Resources for you:
- http://www.deathreference.com/Ce-Da/Confucius.html
- a paper on Confucian elements in dying: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDAQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ruhr-uni-bochum.de%2Fkbe%2FOlepublikationen%2Fdeathanddyingconfucius.doc&ei=uo5pUOm_G6a-0AGiooFw&usg=AFQjCNHV99pVazLWe-nwtZfVFRLqfPRVhQ&sig2=JQQh6On7bgefJUjI_YlQJg
As far as Confucianism goes, basically humans should live and act in a way that promotes good social relationships and ideas, instead of acting based on experiences or expectations of rewards/consequences after death.
ReplyDeleteBy doing this salvation can be reached in Confucianism.
To be honest, my knowledge on Confucianism is extremely limited. I know I learned about it in high school social studies and also probably in World Civ here at Thomas More. However, I always found it really confusing and never really absorbed the information. I checked out the first resource on deathreference.com and it helped out a little. I got out of it that Confucians (is that the correct term?) believe that they should always uphold their morals and care for others. They also should be loyal to their family and respect their elders. That is pretty much what I have always been taught, so I found that pretty interesting. For some reason, I always think that my beliefs are always going to be radically different from other beliefs, which pretty much never turns out to be the case.
ReplyDeleteSome of the other information on the page confused me, though. It says that if people do not know about life, they cannot know about death. Confucius avoided discussions about death and other related subjects. I think I would like to know more about this aspect of Confucianism.
I believe people should be good and do the right things not for rewards or for a good reputation but should do it because it is the right thing to do and I think that people that do that will reach salvation because of their pure intentions.
ReplyDeleteI used to think that a lot of western belief systems have been influenced,if not outright originated from, by certain aspects of Confucianism. It seems like we have a lot of common as far as generalized beliefs go. Let's compare Confucius to WASP culture. Both (generally) have A theme of reciprocity in dealing with moral situations,and both believe that everything happens for a reason (WASP believes in God's plan while Confucius has Ting Mein.) I have started to think of the origin of belief systems and sort of came up with a mechanism analogous to evolution. Our various American cultures and Confucianism have a similar ancestor (possibly in the Babylonean Empire, the earliest version of the "Golden Rule" is seen there). However they diverged sometime between 1700 BCE and 600 BCE.
ReplyDeletefrom Brandon
ReplyDelete( side thought.....I think chelsea should speak up more in class because she makes some valid points on different topics.)
I know a few people who use the phrase "good deed" and that cliche is really dumb to me. People sin everyday and God forgives but if your going to do something to better yourself, well thats selfish. You want to know how to make the world a better place? Be yourself and act and treat people with the same respect as if you would want to be treated. Having an outlook as if the world was like "Grand Theft Auto" ( which is a video game where you do missions and side missions and earn rewards) will not help a person reach salvation. Do it because you want to do it then can salvation be reached.
I was honored to have my presentation be on Confucianism. I like a lot of what it is about and do admit that there are flaws in it. I liked how humanistic and selfless the system is. In our world today there is a lot of evil and I believe that one way evil comes about is lack of self discipline. I am a huge fan of ancient Chinese culture particularly their martial arts system. That is mainly because I see how well self disciplined and selfless they are while enjoying their life style. It is true that Confucianism does not touch on death very at all, I think this is because they did not want to worry about it due to the anxiety it can cause a person and to appreciate the life they have on Earth than whatever may happen after death.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy reading about the overall idea of Confucianism. I can certainly see its flaws but the idea behind it is pretty thorough. The development of good social relationships is important in almost any sort of -"ism" from my perspective. I can certainly see how by promoting and displaying positive and good actions one can achieve salvation. My only issue is the beating around the bush when we begin to talk about death. I feel that through Confucianism when a person comes to the end of their life it would seem like a much more frightening experience moreso than a peaceful one. My reasoning behind this is simply because it appears as if the topic is intended to be avoided whilst practicing Confucianism. Other than that I have no serious qualms with it.
ReplyDelete