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Self in the Eastern Perspective

Welcome to the seventh module of this course, Philosophy of Man

with Logic! At the end of the course you will be able to understand
and evaluate the notion of the self in the perspectives of Hinduism,
Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism.

Hinduism
Hindu philosophy is a vast philosophical system which highlights
the inner man and his reality

IMPORTANT TEXTS: (besides epics)

The Vedas – the oldest extant literary works of the Aryan mind;
Veda means “knowledge” in Sanskrit.

– reveal a subtle combination between idealism and naturalism, of

gods and of nature.

The Upanishads – Mostly meditations and deeper reflections on

the Vedas.

– “Upanishad” is derived from the word “sad,” which means “to sit
down;” “Upa” means “nearby;” “ni” means “devotedly.”

– “to sit down near the teacher in a devoted manner to receive

instruction on the highest reality.”

– It is believed more than 200 Upanishads exist but the traditional

number is 108, based on the Muktikopanishad. Of these, 11 or 12
are regarded as authentic and of philosophical significance.

Monistic Idealism or Idealistic Monism – a doctrine which

upholds the existence of only one reality: The Consciousness.

Brahman – the ultimate reality; the supreme reality which

transcends all things and yet underlies all things as the ground of
all things.

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– It is the Universal Self, the Absolute, the ultimate cause of this

universe.

– Objective

Atman – the individual mind, soul, and spirit which feels; it is the
“Life-Breath” of man which comes and goes in a single breath.

– Subjective

Differences in depiction in the Upanishads:

Brahman Atman
Presented as the older Seen as the later

The less intelligible The more significant

The unknown that needs to be The known through which the unknown
explained (Brahman) finds its explanation

The first principle so far as it is The first principle so far as it is known

comprehended in the universe in the inner self of man

The cosmic principle of the universe The psychical principle

The true self is the main topic of investigation in the Upanishads.

Five Types of Self – Five Sheaths (Kosas):

1. Annamayatman – the self which consists of flesh and blood

and is dependent on food, and therefore is changeable. This is the
physical self. (body)

2. Paranamayatman - The Self that consists of the vital breaths in

man and is dependent on vital breath. This is the self as the
principle of natural life. It is contained in the Annamayatman.
(vital brain)

3. Manumayatman – The self that is dependent on volition. It is

the principle of the will. It is within the Pranamayatman. (volition,
will)

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4. Vijnamayatman – the self that is the principle of intellection.

(intellect)

5. Annandamayatman – the self that is dependent on bliss. It is

the innermost kernel of man and of nature as a whole. It is in
contrast with the reality of experience which lies beyond the other
side, unutterable and unfathomable. (bliss)

The Development of the concept of the self from the States of

Consciousness (Mandukya Upanishad):

1. Vaisvanara or Vishva – The Waking State – This is a state

common to all men. It is directed to the objects of the external
world, thus to gross objects. It has consciousness of the external
world. Here we find a subject-object duality.

2. Taijasa – The Dreaming State – This is a state where the mind

has phantasms or images of objects of the external world. In here
we would find a subject-object duality.

3. Prajna - The Deep Sleep State – This is the state that has no
dream image; hence no objects. This has no subject-object duality.
There is a shadow because we see here a shadow of supreme bliss,
not positive bliss.

4. Turiya – The Fourth State – This is the suppression of the

consciousness of objects and union with the eternal knowing
subject. This is the state of pure consciousness.

The Brahman is described in two ways in the Upanishads:

Saguna Brahman – “Lower Brahman”

Nirguna Brahman – “Higher Brahman”

Saguna Brahman Nirguna Brahman

Cosmic Acosmic

All Comprehensive Indeterminate

Full of qualities Qualityless

Describable Indescribable

Knowable Unknowable

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Regarded as the cause of production, The Transcendental Absolute

maintenance and destruction of this
universe

 Brahman is one, but we view it in two ways.

 Saguna Brahman is the one we know while Nirguna Brahman
is the extreme abstraction.
 E.g. The lower part of the balloon is Saguna while the upper,
invisible part is Nirguna Barhman
 All beings arise from Brahman, live in Him, and are absorbed
in Him. (Chand. 3.14.1)
 Brahman is the foundationless consciousness, the fundamental
postulate of all knowledge.
 Atman = Brahman (Tat Tvam Asi) – Read the story of
Uddalaka and Svetaketu in the Chandogya Upanishad below.
 Our innermost individual being is the innermost being of
universal nature and of all her phenomena.

Maya – specifically refers to the illusion superimposed upon

reality as an effect of ignorance.

1. Atman is the knowing subject within us.

2. Atman, as the knowing subject, is itself unknowable, for as a

subject, it can never be an object.

3. Atman is the sole reality, for it is the metaphysical unity which

is manifested in all empirical plurality. This unity, however, is not
to be found elsewhere than in ourselves, in our consciousness.

The two functions of Maya:

 Concealment – it hides the atman

 Projection – it manifests the atman as the world which we

perceive (the accidents or phenomena)

(2 ways of viewing the same thing)

The Early Philosophical Systems

 Sankhya – Metaphysical framework of the origins of reality.

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 Yoga – Experiencing the levels of one’s Being and

consciousness

 Vaishesika – Systematic and realistic view of the metaphysical

and cosmological elements of reality.

 Nyaya – Logical and Epistemological in focus concerning the

objective exposition of the right knowledge of reality.

 Mimamsa – means revered thought; the systematic

investigation of actions, rituals and sacrifices and principles
according to which the Vedas are interpreted. (Earlier portion
of the Veda)

 Vedanta – Guided by the belief of an underlying unity of the

world, it is a self-inquiry into the underlying nature of man’s
experience and his knowledge of reality. (Later portion of the
Veda)

o Pre-Shankara
o Shankara
o Post-Shankara

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Chandogya Upanishad: Tat Tvam Asi

There lived once Svetaketu. . . To him his father Uddalaka . . .

said: "Svetaketu, go to school; for no one belonging to our race,
dear son, who, not having studied, is, as it were, a Brahmin by
birth only"

Having begun his apprenticeship when he was twelve years of age,

Svetaketu returned to his father, when he was twenty-four, having
then studied all the Vedas, conceited, considering himself well-
read, and stern.

His father said to him: "Svetaketu, as you are so conceited,

considering yourself so well-read and so stern, my dear, have you
ever asked for that instruction by which we hear what cannot be
heard, by which we perceive what cannot be perceived, by which
we know what cannot be known? "

"What is that instruction, Sir?" he asked. . .

"Fetch me . . . a fruit of the Nyagrodha tree."
"Here is one, Sir."
"Break it."
"It is broken, Sir."
"What do you see there?"
"These seeds, almost infinitesimal."
"Break one of them."
"It is broken, Sir."
"What do you see there?"
"Not anything, Sir."

The father said: "My son, that subtle essence which you do not
perceive there, of that very essence this great Nyagrodha tree
exists.

"Believe it, my son. That which is the subtle essence, in it all that
exists has its self. It is the True. It is the Self, and you, . . .
Svetaketu, are it. "
"Please, Sir, inform me still more," said the son.
"Be it so, my child," the father replied.
"Place this salt in water, and then wait on me in the morning."

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The son did as he was commanded.

The father said to him: "Bring me the salt, which you placed in the
water last night."
The son having looked for it, found it not, for, of course, it was
melted.
The father said: "Taste it from the surface of the water. How is it?"
The son replied: "It is salt."
"Taste it from the middle. How is it?"
The son replied: "It is salt."
"Taste it from the bottom. How is it?"
The son replied: "It is salt."
The father said: "Throw it away and then wait . . . on me.
He did so, but the salt exists forever.
Then the father said: "Here also, in this body, you do not perceive
the True, my son; but there indeed it is.
"That which is the subtle essence, in it all that exists has its self. It
is the True. It is the Self, and you, Svetaketu, are it."

Buddhism
The Four Noble Truths

"I teach suffering, its origin, cessation and path. That's all I teach",
declared the Buddha 2500 years ago.

The Four Noble Truths contain the essence of the Buddha's

teachings. It was these four principles that the Buddha came to
understand during his meditation under the bodhi tree.

1. The truth of suffering (Dukkha)

2. The truth of the origin of suffering (Samudāya)

3. The truth of the cessation of suffering (Nirodha)

4. The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering (Magga)

 The Buddha is often compared to a physician. In the first two

Noble Truths, he diagnosed the problem (suffering) and

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identified its cause. The third Noble Truth is the realisation that
there is a cure.

 The fourth Noble Truth, in which the Buddha set out the
Eightfold Path, is the prescription, the way to achieve a release
from suffering.

The three roots of evil (Samudāya)

These are the three ultimate causes of suffering: (Attachments)

 Greed and desire, represented in art by a rooster

 Ignorance or delusion, represented by a pig

 Hatred and destructive urges, represented by a snake

Nirvana

 Nirvana means extinguishing. Attaining nirvana - reaching

enlightenment - means extinguishing the three fires of greed,
delusion and hatred.

 Someone who reaches nirvana does not immediately disappear

to a heavenly realm. Nirvana is better understood as a state of
mind that humans can reach. It is a state of profound spiritual
joy, without negative emotions and fears.

 Someone who has attained enlightenment is filled with

compassion for all living things.

Path to the cessation of suffering (Magga)

 The final Noble Truth is the Buddha's prescription for the end
of suffering. This is a set of principles called the Eightfold
Path.

 The Eightfold Path is also called the Middle Way: it avoids

both indulgence and severe asceticism, neither of which the
Buddha had found helpful in his search for enlightenment.

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The eight divisions/The Noble Eightfold Path:

The eight stages are not to be taken in order, but rather support and
reinforce each other:

1. Right Understanding - Sammā ditthi

o Accepting Buddhist teachings. (The Buddha never

intended his followers to believe his teachings blindly,
but to practise them and judge for themselves whether
they were true.)

2. Right Intention - Sammā san̄kappa

o A commitment to cultivate the right attitudes.

3. Right Speech - Sammā vācā

o Speaking truthfully, avoiding slander, gossip and

abusive speech.

4. Right Action - Sammā kammanta

o Behaving peacefully and harmoniously; refraining from

stealing, killing and overindulgence in sensual pleasure.

5. Right Livelihood - Sammā ājīva

o Avoiding making a living in ways that cause harm, such

as exploiting people or killing animals, or trading in
intoxicants or weapons.

6. Right Effort - Sammā vāyāma

o Cultivating positive states of mind; freeing oneself from

evil and unwholesome states and preventing them from
arising in the future.

7. Right Mindfulness - Sammā sati

o Developing awareness of the body, sensations, feelings

and states of mind.

8. Right Concentration - Sammā samādhi

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o Developing the mental focus necessary for this

awareness.

The eight stages can be grouped into:

 Wisdom (right understanding and intention),

 Ethical Conduct (right speech, action and livelihood) and;

 Meditation (right effort, mindfulness and concentration).

The Buddha described the Eightfold Path as a means to

enlightenment, like a raft for crossing a river. Once one has
reached the opposite shore, one no longer needs the raft and can
leave it behind.

Two major schools of Buddhism:

1. Hinayana – literally means “Lesser Vehicle;” dubbed by the

Mahayana school.

2. Mahayana – literally means “Bigger Vehicle.” (The imported

Buddhism of China)

Hinayana Mahayana

No God Buddha was made god

The End was Nirvana taken as Extinction
of suffering
Highest Ideal is the Arhat
The Means to an end is Contemplation and
Meditation on the Four Noble Truths
Believes in a Self-help salvation
Exhibits dry asceticism
Negativistic and Egoistic outlook
The end is Nirvana, taken as Positive Bliss
Highest Ideal is Bodhisattva
The Means to an end is the Middle Path
Salvation is with the help of others
Exhibits loving interest in the world
Positivistic in outlook

Daoism
Daoism is a Chinese philosophical and religious system,
dating from about the 4th century BC. Among native

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Chinese schools of thought, the influence of Daoism has

been second only to that of Confucianism.

II. Basic Tenets

The essential Daoist philosophical and mystical beliefs can

be found in the Daodejing, (Tao-te Ching, Classic of the
Way and Its Power) attributed to the historical figure Laozi
(Lao-tzu, 570-490 BC) and possibly compiled by followers
as late as the 3rd century BC.

 Whereas Confucianism urged the individual to

conform to the standards of an ideal social system,
Daoism maintained that the individual should
ignore the dictates of society and seek only to
conform with the underlying pattern of the universe,
the Dao (or Tao, meaning “way”), which can
neither be described in words nor conceived in
thought.
 But this mystical way is what leads to the moral
“virtue” the De.
 To be in accord with Dao, one has, in the negative
sense, to “do nothing” (wuwei)—that is, nothing
strained, artificial, or unnatural, but also, in the
positive sense, follow the flow of nature, in its
“spontaneity” (ziran) – that is, naturalness.
 Through spontaneous compliance with the impulses
of one's own essential nature and by emptying
oneself of all doctrines and knowledge, one
achieves unity with the Dao and derives from it a
mystical power. This power enables one to
transcend all mundane distinctions, even the
distinction of life and death.
 At the sociopolitical level, the Daoists called for a
return to primitive agrarian life.

III.History

Unsuited to the development of an explicit political theory,

Daoism exerted its greatest influence on Chinese aesthetics,
hygiene, and religion. Alongside the philosophical and
mystical Daoism discussed above, Daoism is also
developed on a popular level as a cult in which immortality
was sought through magic and the use of various elixirs.

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Experimentation in alchemy gave way to the development,

between the 3rd and 6th centuries, of various hygiene cults
that sought to prolong life. These developed into a general
hygiene system, still practiced, that stresses regular
breathing and concentration to prevent disease and promote
longevity.

About the 2nd century AD, popular Daoist religious

organizations concerned with faith healing began to appear.
Subsequently, under the influence of Buddhism, Daoist
religious groups adopted institutional monasticism and a
concern for spiritual afterlife rather than bodily
immortality. The basic organization of these groups was the
local parish, which supported a Daoist priest with its
contributions. Daoism was recognized as the official
religion of China for several brief periods.

Various Daoist sects eventually developed, and in 1019 the

leader of one of these was given an extensive tract of land
in Jiangxi (Kiangsi) Province. The successors of this
patriarch maintained control over this tract and nominal
supremacy over local Daoist clergy until 1927, when they
were ousted by the Chinese Communists. In contemporary
China, religious Daoism has tended to merge with popular
Buddhism and other religions.

Confucianism
Main Concepts of Confucianism: the twin concepts of jen
and li are often said to constitute the basis of Confucianism.

A. Jen (wren): human heartedness; goodness; benevolence,

man-to-man-ness; what makes man distinctively human
(that which gives human beings their humanity).

1. The virtue of virtues; Confucius said he never really saw it

fully expressed. The other virtues follow from it. He never
gives and defends a definition of it although he does
characterize it.

2. It is dearer than life itself--the man of jen will sacrifice his

life to preserve jen, and conversely, it is what makes life
worth living.

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3. Jen is a sense for the dignity of human life--a feeling of

humanity towards others and self-esteem for yourself.

a. Such feeling applies to all men--not just one nation or

race. It is the foundation of all human relationships.

b. There is the belief that jen can be obtained; indeed, there

is the belief in the natural perfectibility of man. Hence,
he rejects the way of human action where one satisfies
likes and avoids dislikes.

c. The first principle of Confucianism is to act according to

jen: it is the ultimate guide to human action.

4. We should seek to extend jen to others.

B. Li (lee): principle of gain, benefit, order, propriety;

concrete guide to human action.

1. Two basic meanings to li: (1) concrete guide to human

relationships or rules of proper action that genuinely embody
jen and (2) general principle of social order or the general
ordering of life.

2. Confucius recognized that you need a well ordered society

for wren to be expressed.

3. First Sense: the concrete guide to human relationships.

a. The way things should be done or propriety: positive

rather than negative ("Do's rather than Don'ts).

b. The main components of propriety emphasize the

openness of people to each other.

(1) The reification of names: language used in

accordance with the truth of things.

(2) The Doctrine of the Mean: so important that an

entire book is dedicated to it in the Confucian canon:
the proper action is the way between the extremes.

(3) The Five Relationships: the way things should be

done in social life; none of the relationships are
transitive. (Note that 3 of the 5 relations involve family;

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the family is the basic unit of society).

(a) father and son (loving/reverential)

(b) elder brother and younger brother

(gentle/respectful)

(c) husband and wife (good/listening)

(d) older friend and younger friend

(considerate/deferential)

(e) ruler and subject (benevolent/loyal)

(4) Respect for age: age gives all things their worth:
objects, institutions, and individual lives.

4. Second Sense of li: principle of social order; ritual;

ordering of life; conforming to the norms of jen (the limits
and authenticity of li).

a. Every action affects someone else--there are limits to

individuality.

b. Confucius sought to order an entire way of life.

c. You shouldn't be left to improvise your responses

because you are at a loss as to how to behave.

d. A. N. Whitehead's quotation of a Cambridge vicar: "For

well-conducted people, life presents no problems."

C. Yi (yee); righteousness; the moral disposition to do good

(also a necessary condition for jen or for the superior man).

1. Yi connotes a moral sense: the ability to recognize what is

right and good; the ability to feel, under the circumstances,
what is the right thing to do.

a. Not chih, moral wisdom per se, but intuition.

b. Most of us live under the sway of different kinds of

"I's." In this case, the identification is with an impersonal
ego. (In Freudian terms, almost like the super-ego.)

c. The impersonal ego is the assimilated or appropriated

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values of our culture--the Confucian true self.

2. Some actions ought to be performed for the sole reason

that they are right--regardless of what they produce; not for
the sake of something else.

a. The value in the act is the rightness of the action

regardless of the intention or the consequences of the act.

b. Hence, yi is a different way than either stoicism

(intention with soft determinism) or utilitarianism
(consequences with free will).

c. Confucianism is similar to Kant's ethics of duty: the

action is done as a good-in-itself, not as a means to an end.

3. Acting from yi is quite close to practicing jen. Compare the

two situations:

a. A person does all actions for the sake of yi because they

are the right thing to do (i.e., the behavior forms the
disposition). This example is the way we learn; it is not an
example of yi.

b. A person does all actions for the sake of jen because

respect for humanity implies the right human way to act
(i.e., be concerned about who you are, not the individual
things you do). This example is practiced until it becomes
second-nature, then it is right.

D. Hsiao (showe): filial piety; reverence

1. Parents are revered because they are the source of your life.
They have sacrificed much for you.

2. One should do well and make the family name known and
respected: bring honor to your family.

3. Consider someone you respect and admire who saves your

life or someone who has sacrificed his life for you--as,
indeed, your parents did. Hence, the reverence.

4. Hsiao implies that you give your parents not only physical
care but also emotional and spiritual richness. When the
parents die, their unfulfilled aims and purposes should be the

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purposes of the children.

5. What do you do if your values are different from your

parents? i.e., in a changing society?

6. The beginnings of jen are found in hsiao (family life).

a. Once the reverence and respect is understood for parent,

hsiao can be extended by generalization to family, friends,
society, and mankind.

b. Respect for the sake of reverence affects who you are.

E. Chih (chee): moral wisdom; the source of this virtue is

knowledge of right and wrong. Chih is added to
Confucianism by Mencius (muhn shoos) who believed that
people are basically born good.

1. Since we draw the difference between right and wrong

from our own mind, these ideas are innate.

2. Man is a moral animal for Mencius. Man has the potential

to be good for Confucius.

3. How, then, does Mencius account for the origin of evil?

a. From external circumstances: nature and the needs for

survival.

b. From society and culture being in disarray: it would be

to our disadvantage to be moral.

c. From lack of knowledge: we do not seek to find out the

options we have. We fail to develop our feelings and
senses.

F. Chun-tzu (choon dzuh): the ideal man; the superior man;

gentle person in the most significant sense.

1. He is at home in the world; as he needs nothing himself.

He is at the disposal of others and completely beyond
personal ambition.

2. He is intelligent enough to meet anything without fear.

3. Few people can attain this ideal; the central virtue is, of

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course, jen.

a. Personal relationships come before anything else (i.e.,

before thinking, reasoning, studying).

b. The five virtues come from within the impersonal ego:

(1) kindness, (2) rectitude, (3) decorum, (4) wisdom, and
(5) sincerity.

G. Te (day): power by which men are ruled; the power of

moral example (the whole art of government consists in the
art of being honest).

1. The patterns of prestige are used in the service of

governance of the country.

2. Government is good if it can maintain: (1) economic

sufficiency, (2) military sufficiency, and (3) confidence of the
people.

The Key Terms in Confucianism form an intricate web of

concepts.
A. jen: human heartedness; humaneness
B. li: principle of gain, benefit; in general,
"principle," propriety, ritual, social order.
C. yi: righteousness; the moral disposition to do good.
D. hsiao: filial piety, reverence; familial love
E. chih: moral wisdom
F. chun-tzu: the ideal person; the superior man
G. te: virtue; power; power by which people are ruled; power of
moral example

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References:
Brian White. (1993). Buddhist Studies. Retrieved from http://www.buddhanet.net/e-
learning/5minbud.htm

China Culture.org. (2015) Confucian Philosophy. Retrieved from

http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_madeinchina/2005-09/27/content_73480.htm

Ronnie Littlejohn. Daoist Philosophy. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved

from http://www.iep.utm.edu/daoism/

Shyam Ranganathan. Hindu Philosophy. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved from

http://www.iep.utm.edu/hindu-ph/

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