Asian Ethical

Traditions
Chapter V
Learning Outcomes:
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
⬩ Articulate the basis for ethical behavior for Buddhism
⬩ Analyze how the concept of the oneness of all things in the
Brahma serves as a basis for moral behavior; and
⬩ Examine how Confucianism founds ideal human behavior in the
ideas of Ren and Li

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Introduction
Many people in the Philippines are deeply influenced by or have great commonalities
in their ethical way of thinking with these traditions.
- one believes that if they do bad things, they could be victims of misfortune because
of Karma.
- One ought to live in a way that honors their ancestors
- The world is ordered by Heaven and that if one wishes to have a good life, one must
understand that order and live one’s life according to it
These beliefs are derived from Chinese and Indian traditions.

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Six Common Themes in Asian Ethical
Treaditions (Manuel B. Dy)
First Theme
One can immediately notice that religious thought is intertwined
with philosophical and ethical thinking

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 “be it from moral degradation as in the
case of Confucianism, from misery as it is
in Taoisim and Buddhism, and from
fortitude as in case of Hinudism”

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Six Common Themes in Asian Ethical
Treaditions (Manuel B. Dy)
Second theme
“love and compassion” binds these
intellectual traditions
Third Theme
The connectedness of personal
cultivation and social reponsibility.
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Six Common Themes in Asian Ethical
Treaditions (Manuel B. Dy)
Fourth Theme Final Theme
Enlightenment. These great teacheing offer paths of
“harmony with oneself, with others,
with nature, with an Transcendent”

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The Vedas
and
Upanishads
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Vedas
- Are some of the oldest
philosophical writings in the world.
- Are a collection of hymns and other
ancient religious text which define
truth for Hindus.

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Rita
- Is the right order of the universe
- Human beings experience this order through the presence of the gods to
whom they dedicate the performance of the hymns embodied in rituals.

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Upanishads
- Seek to understand the fullness of
human becoming by realizing the
deepest insight about the true nature
of universe
- SAMSARA means reincarnation

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Karma
- literally means “action”, the idea that all actions have consequences,
good or bad.

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Buddhism

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Buddhism
- Buddhism was born from the enlightenment
of Gautama Buddha who lived between 6th
and 4th BCE.
- Buddha sought the meaning of existence
when he realized that human life is suffering
- People who seek to arrive at higher level of
enlightenment, where one can see “beyond
birth and death” need to realize 4 truths
(Chatvari-arya-satyani)

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Chatvari-arya-satyani
First truth Second truth

⬩ Life is suffering or dukkha ⬩ Action or karma

⬩ In the cycle of death, life, and ⬩ These are afflictions of

reborn, there is constant mind such as desire,
suffering. hatred, and ignorance
which are rooted in the
wrong valuation of self
or atman.
⬩ The desire to preserve
the I is the cause of
suffering.

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Chatvari-arya-satyani
Third truth
⬩ There is an end of suffering and the path beyond suffering is to transcend this illusion
and enter the state of Nirvana.
⬩ Nirvana is the dissolution of suffering
⬩ One useful way to approach the topic is through the traditional triad (Ethics,
Meditation, and Wisdom.)
Fourth truth
• How human beings ought to live a life free from suffering by
following the Eightfold Path or Astangika-marga.

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Astangika-marga
1. Correct view 5. Correct livelihood
2. Correct intention 6. Correct effort
3. Correct speech 7. Correct mindfulness
4. Correct action 8. Correct concentration

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⬩ Buddhism provides a way to understand what good human being
ought to do to come to fullness of human life.
⬩ The Eightfold Path provides guideposts to acting in this world.
⬩ We can see that their ethical tradition is not only a quest to articulate
good action but a way to realize genuinely human existence leading
to the fullness of transcendence.

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Chinese Philosophy
& Confucian Ethics

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Confucianism
- A system of thought attributed to the teacher
Kongqui known in the west as Confucius.

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Confucius
- Was an aspiring civil servant who lived his
life as a teacher of governance, ethics, and
ritual, and was able to gather a following
around him.
- Took his inspiration for building a just
kingdom from the ancient sage rulers, King
Wen and King Wu and their virtuous regent,
the Duke of Zhou.

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 If people were able to internalize or
e
Taught people that th take as their own the ways of these
r of
way to bear the orde virtuous people, then the state would
duct
heaven in one’s con be ordered because it would reflect
the order of Heaven

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Analects
- Main source of Confucian teaching

Basic Aspiration for

any Confucian:
- To be a person who has the virtue of ren, to be
a person who internalized the way of Heaven.

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Ren (explained by Manuel Dy)
- Made up of two characters, ren, meaning human being and erh, meaning two
- Is the virtue that governs interpersonal relationships.
- ‘benevolence’, ‘kindness’, ‘human-heartedness’, ‘humanity’
- Confucius: “Ren is to love human beings”

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Li (ritual) & Dao (Heaven)
- The way to attunement is to focus on traditional ways because “filial piety, a respect
for and dedication to the performance of traditional ritual forms of conduct, and the
ability to judge what is the right thing to do in the given situation.”
- According to Kongqui, the person aspiring to nobility must master and follow these
codes of conduct because as they are mastered, one’s nature becomes one with the
Dao. Li or custom and ritual are not only empty actions that are handed down from
the ancestors but the embodiment of the Dao realized in daily life so that a person
who follows Li can become one with the Dao.

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 “At the age fifteen I set my heart upon
learning; at thirty I took my stand; at forty I
became free of doubts; at fifty I understood
the Heavenly Mandate; at sixty my ear was
attuned; and at seventy I could follow my
heart’s desire without overstepping the
bound of propriety”
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-
Go
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of t edu
he cat
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rt a me
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virt an
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Daoism
- Puts more emphasis on the opening to the Dao that makes
itself present in the natural order rather than in the ways of
the state, the family, and rulers.
- Its main concern is for human beings to reach human
fullness by living in attunement with the Dao.
- Their path is one of meditation that leads one to full
attunement with the Dao such that one could act in a way
that is Wu Wei (to act without effort, or in a way that is
attuned to the Dao that one acts perfectly with its flow.

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The End.