LESSON 4

• Nirvana is the final goal of Buddhism.
• Westerners tend to think of Asians as people basically like us who just have different customs, holding different beliefs and having different ways of doing things.
• Westerners and Asians tend to assume that Asians experience self-identity in the same way as Westerners, as if they are the same equation with different values for the variables.
• Westerners and Asians may have different underlying pictures about the nature of cultural difference.
• Westerners and Asians may have different perspectives on the structure of the self, or the ego, or the personality.
• Westerners and Asians may have different views on how the Self is seen based on Western and Eastern beliefs.
• Western culture, also referred to as Western civilization, is usually synonymous with European culture.
• The West refers to Europe and those countries settled by Europeans, especially the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
• In Hinduism, dharma is the religious and moral law governing individual conduct and is one of the four ends of life.
• Dharma is a concept of social order and duty that sustains the whole universe.
• Explicit describes something that has been expressed directly.
• Implicit describes something that has been implied, meaning it has been suggested or hinted at but not actually directly stated or expressed.
• Edward T. Hall, a prominent cultural anthropologist, stated that one of the most effective ways to learn about oneself is by taking seriously the cultures of others.
• Literature, socialization, artworks, dances, and even clothing can provide clues about the Self.
• Westerners emphasize more on the value of equality and promote ideals that create “fair” competition and protect the individual.
• Easterners with their collectivistic culture, put more emphasis on hierarchy as the culture wants to keep things in harmony and order.
• Asians have respectful terms for their seniors and a lot of workers would not dare go against the high-ranking officials.
• Westerners tend to describe themselves more about their personal attributes when describing themselves.
• Taoism, also known as Daoism, is a Chinese philosophy based on the writings of Lao-tzu (6thcentury BC) advocating humility and religious piety.
• 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 three essential core values of Confucianism are Filial Piety, Humaneness- goodness, and Ritual - proper conduct.
• 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.
• Taoism aims to describe how to attain life.
• Nirvana in Buddhism 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.
• Unsatisfactoriness and suffering exist and are universally experienced.
• 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.
• In Buddhism, a quest is a long search for something that is difficult to find, or an attempt to achieve something difficult.
• In Taoism, the self is part of the universe and 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.
• Desire and attachment are the causes of unsatisfactoriness and suffering.
• The five basic virtues of Confucianism are Ren – benevolence, humaneness, Yi – righteous, justice morally right or justifiable, Li – proper, rite, Zhi – knowledge, and Xin - integrity the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
• 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.
• Buddhism is the world’s 4th-largest religion, with over 520M followers or over 7% of the global population are Buddhists.
• In Buddhism, to renounce means to formally declare one's abandonment of (a claim, right, or possession).
• Subdued Self’ in Confucianism refers to personal needs being repressed for the good of many, making Confucian society also hierarchical for the purpose of maintaining order and balance in society.
• The concept of Harmony is a central feature of Taoism, applied to the concept of health for energy (qi/chi), balance for disease prevention, healing, and the development of human potential.
• In Buddhism, the 3 Marks of Existence are Impermanence (anicca), Suffering (dukkha), and Non-Self (anatta).
• In general, individuals from Western cultures tend to focus on their social roles or the social situations that invoked certain traits that they deem positive for their selves.
• In individualistic cultures, the focus is on personal attributes when describing oneself.
• Collectivist cultures look at the world in dualities wherein you are distinct from the other person, the creator is separate from the object he created.