Philosophies Of Confucius And Lao Tzu

As time has progressed, small civilizations have popped up throughout the earth, creating many groups of people, in all regions of the world. Around 1000 BCE, the world consisted of many city-states who eventually combined into large empires. One such empire is what is currently known as China. Originally, this empire was ruled by the Great Sage Rulers. These emperors taught their people the secrets of agriculture and medicine. The entire empire prospered, however, as the need for resources increased, the rulers became more and more corrupt. The new rulers started wars for expansion and used their citizens’ lives as sacrifices. These egregious acts angered the people and created a need for new philosophies to help lead the people’s lives in
Each philosopher created his own ideas of how life should be lived, and they eventually gained a large following to help “purify” China’s citizens again. As these philosophies gained popularity, more and more people followed the teachings and were achieving their perceived enlightenment. These teachings allowed the followers to learn how to treat others and even themselves. These students lived life without desires or strong beliefs allowing them to become one with the nature and acquire eternal enlightenment. Confucius, one such philosopher, wrote The Analects of Confucius, attempting to harmonize its readers with nature. Confucius believed in a hierarchal society where all citizens respect their elders and government. He proposes that all people stop believing they are the most important individual as is coded in the human brain. Everyone should stop being “concerned that no one recognizes your merits. Be concerned that you may not recognize others” (1.16). These analects create a set of guidelines that, if followed, will remove all stress and chaos from life, mirroring the
It teaches its followers to remove all stress from their lives by denying all possessions and all desire. Possession and desire distract people from their main goals in life and create more problems the person must deal with. A follower of Taoism must also be able to keep their opinions at bay. They must avoid choosing sides as that creates violence and wars. The concept of The Tao is very complex and difficult to understand, however, once understood, it can be used unite a person with nature and remove all chaos and disorder from their life.
Nature contains a perfect amount of order and chaos allowing it to sustain itself in perfect balance and harmony for eons. Many people strive to achieve this balance of order and chaos, however, very few ever succeed. This relationship with nature is a fundamental part of our human lives, although, very few people ever realize