Eastern value

Eastern culture are influenced by Confusianism, Taoism, and Buddishm. 

1. Confusianism

    The goal of Confusianism is the well-being of the person in harmonious relationship with society. Focus on the human being and human nature. Confucious traced a noble portrait of the human being as the self actualized person in its actual situation, with a given nature and given family, nation, world.

    Confusianism has two virtue. First is "Kiun-tse" which means the great-hearted one. This is the virtue of the realized man which consists in understanding the reason of the heart, the secret of the transformation of things, the cause of what is mysterious and holy, in penetrating to the source of the wandering principle. The second is "yi" which means equality, justice. Yi is distributive justice of jen within a system of interpersonal relations, It is the acknowledgement between two human beings and which makes it impossible to behave indifferently toward each other as if the bond were nothing.

    Situational ethic is the ethic of human being in the society. Ethic for human relationsips, concerning the conduct of life and of society. The strongest doctrine is that the measures of man is man. A doctrine which is following the highest instincts of his own human nature, and not by looking for perfection in a divine ideal.

    The concept of Individual for society also appear in the main point of importance of the family. Chinese ethics considered the family as the basis or the centre to which all individuals must be subordinated, that family is everything and the individuals are nothing, that individuals must submit to the family and work for the family.

    

2. Taoism

    Tao means the way. The aim of Taoism is beyond worldly realities. The focus is accord of the human being and realization of a cosmic design which is expressed in all beings. Tao has four virtue: "wu-wei", softness, humility, and selflesness.

    The word "wu-wei" means non-interference. Wisdom of this virtue has doctrine which is "all under heaven has the Way". This doctrine means purposive will directed at finite particular things in the world, can gain fundamental reality only if it is gathered into a "non-willing". Some westerners use this to point out the passivity of Eastermers. 

    Softness cover the dominant impressions of extreme tenderness and gentleness.
    Humility is the essential component of the attitude of wu-wei. It consists of two main aspect, first in keeping to the core which means in staying close to man's original simplicity and innocence; second is frugality which is a contentment in having little, an earnestness to avoid all excess.

    Selflesness is the supreme attitude of the Saga, and rejoins the Buddhist idea. This point of view doctrine that you do not own your self. Therefore, the wise people entrusts that which belongs to the universe, to the whole universe.

3. Buddhism

    The aim is an answer to the problem of human suffering and show the path toward salvation. The focus is every human being is invited to follow that part in order to reach the awakening.

    The core of Buddhist doctrine: the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The first noble truth is "dukkha". This has translated as suffering or unhappiness. Dukkha is better rendered by "dislocation" which implies painful friction and impeded motion. The second  noble truth is "tanha" which point out the cause of life's dislocation. Tanha is the craving for selfish fulfillment, the clinging to one's self separated from others. The third noble truth identifies the cessation of suffering with the uprooting of self craving. The forth noble truth indicates the way to do an eightfold discipline that can be partaken in three points: wisdom, rectitude, and meditation.

    The role of moral behavior and meditation, destined to strengthen the right views and thoughts. Buddhistm is not a system of knowledge but a way of life which requires the totality of human being: aspiration, effort, behavior, livelihood, thoughts; also include philosophical understanding, purification of the whole life, and a special activity: contemplation. Contemplation is essential to assimilate the core of Buddhist doctrine, which is only perceived in a suprasensory and supraconscious experience.

    The unity with all beings, and of morality, has contributed to the humanization of Oriental people. In spite of wars, violence, severity of natural disasters, it has given them the sense of fratrnity and hospitality, gentle kindness, detachment, inner peace, and sensitivity to beauty which characterize Eastern culture. A total respect for the freedom of man in his most intimate activity is the expression of his faith. 

     This three above represent searches of equilibrium and balance: the "golden mean" between the human being and society (Confusianism), the human being and the universe (Taoism), the human being and the Absolute (Buddhism). In the East, person is never considered by himself or herself. The individual is always viewed as an integral part of a whole in which he or she finds his or her relative place and role. The totality is first, not the part, however great it may be. The human person is a note of music in the universal symphony, not the conductor of the orchestra.

      Oriental peoples are trained in their education to acquire a wisdom which consists primarily in the sense of measure: to know the right proportion in feeligs, thoroughts, actions; never to let a feeling become so so preponderant that it occupies the whole field of consciousness and thus disrupts the psychological balance; to avoid all excess and extravagance. This make Eastern people become polite, courteous, tactful, aware of each other's presence and needs; they want to live on good terms with family, relatives, and neighbours; and sometimes they are wiliing to give up their rights in order to preserve concord. Everything in their personal life, relationships, and material surroundings must look peaceful and harmonious.

Eastern and Western

Conflict value between East and West are in knowledge, attitude toward nature, ideal of life, and status of the person.

A. Knowledge

The Divergences between Eastern and Western approach to reality in this part:

1. Reason and Intuition

    Western -> more favor to the reason because an intellectual heritage is a method of knowledge based on reason, using observation, critical analysis, discovery of intelligible relations behind general law. The powerful weapon of the human mind is the art of methodical reasoning of employing arguments. 

     Eastern -> favor to the intuition over reason. The centre of person is not his intellect, but his "heart" which hold in unity reason and unreason, intellegence and sense. They approach life with the whole being, not only with brain.

2. Abstraction and symbolic, concrete thought

     In west- > each philosopher has a system, an abstract formula in which one encases the whole universe.

     In east-> example: chinese literature do not elaborate general principles of human behavior or discussions of systems but believe that abstract ideas are usually expressed in a concrete ways.

3. Science and wisdom

     In the East, the first goal of learning is wisdom. People in the East think if a merely intellectual knowledge does not transform the person for a better way of life, it is wasting time. For example in China, there is so much more concern with the problems of living, but there are no specialized sciences.

    In the West, there is so much specialized knowledge and so little humanized knowledge.

B. Attitude toward Nature

1. Oneness with nature

    Eastern people: love nature, feel one with nature. They are scientifically subjective in understanding nature. Their feeling toward nature are rooted in religious and philosophical beliefs, from Buddishm and Taoism.  Oneness with nature is the conviction of original religious.

    Western people: point out the active and analytical way regarding nature. Scientifically objective toward nature. They think that humanity has to master, to conquer, and to exploit nature for itw own benefits, by its discoveries and intentions. This point of view is in part with Christian theology.

2. Harmony with nature

    In the East, Taoism is the spirit of harmony with nature. They belief that the universe in which everything has its "way",its norm, its rythm.. To be tune with Tao,people shall be in harmony with oneself and with all beings. For example: pagoda towers with their curved roofs are in perfect harmony with the surroundings. In lanscape painting, it composed two radicals which is mountain and water. The first element suggested vastness, solitude, and stability; the second suppleness, endurance, and continuous movement.

C. Ideal of Life

    Western ideal: destiny of humankind, believes in personal capacities and in personal mission, and does not repeat in the face of weariness, discouragement, exhaustion, harshness of weather, or injustice among people.

    Eastern ideal: a life where the highest values come from within receptiveness to the present, a destiny of experiences, an integration of self, a quality of being, a certain human essence that requires silence and time for its fullness. Yearning for spiritual values makes the Asian glorify detachment and poverty as well as defocused from a total involvement in the "building of the earth".

D. Status of the Person

    In the West : law and society promote the rights of individual by providing one with an atmosphere of freedom in which one can exercise one's rights. One who legally major at twenty one will respond for oneself without leaning on one's family or relatives. Western people adopt principle of individuality or personalism. For example, although parents care for their young adult children, they let them live their own lives, they move into their own home where they can enjoy total freedom.

    In the East : strong ties exist among members of a family, among relatives, and among neighbors.in east, Theoretically your rights might exist, but practically they are not respected. Nobody lets you "do your own thing"; pressures are innumerable and conformism is the general rule.