THE SOCIAL SAGE: CONFUCIUS
10th Grade
Mrs. Karen Hernández
Confucius is the Latinized name of K`ung Fu-tzu or Master K`ung, a
legendary teacher who saw social decline, and took a more active
approach than Lao-tzu, he promoted social order based on hummanity,
custom, and personal moral cultivation.
Confucius began teaching in his twenties or
thirties, legends say that he was the first
man in Chinese history to devote his life
to teaching, we can describe him as witty,
humane, complicated, confident and modest.
He was unimpressed by wealth and social
standing.
Shortly before he died, Confucius wept and said. “For a long time the world has
been living in moral chaos and no ruler has been able to follow me”. Leaning on
a stick, he walked slowly around his door, singing “Ah the mountain is crumbling
down! The pillar is falling down! The philosopher is passing out!”.
Confucian Humanism and The Golden Mean
If one word characterizes the overall approach of the
ancient sages, it is humanism, the name given to any
philosophy that emphasizes human welfare and dignity.
In general humanism is based on the belief that human
intelligence and effort are capable of improving
present conditions.
Confucian humanism is rooted in Confucius`s visión of himself as a
preserver and restorer of a declining culture rather than as an inventor or
creator of something new.
Confucius acknowledged the need to think, but focused on the importance
of learning. “I used to go without food all day, without sleep all night, to
think,” he said. “No use, better to learn.” Learn the way of chung-yung, the
Golden Mean. The mean means “centrality and universality.” The mean
is the same as equilibrium or harmony. By restoring equilibrium to the
individual, Confucius thought order would be restored to the family, to
other relationships, to state, to the world, to the universe.
What heaven imparts to man is called human nature. To follow our
nature is called the Way (Tao). Cultivating the Way is called Education.
The Way cannot be separated from us even for a moment.
Before the feelings of pleasure, anger, sorrow and joy are aroused it is
called equilibrium. When these feelings are aroused it is called
equilibrium, this is the great foundation of the world, and harmony its
universal path.
CONFUCIUS QUOTES
THE BUDDHA
SIDDHARTHA GAUTAMA
10th Grade
Mrs. Karen Hernández
So powerful was the person and visión of Siddhartha Gautama, that he
was recognized during his lifetime as an archetype himself.
Today the archetype of Buddha is a mayor source of meaning and
purpose for over 2 billion people.
The Buddha was a sage, yet more than a sage, among his names,
perhaps the most enduring are the Awakened or Enlightened One, and
the Compassionate Buddha. Yet of all his influence we have very little
factual information about him, what we know comes from oral tradition
and myth.
Unlike Lao-tzu and Confucius, Siddhartha Gautama was born into wealth
and power as the son of a prince (rajah) in what is now Nepal. He was
intelligent and alert, a talented student and athlete. Legend says that he
was a first-rate hunter and archer and that he enjoyed a rich and active
life.
As an only son, Siddhartha was spoiled and indulged by his family; he
became a hedonist and a womanizer. At sixteen he married his cousin, but
this did not seem to have slowed dowm his pleasure seeking. The Young
prince lived in protected isolation, surrounded by servants who catered to
his whim. One versión of his life claims that Siddhartha`s parents took
great pain to protect him from the ugliness of life, even surrounding him
with young attractive servants. His parents tried to protect him from
knowing about poverty, hunger, sickness and death by trying to confine him
within the palace.
But Siddhartha was not content. As many young
people, curiosity led him away from home.
During his secret trips outside the palace to a
nearby city, he saw three of the now famous
Four Signs that altered his life forever:
- A destitute and homeless beggar
- A dead man being prepared for cremation
by his weeping mourners.
- A diseased and handicapped person
The seeds of the Buddha were planted when
Siddhartha encountered his first sight of
suffering.
SIDDHARTHA THE SEEKER
Before his excursions outside the family compound, Siddhartha had
no real idea of what sickness or old age could do to the body and
spirit. He had no real sense of the depths that poverty could reach.
He was unaware of the power of grief. The price he had paid for
living in a cocoon of soft pleasures and hidden from suffering of
others was a feeling of bored unease. But ignorance could not
protect him forever. All the pleasures of his wealthy family could
not quell his nagging sense of discomfort. He simply had to know
more.
The Young prince had no one to talk about his troubled questions
except his servant Channa, a hired companion who was also a
guardian and bodyguard. To every question Siddhartha raised
about life outside the family, good Channa could only reply, with
great sadness and resignation, “Yes, master, there is no escape to
old age, sickness and death.
In today`s language we might say the Siddhartha “had his eyes
opened”. His naive unawareness was spoiled forever. No longer
were his pleasures as sweet, he could not shake the haunting
images of old age, sickness and death. His anxiety grew, and he
asked to himself again and again, How could anyone be happy if
there is absolutely no escape from suffering, dissapointment,
sadness and loss?
Walking outside the palace one day, Siddhartha saw a wondering
monk, an ascetic. Ascetics turn away from pleasure and severely
limit all sensual appetites in order to achieve salvation or peace
of mind. Ascetics involve long hours of prayer, living on plain
food, and wearing simple clothes.
When Siddhartha looked closely into the face of the wandering
monk, he was astonished to see serenity, purpose, and
detachment.
This was the last of the Four Signs.
Siddhartha concluded that he must leave the security of his home
and live as a monk, homeless, with a simple robe and a beggar`s
bowl.
Section Review
1. List the different names by which people reffered to, Siddhartha Gautama.
2. Describe Siddharthas` life as a young prince.
3. Name the first three signs that changed Siddharthas` view of life.
4. What opened Siddharthas` eyes to the reality of life?
5. What was the fourth and final sign?
6. How do ascetics live their lives?