Asian Philosophy - Essay Example

Lecturer Asians Philosophy Question One Asians have traditions which guide them in their existence. Their teachings are based on Taoism taught from one generation to another (Morgan 68). For example, they believe that truth occurs at three different levels. The first one involves the vacuum. The Asians believe that a person begins the life in the void status and advances towards the status of abundance. Therefore, nothing has a permanent status but instead, all changes from one position to another. However, the fact is that nothing can possess two statuses at the same time. So, at one point, something is in one status and at the other time, it is in another status (Morgan 71). All things survive due to the varying nature of situations. A person does not live in the stage of insufficiency every time. In the second stage, a person exists in the stage of abundance. This involves transition from the stage of void to the stage of abundance. There is also a stage in which people exist between insufficiency and abundance. This is the hub track on which all things exist. This is due to the fact that nothing can be absolutely in the status of abundance or void. Normally, a person or a thing will be in between the status of insufficiency and abundance. This Tien Tai reality is based on the teachings of White Lotus Sutra of human existence and the nature of fact. This sheds light on the interrelationship of human survival. According to Tien Tai beliefs, these stages of reality guide human beings on how they conduct themselves (Morgan 78). They form the basis of judgment between excellence and evil deeds of a human being. People strive to live according to the teachings and the doctrines of the community in which a person exists. Those realities are the guiding principles among the Asians since they define the customs of their community. They determine individual freedom in what they do and what they perceive. There is no person who likes to live a deviant life. Without guiding principles between what the society wants and what an individual does, people will never know what they are expected to do. Therefore, knowing the truth and abiding by it give an individual peace of mind and physical liberty. The doctrines of the Asian culture recognize realities which guide individuals in their existence. They distinguish between void living and abundance living (Morgan 79). This poses a difference between physical living and spiritual life. Once people get to understand the realities, they are able to live according to the customs. This gives them liberty in their existence. Without proper comprehension of the reality of living, people cannot accept the teachings and therefore, they cannot have the real meaning of life (Morgan 81). For people to be at liberty with their actions, they should learn the reality envisaged in the teachings of Buddhism. Question Two According to Shen-hsiu teachings, a person exists in righteousness and must put efforts to improve his or her spiritual being. This process involves several stages as a person moves from one status to another (Jorgensen 74). The teachings emphasize that the transformation of a human life is not a one moment event but is a continuous process. It is a whole life occurrence which involves both the physical body and the mind. This means people must always be conscious of their actions and must endeavor to make them upright. Their memories will help them distinguish between morally upright and morally wrong episodes. On the other hand, intelligence should guide people in choosing what actions they should take. People should make it a practice to watch their actions and thoughts failing which they will not be able to maintain wholesomeness. According to the teachings of Hui-neng, a person’s existence is either in the void or in the abundance (Jorgensen 85). The change from one state to another occurs at once after a person has realized the truth. He emphasizes that in the first instance, a person exists in the void life without any facts. However, the realization of the facts occurs abruptly, and then a person moves from the state of complete darkness to the state of light. Thus, there is no chance of mixing both light and darkness. A person is either on the side of darkness or on the side of light but not in the hub (Jorgensen 87). For example, when a Buddhist reads the word from their religion, this word should bring complete understanding of the facts, and the Buddhist should no longer continue living like someone who has not read the word. Shen-hsiu teachings require the followers of the religious doctrines to pursue reality every moment for the rest of their lives (Jorgensen 96). According to him, it is not possible to undergo complete transformation immediately after reading the word. Since people acquire some light after reading the religious word, they should meditate upon it from time to time as a way of refreshing their memories. The memories reflect what individuals will do and therefore, failure to refresh their memories will make them forget the facts. Therefore, learning the word should be a continuous activity so that people can carry on existing in the reality. On the other hand, Hui-neng teachings imply that people should learn the word once and for all (Jorgensen 98). After people have known reality, they should reform and do not need to revert to their evil activities. As such, people should cross entirely from the void side to the abundance side. Once the fact is identified, it is engraved in the memory and there is no reason for not putting it into practice. Reliance on these teachings will result in wholly transformed religious followers who will recognize either fully converted individuals or totally untransformed people. Question Three Intellectual intuition is the ability of a person to recognize occurrences when they take place, and to make personal judgment about what has happened (Wilkinson 47). This is based on individual perception and understanding of what has occurred. A person must first recognize that something is happening, and using his or her personal judgment they will be able to determine what has happened. It is the base on which people perceive things differently, even if it is of the same nature. The mind of a person is what interprets what has occurred rather than the actual nature of the event. This is engraved in people’s mind and their mind translates it into what a person perceives. However, as people get used to some things, they will always perceive it as such (Wilkinson 49). This also affects our thoughts and feelings. The individual’s feelings about their personality is replicated in their mind and are what influence personal characters. There could be a difference between what a person perceives and what the rest think about it. There is a possibility that a person could perceive things differently if they did not have prior knowledge about the same (Wilkinson 53). This means that prior knowledge about something will influence the interpretation of the mind about that thing. Therefore, when a person encounters a thing he or she had come across before, the past memory will affect the current perception of that person. An individual’s feelings and memory influence the actions of the individual. People will tend to believe and do what their memories tell them is right. People will always desire to do things in accordance with a specific protocol rather than do things haphazardly. Therefore, practice and the individual perception will affect their imagination and desires to do things in a certain way. Religion involves practicing what the community believes is right and acceptable. It requires people to develop a culture of doing things in a specific way (Wilkinson 55). They are basically considered to be righteous or upright in the doctrines of a particular religion. For an individual to be able to follow the doctrines of a particular religion, they must be conscious of what is morally acceptable and morally unacceptable. Practice makes individuals mirror themselves in the community and gauge their level of adherence to the religious doctrines. The past memory of right or wrong affects the individual’s conduct in the community (Wilkinson 57). The ability of individuals to do things in a specific way and to be able to make personal judgment between morally upright and morally unacceptable conduct forms a community of followers of a certain religion. Failure to control personal behavior and thinking will affect adherence to religious regulations in the community. Works Cited Jorgensen, John. Inventing Hui-neng, the Sixth patriarch Hagiography and Biography in Early Ch’an. Netherlands, 2005. 801. Print. Morgan, Diane. Essential Buddhism. United States of America: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2010. 247. Print. Wilkinson, Robert. Nishida and Western Philosophy. USA: Ashgate Publishing Company, 2009. 177. Print. Read More