Download Five Basic Relationships

Confucianism
People could get along peacefully if only they followed the rules of good behavior.
Order and mutual respect among people.
Confucius lived from 551 to 479 BC, around 2,500 years ago.
Confucianism is more of a code of behavior than a religion
Jen, one person existing in harmony with another. The relationship between two people
is central to Confucianism.
Five Basic Relationships
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Husband and Wife
Father and Son
Older and Younger Brother
Friend and Friend
Ruler and Subject
The foundation for each relationship should be sincerity, loyalty, and mutual respect.
Family makes up three of these relationships and is very important in Confucianism.
Children should respect their parents at all times.
“In serving his parents, a child may gently disagree with them. If they refuse to listen to
his argument, he should remain reverent sand obedient.”
A ruler should act like a good father to his people. If a ruler were wise and good, people
would follow that example and be wise and good themselves. Government should be
based on virtue, not laws and punishment. Government officials should earn their
positions through education and talent, not family connections.
Confucianism is based on traditional Chinese values of obedience and order.
100 years after Confucius died, Mencius extended the love and respect felt for family
members to people outside the family.
Opponents of Confucianism
Moists – followers of Mo-Tzu believed in universal love, equal love to all people—not
just rulers and family. They felt this would bring peace.
Legalists – felt people were bad by nature. Only a strong government, with strict laws
and harsh punishments, would keep evil under control.
Daoists – saw human nature as neither good nor bad. They believed people should live a
simple and thoughtful life, in harmony with nature, and be content with life. They cared
little for politics.
Buddhism
Originated in India in 530 B.C.
Buddhist Dharma – law or teachings
 Everyone can find peace—without the aid of priests’ rituals.
 All people are equal and everyone should have the right to try to live a better life.
 It is wrong to take a life, even an animal’s. No animal sacrifices.
The Four Noble Truths
 Human life is full of suffering and sorrow.
 Suffering and sorrow are caused by people’s greedy desires for power, pleasure,
and possessions.
 Suffering and sorrow will end when people overcome their greed.
 People can overcome their greed and uncontrolled desires by adopting the
Eightfold Path. This path gives eight steps for living a correct, or right life.
Buddhism teaches that suffering is a normal part of life and is caused by paying too much
attention to material things. Through meditation, one could achieve enlightenment and
escape suffering.
The Eightfold Path
 Right View—Believing in the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
 Right Resolve—Making a firm decision to live according to the Eightfold Path
 Right Speech—Speaking in a manner that doesn’t harm others; not gossiping,
lying, or using angry words
 Right Conduct—Acting in a way that doesn’t harm others; not killing, not
stealing, and also not acting selfishly
 Right Livelihood—Earning a living in a way that doesn’t harm others
 Right Effort—striving to get rid of evil within oneself
 Right Mindfulness—Paying attention to responsibilities
 Right Meditation—Thinking deeply for answers to problems
The Middle Way—moderation in all things
Living by the ways of the Eightfold Path leads to enlightenment. If a soul dies before
reaching enlightenment, it is reborn through reincarnation. In the next life, the soul
once again strives and suffers, trying to reach enlightenment.
The deeds a person performs during their lifetime are called karma. Buddhists believe a
person’ s karma travels with the soul into the next life, but not their personality. A
person with bad karma will have much to overcome in the next life, while one with good
karma will be closer to enlightenment. The cycle of birth, suffering, death, and rebirth
goes on and on until enlightenment is reached.
The Three Jewels
The Buddhist tradition is made up of three parts called the Three Jewels.
 The Buddha – the religious teacher
 The Dharma – the religious laws
 The Sangha – the religious community