Sunday, 19 April 2015

Confucianism and Daoism - Harmony

We have been reading Trying Not To Try as well as part of The Analect. We also have been discussing on the two main philosophers, Confucius and Laozi, along with theirs philosophies. 


“Confucius compares the process of self-cultivation to a grueling, lifelong journey toward sage-hood; Laozi tell us to stop, turn back, and go home to our primordial roots, to "being an infant" or to "honoring the Mother" (Trying Not To Try, 99)

Often time, when people look at this quote, they claim to be either Confucianist or Daoist. Are you a Confucianist or Daoist? Or are you both? 


There was a question during the discussion that I thought it is worth thinking about. Do you think that the application of both philosophies would be better for our lives than just either one of them? Personally, its' a "yes" for me. Are you wondering how? 

Let me tell you my little story.


By the time my little sister turned 5, we had plenty of arguments and even fights. Since then, those quarrels have turned me into a completely different person, changing my personality and my mood. I would become really aggressive at a drop of a pencil and will start every argument that I could have with my sister. As these quarrels happened more often, my parents didn't seem to care anymore. They simply ignore them.

Thank you to my Asian Literature class for the introduction to the Self Cultivation Project, I had found the solution to put me back into my initial state.


After one week of strictly following rules I had laid out for myself in the beginning, my sister and I were both able to talk to each other in more calm voices; the days of fighting like cat s and dogs were over. Moreover, I used Confucianism, trying to cultivate myself in caring more for my sister. At the same time, I would tell myself to stop and to relax when things escalated as if I had thoroughly understood Daoism.

Related to this context, Cinasthana Today summarizes the true attitude of Chinese intellectuals as - they followed the teaching of Confucius when they were success, but would turn to Daoism when they were frustrated.

I believe that Confucianism and Taoism both have contributed to tradition of holism emphasizing the interpersonal harmony and the interconnection between humans.  








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