The Nonduality of Motion and Rest: Sengzhao on the Change of Things
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1 the 4 Discourses of the Dao: Zhuangzi Meets Lacan Shunyamurti
The 4 Discourses of the Dao: Zhuangzi Meets Lacan Shunyamurti speaks: So tonight, let’s explore more deeply: how does a Taoist sage deal with the end of the world? And how does one relate to those who are either in denial or wanting to resist or trying to prematurely bring about a new age before the end of this one? The Taoist understands the order of things and what must be eliminated and cleansed before a new creation can take place, but that must happen microcosmically within the sage’s mind and heart. So in Song 5, that was sung very beautifully by the Daughters of Nothingness, Lao Tzu says: “For the Tao to function fully, both heaven and earth must separate from duality.” This is a very subtle point: heaven and earth seem to be two, but they’re not, they’re only one. So we have to understand the difference between a distinction and a duality. In the same way we can see two sides of a coin as actually being one: nirvana, samsara—heaven and earth—must be realized as a single whole. The sage doesn’t simply leave the world and enter into the transcendent Nothingness and have nothing to do with the samsara, but acts in the samsara, seeing it as nirvana, realizing its perfection, and not being fooled by the apparent events that are occurring in the simulation, but understanding their true significance. So heaven and earth are indifferent to each other because each is nondifferent from the One. The transcendent One is also the immanent One, but that One from which the world and the transcendent derive is present in each. -
'New Era' Should Have Ended US Debate on Beijing's Ambitions
Testimony before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission Hearing on “A ‘China Model?’ Beijing’s Promotion of Alternative Global Norms and Standards” March 13, 2020 “How Xi Jinping’s ‘New Era’ Should Have Ended U.S. Debate on Beijing’s Ambitions” Daniel Tobin Faculty Member, China Studies, National Intelligence University and Senior Associate (Non-resident), Freeman Chair in China Studies, Center for Strategic and International Studies Senator Talent, Senator Goodwin, Honorable Commissioners, thank you for inviting me to testify on China’s promotion of alternative global norms and standards. I am grateful for the opportunity to submit the following statement for the record. Since I teach at National Intelligence University (NIU) which is part of the Department of Defense (DoD), I need to begin by making clear that all statements of fact and opinion below are wholly my own and do not represent the views of NIU, DoD, any of its components, or of the U.S. government. You have asked me to discuss whether China seeks an alternative global order, what that order would look like and aim to achieve, how Beijing sees its future role as differing from the role the United States enjoys today, and also to address the parts played respectively by the Party’s ideology and by its invocation of “Chinese culture” when talking about its ambitions to lead the reform of global governance.1 I want to approach these questions by dissecting the meaning of the “new era for socialism with Chinese characteristics” Xi Jinping proclaimed at the Communist Party of China’s 19th National Congress (afterwards “19th Party Congress”) in October 2017. -
The Chinese Continuum of Self-Cultivation
The Chinese Continuum of Self-Cultivation The Chinese Continuum of Self-Cultivation: A Confucian-Deweyan Learning Model By Christine A. Hale The Chinese Continuum of Self-Cultivation: A Confucian-Deweyan Learning Model By Christine A. Hale This book first published 2016 Cambridge Scholars Publishing Lady Stephenson Library, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE6 2PA, UK British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Copyright © 2016 by Christine A. Hale All rights for this book reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. ISBN (10): 1-4438-8525-8 ISBN (13): 978-1-4438-8525-6 Dedicated to: Ben-Ami Scharfstein My mentor, who over the many years encouraged ‘natural, well-motivated miracles’ to come to pass TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures............................................................................................. ix Foreword .................................................................................................... xi Roger T. Ames Preface ....................................................................................................... xv Acknowledgements ................................................................................. xvii Chapter One ................................................................................................. 1 Introduction -
Zhuangzi, Mysticism, and the Rejection of Distinctions
SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS Number 100 February, 2000 Zhuangzi, Mysticism, and the Rejection of Distinctions by Wayne Alt Victor H. Mair, Editor Sino-Platonic Papers Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305 USA [email protected] www.sino-platonic.org SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS FOUNDED 1986 Editor-in-Chief VICTOR H. MAIR Associate Editors PAULA ROBERTS MARK SWOFFORD ISSN 2157-9679 (print) 2157-9687 (online) SINO-PLATONIC PAPERS is an occasional series dedicated to making available to specialists and the interested public the results of research that, because of its unconventional or controversial nature, might otherwise go unpublished. The editor-in-chief actively encourages younger, not yet well established, scholars and independent authors to submit manuscripts for consideration. Contributions in any of the major scholarly languages of the world, including romanized modern standard Mandarin (MSM) and Japanese, are acceptable. In special circumstances, papers written in one of the Sinitic topolects (fangyan) may be considered for publication. Although the chief focus of Sino-Platonic Papers is on the intercultural relations of China with other peoples, challenging and creative studies on a wide variety of philological subjects will be entertained. This series is not the place for safe, sober, and stodgy presentations. Sino- Platonic Papers prefers lively work that, while taking reasonable risks to advance the field, capitalizes on brilliant new insights into the development of civilization. Submissions are regularly sent out to be refereed, and extensive editorial suggestions for revision may be offered. Sino-Platonic Papers emphasizes substance over form. We do, however, strongly recommend that prospective authors consult our style guidelines at www.sino-platonic.org/stylesheet.doc. -
Contents Transcriptions Romanization Zen 1 Chinese Chán Sanskrit Name 1.1 Periodisation Sanskrit Dhyāna 1.2 Origins and Taoist Influences (C
7/11/2014 Zen - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Zen From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Zen is a school of Mahayana Buddhism[note 1] that Zen developed in China during the 6th century as Chán. From China, Zen spread south to Vietnam, northeast to Korea and Chinese name east to Japan.[2] Simplified Chinese 禅 Traditional Chinese 禪 The word Zen is derived from the Japanese pronunciation of the Middle Chinese word 禪 (dʑjen) (pinyin: Chán), which in Transcriptions turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna,[3] which can Mandarin be approximately translated as "absorption" or "meditative Hanyu Pinyin Chán state".[4] Cantonese Zen emphasizes insight into Buddha-nature and the personal Jyutping Sim4 expression of this insight in daily life, especially for the benefit Middle Chinese [5][6] of others. As such, it de-emphasizes mere knowledge of Middle Chinese dʑjen sutras and doctrine[7][8] and favors direct understanding Vietnamese name through zazen and interaction with an accomplished Vietnamese Thiền teacher.[9] Korean name The teachings of Zen include various sources of Mahāyāna Hangul 선 thought, especially Yogācāra, the Tathāgatagarbha Sutras and Huayan, with their emphasis on Buddha-nature, totality, Hanja 禪 and the Bodhisattva-ideal.[10][11] The Prajñāpāramitā Transcriptions literature[12] and, to a lesser extent, Madhyamaka have also Revised Romanization Seon been influential. Japanese name Kanji 禅 Contents Transcriptions Romanization Zen 1 Chinese Chán Sanskrit name 1.1 Periodisation Sanskrit dhyāna 1.2 Origins and Taoist influences (c. 200- 500) 1.3 Legendary or Proto-Chán - Six Patriarchs (c. 500-600) 1.4 Early Chán - Tang Dynasty (c. -
Chinese Philosophy
CHINESE PHILOSOPHY Vatican Relations: Problems of Conflicting Authority, 1976–1986 EARLY HISTORY (Cambridge 1992). J. LEUNG, Wenhua Jidutu: Xianxiang yu lunz- heng (Cultural Christian: Phenomenon and Argument) (Hong Shang Dynasty (c.1600–c.1045 B.C.). Chinese Kong 1997). K. C. LIU, ed. American Missionaries in China: Papers philosophical thought took definite shape during the reign from Harvard Seminars (Cambridge 1966). Lutheran World Feder- of the Shang dynasty in Bronze Age China. During this ation/Pro Mundi Vita. Christianity and the New China (South Pasa- period, the primeval forms of ancestor veneration in Neo- dena 1976). L. T. LYALL, New Spring in China? (London 1979). J. G. LUTZ, ed. Christian Missions in China: Evangelist of What? lithic Chinese cultures had evolved to relatively sophisti- (Boston 1965). D. E. MACINNIS, Religion in China Today: Policy cated rituals that the Shang ruling house offered to their and Practice (Maryknoll, NY 1989). D. MACINNIS and X. A. ZHENG, ancestors and to Shangdi, the supreme deity who was a Religion under Socialism in China (Armonk, NY 1991). R. MAD- deified ancestor and progenitor of the Shang ruling fami- SEN, China Catholics: Tragedy and Hope in an Emerging Civil So- ciety (Berkeley 1998). R. MALEK and M. PLATE Chinas Katholiken ly. A class of shamans emerged, tasked with divination suchen neue (Freiburg 1987). Missiones Catholicae cura S. Con- and astrology using oracle bones for the benefit of the rul- gregationis de Propaganda Fide descriptae statistica (Rome 1901, ing class. Archaeological excavations have uncovered 1907, 1922, 1927). J. METZLER, ed. Sacrae Congregationis de Pro- elaborate bronze sacrificial vessels and other parapherna- paganda Fide Memoria Rerum, 1622–1972 (Rome 1976). -
Confucian Self-Cultivation and Daoist Personhood: Implications for Peace Education
Front. Educ. China 2013, 8(1): 62–79 DOI 10.3868/s110-002-013-0006-0 RESEARCH ARTICLE Hongyu WANG Confucian Self-Cultivation and Daoist Personhood: Implications for Peace Education Abstract This essay argues that the concept of reaching peace within in order to sustain peace outside in classical Confucianism and Daoism offers us important lessons for peace education in the contemporary age. Building harmonious connections between differences in one’s personhood paves a path for negotiating interconnections across conflicting multiplicities in the outside world. The essay starts by discussing the Confucian and Daoist notions of personhood as a microcosmic universe connected to a macrocosmic universe. Second, the historical context of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Period in which Confucianism and Daoism emerged are briefly reviewed. Third, Confucian self-cultivation and the Daoist conception of personhood are discussed. Fourth, relational issues of harmony in difference and tranquility in turbulence are analyzed. Lastly, inner peace reaching outer peace in leadership and governing is formulated in terms of the unity between means and end in peace education. Keywords peace, Confucianism, Daoism, harmony in difference Introduction While the contemporary age has brought unprecedented interconnectedness across the globe and in everyday life, it has also simultaneously witnessed fragmentation, conflict, and ethnic and religious warfare. Can Confucianism and Daoism, first formulated in ancient China, be useful for addressing our contemporary concerns about bringing peace out of conflict? This essay argues that the Confucian and Daoist traditions of reaching peace within in order to sustain peace outside offer us important lessons. Building harmonious connections between differences in one’s personhood paves a path for negotiating interconnections across conflicting multiplicities in the outside world. -
A Comparison Between Ancient Greek and Chinese Philosophy on Politics Qihan Long1, A
Advances in Social Science, Education and Humanities Research, volume 215 3rd International Conference on Modern Management, Education Technology, and Social Science (MMETSS 2018) A Comparison between Ancient Greek and Chinese Philosophy on Politics Qihan Long1, a 1 BA History, Royal Holloway University of London, Surrey, TW20 0EX, England aemail Keywords: Ancient Greek philosophy, Chinese philosophy, Politics Abstract. Although being two opposite ends of the Eurasian continent, the Greek and Chinese philosophers in the period of 600 BC to 300 BC came with some similar cures for the government. Both Greek and Chinese philosophers emphasized the importance of harmony, virtue and music in politics. Furthermore, in regard to the differences between ancient Greek and ancient Chinese philosophies on politics, it is interesting to note that Aristotle described democracy as the most tolerable one of three perverted form of government. Despite the fact that ancient China never truly formed an aristocracy nor a constitutional political entity, the ideas of Western and Eastern philosophers resonated with each other and formed the brightest light in the human history. 1. Introduction From 600 BC to 300 BC, it was a golden age for philosophy. Ideas and thoughts were formed in different areas in the world. During this period, great philosophers appeared from Greece in the west to China in the east. In the west, the most prominent philosophers were Socrates, Plato and Aristotle, while in the east, the great philosophers, such as Lao Zi, Confucius and Han Fei accomplished their works in China. Most of the philosophers in that period addressed the ideal form of government and how to rule a state. -
Zhuangzi, Perspectives, and Greater Knowledge*
Zhuangzi, perspectives, and greater knowledge* Donald Sturgeon PhD candidate, University of Hong Kong Although the text of the Zhuangzi1 seems to present many prima facie skeptical arguments, there has been much debate as to the nature of its skeptical stance, and even whether or not its stance is substantively skeptical at all.2 Chad Hansen and Chris Fraser have argued that the Zhuangzi does take a substantively skeptical position, but that this position is more nuanced than simply holding skepticism about the possibility of all knowledge.3 This paper will attempt to build upon Chris Fraser’s proposal that the Zhuangzi is skeptical about our ability to know a privileged class of ultimately correct ways of drawing distinctions (果是 guo shi and 果非 guo fei), but does not question our ability to know how to distinguish things in an ordinary, provisional and commonsense sense. I will attempt to engage with both sides of the debate, by firstly accepting that the Zhuangzi takes a substantive skeptical stance, but also arguing that in doing so the text also provides a positive account of how to improve our epistemic position – an account which * Forthcoming in Philosophy East and West 65:3. 1 This paper will focus on knowledge and skepticism in the anthology known as the Zhuangzi, beginning with ideas presented most clearly in the Qiwulun chapter, but will also consider how these ideas cohere with those presented elsewhere in the anthology – including in passages that may be later additions to the text by one or more distinct authors or editors. Even where this is so, it still seems useful to ask how – if at all – these ideas fit together, and why they might have been collected together in such an anthology. -
The Wisdom of the Unsayable in the Chinese Tradition Karl-Heinz Pohl
3 The Wisdom of the Unsayable in the Chinese Tradition Karl-Heinz Pohl Concerning Eastern teachings such as Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, there is often widespread confusion about how these are to be classified—as religion or as philosophy. This problem, however, is culturally homemade: the distinction between religion and philosophy based on European cultural tradi- tions often does not apply when we leave our culture behind. Thus, the Eastern teachings, which are often referred to as “wisdom religions” (e.g. by Hans Küng), are either religion and philosophy or neither religion nor philosophy; whichever way you prefer ideologically. As is well known, there is a certain “family resemblance” (as Wittgenstein would put it) between Daoism and Buddhism. There is, however, very little that connects these Asian philosophies and religions with the European tradition emanating from Greco-Roman and Christian thought. This does not mean that their philosophemes would be fundamentally alien to the Europeans: at most they do not belong to the European mainstream. So the family resemblance could certainly be extended to certain European philoso- phers and schools: There is in Europe a tradition—from the pre-Socratics through the apophatic theology and mysticism of the Middle Ages to existen- tialism and philosophy of language of modernity—that has very much in common with Daoism and Buddhism. Hence, a blend of selected passages from Heraclitus (cf. Wohlfart 1998: 24–39), Neo-Pythagoreanism, Sextus Empiricus, Gnosticism, Pseudo-Dionysius the Areopagite, Nicholas of Cusa, Meister Eckhart, Jacob Boehme, Montaigne, Hegel (cf. Wohlfart 1998: 24–39), Heidegger, Wittgenstein, Derrida, et al. -
The Construction and Characteristics of the Theoretical System of Xi Jinping’S View of History
Philosophy Study, August 2020, Vol. 10, No. 8, 503-510 doi: 10.17265/2159-5313/2020.08.004 D D AV I D PUBLISHING The Construction and Characteristics of the Theoretical System of Xi Jinping’s View of History YU Guirong Northeastern University, Shenyang, China Xi’s historical view is a scientific theoretical system with a tight logical structure. The construction of this theoretical system follows the principles and methods of the construction of Marxist theoretical system. The theoretical features of Xi’s view of history are unity of theory and practice, unity of politics and science, unity of universality and nationality, unity of collective wisdom and individual wisdom, unity of dialectical thinking and historical thinking, and unity of history, reality, and future. Keywords: Xi Jinping, view of history, construction, logical system Xi Jinping’s view of history is the significant inheritance and development of Marxist theory of history by the central leading collective of the Party with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core in the new era, and it is the Party’s fundamental viewpoint and view on history and its development as well as the basic principle and methodology for the Party to observe and study historical phenomena and problems. In the new era, to study Xi Jinping’s view of history, it is necessary to make an in-depth study and scientific exposition of the construction and characteristics of its theoretical system. The Construction of the Theoretical System of Xi’s View of History There is no doubt that the contents of Xi’s view of history are mainly put forward by Xi Jinping, with its theoretical content existing in its concrete theoretical form or text form as a natural form. -
Selections from the Zhuangzi: Chapter 3, "The Secret of Caring for Life"
Primary Source Document with Questions (DBQs) S E L E C T I O N F R O M T H E Z H U A N G Z I : C H A P T E R 3 , “ T H E S E C R E T O F C A R I N G F O R L I F E ” Introduction Zhuangzi (also called Zhuang Zhou) was an historically verifiable man who lived somewhere around 360-280 BCE. The long book that bears his name is a combination of material that represents his own thinking and of other writings incorporated by various compilers and editors. Like Confucius, Mencius, Han Fei and others, Zhuangzi lived during the time when the kings of the Zhou dynasty had little real power and the kingdom had disintegrated into feudal states that were constantly at war with each other in shifting patterns of alliances and enmities. During the Warring States period (480-221 BCE), Zhuangzi and Laozi were not considered to be part of a single school of thought. Zhuangzi is more concerned with escaping from the world; Laozi, with cunning ways of ruling it. During the Han dynasty, both works’ concern with the Dao (the “Way” of Heaven) and their mystical understanding of that term inspired historians to lump them together under the single category of “Daoism.” The name stuck. Zhuangzi and Laozi are now forever linked as the two great progenitors of Daoist philosophy and religion. Selected Document Excerpt with Questions From Sources of Chinese Tradition, compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom, 2nd ed., vol.