4 THE SELF IN WESTERN AND EASTERN THOUGHTS

Self-cultivation

- seen as the ultimate purpose of life

- characteristics of a chun-tzu, a man of

virtue or noble character

- "subdued" self – personal needs are

repressed for the good of the many

TAOISM

- living in the way of the Tao or the

universe

- rejects having one definition of what

the Tao is, and one can only state clues of

what it is as they adopt a free-flowing,

relative, unitary, as well as paradoxical view

of almost everything

- rejects the hierarchy and strictness

brought by Confucianism

- prefer a simple lifestyle and its

teachings thus aim to describe how to attain

that in life

TAOISM

- The self is not just an extension of the

family or community; it is part of the

universe, one of the forms and

manifestations of the Tao

- act spontaneously

- not restricted by some legalistic

standards because you are in harmony with

everything

BUDDHISM

- The self is seen as an illussion, born

out of ignorance, of trying to hold and

control things, or human-centered needs

- the self is the source of all these

sufferings

- our quest is to forget about the self,

forget the cravings of the self, break the

attachments you have with the world, and to

renounce the self which is the cause of all

sufferings and in doing so, attain the state

of NIRVANA

WESTERN CULTURE

- DUALITIES – disticnt from the other person,

the creator is separate from the object he created

- Individualistic culture – the focus is the

person

- loose associations or even loyalty to their

groups

- Competition is the name of the game

- straightforward and forceful in their

communication as well as decisionmaking.