Is it possible for human beings to live a life that has no suffering? How can a human being keep away from the selfish desires of the human nature? These are some of the teachings from the Eastern philosophies. There are a number of Eastern philosophies like, Buddhism and Hinduism in India, Taoism, Confucianism and Ch’an Buddhism in china, Samurai tradition and Zen Buddhism in Japan. The philosophies have various teachings. They have been studied by many westerners and they have been seen to have profound knowledge and thus they are relevant today even though they were written by thinkers who lived centuries ago (Bruder, 2005).
Buddhism began in India. It was founded by a person called Siddhartha Gautama. He was later called Buddha “the Enlightened one” (Bruder, 2005). It arose so as to address suffering that was so rampant in human beings. Buddha sought to find out why suffering exits and to do this he had to abandon his family. After meditating for a long time he found enlightenment (Harvey, 2005, p 45). Taoism originated in China. This religion has shaped the Chinese way of life for centuries (Hartz, 2005).
The fundamental concept in Taoism and Buddhism is that they both believe in reincarnation. The reincarnation however is different in each philosophy. In Buddhism they believe that life has no end and many reincarnations occur in a human being’s life. They believe that one comes in a better life in the successive rebirths. And one will be reincarnated until free from suffering and pain. In Taoism they believe the soul goes to another life (Hartz, 2005).
In Taoism the aim is attain Tao while the Buddhists strive to reach the nirvana and adhere to the four noble truths (Harvey, 1990). They both belief that to reach nirvana or Tao; the human beings must banish all the worldly desires. The focus should be on achieving the goals, and this is only possible if they live properly. They both encourage the human beings to move from selfish desires and seek spirituality.
Both philosophies support compassion and integrity. Human beings are urged to live as brothers and sisters. They philosophies emphasizes on practicing what we say, and having consideration for our fellow human beings (Quirk, 2008).
Taoism appears the most persuasive philosophy. This is because of the teachings from the great thinkers Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. Lao Tzu understood the dangers of using force. He said that war should be last thing being it always comes with regret. Diplomacy should be tried with the warring parties. The wise ruler will change the mind of their enemies even without having to use violence. The rulers should be humble when dealing with their subjects. When they do so, they get victory with less effort (Bruder2005)
The wise ruler is able to govern well because he encourages broadmindedness which in turns helps people to tolerate one another. This philosophy is very relevant today when we have so many conflicts going on in the world. If the leaders of the said countries would try diplomacy we would have fewer wars. This would mean less people being killed in the war zones (Livia and Lafargue, 1978). Lao also noted that when we have too many laws they create confusion and this in turns leads to may people being at loggerhead with the law. Hence this rule will only have the necessary laws in place and his state will be in peace.
He advocated for life as suggested by Tao where there is tranquility, patience. That life should be left to take its natural course without interference by politicians. Chuang Tzu also believed that life must be left to take its course and this will ensure people live in freedom because they will be free form the chains of riches and power. In this way those who have a lot would give to those with too little. This would ensure that the greedy people who steal from the poor to add to their riches would stop this vice (Livia and Lafargue, 1978).
The world would become better if the teachings from these philosophies are revisited and put into practice. They seem to address modern day issues such as fear, worry and stress that bother people nowadays. One cannot know where there are going unless they know where they are coming from.
References
Bruder, M. (2005) 6th ed. Philosophy: The Power of Ideas and other voices. Eastern Influences. California: MacGraw-Hill.
Hartz, P.R. (2005) Taoism world religions. New York: Facts on File Inc.
Harvey, Peter. (1990) “Introduction to Buddhism: teachings, history and practices”. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Livia, K, LaFargue (1978) Lao-tzu and the Tao-te-ching. Miami: Sunny Press Quirk, J. key Character Qualities in Buddhism and Taoism a Universal Perspectives on Core Eastern Values. Web.