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Maddie Fontaine 25 November 2013 Relig. 273 A Comparison of Confucianism and Buddhism Buddhism and Confucianism are two different Asian religions that overlap in some of their beliefs, but deviate in others. Buddhists believe that the world is made up of suffering and that a person must eliminate their bad karma to become righteous. In contrast, Confucius believes that people are born with good nature and must work to stay good as well as learning the scriptures to create a peaceful empire. While both religions work on self-cultivation and finding a middle way, they differ in their values of family. Becoming a virtuous human takes a lot of hard work and devotion for both Buddhism and Confucianism, but knowledge is extremely important to both religions. In Confucianism, one must know The Way, or Dao, and in Buddhism, one must know the dharma, or the Buddhas teachings. Both are the doctrines to becoming a righteous human being. Self-cultivation is the basis to success in Confucianism. Confucius created a schooling system that would accept people from any class, making education more accessible to those willing to put in the time and effort to succeed. The master said, When simplicity surpasses refinement, one is a rustic; when refinement surpasses simplicity, one is a scribe. Only when refinement and simplicity are well blended can one become a gentleman (Huang 83). Confucius thought that in order to become a virtuous human, one must be passionate and find joy in learning. If one just has only knowledge, that is only half of the equation to becoming a true gentleman; one must know the rituals and be compassionate. In Buddhism, to become enlightened, one must leave all attachments and desires

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in their life behind and follow the dharma teachings of the Buddha. Give up the old waysPassion, enmity, folly. Know the truth and find peace. Share the way (Dhammapada: Choices, verse 19). The most important aspect of Buddhism is learning meditation. Siddhartha learns to meditate at a young age and is enlightened under the Bodhi tree. Then, he preaches his knowledge to his followers, who can then pass his wisdom on to other generations. Confucianism and Buddhism both value taking the middle path in life. Confucius believes in a constant mean: To go beyond is the same as to fall short (Huang 24). A proper gentleman should not have excess, but should not have nothing at all. One should find a balance between the native goodness of ones heart and accomplishment in the rituals, rather than only focusing on one. Buddhisms Eightfold path mirrors Confucianisms constant mean. The Eightfold path is the last of the four noble truths, and is sometimes referred to as the Middle Way. It enforces a life style that avoids both self-indulgence and asceticism. On Siddharthas journey to becoming the Buddha, he encounters both ends of the spectrum. He grows up as a prince who has everything a young man could ever want: beautiful women, nice clothes, riches, power, fame, and good food. When he leaves this life behind, he bounces to a total opposite lifestyle that includes starving himself and allowing his body to be beaten up by all the elements and forces of nature. When he finds that neither makes him happy or enlightened, he chooses a middle path. Both lifestyle experiences, however, are crucial to this discover: he had to become a fool to find Atman within (Bernofsky 81), because one does not know happiness if one has never experienced sorrow and suffering. The Analects state that, Filial piety is the first and foremost of all virtues (Huang 28). One must serve and love ones parents in order to be considered humane. Serving ones parents consists of obeying and caring for them, mourning their death, and offering up sacrifices to them.

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However, the love for ones parents is most important; if one does not provide and feel honest love, then the serving means nothing. Not only does a virtuous human have to serve their parents, but they have to serve their older siblings as well. The family is like a hierarchy, with the youngest on the bottom and the eldest on the top. By teaching children to respect their elders, the family is able to, help shape young people into loyal and law-abiding subjects (29). In Confuciuss mind, filial piety is the basis to a harmonious empire. On the other hand, Buddhists do not revere filial piety. In every biography of the Buddha, a crucial step to transitioning from prince to Buddha-hood is when the Bodhisattva leaves his kingdom to become an ascetic. In doing so, he must part with his family and disobey his fathers wishes. In Siddhartha, Siddhartha is extremely persistent with his wish to go with the Samanas. When he asks his father if he can become a monk, his father says, my heart is filled with displeasure. I do not wish to hear this request from your lips a second time (Bernofsky 9). Disobeying his father, the Bodhisattva restates his request, waits in his fathers room all night, and with his fathers disapproval, leaves the kingdom. This act implements the idea of detachment. For Buddhists, total detachment means no desires, which is needed for enlightenment. "Nothing holds tighter than attachment to family and money. Break these attachments by overcoming desire, and turn your back on material and sensual pleasures (Dhammapada: Desires, verses 345-346). This statement is in total opposition of Confucianisms emphasis on strong family ties; the Buddhist ideal human breaks these ties in order to lose desire and become virtuous. Virtuous humans in both Buddhism and Confucianism differ in their values of family, but both take a middle path in life and are both centered on self-cultivation. A persons main goal in Buddhism is to find eternal piece, or Nirvana, through enlightenment. To do so, they must practice meditation and avoid karma, which is caused by deviating from the Eightfold

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path and slows down the progression to Nirvana. When one becomes enlightened, ones main goal is to eliminate suffering and create peace in every humans mind and life. One can do so by reaching enlightenment and passing on ones knowledge. In Confucianism, one must continue to be good, since it is believed that everyone is by nature, and must be truthful. Along with this, one must be studious and devotional to their studies. When they are both good-natured and possess knowledge, they can create peace in the world.

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Works Cited

Byrom, Thomas. The Dhammapada: The Sayings of the Buddha. New York: Knopf : Distributed by Random House, 1976. Print Hesse, Hermann. Siddhartha;. [New York]: New Directions, 1951. Print Huang, Chichung. The Analects of Confucius. New York: Oxford UP, 1997. Print.