the

practitioner to participate in extreme self-deprivation, non-attachment, and strict

adherence to spiritual practices. After 6 years of these practices, he realized they were

not the way to achieve inner peace or eradicate suffering, so Siddhartha left the ascetic

sangha and chose to explore yogic meditation. It is said that Siddhartha mastered 2

schools of yogic meditation and was still not satisfied, but he did see the value of

meditation and continued to practice his meditation until one day, he decided that he

would sit under a tree and meditate until he found the answers he was seeking. After 49

days, Siddharta came out of his meditation as the Buddha, or “awakened one.” He

claimed to have discovered a philosophy that laid out the cause and the cure for

suffering. This conceptual process starts with what the Buddha called The Four Noble

Truths, being:

1. All life is suffering

2. The cause of suffering is desire

 3. If suffering can be caused, it can also cease

4. The Eightfold Path is the path to end suffering

As mentioned in the fourth Noble Truth, is the Eightfold Path, which is how the

Buddha prescribed the end to suffering (craving), or Nirvana, is as follows:

1. Right View- (a principle of wisdom) - Seeing things as they are and having

a correct understanding of them.

2. Right Intention- (a principle of wisdom) - Acting out of peace and

compassion

3. Right Speech- (a principle of moral conduct) - Speak in ways that will help

overcome suffering. Avoid lying, slander, malicious language, gossip, etc.

4. Right Action- (a principle of moral conduct) - One’s actions should reflect

the aim for peace and happiness. Avoid stealing, cheating, killing, sexual

misconduct, hurting, etc.

5. Right Livelihood- (a principle of moral conduct) - Avoid a career that could

bring harm to others

6. RIght Effort- (a principle of moral conduct) - Adequate self discipline to

incorporate the Eightfold path, including preventing “wrong” states of mind,

expelling current “wrong” states of mind, bringing forth “right” states of

mind, and further developing existing “right” states of mind.

7. Right Mindfulness- (a principle of mental discipline) - Being aware of all of

one’s states: in body, in sensing, in perception, and in thought.

 8. Right Concentration- (a principle of mental discipline) - The focusing of

one’s mind to be able to look at things deeply and consciously.

These concepts were revolutionary at the time, because the Buddha taught that

instead of extreme the self-deprivation (of jainism) or extreme Dharmic obligations (of

the Vedas to please the gods and attain moksha), the main determining factor for the

suffering one feels in life, is due to one’s own deeds and intentions. Buddha called this

pragmatic and logical philosophy the Middle Way and was very careful to neither affirm

nor deny the prominent philosophies of the time, but take the middle ground when

answering important philosophical questions. This likely created a bridge from the

traditional religions of the time to Buddhism, increasing the probability of investigators of

Buddhism to adopt the philosophy. Buddhism was also very attractive to the average

citizen because the Buddha did not believe in the caste system, which was oppressive

and corrupt.

Amazingly, with the construction of the Silk Road, these main philosophies were

eventually disseminated throughout Asia and had somewhat of an influence on one

another as time went by, and the ideologies evolved. This is seen most clearly in the

vastly different branches of Buddhism prevalent today.

All in all, the beautiful and complicated histories of the Asian philosophies we

were taught in class were fun to study. I learned a lot about each religion and wish that I

could spend more time on each individual philosophy. ( But, then I would have to write

many other long and tedious papers, and I am not sure I am quite cut out for that!)

Nonetheless, Confucianism, Taoism, Hinduism and Buddhism are still alive and

doing well in Asia with practitioners all over the world. With that many followers, one
must have to think that there must be something to the ideas laid out before us by the

sages of old.

Ames, Roger T. “Confucius.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 13

Apr. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/Confucius.

“Buddha.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 19 Mar. 2018,

www.biography.com/people/buddha-9230587.

Koller, John M. Asian Philosophies. 6th ed., Routledge, 2012.

Ray, Reginald, and Reginald A. Ray. “What Is Dharma?” Lion's Roar, 27 Dec. 2017,

www.lionsroar.com/in-a-word-dharma/.