Documents 2 and 3 defend and support the spread of Buddhism in China during first century C.E. Document 2 speaks of the many joys of joining the Buddhist religion. It describes how if you follow the customs of this religion, then when your “soul passes away” your spirit will become enlightened and you will enter Nirvana. However, the author, Zhi Dun, is from the upper class of China’s social structure and as such, his experiences and feelings do not tell how the lower classes citizens felt. Yet, in a time when Asian steppe nomads were invading…
In the period of the 3rd century CE, China was going through major turmoil during the collapse of the Han Dynasty. Throughout and after this collapse, the population of Asian countries became increasingly Buddhist, creating tumult within the Chinese Confucian political philosophy system. In society at this time, Buddhism was viewed in many opposing ways. On one side of the spectrum, Buddhism was a way to find fulfillment, a guide to lead a good and meaningful life, and promised reward to its followers in the afterlife (or reincarnation) (Docs 1, 2, 3). In the opposing view, Buddhism was thought to be nothing more than a “cult of barbarians” (Doc 4) that was guilty of “wearing out peoples’ strength”, (Doc 6) and ”poisoning the customs of our nation”. Some went even so far to state that “there no longer remains the slightest doubt in our minds that this evil should be eradicated”. In a more neutral position regarding Buddhism’s role in society, a scholar believed that it should be viewed with respect along with Confucianism and Daoism for all being “perfect sages” (Doc 5).…
The social classes were separate and they sacrificed and prayed for the health and protection of their families. The kings of China prayed for protection in war and victory. "Blood is the ideal conduit." (Sterk 86) Man had a duty to sacrifice his own thought or behaviors for the sake of tradition. Cooperation helped in doing so, helping their society grow strong as a people. When one passed on, they sacrificed others for safety and guidance in the…
Confucianism and Daoism are among the top eight religions of the world. Although they are both ancient Chinese styles of living, they have few similarities. Both of these religions share a similar goal, a goal of departing from being an individual and moving towards becoming a part of a greater whole; a greater contributor to society itself. Additionally, they both focus on the goal of self-improvement, thus improving social order. In Confucianism, the individual improves himself through orderly obedience with codes of behavior and respect for elders. Self-fulfillment is reached strictly in this life. In Daoism, the individual improves himself through examination of himself and universal energy, and the reward is mainly in the next life,…
No matter what religion someone believes in, if they believe in any religion at all, most people can agree on the fact that we are not going to live forever here on earth, we are going to die. No one knows when they are going to or how it will happen, but dying is a part of life, the end of a life. However, even though most of us can agree that we will all die, we do not all agree on what happens after the fact. Shintoism and Taoism (Daoism) have two interesting ways of looking at death and the afterlife.…
Belief systems and religions around the world are often established in particular regions. The various beliefs of belief systems influence a society’s social, economic, and political aspects: belief systems of a society shape the way it functions, grows, and prospers – they form a society’s culture. Two exemplary paradigms that portray this ideology are Hinduism and Confucianism.…
The origins of Chinese beliefs came from the gods, who tended to be anthropomorphic, having human characteristics, and nature and the people’s attitudes towards them.(12) There were many rituals the Chinese attempted to try to appease the gods. They would burn paper images in order to try and please the nature gods.(13) Family was very important in the Chinese culture. As a family they would worship their ancestors. By worshiping their ancestors they provided a communication link to the gods. The Chinese civilization had three belief systems- folk beliefs, Confucianism, and Taoism.(14) Taoism is the thought of heaven, earth and human beings constituted a single unity governed by the cosmic law. It is the balance of good and evil, it is a small, peaceful society that is self sufficient and is the harmony of opposites.(15) Taoism has two interacting forces- yin and yang. Yin is negative, feminine and passive. Yang is positive, masculine and…
Event, set off by ritual and supported by institutions. It is the final rite de passage. The social and psychological aspects of death have been studied by anthropologists, sociologists, psychologists, and psychiatrists; and the main outlines of their understandings can be summarized on three levels—cultural, social, and individual. The meanings which have been attached to death in most cultures include beliefs in some kind of existence after death; most peoples—save the no literate—have entertained theories of personal salvation; and religion, philosophy, and political ideology have provided some answers to man’s quest for the meaning of death. The relationship between death and the social structure has received little systematic attention from social scientists, although there is much research on the social prescriptions for bereavement, especially as these relate to ritualistic mourning and individual grief. Scattered empirical studies suggest that, for the individual in the contemporary Western world, matters of death are less salient than those of living, although there are clear traces of a latent and…
There are millions of people that populate our country and within these people there are several cultures. All of these cultures have their own set of values and beliefs when it comes to medial treatment. As nurses it is our duty to understand the specific beliefs of a culture and to respect their culture when giving them care. This paper discusses the specific customs of Chinese culture in regards to pregnancy with specific information on prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum rituals.…
5. The spiritual purpose of breaking down any unchanging locus of individuality is to demonstrate that there is nothing or “no-thing” to be attached to direct one’s desire toward. The no-self concept shows in the Buddhism doctrine with the problem of explaining moral causalities. It argues that one’s consciousness escapes the body at death and passes over into another’s physical form to be reincarnated into the nest life form. Even though the no-self-concept or no-soul doctrine was centered in Buddhism mindset for the elite of philosophy, householders across Asia still conceived themselves as body and soul. This contradiction showed how peripheral some doctrines adhere to the main understanding of Buddhism.…
Religion and the society also played a major role in building the moral character of the Chinese. Early on in the society you could see that the gods played a role guiding the human destiny. An even bigger influence than the gods in molding their fate was their decreased ancestor. According to the Chinese, the spirits of their ancestors continued to exit in the Heaven, where they assumed their role as mediators between Heaven and earth.(fiero p70) The ancient Chinese had a…
Hinduism and Buddhism, both ancient Indian major belief systems, were instrumental in shaping the everyday life as well as a life span of ancient Indians. More of progressive enlightened philosophy than a religion, Buddhism illuminated the path to righteousness, good heartedness, honor and virtue through the Eight Fold path and the Four Noble Truths. Hinduism emphasizes asceticism (refraining from the “wants of life and its worldly pleasure”) and reincarnation, or rebirth of an individual in the hopes of the ascension of one’s soul based on the results of the past lives and the attempt to be released of the “wheel of life” cycle.…
One definition of death is the the complete and permanent cessation of all vital functions in a living creature, the end if life. All philosophers agree that our earthly life in our physical form will end; however philosophers disagree on the meaning of end of life as many people agree on death as the end of our existence however while others argue that we continue in some form after death. Many ideas relating to our existence after death include; the continuation of our genes thought our descendants, immortality of the soul, resurrection of the body, reincarnation and the idea that we live on in memories of others. Many religious beliefs are based on the idea that humans possess a "soul" or "spirit" which exists independently of the body. The notion of life after death is therefore of central concern to religious believers and it is important to establish what surviving death exactly means. There are two main theories developed for the meaningful survival after death: materialism and dualism.…
How would it feel to know that after you died, you would be reborn into a new body? That the deciding factor in what you would become was how you lived your life? Beliefs like these have existed for at least 3,000 years. Originating and commonly practiced in Western countries, this is called reincarnation. To know that you have lived many lives before this one and that there are many more to come is a very attractive perspective from which to judge the meaning of life. It can be a great comfort for those who seek liberation on the exclusive basis of their inner resources. While the general concept is present in a number of religions, there are also significant differences between the various belief systems, namely Hinduism and Buddhism.…
The hierarchy of ancient China and India were similar with a noticeable sign of select individuals being considered “higher” then others. The caste system was strict in India and prohibited other classes from interacting with each other. China’s social system differed from India’s caste system, by not demonstrating a formal and strict social ladder. Where in India there existed over three hundred subcastes at one point, China had a simple three caste social ladder. Although the Chinese did not have as strong of a social ladder, there still existed “higher” people such as the bureaucrats. Bureaucrats and landowners were considered to be of a higher class then peasants, farmers, and merchants. Patriarchy was a very big factor in culture and social order in China and India. India’s strict caste system led to a more “flexible” and popular religion known as Hinduism. Many Indians preferred this religion over Buddhism, which the Chinese practiced, because the brahmans or priests strongly influenced the population. Brahmans and many other Indians did not like the idea of any being of any caste level achieving “peace” by their efforts, which Buddhism taught. The Chinese believed in Buddhism and reaching nirvana by finding peace within. A major difference between Indian and Chinese culture was that Indians lived to die and reincarnate to a better caste level and eventually reaching the gods, whereas the Chinese lived a good life with no rituals necessary to find nirvana. Although the Chinese and Indian culture was very different, both races strived and lived in balance to find their gift in the afterlife. A major difference between the Chinese and Indian culture was that…