CHAPTER NINE MAN: As Eastern Philosophers See Him [Confucius says..." may be the opening of many anecdotes by irrepressible tellers of jokes, but the ‘expression is not very far from the truth, “Confucius (551. 478 B.C), called the great Chinese sage, has been for some 2.500 years, the “bible” of the East for his moral teachings which are chiefly rooted on "The measure of man is man’, Lam providing, article an addendum of Dr. Villaba's few more point Tegard man’ per- two faces: that of the West and too often only that of the ‘on looking at man from the thus, welcome. It is doubly ho is a part of the East more ee93 TOWARDS VEY AN AN OIE ii eae ee i ee ‘ital breath (pranamayatman) This isthe biological lay Viale mt fecal Th ape cat i ose RADIA, ze “ iia Eoguie qaaabiierina feria noe eee ny reece re nbn ee ak mayatran) Tae aie Comet or Send thi he Or Peltor inact ae ee Known. Such knowledge is called Self - Realization. So, how to come to Brahman and remain in touch with itis ‘the quest that has inspired the spirit of man in India through the ages. 1 is in this regard that Indian society reinforced ts caste systems. The logic Caste is that every man Absolute (Pure Consciousness) that stands transcendingly in the heart of man and of every contingent being. The value of this Upanishadic anthropology lies in that it roots ‘man most ontological es cent st Pati wo Yn ety te oe, Cat e ea oi Ya “a De a ticular stage of life proper to one's haar te Crit She nec ate fa hae price of prescribed vires, the individual man dissolves ‘Sitisintor vibes ied andanchoptn Onaed st ‘pial [erporeal se biological ayer THe HM pycotagica ayer (VW OF cn WT] Be on tethings rise, decay and. fal, isan objectively evident everyday experience. What is important is fof man to realize that man is. also subject fo the same. law. that govern all exeral beings. ‘The paradigm of reality for the Budaha scion which is ineiantancous. and immediately by its consequence, not substance soul When support underlying this steam There is no soul tae aggresats come together, they take a certain frm Ur shape Sh wat is thus formed is given a name, Thus re Nave name and. form but when the elements : “These phys the Upanishads. So, the fundamental concept running through Buddhism is that whatever” exist changes ee Be the flimsy: tra Existence here means the capacity of producing everything, ‘phantoms’ Gamtyutta Nikaya It. ‘The Buddhist view of man is based on this fundamental concept. ‘Man, and everything in the world is analyzed under two categories Name (nama) and Form (rupa). The term nama’ literally means the name but is usually translated into English as "mind’, but in Buddhist psychology it is refer to the psychological and sma ‘The term “rupa" ted into English by the word rporeality. This is also a collective name to describe the physical aspects of being. Thus, “nama-rupa’ taken together, comprise the psycho-physical organism which constitutes a person or a. separate or distinct individual. Buddhism considers "nama" and interdependent and belong to each other in an This "nama' cannot exist wit " ee sek rama Ra fea of naming he te persons cannot be reached by the ae and other beings in the world into two the first step in the anal analysis of man and {san inadequate tarlaion “ba word at deserbes the Tgnorence tat 0 or 1 Stontnate data which othe‘one comes to a true understanding of the real nature of the self- thats, that there is no permanent self. So,-what is man? Man is just a name given for the totality of the five aggregates that compose the individual; ‘but each of the aggregates separately is not man, Now man thas the tendency to look upon things as permanent and fs to attain enlightenment; to free himself from the ‘of ignorance. To do this, man must. realize the impermanence of things and that man is not the five sheaths. Believing this, man is freed from the shackles of ignorance, He reaches Nirvana, which is the extinction of all desires, Flow is this to be attained? By yoga or deep ‘meditation. ‘THE CONFUCIANIST VIEW OF MAN ‘The ideal goal of Chinese philosophy is to form men who carry the twin characteristics of "sageliness within and kingliness without", This is to say that in his Sagelisness within, man accomplishes spiritual cultivation; {in his Kingliness without, he functions in society. In other right and correct, the Chinese ideal, superior man and such a man is said to be a man of "jen" human heartedness); a man of all round virtue. Man is expected to possess four virtues. These four virtues of Confucianism are Humanheartedness (jen) which consists {in consideration for others, loving others, doing to others. ‘what you wish others to do to you; Righteousness (yi) ‘which is doing what one ought to do, and doing acts that Mencivs’ theory of the human nature i intimately stp wih tho Accor 0 Men aman sae rely good, To support his theory, Mencus speaks tae ou Sbopinings that Delonged to. man’s original Tre "The fat of theses the feeling of commiseration, TS i the beginning of the virtue of humanheatednes Ga" Man tends to sympathize with hs fllowmen.. Next he fling of shame. and dike, Man tends to be etd of Su and dsice ev This isthe beginning of wrong (chin). Man Knowledge of what is {good and what is bad. their original nature pos four beginnings ditfere I expected that man should develop these because it is only through their development that Man is truly a man, Through the full development of his nature man cannot only know Heaven (universe) but can also become one with Heaven. ‘Neo-Confucianism develops the concept land all things are brought into existence by Heaven and Earth, Nevertheless, man and things are different, namely, that man, apart from his human body, possesses. in fddition, the "nature of Heaven and Earth.In regard to what fills the area which is Heaven and Earth, man is part of its body; in regard to what directs the 'movernents of Heaven and Earth, man is part ofits nature. ChangTsal, a Neo-Contu regards "chi" (vital "Yang" quality tends to move, to float on the surface and to rise. ‘Therefore, along with Heaven and Earth and all things, man is ‘basically one body. But the nature of Heaven and Earth signifies the directive force there. Since man's nature is what he derived from the nature of Heaven and Earth, man is part of its nature. ‘The nature of man reveals a power to have conscious knowledge and the combination. of conscious knowledge has a name - the ‘minds and thereby are able to have self-consciousness and understanding. Since nature along with "chi" makes the source from which things come, the sage man is conscious of this and understands it. Chang Tsal says - if a man, ‘enlarges his mind, then he is able to identify himself with all things in the world, ‘The man who enlarges his mind unites it with Heaven. To Heaven belongs the power of transforming and when a man studies and comprehends this, this is a following up of the work which Heaven has ‘not completed. The mind whose mind is united with ‘Heaven does his duty in Society. He gives due respect to elders; tenderly kind to orphans and the weak - thus, he treats Heaven's seniors as they should be treated and “Heaven's young as they should be treated. ‘Thus, to the man whose mind is united with Heaven, the study of Nature and the making use of Nature in science are an understanding of the transforming work of ‘and Earth, a plumbing: of the depths of their ne tra ca ge gaa aren se a Se ee Me eres oe cap eee eR oer iden eee ete cee sae i eT IE a ‘For example, a majority of men are not are 50, The sage man not only comes the eof Haven and Earths ae consti really an he is so, Thus, by means of reflection es ‘consciousness of everything, there is no longer distinction ‘THE TAOIST VIEW OF MAN cates wat “Taoism is esentialy a philosophy that advo ss matel nnd spontaneous imple and recy. Bas Sus phosopiy, that by which anything and everything coe Urb "Tao! Inthe La0-Tat Book I = om ne there comes 10%‘Through the interaction of the "Yin" and the "Yang", all [phenomena in the universe are produced. i ‘knowledge and understanding of sta higher level. ‘Taoism speaks of two levels of knowledge: the Lower level, which is the finite point of view when man sces distinctions like those between right and wrong; and the necessarily on the govern the change "When a thing reaches its extreme, it reverts from it" This is expressed in the Lao-Tzu Book as "Reversal is the fare united and become one. Thus, although all the things, differ, they are alike in that they all constitute something, ‘and are good for something. They equally come from "Tao". Therefore, from the viewpoint of the "Tao", things though different are united and become one, In order to be fone with the Gyeat One (universe) the sage has_to transcend and forget the distinctions between things. The way to do this is to discard knowledge and is the method. used by Taoists for achieving "sageliness within’. jer that “doing nothing’ here means not overdoing because by over doing, one destroys. ‘The task of knowledge in the ordinary sense is to ‘make distinctions; to know a thing is to know the difference between it and other things. Therefore, to discard knowledge means to forget these distinctions.which is not ~ knowledge had knowledge, they knew di this knowledge to go beyon: lions. This knowledge ‘what Taoists called "No-knowledge” or "knowledge which is not knowledge". thecome a perfect man, ine approsch foward the fin God: The early Vedas re and Hindus worship as mai inpermanence is perm: Brahman or God. the inpermanence and tem \d peace in God. Bar jon: Hindus think man goes Only the holiest men are not crema are surrounded by flowers, weighe Ver ‘singing of hymns of his happiness or unhappines ae e bad deeds another mans wife, youth and opulence. Budaism up in luxury. feting in the form of an ol ascetic, he left his days of meditation, jeved enlightenment. "Bud- dha” means “the Enlightened one.” “Thereafter, for 45 years, he preached all over northern India on the mean. ing of life ‘Mine Batt The Worl Great Ref. New Yas Tae Ie-reni 157Bs Buddhism has two schools of doctrine: 1. Hinayana Buddhism known as “the Lesser Ve- hicle” with followers in Southern Asia, which “exalts individual austerity and salvation by per- sonal example.” 2, Mahayana Buddhism or “the Greater Vehicle” ‘with followers in China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongol, which stands for eee jon by faith and # revolve around what is known as the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path. ‘The Four Noble Truths 1. Pain and suffering © 2. The cause of suffering is craving for satisfaction of 3. Sufferings end when man stops his cravings. But un- like Hindus, Duddhiam does not believe in the per manence of anything, even ofthe soul. The Budd leads to the ending of sufferings is called jntfold path” ww ‘The Eightfold Path: The right viewpoint. ‘This means the proper under- standing of ir Noble Truths. ‘The right aspiration. This means to go beyond the ‘The right speech. This means choosing the right word to show courtesy and respect ‘The right action. This me 5, The righ ivelinood, This means one that does not Init harm or pain on others. Thus, being a butcher 7 and Q) “seeing ‘be cleared of be feed of ‘Three pillars of thought have dominated Chi thought: Cofucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Bul “Ramen Cape Ort and Nom of Moral. QC: Am Mails Urey Pr 158 p 1016harmony: harmony between man, Heaven, and earth, being no boundaries between ihe world of spirits, the “The tendency of mi of water to flow downward and m into us; we have got them originally. sof Confucius lies in his ‘ships: between ruler and subject, father and band and wife, older brother and younger brother, jend and younger friend. He also formulated the Rule: Never do t what you would not like to do to you." ten attitudes formulated by th ius to govern the Five Relationships are "love in soni this explanation: “In From many schol vq channel” and so by exten: to go," “the way of he beginning imordial uit gods act always in accordance rated through Created more kinds of heaven had 33._ They created gods for every cot Iwas close to voodooism. ‘As conceived by Lao Tzu, Taoism no doubt has been, with Confucianism and Buddhism, shapers of the philoso phy of China‘The Koran emphasizes two.doctrines: 1. There is only one God, and 2. There judgement: the delights of Heaven Tor the good and the terrors of Hell for the bed. “Mohammed deerced ritualistic observances, known a8 q the Five Pillars is His prophet i Profession of, 1 2 wherever one might 3. Almogiving, as an offering to 4 5. \s other ordinances. Believers are forbidden to & 'o gamble, to practice usury, 10 4 Worship and to make id rriles for marriage i tnd divorce, and pen’ Eventually Koran came to have 14 suas or chepters for crimes. of Mohammed saw his fom out of Saudi Ar Persia, eastward to India, : .d France, TorAsia. Islam was spread by the power the Crusades were undertaken to stop tothe conquered for its dynamism and si Cthood of men under one God to do His will. Mohammed preached a raged the merchants, He hat to flee Mec inv622. "This ight became known as the Hegia 1own a8 Year One of the Moslem calendar pines, Islam has been a reality since the vietory, and he returned in triumph He destroyed all the idols, He destroyed al the idols, leaving only the ‘ean LE “The Wee tM The Wr Great Rags. Se Yo “The rare 957. OEE