Comparison of Chinese Philosophy with Indian - Essay Example

Institute of affiliation: Philosophy It is pertinent that a speaker’s credibility be established by the use of ethos. Considerably, ethos means common attitude, characteristics of time-period or group and beliefs, which brings about believability in the writer (Zhang, and Ryden 24). Here, it is worth noting that if the above is brought out clearly, then the writer will be perceived as a trust worthy person who is concerned with interest of the reader. Evidently, this essay discusses the comparison of Chinese philosophy with Indian. In addition, the essay tackles a section of the western philosophy in relation to modern society. A little history of Hinduism has it that Hinduism and Buddhism were originated in South Asia. The history of Hindu has far more than that of Hinduism. It was used by Persian conquerors, since the middle of the first millennium BCE; refer to the indigenous populations living in the surroundings of the river flowing along the north- western frontiers of the Indian subcontinent, Sindhu. The prophet Gautama Buddha, who was the prince of the kingdom Kapilavatthu named Siddhartha, at the Himalayan Foothills, around 490 BCE, who was to become Gautama Buddha after his renunciation, founded Buddhism. Hinduism also means the emergence of Vedas, in which the Upanishads were composed between the 7th and 3rd century and also it became a part of the Vedas. Buddhism was emerged as a part of Shramana movements, around the 5th century.“Hinduism has the belief of monotheistic (one God) as well as polytheistic (many Gods) elements: the one Supreme Being (Brahman) also exists simultaneously in the deities of the Creator (Brahma), the Reality or Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva)” (Hinduism par.6). According to the Buddhism philosophy, there is no god which does not believe in the concept of god. “In fact, often those who scorn others, claiming some unconvincing excuse, are unable to look the target of their ridicule directly in the eye, perhaps because they see their ownselves there” (Ikeda & Nanda p.9). The reincarnation and ultimate salvation was taught by Buddhism and rejected Vedas of Hinduism. An important principle of Hinduism is the Law of Karma. It is important to note that Buddhism has the doctrines, which were written in Pali –a canon text. Yoga is one of the important disciplines of Hinduism. Through Yoga, one can get a controlled body and mind. In Buddhism, they have the concept for salvation which is depended on oneself and not to others. Traditional worship of God is known as pooja in Hindu. There will be a pooja room in every Hindu’s house. However, it is important to note that the doctrine of Hinduism is not a fixed uniform, on contrary it is inclusive, broad and further its tolerant to many points of view (Chapter 19: Asian Thought p.411). Buddhism was found not only in India, but also in other countries like Sri Lanka (Ceylon), Myanmar (Burma), China, Korea, Thailand, Tibet and Japan. They also rejected the caste system which is in Hinduism. Moreover, Buddhism has a founder in Gautama Buddha, while Hinduism does not have any founder of its own. It was originated as a civilisation in the surroundings of River Sindhu. There are the four noble truths in Buddhism.“The doctrine of the Four Noble Truths then focuses on the relationship between suffering and attachment or desire” (Chapter 19: Asian Thought p.412). The Buddhist strongly rejects the doctrine of rebirth and karma, followed by the Buddhist doctrine of eight-hold path. Hinduism allows complete freedom to individual. It is extremely liberal and catholic. And, also Sanskrit has got importance in this religion. Hindus have the belief that there are two stages of life. They are: Vanaprastha and Sannyasa, - man withdraws himself from all worldly activities, retires into the forest and prepares himself for taking Sannyasa. This is the life of a Vanaprastha sanyasa after vanaprasta and he leads a meditation life. Dharma, Reincarnation, and Karma are the basic tenets of Buddhism. The law of effect and cause ascertains that every action should have a reaction, which happens in the first lifetime or the next birth time. Buddhism criticizes the religious value of sacrifice and gives importance to particular deities. In addition, they are denying Upanishads of Hinduism, where Upanishads contain the concept of one’s true self (atman) with the divine ground claimed that Individual’s existence does not have the quality of an imperishable, blissful self or atman. There are two great epics in Hinduism; they are Bhagavad Gita and Mahabharata which was composed in 6th and 7th century. It is pertinent to note that the Chinese ethos philosophy in most cases has revolved around the management capabilities. One of the philosophers who have so far shaped the ethos of the philosophy of Chinese’s is Confucius (551-479 BCE). The shape of Chinese’s philosophy does not only hold the account of ethics and political thought but also china’s character in a nationwide perspective. Most importantly, currently china is emerging as a super power in the filed of news. Due to the above, there is a great interest in Confucius and his political insights, as well as moral values. Notably, the above is spreading into the intellectual world for instance the western. According to experts, it is evident that Confucianism has remained both forceful ethical system and dominant intellectual force that have been conditioning and molding countless facets of Chinese culture. Primarily, the ethos of Confucianism based its argument on the ethics of man, in other words it argues on the ground of self and the society (Moore, 56). Here, it is pertinent to note that Confucianism emphasizes the transformation of self to the world of cultivatism. In addition, it is wise to heed that the concept of ethos in Confucianism is outlined by the rule that personality should be public and not private. Therefore, it should be accountable publicly and be communally significant. Specifically, the Confucianism ethos performed the following function; humanism advocacy, it also stressed cultivation of individuality. It also geared up the system of humanism and intense moralist, identified ethics with politics and lastly attempted the restoration of social order. The above analyzes the fact of ethos Confucianism, in the Chinese nation. The above according to study can be compared to the Indian ethos. It follows that a business that has western beginning in management will always end up with an Indian ending. This is because Indians’ wisdom and ethos is well formulated, not to end in a self –destruction of the race of human (Feng, and Derk, 25. On contrary, Indian ethos can be termed as national ethos; here the knowledgeable body derives its solutions from the huge and rich Indian ethical system. Further, Indian ethos entails the Hindu’s management concept, which is a science that entails behaviors that are culture specific. It is important to note the Indian ethos basic principles outlines as follows; immense talent, energy and potential that perfects human being since they have spirits within their hearts. Second principle is that, the Indians should have holistic approach that usually indicate unity between the individual self, divine and the whole universe. Third principle is that, philosophical ethos acknowledges the fact that intangible subjects, subtle and objects that are cross tangible are also pertinent to their daily lives. More so, another principle on ethos governing the Indian is that self-work usually offers double, self-purification, private and public benefits. Self-motivation causes excellence at work as well as self-development without attachments and devotion. Lastly, another governing principle is corporation. Here, the ethos affirms that a powerful instrument that governs teamwork for success in any given enterprise that involves collective responsibility is cooperation. According to the above principles, it is pertinent to note that philosophical ethos of the Indians revolves around the business management. The above is contrary to Chinese ethos that deals mainly on national culture. In addition, it is pertinent to note that Indian ethos demands a subjective system of management that leads to the understanding of the following. First is attitude of managerial team, organizational humanization, interiorizing the management , brain stilling, meditation on the self-dynamiting, stepping back and role of intuition just to mention but a few. All of which converges on the managerial section of any business. Thus, the western part finds the ethos of Indian to be more useful. Another alarming ethos is the eastern philosophy. Eastern philosophy is another pertinent ethos that is inclusive in the Chinese and Indian though it can be differentiated from the west. Relevance of eastern ethos to the Indians is the cosmological unity, and further it supports that same point of life as the Chinese ethos (Paley, 61). It states that, life an eternal reality journey that surpasses the reality that surrounds individuals. The eastern ethos further supports the inner-world dependent as that of Indian ethos. Lastly it supports the false me self-liberation and propels the idea of finding the truth. The above relates to the Chinese statement of the characteristic of the Confucianism ethos. The above, is contrary to the western ethos that stipulates the following, it supports the divine element of oneself. It further approves the fact that life is a service to money, God and business. in addition, the western ethos of philosophy argues that the universe and life is viewed in a linear, based on the philosophy of the Christian. Here according to Christians, everything has its beginning and its end. It further acknowledges the fact that the outer-world is dependent and further asserts that self-dedication to the goal is paramount. Apart from the current ethos in philosophy, expert affirms that though Ancient Greek philosophers are of ancient doings, it is still fundamental to the modern thought. Professionally, it is acknowledgeable that civilization is systematically built upon one another, and so the Greeks laid a underpinning of the contemporary notion. The above is true since, the elite were scholars in the past and so when they stage rules, they used to incorporate it with their class. Therefore, due to the movement of the class levels, education trickled to the lower classes. However, the above process of education is what facilitated the connection of ethos from the ancient Greek to modern thinking. One of the ethoses that still prevail from the ancient period to modern day is oneness. According to many ancient Greek philosophers, they believed that “the one” is true being. Further, they affirm that oneness is ageless, eternal, indivisible and infinite. The existence of oneness is always there, though it is difficult to explain the origin the above. Therefore, it is true and vital if noted that the ancient Greek philosophers were fundamental to the modern thought, as stated in the passage above. Works Cited Feng, Youlan, and Derk Bodde. A history of Chinese philosophy,. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 195253. Print. Indian philosophy. New York: Garland Publ., 2001. Print. Mill, John Stuart, and W. J. Ashley. Principles of political economy, with some of their applications to social philosophy.. New York: A. M. Kelley, bookseller, 1965. Print. Moore, Charles Alexander. The Indian mind; essentials of Indian philosophy and culture.. Honolulu: East-West Center Press, 1967. Print. Paley, William. The principles of moral and political philosophy. Indianapolis, Ind.: Liberty Fund, 2002. Print. Zhang, Dainian, and Edmund Ryden. Key concepts in Chinese philosophy. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 2002. Print. Read More