THE ASIAN SAGES

LAO-TZU, CONFUCIUS AND BUDDHA

THE HARMONY OF HEAVEN AND EARTHIn ancient Asian cosmologies, all events were said to be interconnected. In ancient Chinese cosmology, everything was influenced by the harmonious working together of Heaven and Earth following the Tao of all existence. Tao, “way” or “path”, cannot be defined or named. It is translated as the source of all existence, the principle of all things, Tao influences all of nature but remains hidden to our senses.

In this cosmology, Heaven and Earth constitute a single reality, a sort of heaven-earth, rather than two opposed and separate realities.

Nature consists of the continual interaction of two opposing, but not separable forces known as Yin (Earth passive element) and Yang (Heaven, active element).

Yin is weak, negative, dark, and destructive; Yang is strong, positive, light and constructive. Heaven (yang) and Earth (yin) exist in a balance according to Tao. Yin and Yang go so far back in Chinese history that we cannot be sure about their original meanings.

By the fifth century, yin and yang were thought to be linked together. Each was view as the expression of the other, operating together in a never-ending cycle of coming together and falling apart, birth and death, wet and dry, day and night, good and evil, male and female, full and empty. This ceaseless interplay of opposing forces is the natural order of things. Part and Whole cannot be understood,much less exist, without each other. How could they? The very essence of being a part requires a whole to be a part of, and there can be no whole without parts.

SAGEHOOD

The sages` focus on achieving harmony and virtue here and now is a response to the social conditions in which they live, in this chapter we will study three sages, each of whom speaks from intimate knowledge of suffering and disappointment. Offering anyone who will listen the fruits of their hard-earned “research”, sages perform a complex social function: part physician of the soul, part prophet, part preacher, part philosopher, part fellow seeker.

THE DO NOTHING SAGE: LAO-TZULegend says that Lao-tzu was a bureaucrat in ancient China, he was known by several nicknames: Old Man, Old Boy, or Old Philosopher.

According to the legend, when he was 160 years old Lao Tzu grew so disgusted with the hypocrisy and decay of his time that he decided to resign from his position as a bureaucrat to pursue virtue in a more natural environment.

Rather than presenting a philosophical system, Lao Tzu struggle to express a sense, rule, principle or cause of “The way all things are”.

PREFER YIN TO YANG

As we have seen, according to ancient Chinese cosmology, the whole of nature consists of the continual interaction of two opposing forces known as yin and yang, they are linked to each other, each an expression of the other, they operate together in an never ending cycle.

Chains of OppositionsYang (To be Resisted) Ying (To be preffered)

Something Nothing

Doing Something Doing Nothing

Knowledge Ignorance

Male Female

Full Empty

Above Below

Before After

Moving Still

Strong Weak

Straight Bent

Hard Sost

Section Review1. How was everything influenced in Ancient Chinese Cosmology?

2. How would you explain Tao?

3. Explain yin and yang.

4. Name the different social functions of sages.

5. Why did Lao Tzu resigned from his position to pursue virtue?

6. Write some examples of the Chain of Opposition.