Eastern philosophy Ethics

The usefulness of dividing philosophyinto Western philosophyand other philosophies is open to challenge, not the least for speaking down to those other philosophies. To say this is not to deny that there are important traditions in philosophy that are intimately bound up with historical and geographical circumstances.

The term Eastern philosophy refers very broadly to the various philosophies of Iran, India, China, and Japan.

When one uses the term "philosophy" in an academic context, it typically refers to the philosophical tradition begun with the ancient Greeks. The "Eastern philosophies" are typically overlooked.

Philosophical and religious traditions

The following is an overview of the Eastern philosophic traditions. Each tradition has a separate article with more detail on sects, schools, etc. (c.f.)

Hinduism

Hinduism (सनातन धर्म; Sanātana Dharma, roughly Perennial Faith) is generally considered to be the oldest major world religionstill practised today and first among Dharmafaiths. Hinduism is characterized by a diverse array of belief systems, practices and scriptures. It has its origin in ancient Vedicculture at least as far back as 3000 BC. It is the third largest religion with approximately 1.05 billionfollowers worldwide, 96% of whom live in the Indian subcontinent.

Hinduism rests on the spiritual bedrock of the Vedas, hence Veda Dharma, and their mystic issue, the Upanishads, as well as the teachings of many great Hindu gurusthrough the ages. Many streams of thought flow from the six Vedic/Hindu schools, Bhaktisects and TantraAgamic schools into the one ocean of Hinduism, the first of the Dharma religions.

What can be said to be common to all Hindus is belief in Dharma, reincarnation, karma, and moksha(liberation) of every soul through a variety of moral, action-based, and meditative yogas. Still more fundamental principles include ahimsa(non-violence), the primacy of the Guru, the Divine Word of Aumand the power of mantras, love of Truth in many manifestations as gods and goddessess, and an understanding that the essential spark of the Divine (Atman/Brahman) is in every human and living being, thus allowing for many spiritual paths leading to the One Unitary Truth.

See Also: Hindu philosophy-- Hindu scripture-- Samkhya-- Yoga-- Nyaya-- Vaisesika-- Vedanta-- Krishnology-- Bhakti-- Hindu deities

Sufism & Islamic philosophy

The rise of Islamled to emergence of various philosophical schools of thought. Amongst them sufismestablished esoteric philosophy, mu'tazilah (inspired from Greek Philosophy) reconstructed rationalismwhile asharitescast significant impact on the non-reliability of reasonand reshaped logical and rational interpretation of God, justice, destinyand universe.

Sufism(???? ta?awwuf) is a school of esotericphilosophy in Islam, which is based on the pursuit of spiritualtruthas a definite goal to attain. In order to attain this supreme truth, Sufism has marked Lataif-e-Sitta (the six subtleties), Nafs, Qalb, Sirr, Ruh (spirit), Khafi and Akhfa. Apart from conventional religious practices, they also perform Muraqaba (meditation), Dhikr (Zikr or recitation), Chillakashi (asceticism) and Sama (esotericmusicand dance).

al-mu`tazilah (????????) or Mu'taziliteis another controversial theological school of philosophyin early Islam. They called themselves Ahl al-'Adl wa al-Tawhid ("People of Justice and Monotheism"). They were the first who advocated free willand expanded the (western) rationalism in Islamic society. They also developed Kalambased on Greek dialectic. They ascended dramatically during 8th and 9th centurydue to support of intellectual and elites, but could not appeal to the masses. Later in the 13th century, they lost official support and most of their valuable works were destroyed.

Confucianism

Confucianismdeveloped around the teachings of Confuciusand is based on a set of Chinese classic texts. It was the mainstream ideology in China and the sinosphere since the Han dynastyand may still be a major founder element in Far-East culture. It could be understood as a social ethicand humanistsystem focusing on human beings and their relationships. Confucianism emphasizes formal rituals in every aspect of life, from quasi-religious ceremonies to strict politeness and deference to one's elders, specifically to one's parents and to the state in the form of the Emperor.

Taoism

Taoism, whose essence is centered around letting things take their natural course, is the traditional foil of Confucianism. Taoism's central books are the Tao Te Ching, traditionally attributed to Lao Zi(Lao tse), and the Zhuang Zi(Chuang Tse). The core concepts of Taoism are traced far in Chinese History, incorporating elements of mysticismdating back to prehistoric times, linked also with the Book of Changes(I Ching), a divinatory set of 64 geometrical figures describing states and evolutions of the world. Taoism emphasizes Nature, individual freedom, refusal of social bounds, and was a doctrine professed by those who "retreated in mountains". At the end of their lives --or during the night, Confucian officers often behaved as Taoists, writing poetry or trying to "reach immortality". Yet Taoism is also a government doctrine where the ruler's might is ruling through "non-action" (Wuwei).

Legalism

Legalism advocated a strict interpretation of the law in every respect. Morality was not important; adherence to the letter of the law was paramount. Officials who exceeded expectations were as liable for punishment as were those who underperformed their duties, since both were not adhering exactly to their duties. Legalism was the principal philosophic basis of the Qin Dynastyin China. Confucian scholars were persecutedunder Legalist rule.

Buddhism

Buddhism is a system of beliefs based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince later known as the Buddha, or one who is Awake - derived from the Sanskrit 'bud', 'to awaken'. Buddhism is a non-theistic religion, one whose tenets are not especially concerned with the existence or nonexistence of a God or gods. The Buddha himself expressly disavowed any special divine status or inspiration, and said that anyone, anywhere could achieve all the insight that he had. The question of God is largely irrelevant in Buddhism, though some sects (notably Tibetan Buddhism) do veneratea number of gods drawn in from local indigenous belief systems.

However, Buddhist philosophy as such has its foundations more in the doctrines of anatta, which specifies that all is without substantial metaphysicalbeing, pratitya-samutpada, which delineates the Buddhist concept of causality, and Buddhist phenomenologicalanalysis of dharmas, or phenomenological constituents.

Most Buddhist sects believe in karma, a cause-and-effect relationship between all that has been done and all that will be done. Events that occur are held to be the direct result of previous events. One effect of karma is rebirth. At death, the karma from a given life determines the nature of the next life's existence. The ultimate goal of a Buddhist practitioner is to eliminate karma (both good and bad), end the cycle of rebirth and suffering, and attain Nirvana, translated as nothingness or blissful oblivion and characterized as the state of being one with the entire universe.

Zen Buddhism

Zenis a fusion of MahayanaBuddhism with Taoist principles. Bodhidharmawas a semilegendary Indian monk who traveled to Chinain the 5th century. There, at the Shaolintemple, he began the Ch'an school of Buddhism, known in Japanand in the West as Zen Buddhism. Zen philosophy places emphasis on existing in the moment, right now. Zen teaches that the entire universe is one's mind, and if one cannot realize enlightenment in one's own mind now, one cannot ever achieve enlightenment.

Zen practitioners engage in zazen(just sitting) meditation. Several schools of Zen have developed various other techniques for provoking satori, or enlightenment, ranging from whacking acolytes with a stick to shock them into the present moment to koans, Zen riddles designed to force the student to abandon futile attempts to understand the nature of the universe through logic. Entheogensare also used in some Zen sects, especially in the West.

Jainism

Jainism was founded by Mahavira, a teacher and religious leader who lived around the same time as the Buddha. The word Jaina comes from the title Jina, or victorious one, referring to those who have achieved victory over their own passions. Jainism teaches asceticism- acts of self-discipline, self-deprivation, and self-denial - as the way to enlightenment. The original Jains were among the world' first monks, retreating from ordinary life to devote themselves to fasting and meditation. Some Jaina communities still exist today.

Maoism

Maoismis a Communistphilosophy based on the teachings of 20th centuryCommunist Party of Chinarevolutionary leader Mao Zedong. It is based partially on earlier theories by Marx and Lenin, but rejects the urban proletariatand Leninistemphasis on heavy industrialization in favor of a revolution supported by the peasantry, and a decentralized agrarian economy based on many collectively worked farms.

Many people believe that though the implementation of Maoism in Mainland Chinaled to the victory of communist revolution, it also contributed to the widespread famine, with millions of people starving to death. Chinese Communist leader Deng Xiaopingreinterpreted Maoism to allow for the introduction of market economics, which eventually enabled the country to recover. As a philosophy, Deng's chief contribution was to reject the supremacy of theory in interpreting Marxism and to argue for a policy of seeking truth from facts.

Despite this, Maoism has remained a popular ideology for various Communist revolutionary groups around the world, notably the Khmer Rougein Cambodia, Sendero Luminosoin Peru, and an ongoing (as of early 2005) Maoist insurrection in Nepal.

Shinto

Shintois the indigenous religion of Japan, a sophisticated form of animismthat holds that spirits called kamiinhabit all things. Worship is at public shrines, or in small shrines constructed in one's home.

Arguments against the "Eastern philosophy" designation

Many have argued that the distinction between Eastern and Western schools of philosophy is arbitrary and purely geographic, that this artificial distinction does not take into account the tremendous amount of interaction between European and Asian schools of thought, and that the distinction is more misleading than enlightening. Furthermore, it has been argued that the term Eastern philosophy implies similarities between philosophical schools which may not exist and obscures the differences between Eastern schools of philosophy.

For example, Indian and Western schools of thought, with their robust mind-body conceptual dualism, share consequent tendencies to subjective idealism or dualism. Formally, they share the rudiments of Western "folk psychology" --a sentential psychology and semantics e.g. belief and (propositional) knowledge, subject-predicate grammar (and subject-object metaphysics) truth and falsity, and inference. These concepts underwrote the emergence (or perhaps spread) of logic in Greece and India (In contrast to pre-Buddhist China). Other noticeable similarities include structural features of related concepts of time, space, objecthood and causation -- all concepts hard to isolate within ancient Chinese conceptual space.

The perception of God and the gods

Because of the influence of monotheism and especially the Abrahamic religions, Western philosophies have been faced with the question of the nature of God and His relationship to the universe. This has created a dichotomy among Western philosophies between secular philosophies and religious philosophies which develop within the context of a particular monotheistic religion's dogmaregarding the nature of God and the universe.

Eastern philosophies have not been as concerned by questions relating to the nature of a single God as the universe's sole creator and ruler. The distinction between the religious and the secular tends to be much less sharp in Eastern philosophy, and the same philosophical school often contains both religious and philosophical elements. Thus, some people accept the metaphysicaltenets of Buddhismwithout going to a temple and worshipping. Some have worshipped the Taoistdeities religiously without bothering to delve into the philosophic underpinnings, while others embrace Taoist philosophy while ignoring the religious aspects.

This arrangement stands in marked contrast to most philosophy of the West, which has traditionally enforced either a completely unified philosophic/religious belief system (e.g. the various sects and associated philosophies of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam), or a sharp and total repudiation of religion by philosophy (e.g. Nietzsche, Marx, Voltaire, etc.).

Gods' relationship with the universe

Another common thread that often differentiates Eastern philosophy from Western is the belief regarding the relationship between God or the gods and the universe. Western philosophies typically either disavow the existence of God, or else hold that God or the gods are something separate and distinct from the universe. This comes from the influence of the Abrahamic religions, which teach that this universe was created by a single all-powerful God who existed before and separately from this universe. The true nature of this God would be incomprehensible to us as his creations.

Eastern philosophic traditions generally tend to be less concerned with the existence or non-existence of gods. Although some Eastern traditions have supernatural spiritual beings and even powerful gods, these are generally not seen as separate from the universe, but rather as a part of the universe. Conversely, most Eastern religions teach that ordinary actions can affect the supernatural realm.

The role and nature of the individual

It has been argued that in most Western philosophies, the same can be said of the individual: Western philosophies generally assume as a given that the individual is something different from the universe, and Western philosophies attempt to describe and categorize the universe from a detached, objective viewpoint. Eastern philosophies, on the other hand, typically hold that people are an intrinsic and inseparable part of the universe, and that attempts to discuss the universe from an objective viewpoint as though the individual speaking was something separate and detached from the whole are inherently absurd.

Syntheses of Eastern and Western philosophy

There have been many modern attempts to integrate Western and Eastern philosophical traditions.

Germanphilosopher Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegelwas very interested in Taoism. His system of dialecticsis sometimes interpreted as a formalization of Taoist principles.

Hegel's rival Arthur Schopenhauerdeveloped a philosophy that was essentially a synthesis of Hinduismand Buddhism with Western thought. He anticipated that the Upanishads (primary Hinduscriptures) would have a much greater influence in the West than they have had. However, Schopenhauer was working with heavily flawed early translations (and sometimes second-degree translations), and many feel that he may not necessarily have accurately grasped the Eastern philosophies which interested him.

Recent attempts to incorporate Western philosophy into Eastern thought include the Kyoto Schoolof philosophers, who combined the phenomenologyof Husserlwith the insights of Zen Buddhism. Watsuji Tetsurô, a 20th centuryJapanesephilosopher attempted to combine the works of Søren Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Heidegger with Eastern philosophies. Much of the work of Ken Wilberalso focuses on bringing together truths of Eastern and Western philosophies into a coherent and integrated framework or Integral theory.

Eastern philosophy

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