LESSON 5: THE SELF IN WESTERN AND ORIENTAL/EASTERN THOUGHT

• The Western people are concerned with how to make the dharma authentically Western.
• Before inventing a new flavor of Buddhism to suit Western palettes, it is important to examine the implicit assumptions we are bringing to this project.
• Nirvana represents the final goal of Buddhism.
• Nirvana is a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth.
• Westerners tend to think of Asians as people basically like us who just have different customs and hold different beliefs and have different ways of doing things.
• Asians are assumed to experience self-identity in the same way as Westerners do, which is the same equation with different values for the variables.
• The structure of the self, or call it the ego or the personality, is essentially different across cultures.
• The concept of self is analyzed from different perspectives like literature, socialization, artworks, dances, and even clothing.
• The Western society is trying to find and prove the "truth" and gives higher value to personal rights.
• Eastern philosophers give more value to social responsibility and accept the reality of life (fact) and are interested in maintaining the balance of life.
• Confucianism, also known as RUism, is a tradition, a philosophy, a humanistic or rationalistic religion developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher CONFUCIUS(1551-479 BCE) who considered himself a re-codifier and re-transmitter of the theology and values inherited from the Shang and Zhou dynasty.
• Humanists are non-religious people who strive to lead fulfilling, meaningful and ethical lives, using reason and empathy to guide their decisions and actions.
• Humanists base their understanding of the world on reason and science, rejecting supernatural or divine beliefs.
• Confucianism is focused on having a harmonious social life.
• In Confucianism, the identity and self-concept of the individual are interwoven with the identity and status of his/her community or culture, sharing its pride as well as its failures.
• The Subdued Self’ in Confucianism is when personal needs are repressed for the good of many, making Confucian society also hierarchical for the purpose of maintaining order and balance in society.
• The three essential core values of Confucianism are Filial Piety, Humaneness- goodness.
• All Buddhist traditions share the goal of overcoming suffering and the cycle of death & rebirth, either by the attainment of Nirvana or through the path of Buddhahood.
• Quest in Buddhism is a long search for something that is difficult to find, or an attempt to achieve something difficult.
• Taoism aims to describe how to attain life.
• The 3 Marks of Existence in Buddhism are: Impermanence (anicca), Suffering (dukkha), and Non-Self (anatta).
• Buddhism is the world’s 4th-largest religion, with over 520M followers or over 7% of the global population are Buddhists.
• The 3 Basic Virtues of Confucianism are: Ren (benevolence, humaneness), Yi (righteous, justice morally right or justifiable), Li (proper, rite).
• Ritual - proper conduct (Proper Conduct means any action or conduct of the Indemnitee if all of the following are true with respect thereto: (i) the Indemnitee acted in good faith, (ii) the Indemnitee acted in a manner the Indemnitee reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Corporation and its subsidiaries and …)
• Unsatisfactoriness and suffering exist and are universally experienced according to Buddhism.
• Desire and attachment are the causes of unsatisfactoriness and suffering according to Buddhism.
• TAOISM, also known as Daoism, is a Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao-tzu (6thcentury BC) advocating humility and religious piety.
• The self is part of the universe according to Taoism.
• The goal of Taoism is to live in harmony with the Tao or the Universe.
• The 5 Virtues of Taoism are: Ren (benevolence, humaneness), Yi (righteous, justice morally right or justifiable), Li (proper, rite), Zhi (knowledge), Xin (integrity the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness).
• Buddhahood is considered a state of absolute enlightenment attained by a boddhisatva (awakened one).
• Gautama Buddha taught that all beings conditioned by causes (sankhara) are impermanent not permanent (anicca) and suffering (dukkha), and that not-self (anatta) characterizes all dhammas, meaning THERE IS NO “I”, “ME” or “MINE” in either the conditioned or the unconditioned (i.e nibbana).
• The concept of Harmony is a central feature of Taoism.
• The Tao Chi (Yin-Yang diagram) is an example of the value of harmony with the environment.
• Renounce in Buddhism means formally declaring one's abandonment of a claim, right, or possession.