Comparison between Confucius and Lao Tzu - Research Paper Example

Comparison between Confucius and Lao Tzu Introduction Both Confucius and Lao Tzu sought spiritual truth while being colleagues (Von Dehsen, 2013, p. 113). Lao Tzu, who was the writer of Tao Te Ching, was twenty years older than Confucius who visited in him in his early thirties (Robinson, 2014, p. 17). When Confucius made the call, Lao was a custodian at the Libraries in the then busy area of Luoyang. The two men had the same concerns regarding the collapsing social order in their country but had dissimilar solutions to this problems (Kulathungam, 2012, p. 68). Confucius was more optimistic of the capability of the kings of the Zhou dynasty to provide peace but Lao was sceptical of their applicability and intentions. Lao Tzu was employed as a librarian in Chou and he made contributions of original work in areas that varied from metaphysics and logic to democratic ideologies (Laozi and Lee, 2000, p. 15). Contemporary scholars have considered him as legend instead of a historical figure as he wrote a short by important book which has had tremendous effect on the Asian Culture. On the other hand, Confucius was born to a poverty-stricken but noble household, and later was successful in education. He consequently earned repute as a scholar but his desire to attain a political court position was never achieved. Rather he faithfully devoted his lifetime to authoring books as well as teaching students. Apart from becoming the first political philosopher in China, Confucius’ ideologies developed a state religion that blended ancient rights with philosophical notions. Confucius’ and Lao-Tzu’s teachings The two outstanding Chinese philosophers have significantly influenced the advancement of the philosophy world and the scholars who are interested in religions as well as religion easily identify them. This mainly because Confucius and Lao-Tzu have considerably contributed to the development of principles and the teachings associated with them have guided people towards honest lives. The two philosophers lived, developed their teachings at almost the same time, and transformed china into a centre of philosophy. Their teachings contain a deep content that promotes humaneness through a theoretical foundation that provides for making the world a better place through making people better. It is extremely difficult to appreciate the significance of the two teachings which regardless of their dissimilarities and similarities, make up the main philosophical thoughts associated with human beings. The teachings associated with Confucius can be considered as concepts of human activities and they contain five fundamental messages. The initial message demonstrates two key components which are Zen and li. The concept of Zen points toward humanity and benevolence while li addresses rules and decorum. According to Confucius, li was the greatest manifestation of Zen despite the fact that Zen is attained through li. This means that the capability to abide by rules and decorum was the most favourable way to display respect and regard to the authority figure and the environment inhabited by individuals. The second message associated with the teachings states that an individual who is honest and decent should obey the authority and avails a sets of morals for people in authority. These two mechanisms demonstrated the opinions held by Confucius concerning the framework of the state as well as the manner in which the community is organized socially. The third message carries Confucius’ warning to human beings against possessing anything that will make their characters become extreme. Confucius perceives the centre as being the most favourable position for an individual. The fourth message addresses issues of power and Confucius considers that it should be based on the ideology of justice. In essence, he blended the ideas of power and justice into one concrete formation. The final message argues that the human beings have to be completely involved and realistic to the religion they confess. In Confucius view, virtues and awareness are intertwined, and the world’s order can be attained through morals and the development of the human being. On the other hand, Lao-Tzu teachings are simply a structure that guides the individual to live in harmony in the world. They provide various methodologies for focusing attention to the inner self and the act of human beings for attainment of internal balance. The main indication of this ideology is the notion of two alpha which are the Dao and De. Dao literally means way, and in regard to the Lao-Tzu ideology, it is a broad metaphysical content as it is principle of things and the entire being of the universe. De feeds Dao and assists in its occurrence as it is a universal power that occurs with the assistance of Dao. It is also a manner of existence in regard to objective reality which creates the probability to amass the appropriate energy in life. De is an art of proper use of energy in life and an art of correct conduct. De does not stop at virtues at it does back the restrictions of common sense and assists the release of life-energy in the day to day activities. These teachings of Lao-Tzu have been important and are still important to human beings as they lead to spiritual cleansing. The teachings associated with Confucius and Lao-Tzu have many common components as both of them are perceived like religions but do not have a god. Both inspire transcendent progression and refining of the human being. Each of the two ideologies contains two fundamental components as their basic principle. In Confucius ideology, the components are Zen and Li while for the ideologies of Lao-Tzu they are Dao and De. These teachings allow for the growth of the people who abide by them. The works associated with Confucius and Lao-Tzu encompasses the entire universe and seeks to prevent cases of molestations. They provide spiritual nourishment for human beings and guide them to finding a place in the world that will assist them to blossom. The teachings are marvellous concepts that assist in improving objective reality making the two philosophers be perceived as dragons in the quest for spiritual enhancement. Comparison between Confucius and Lao, and their ideologies Confucianism and Taoism are among the main schools of thought that exist in China, and they have considerable influence over the culture of the people as well as how they perceive their world (Bolton and Hutton, 2000, p. 37). The relationship between the two schools of thought has had a great impact on the people over time and it can be concluded that when values of both philosophies are combined, the result is an individual that is well rounded. Confucianism is a philosophy that is founded on the principles and doctrines developed by Confucius who was a Chinese philosopher who existed between 551 and 478 BC. The main philosophy that is supported by Confucianism is humanism and the supporters of this philosophy possess a positive perception of human beings as well as the nature of humans. Confucianism considers the world as a model of humanism meaning that the philosophy holds true the fact that humans can be improved, taught and be made perfect (Taylor and Choy, 2005, p. 447). Individuals can end up being perfect through their communal or their own effort for instance through self-cultivation and creation. The main philosophy of Confucianism stresses morality at the individual and governmental level, rightness in social relationships, as well as genuineness and impartiality that is associated with the entire community (Cheng, 1991, p. 221). All the people who subscribe to this philosophy are supposed to practice morals which are demonstrated by the spread of values or doctrines. The people who subscribe to Confucianism are supposed to follow numerous values including faithfulness, continence, goodness, courage and calmness among others. Nonetheless, five essential ideologies in Confucianism include humaneness, virtue, awareness, politeness as well as truthfulness. Humaneness associated with Confucianism assists people to demonstrate selflessness to other people in the community. This simply implies that an individual should be loyal to his true nature, should reciprocate good deeds and show kindness as well as goodness (Gorski, 2008, p. 143). Humaneness prescribes that people should adhere to the golden rule that involves not subjecting other people to what an individual does not want to be subjected to himself. Righteousness associated with Confucianism means that a person should be ethically disposed to act in a good way. On the other hand, etiquette is a system that directs the kinds of behaviours that are appropriate and those that are inappropriate through decency and values in a community. Knowledge involves an appreciation of true and deep importance of phenomena while integrity denotes honesty that involves sticking by ones word. Conversely, Taoism is a Chinese philosophy that puts emphasis on the significance of living in a harmonious manner with the basics and the sources of all the things that are in existence (Cua, 2013, p. 206). In the Chinese language, Tao denotes the path of doctrine but it may also describe nature as well as realism. In Taoism, the path which considered right is that which works in agreement with the environment and realism. Taoism morals emphasize the three jewels of the Tao that consist of self-control, sympathy and modesty (Riggs, 2006, p. 34). The Taoism philosophy is based on nature and the manner in which human beings should connect to the universe and internal fulfilment may be attained through observation of nature. This philosophy considers nature as a stream of wisdom and through facing it with innocent eyes, the human being gets the ability to absorb the pleasantness, intrigue and excitement associated with it resulting in the achievement of serenity (Mou, Pan and Normand, 2012, p. 91). Four main doctrines associated with Taoism that include Tao, De, Pu and Wu wei and they define the usual, impulsive, timeless and inexpressible manner in which everything started and forged a course (Creel, 1982, p. 21). This phenomenon influences natural order, the typical flow of the universe or the force that maintains balance and order in the universe. The De defines reliability, morals and control which actively express the Tao. It describes the manner in which the way can be cultivated. Wu wei, literally translates to without purposeful action and it describes a form of un-strenuous action as well as the unnoticed power that is present in all the things. In essence, it prescribes that individuals are not supposed to exert their will in the universe as this may result in a disturbance of the accord that exists within things. Individuals are supposed to direct their will in accord to the natural components or the natural setting so that they will have an ability to achieve their goals without putting in a lot of effort. Finally, Pu can be defined in the humblest way as simplicity and is used to represent pure perception as well as potential without discriminating. Taoist have the belief that all things should be viewed as they really are without any illusions as it denotes the true and untainted nature of the mind, unadulterated by experiences or awareness. When these two principle are blended together, they create a person that is well-rounded and has the ability to achieve self-actualization. To start with, both philosophers believe that individuals should evolve from having personal attitude and embrace more communal attitudes (Eisenstadt, 1996, p. 329). In essence, they support selflessness more than individuality in human beings so that the greater whole has superiority over individuality. This may be the reason why the people of China are collectively very communal. If humanity embraces this idea, then many impractical conflicts between individuals would be easily eliminated. According to these viewpoints, when a human being is left to his means, the person would hold himself back and in the process hold back the society too. When people are joined together, the society becomes stronger as people take part in the things that are beneficial to the society. Thus, if these principle as directed by Confucianism and Taoism is embraced by humanity, the world becomes a peaceful place and leaders would work for the people they lead instead of protecting a certain section of the society. Another manner in which the blend of the two viewpoints may develop a well-rounded individual is the way in which they support virtues that improve a person. Confucianism stresses on humaneness, decency, awareness, politeness and reliability while Taoism focusses on nature and the manner in which it provides harmony to a person as well as the society. If the two are blended, the person would be one who is associated with good deeds, follows the virtues of the society and protects the environment. In the modern society, this person would be the ideal law abiding citizen who is respectful to the role of nature in the universe. The person will keep the environment and nature safer so that things such as global warming and extinction of species do not occur. The levels of crime in the society would considerably decrease and the society would be characterised by well-rounded people. Both philosophies inspire individuals to lead lives that are well conducted, achieve all their goals and duties, and balance how they live (Fan and Cohen, 1996, p. 180). This implies that individuals should be respectful of their various roles in social connections as mothers, fathers, wives, rulers and friends among others. The two philosophies instigate that people should be able to create a balance between all their roles and execute them to their fullest. This balance has also been fortified in other areas of life such as the balance between timidity and bravery. Achieving a balance between phenomena and maintaining temperance constitutes a well conducted life which is supported by both philosophies. If these principles developed by Confucius and Lao are embraced by human beings, problems such as viciousness, laxity, annulment and deceitfulness would not exist as everybody would implement their roles effectively. Differences between Confucianism and Taoism Confucianism and Taoism are the most common ideologies that are adhered to not only by the native Asian persons, but also by numerous individuals all over the world. These ideologies have several characteristics of religion and appear to challenge each other when they are first considered. Nonetheless, when they are considered closely, they bear a resemblance to interlacing practices associated with human thought regarding everything therefore resulting to particular demarcated codes of behaviour. Nonetheless, various dissimilarities can still be seen in the two ideologies. To begin with, Confucianism is considered more earthly as it focuses on the social characteristics of human beings and their day to day lives. The Confucianism ideology fundamentally perceives the human being as being a social being who has a capability to do good. A human being becomes superior if he behaves in a manner that is in accord with the expectations of the greater society. However, Taoism is differs from this as it is focuses more out of the world. The main idea propagated by Taoism is the adoption of Tao which denoted the larger reality comprised of the universe and all that is in it. It also puts emphasis of an individual’s connection with himself with the aim of creating internal harmony. It can then be concluded that Confucianism allows an individual to focus on his immediate setting to achieve self-improvement while Taoism concentrates on the inner being to achieve the same outcome. An additional argument of dissimilarity is the method which is used to instil these ideologies. In regard to Confucianism, the passing of the ideologies from the instructor to the learner is in the form of conversations. In fact, most of the Confucian ideologies are taught through recorded question and answer sessions, which occur between the learner and his teacher. However, every conversation that is involved has a unique teaching. In contrast, the ideologies of Taoism are spread through the direct writings of Lao Tzu whose core manuscript contains numerous poetic monologues that are best appreciated when taken as a whole. Conclusion If human beings embraced the principle created by Confucius and Lao, there would be a belief in natural potential of the people to be reformed and converted into good individuals. If for instance a single person went wrong, there would be a belief that this may be changed and thus they would direct their efforts towards being improved individuals as they have a real belief in transformation. Individuals would have an awareness of their true self and foster it for the enhancement of humanity. The current legal and justice systems would be customized based on this principle with their main role being to completely rehabilitate the people who go astray. If an individual combines both the Confucianism and Taoist ideologies in the manner in which they live, they develop an appreciation for small things that matter but are usually taken for granted such as the sun and the air (Keswick, Jencks and Hardie, 2003, p. 85). This individual will have an increased appreciation for uncontaminated beauty and therefore allow the development of things like art and this may be used in the unification of the society. Actually, it demonstrates the main motivation behind the Chinese appreciation of art. A blend of the principles from the two philosophers creates a person who is joyful, satisfied and content, and one who has achieved self-actualization. This would assist a person to avoid over-burdening themselves with insignificant things in life but instead live a complete life. The ideologies of these philosophies combined would make sure that a person, the society and the world as a whole focusses on the things that matter while making the person become at peace with himself and the rest of the society. Bibliography Bolton, K. and Hutton, C. 2000, Triad societies, [Routledge, London. Cheng, Z. 1991, New dimensions of Confucian and Neo-Confucian philosophy, State University of New York Press, Albany, N.Y. Creel, H. 1982, What is Taoism?, University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Cua, A. 2013, Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy, Taylor and Francis, Hoboken. Eisenstadt, S. 1996, Japanese civilization, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London. Fan, D. and Cohen, R. 1996, Chinese studies in the history and philosophy of science and technology, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht. Gorski, E. 2008, Theology of religions, Paulist Press, New York. Keswick, M., Jencks, C. and Hardie, A. 2003, The Chinese garden, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 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