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CURRICULUM GUIDE Unit Title: Chinese Belief Systems, Craven et. al. East Asian Belief Systems: Primary Sources   Buddha Confucius The Tao   Buddhism Excerpts These selections convey some of the primary beliefs of Buddhism. The Sutta-nipati or "Discourse collection," from which some of these quotations were selected, contains some of the oldest and most important writings of the Buddha. The Sutta-nipati is one section of the complete collection of Buddhist writings called the Pali Canon. The Dhammapada is a collection of 423 insightful verses taken from various Buddhist texts. All of the verses in the Dhammapada are original writings of the Buddha, but were collected by scholars into categories of use and meaning. In some ways it could be likened to a Buddhist prayer book.   THE RIGHT WAY Sights, sounds, tastes, scents and bodily contacts overwhelm the minds of beings. Being rid of desire for these sense objects, at the right time, one may enter the village for the morning meal. -Sutta Nipati   He should not speak lies (himself) nor incite others to do so. He should completely avoid falsehood. -Sutta Nipati   A man who has chosen to practice this Dhamma should not indulge in the drinking of intoxicants. He should not drink them nor encourage others to do so; realizing that it leads to madness. -Sutta Nipati   He should not kill a living being, nor cause it to be killed, nor should he incite another to kill. Do not injure any being, either strong or weak, in the world. -Sutta Nipati   A disciple should avoid taking anything from anywhere knowing it (to belong to another). -Sutta Nipati   He should respect his elders and not be envious of them. -Sutta Nipati   Making the effort is your affair. The Buddhas have pointed out the Way. Those who are on the way and practicing meditation will be freed from all bonds.. -Dhammapada 276   The lazy man is incapable of recognizing the way of wisdom. -Sutta Nipati   From meditation springs wisdom. From lack of meditation, loss of wisdom. Recognizing these alternative roads of progress and decline, one should so direct oneself so that one's wisdom will increase. -Dhammapada 282   'Here I will spend the rainy season, and here the hot season." This is the way a fool thinks. It does not occur to him what may happen in between. -Dhammapada 286   INDIVIDUAL FAMILY SOCIETY It is not just by fine speech or by flower-like beauty that one is admirable, if one is envious, mean and deceitful, but speaks well, one lives wretchedly and is not admirable. -Dhammapada 262, 263   Whoever does harm to an innocent man, a pure man and a faultless one, the evil comes back on that fool, like fine dust thrown into the wind. -Sutta Nipati   One is not an elder by virtue of having white hair. One is just advanced in years, and called "grown old in vain." He in whom there is truthfulness, non-violence, restraint and self control, however - that wise and faultless sage is to be called an elder. -Dhammapada 260, 261   Associate with good friends and choose a remote lodging, secluded, with little noise. -Sutta Nipati   There are no children to take refuge in, no father or any other relative. When a man is seized by that teminator, Death, there is no taking refuge in family. -Dhammapada 288   If a man does not seek children, wealth or power either for himself or for someone else, if he does not seek his own advantage by unprincipled means, he is a virtuous man, a wise man and a righteous man. - Dhammapada 84   That which a man imagines to be his will disappear at death. Seeing this one should no longer live the household life. -Sutta Nipati   A sage who is completely independent does not make close friends or enemies. In him sorrow and selfishness do not stay. -Sutta Nipati   It is not possible for one occupied with the household life to realize the complete enlightenment of the Dhamma. -Sutta Nipati   He is no friend who, anticipating conflict, is always alert in looking out for weaknesses. But he on whom one can rely, like a child sleeping on its mother's breast, is truly a friend who cannot be parted from one by others. -Sutta Nipati   By oneself one does evil. By oneself one is defiled. By oneself one abstains from evil. By oneself one is purified. Purity and impurity are personal matters. No one can purify someone else. -Dhammapada 165   GOVERNMENT Better than being sole king of the whole earth, better than going to heaven or sovereignty over the whole universe is the fruit of understanding the Dhamma. -Dhammapada 178   One is not noble if one harms other living creatures. It is by non violence to all forms of life that one is called noble. -Dhammapada 270   Wise men do not speculate nor pursue any particular idea; doctrines are not accepted by them. A true wise man is beyond, does not fall back on views. -Sutta Nipati   Even kings' splendid carriages wear out, and the body is certain bound to grow old, but the Truth found by the saints is not subject to aging. That is what the saints themselves proclaim. -Dhammapada 151 Excerpts from the Analects The Analects, known as Lun yu in China, are the. best source: for the teachings of Confucius, arguably one of the most influential men in Chinese history. The Analects are most likely not written by Confucius himself, but rather from notes taken by his students, probably in response to questions asked of him. Generally it is believed that the Analects were compiled shortly after his death in 497 BC. Join millions of Chinese and people from other nations who have read these words since that time and try to wake meaning of them for yourselves.   ON VIRTUE AND BEING A GENTLEMAN   Tseng Tzu said, "Everyday I examine myself on three counts. In what I have undertaken on anotber's behalf, have I failed to do my best? In my dealings with my friends, have I failed to be trustworthy in what I say? Have I passed on to others anything that I have not tried out myself?" -Analects 1:4   The Master said, "A gentleman who lacks gravity does not inspire awe. A gentleman who studies is unlikely to be inflexible. Make it your guiding principle to do your best for others and to be trustworthy in what you say. Do not accept as friend anyone who is not as good as you. When you make a mistake, do not be afraid of mending your ways. -Analects I:8   The Master said, "Look at the means a man employs, observe the path he takes and examine where he feels at home. In what way is a man's true character hidden from view?" -Analects II:10   The Master said, "The gentleman enters into associations but not cliques; the small man enters into cliques but not associations." -Analects II.14   The Master said, "What can I find worthy of note in a man who is lacking in tolerance when in high position, in reverence when performing the rites and in sorrow when in mourning? . - -Analects III:26   Confucius said, 'The gentleman is always calm and at ease; the inferior man is always worried and full of distress." "The gentleman understands what is right; the inferior man understands what is profitable." "The gentleman cherishes virtue; the inferior man cherishes possessions. "The gentleman makes demands on himself; the inferior man makes demands on others. -Analects   INDIVIDUAL, FAMILY AND SOCIETY Yu Tzu said, "It is rare for a man whose character is such that he is good as a son and obedient as a young man, to.have the inclination to transgress against his superiors; it is unheard of for one who has no such inclination to be inclined to start a rebellion. The gentleman devotes his efforts to the roots, for once the roots are established, the Way will grow therefrom. Being good as a son and obedient as a young man is, perhaps, the root of a man's character." -Analects I:2   The Master said, "Observe what man has in mind to do when his father is living, and then observe what he does when his father is dead. If, for three years, he makes no changes to his father's ways, he can be said to be a good son." -Analects 1:11 . . Meng Yi Tzu asked about being filial. The Master answered, "Never fail to comply." Fan Ch'ih was driving. The Master told him about the interview, saying, "Meng Yi Tzu asked me about being filial. I answered, 'Never fail to comply.'" Fan Ch'ih asked. "What does that mean?" - The Master said, "When your parents are alive, comply with the rites in serving them; when they die, comply with the rites in burying them; comply with the rites in sacrificing to them." -Analects II:5   Someone said to Confucius, "Why do you not take part in government?" The Master said, "The Book of History says, 'Oh! Simply by being a good son and friendly to his brothers a man can exert an influence upon government.' In so doing a man is, in fact, taking a part in government. How can there be any question of his having actively 'take part in government'?" -Analects II:21   The Master said, "In serving your father and mother you ought to dissuade them from doing wrong in the gentlest way. If you see your advice being ignored, you should not become disobedient, but remain reverent. You should not complain even if in so-doing you wear yourself out. --Analects IV:i8   Tzu-kung said, "'Poor without being obsequious, wealthy without being arrogant.' What do you think of this saying?" The Master said, "That will do, but better still 'Poor yet delighting in the Way, wealthy yet observant of the rites."' Analects I:15   EDUCATION AND LEARNING   The Master said, "At fifteen I set my heart on learning; at thirty I took my stand; at forty I came to be free from doubts; at fifty I understood the Decree of Heaven; at sixty my ear was attuned; at seventy I followed my heart's desire without overstepping the line." -Analects II:4   The Master said, "A man is worthy of being a teacher who gets to know what is new by keeping fresh in his mind what he is already familiar with." -Analects II:11   The Master said, "If one learns from others but does not think, one will be bewildered. If on the other hand, one thinks but does not learn from others, one will be in peril." -Analects II:15   The Master said, "Yu, shall I tell you what it is to know. To say you know when you know, and to say you do not when you do not, that is knowledge." -Analects II:17   The Master said, "I was not born with knowledge but, being fond of antiquity, I am quick to seek it." -Analects VII:20   The Masters said, "Even when walking in the company of two other men, I am bound to be able to learn from them. The good points of the one I copy; the bad points of the other I correct in myself." -Analects VII:22   The Master instructs under four heads: culture, moral conduct, doing one's best and being trustworthy in what one says." -Analects VII:25   The Master said, "There is no point in seeking the views of a Gentleman who, though he sets his heart on the Way, is ashamed of poor food and poor clothes." -Analects IV:9   Excerpts from the Tao Te Ching   The Tao Te Ching (Dao De Jing) is a collection of philosophy that was first put together around 400 BCE. It is one of the primary Taoist texts and has become very popular in the West. However, it is often misinterpreted by people who don't know their history. Read carefully! The more voices who contribute ideas, the closer you'll come to the meaning of the Way!   On the Tao The Tao that can be talked about is not the true Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. Everything in the universe comes out of Nothing. -Tao Te Ching - I   Those on the Way of Tao, like water need to accept where they find themselves; and that may often be where water goes to the lowest places, and that is right.   Like a lake the heart must be calm and quiet having great depth beneath it. The sage rules with compassion, and his word needs to be trusted. The sage needs to know like water how to flow around the blocks and how to find the way through without violence. Like water, the sage should wait for the moment to ripen and be right: water, you know, never fights it flows around without harm. -Tao Te Ching - 8   Thirty spokes on a cartwheel Go towards the hub that is the center - but look, there is nothing at the center and that is precisely why it works! If you mold a cup you have to make a hollow: it is the emptiness within it that makes it useful. In a house or room -- it is the empty spaces The doors, the windows -- that make it useable. They all use what they are made of to do what they do, The very softest thing of all can ride like a galloping horse through the hardest of things. Like water, like water penetrating rock. And so the invisible enters in. That is why I know it is wise to act by doing nothing. And how few, how very few understand this! People teach in the world what I know to be true: if you live violently that is how you will die. -TaoTe Ching - 43   ON THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE COMMUNITY/SOCIETY   Are you strutting your wealth like a peacock? Then you've set yourself up to be shot. You bring about your own disaster Because you've got too much. Let go, when your work is done: That is the Way of Heaven. -Tao Te Ching - 9   Most people fret about themselves and their status, but you don't have to do this. What is success and what is failure? If you have prestige and favor, all you worry about is that it'll get taken away. And if you have a lowly place, you are still basically afraid. So both, at the root, make for fear. What does it mean that success is a problem? It means people are too bound up in themselves. If they weren't so self-obsessed they'd have no need to be worried. -Tao Te Ching -13   So, a good man is a model for a bad one And, misguided, he is touched by his goodness. Not to follow a teacher here Or to love his precious message Is to lose the Way, however clever you are - This is the essence of the matter. -Tao Te Ching - 27   You know, people like to use nice words to impress you. People act nicely to gain your respect - but even if a person is bad, neither the sage nor the Tao will desert him. They accept him. -Tao Te Ching - 62   A great country is like a low-lying estuary - It is a place where all the lesser streams mingle and merge. -Tao Te Ching - 61   ON GOVERNMENT   Ruling a big country Is like cooking a small fish: You have to handle it with care. -Tao Te Ching - 60   If a ruler behaves as if he's invented the world, He will do no good at all. -Tao Te Ching - 29   The sage always makes sure that the people don't know what he's done, so they never want to be in control -- and are never driven by ambition. He keeps them in truth like this acting invisibly. -Tao Te Ching -3   In ancient times, the leaders were as subtle as sorcerers. No one knew what they were about to do. How can we describe them to you? They were like soldiers about to cross a cold river, hesitant, watchful and uncertain. They were cautious like people who know there is danger. They were over-polite, like practiced guests. They gave way like ice, melting They were simple like uncarved wood They were empty like deserted valleys They were muddy like unreflecting water. The mud will settle, and it is hard to wait for it. But if you can, then you can act. If you follow the Tao without pretension you will never burn yourself out. -Tao Te Ching - 15   The highest form of government Is what people hardly even realize is there. -Tao Te Ching - 17   ON EDUCATION AND LEARNING   The people themselves need to learn simplicity. They shouldn't need to know more than they do, And should have as few things as possible. -Tao Te Ching - 19   Listen, give up trying to be so learned And things will be a lot easier.   Is there really any difference between a yes And a no said insincerely? -Tao Te Ching - 20   When the wisest student hears about the Tao, He follows it without ceasing When the average student hears about it He follows too, but not all of the time... And when the poor student gets wind of it he laughs at it like an idiot! And if he didn't, then it wouldn't be the Tao! -Tao Te Ching - 41   Usually, people read because they want to know -- but the more you study the Tao, the less you want knowledge. And as you want less and less, you come closer to not-doing. Wu-wei - this is the way to get things done. The best way to run the world is to let it take its course - and to get yourself out of the way of it! -Tao Te Ching - 48   To act as if you know it all is catastrophic: and if you try to control it you will stare into your empty hand. -Tao Te Ching - 64