Compiled by:

General Education 1
Understanding
The
S E L F
Compilers:

Khadiguia Ontok-Balah, MALT, MPsych, RPm

Khristine Joy B. Garcia, MSPsych, RPsy
Jerose L. Molina, MPsych, RPsy, RPm

Published by:

Department of Psychology
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
University of Southern Mindanao
Kabacan, Cotabato

August 2018
LESSON3:
Eastern Philosophical Perspective on the Self

BUDDHISM
• Anatta – “no self”
• The concept of a self is an illusion. There is no permanent concept of the self. All things
are not permanent.
• Teachings based on Siddhartha Gautama or BUDDHA (“the awakened one”)
• Rejection of a permanent, self-existent soul (atman)

There are five (5) aspects:

1. Physical manifestation
2. Sensation
3. Conceptualization
4. Dispositions to act
5. Consciousness

Eight (8) paths to Nirvana (freedom from “attachments”):

1. Right view – cognitive aspect of Wisdom
2. Right intention – volitional aspect of Wisdom
3. Right speech
4. Right action
5. Right livelihood – do not harm
6. Right effort
7. Right mindfulness - the mental ability to see things as they are, with clear consciousness.
8. Right concentration through meditation

The four (4) foundations of mindfulness:

1. Contemplation of the body
2. Contemplation of feeling (repulsive, attractive, or neutral)
3. Contemplation of the state of mind
4. Contemplation of the phenomena.

From Confucianism (Tu Wei Ming)

• To attain selfhood (within the communal act) “How can I, in the midst of social relations,
realize my selfhood and the heaven-endowed humanity?”

There are two (2) aspects of the self:

1. The self as the center of relationships
2. The self as dynamic process of spiritual development

Taoism
• True knowledge cannot be known but perhaps it can be understood.
 • Taos is a system of guidance.

Phrases that can describe Tao:

• Not a God
• Source of creation
• Ultimate
• Way of nature as a whole

Te
• Awareness of the Tao together with the capabilities that enable a person to follow the
Tao.

Tzu Jan
• That which is naturally so.
• Condition something will be in if it is permitted to exist and develop naturally.

Wu Wei
• Knowledge tries to figure out why round pegs fit round holes, but not square holes.
• Cleverness tries to devise ways of making them fit. Wu Wei doesn’t try.
• It doesn’t think about it. It just does. And when it does, it doesn’t appear to do much of
anything but Things Get Done.
• T’ai Chi Ch’uan – wear the opponent out by sending his energy back at him or deflecting
it away, in order to weaken his power, balance, and position for defense.
• Live through life and accept the totality of reality.
• Believe in the power within and use it.

Yin and Yang

• Natural and complementary forces, patterns, and things that depend on one another.
• Darkness and light, wet and dry, etc.

Chi or Qi
• Cosmic vital energy enables beings to survive and link them to the universe as a whole.
Inner Nature
• Things as they are.
• Knowing where you belong; everything has its own place and function
• “A fly can’t bird but a bird can’t fly.”
• Do with what you have.

Simplicity
• Things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily
spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed.
• Knowledge and Relativity
• Knowledge is always partial and affected by the standpoint of the person claiming that
knowledge.
• Scholarly intellect may be useful for analyzing certain things but deeper and broader
matters are beyond its limited reach.
• “There is more to knowing than just being correct.”
Way of Self-Reliance
• Recognizing who we are, what we’ve got to work with, and what works best for us.

The Great Nothing

• Some things are just unexplainable and that’s okay because not everything needs
explaining. “Why does a chicken, I don’t why”