Professional Documents
Culture Documents
BIOGRAPHY
After his resignation, he began a long journey around the small kingdoms of
northeast and central China, including the states of Wei, Song, Chen and Cai. At
the courts of these states, he expounded his political beliefs but did not see them
implemented.
He returned home at age 68. The Analects pictures him spending his last years
teaching disciples and transmitting the old wisdom via a set of texts called the
Five Classics.
Burdened by the loss of both his son and his favorite disciples, he died at the age
of 72 or 73.
PHILOSOPHY
• "What one does not wish for oneself, one ought not to do to anyone else;
what one recognises as desirable for oneself, one ought to be willing to
grant to others." (Confucius and Confucianism, Richard Wilhelm)
"With coarse rice to eat, with water to drink, and my crooked arm for a pillow - is
not joy to be found therein? Riches and honors acquired through
unrighteousness are to me as the floating clouds"
HINDUISM
BIOGRAPHY
Hinduism is often stated to be the "oldest religious tradition" and is the world's
third largest religion after Christianity and Islam, with approximately a billion
adherents, of whom about 905 million live in India. It is formed of diverse
traditions and types and has no single founder.
Hinduism's vast body of scriptures are divided into Śruti ("revealed") and Smriti
("remembered"). These scriptures discuss theology, philosophy and mythology,
and provide information on the practice of dharma (religious living). Among these
texts, the Vedas and the Upanishads are the foremost in authority, importance
and antiquity.
PHILOSOPHY
BUDDHISM
BIOGRAPHY
Siddhārtha Gautama (Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher in the
northern region of the Indian subcontinent who founded Buddhism. He is
generally seen by Buddhists as the Supreme Buddha of our age. The time of his
birth and death are uncertain: most early 20th-century historians date his lifetime
from 563 BCE to 483 BCE.
Gautama, is the key figure in Buddhism, and accounts of his life, discourses, and
monastic rules are believed by Buddhists to have been summarized after his
death and memorized by his followers.
PHILOSOPHY
Rebirth
Sentient beings crave pleasure and are averse to pain from birth to death. In
being controlled by these attitudes, they perpetuate the cycle of conditioned
existence and suffering (Samsara), and produce the causes and conditions of the
next rebirth after death.
The Four Noble Truths were the first teaching of Gautama Buddha after attaining
Nirvana. They are sometimes considered as containing the essence of the
Buddha's teachings and are presented in the manner of a medical diagnosis and
remedial prescription – a style common at that time:
These "truths" do not represent mere statements, but are categories or aspects
that most worldly phenomena fall into, grouped in two:
The Noble Eightfold Path, the fourth of the Buddha's Noble Truths, is the way to
the cessation of suffering (dukkha). It has eight sections, each starting with the
word samyak (Sanskrit, meaning correctly, properly, or well, frequently translated
into English as right), and presented in three groups:
• Prajñā is the wisdom that purifies the mind, allowing it to attain spiritual
insight into the true nature of all things. It includes:
Middle Way
Dependent Arising
Accordingly, most Buddhists agree that, to a greater or lesser extent, words are
inadequate to describe the goal of the Buddhist path, but concerning the
usefulness of words in the path itself, schools differ radically.