Download Three Philosophies of China

Three Philosophies of China
Confucianism, Buddhism, and
Taoism
Confucianism
(the oldest philosophy)
• Belief system based on teaching of K’ung
Fu Tzu (Confucius)
• It is a philosophy rather than religion
• Based on the following principles:
 Use right relationship to produce social
order
 Respect family and older generations
 Educate individuals and society
 Act in morally correct way
• Confucianism lost its influence in 200 A.D.
• Was reborn again in 600s A.D; blended
with Buddhism and Daoism; became
known as Neo-Confucianism
Confucius taught that society is organized around 5
relationships:
 Subjects
+
 Younger siblings
+
 Wives
+
 Students
+
 Workers
+
+= be loyal & always obey
Rulers
Older siblings
Husbands
Teachers
Supervisor
_
- = always care for
Buddhism
• The 4th largest religion & philosophy in the
world
• Based on teachings of Siddhartha Gautama
(the Buddha), who lived in India in 400 B.C.
• Buddhism originated in India, in the city of
Sarnath and spread to China, Korea, Japan
• Buddha means “Enlightened One”
• He taught that life is full of suffering
because people want material things
• His teaching is based on Four Noble Truths
• In China, emperor Taizong supported
Buddhism
Four Noble Truths
1. Suffering is part of life; everyone
will experience it
2. Suffering is caused by greed or
love for material things
3. To end suffering eliminate the
desire for things you cannot get
4. Practice the Eightfold Path to
achieve Nirvana (true happiness
and peace)
Eightfold Path
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Right Views
Right Intentions
Right Speech
Right Conduct
Right Livelihood
Right Effort
Right Mindfulness
Right Concentration
Reincarnation
• One must go through many
cycles of birth, living, and
death
• After many cycles a person
releases their attachment
to desire & self and can
reach Nirvana
• Buddhist writing are called
scriptures
Taoism (a.k.a. Daoism)
• Philosophy based of teachings of
Lao-Tse
• Began around 4th century in China
• Unlike Buddhism, Taoists do not
believe that life is suffering.
• Taoism believes that life is
generally happy but that it should
be lived with balance and virtue.
Main ideas of Daoism
• Peace and harmony with nature. No
selfishness.
• To live in plain and modest way & to not
struggle for material gain.
• "Wu wei" or action through inaction. "The
way“ means don’t interfere with nature
because it will upset the balance of nature
• The three jewels (values) in Daoism are
compassion, moderation, and humility
• Nature should be respected
• The Daoist sacred book is known as the Tao
Te Ching.
Yin Yang Symbol
• The Yin Yang symbol idealizes the balance
in order to find enlightenment
• There is a light and dark side to the Yin
Yang, which represents opposites such as
good and evil, as well as male and female.
Chinese Religions Project:
Foldable=30 pts and Essay=70 pts (100pts)
• The assignment: You will create a foldable using 3 different
philosophies from China: Buddhism, Confucianism, and
Daoism( Taoism) .
• Each philosophy must have a neat, colored, and detailed
drawings as well as explanations of who founded the religion
and what the major believes or principles are.
• Then you will write a letter to the emperor Kublai Khan (5
paragraph essay) to justify which philosophy should be
adopted for China and why. Remember to have 3 reasons to
convince him to adopt the philosophy. Remember to use
evidence from the text and lots of details to describe your
reasons.