The Self in Western and Oriental/Eastern Thought

• "One of the most effective ways to learn about oneself is by taking seriously the cultures of others. It forcew you to pay attention to those details of which differentiate them from you." – Edward T. Hall
• Concept of the Self: There are a lot of sources in which we can analyze the perspective of each culture and country about the concept of the "self."
• Various sources in which we can analyze the perspective of each culture and country about the concept of the "self" are:

  • Literature
  • Socialization
  • Artworks
  • Dances
  • Clothings
  • Cultural Diversity
• Western Thoughts:

  • They give higher value with their personal rights.
  • The western society is trying to find and prove the "truth."
• Eastern Thought:

  • Giving more value to social responsibility and accepting the reality of life (fact), and maintaining the balance of life.
• The Westerners are individualistic, while the Easterners are collectivistic.
• In terms of values, westerners, emphasize more on the value of equality even if they see that the individual can rise above anything.
• In terms of values, easterners, put more emphasis on hierarchy as the culture wants to keep things in harmony and order.
• In terms of self-description, westerners would talk more abou their personal attributes when describing themselves.
• In terms of self-derscription, easterner would generally talk about their social roles or the social situations that invoked certain traits that they deem positive for themselves.
• In terms of self-evaluation, westerners would highlight their personal achievments.
• In terms of self-evaluation, easterners would rather keep a low profile as promoting the self can be seen as boastfulness that disrupts social relationships.
• Individualistic:

  • Focus is on the person.
  • Looks at the world in dualities wherein you are distinct from the other person, the creator is separate from the object he created.
• Collectivistic:

  • The group and social relations is given more importance than individual needs and wants.
  • Sees the other person as part of yourself as well as the things you may create, a drame in which everyone is interconnected with their specific roles.
• Confusianism, also known as Ruism, is an ancient Chinese belief system. It is described as tradition, a philosophy, a humanistic or rational religion developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius (1551-479 BCE). Confucius considered himself a re-codifier and re-transmitter of the theology and values inherited from the Shang and Zhou dynasty.
• Confucianism focuses on having a harmonious social life. Identity and self-concept of the individual are interwoven with the identiy and status of his/her community or culture, sharing its pride as well as its failure.
• Subdued Self: personal needs are repressed for the good of many, making Confusian societ also hierarchical for the purpose of maintaining order and balance in society.
• 3 Essential Core Values of Confucianism:

  • Filial Piety - respect for elders
  • Humanenes - goodness
  • Ritual - proper conduct
• 5 Basic Virtues of Confucianism:

  • Ren - benevolence, humaneness
  • Yi - righteous, justice
  • Li - proper, rite
  • Zhi - knowledge
  • Xin - integrity
• Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao-tzu (6th Century BC), advocating humility and religious piety.
• Taoism is living the way of the Tao or the Universe. It aims to describe how to attain life. The self is part of the universe. It is living a balanced life with society and nature, being open and accepting to change, forgetting about prejudices and egocentric ideas and thinking about equality as well as complementarity among humans as well as other beings. The self is in harmony with everything.
• The 3 Treasures/Jewels (3 Essential Energies Sustaining Human Life):

  • Jing - essence
  • Qi - energy
  • Shen - spirit
• Tao Chi = Yin-Yang Diagram
• Concept of Harmony - A central featue of Taoism is harmony between people and their environment, nature, or Tao.
• Buddhism is the world's 4th largest religion, with over 520 million followers or over 7% of the global population are Buddhists. Buddhism is an Indian religion.
• All Buddhist traditions share the goal "overcoming suffering and the cycle of death and rebirth" either by the attainment of Nirvana or through the path of Buddhahood.
• Buddhism does not believe in the concept of the self.
• 3 Marks of Existence (Buddhism):

  1. Impermanence (anicca) - all things are in constant state of flux; nothing lasts, and everything decays.
  2. Suffering (dukkha) - all things are not experienced; everything is conditioned and conditioning.
  3. Non-Self (anatta): denies that there is anything called "self."
• In attaining the state of Nirvana, it is our quest to forget about the self, forget about the cravings of the self, break the attachments you have with the world, and to renounce the self whoch is the cause of all suffering.
• Nirvana: a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self.
• Gautama Buddha taught all beings conditioned by causes (sankhara) are impermanent (anicca) and suffering (dukkha), and that not-self (anatta) characterizes all dhammas; meaning that there is no "I," "Me," and "Mine" in either conditioned or the unconditioned.
• Unsatifactoriness and suffering exist and are universally experienced. Desire and attachment are the causes of unsatisfactoriness and suffering.
• Western thought favors a rational-empirical approach over magical and superstitious explanation of things, including the self.
• The law of Karma is the most important doctrine of Hinduism which implies that individual actions will lead to either good or bad outcome's in one's life.
• According to the teachings of Buddhism, every person has the seed of enlightenment, hence, potential to be a Buddha.
• In Confucian thought, moral character is perfected by continuously taking every opportunity to improve oneself in thought and action.
• To Taoists, the self is an extension of the cosmos, not of social relationships. The self is described as one of the limitless forms of the Tao (nature).