Karma, Clarity, Superstition, And Reality

The quest towards developing the ideal human character is sought after in both the Bhagavad-Gita and Confucius’ The Analects. In the Bhagavad Gita, the concept of sacred duty is prevalent throughout the text, as the warrior-prince Arjuna faces a moral dilemma throughout the story. In Confucius’ The Analects, filial piety is a virtue which impacts an individual’s character in relation to the Confucian religion. Sacred duty within the Gita requires the protection of one’s dharma, which is defined as the religious and moral law that manages an individual’s actions. Within Confucian thought, filial piety is a virtue of respect for one’s elders, ancestors, and parents within a community. Despite the differences between the contextual meanings of developing the ideal human, both the Bhagavad Gita and The Analects utilize their teachings towards developing ideal human character within the themes of sacred duty and filial piety with the goal of establishing a set of communal ethics to be maintained through different caste systems, essentially protecting the existing social structure. To argue this claim, I will begin by analyzing the similar intentions of deviating from selfish actions and thoughts to develop ideal human character. I will then express how the nature of this character leads towards the development of one’s sacred duty and filial piety. I will then connect these two ideas to show how together they work to develop a communal set of ethics aimed at maintaining order

Hsun Tzu's philosophy is built from the idea that human beings are by nature inherently evil, and the good they produce will only come through their conscious activity. Hsun Tzu believes that if man follows his nature and indulges in his natural desires, without transforming himself by conscious activity he is doomed to fall victim to his evil nature. "Any man who follows his nature will inevitably become involved in wrangling and strife, will violate the forms and rules of society, and will end as a criminal." Despite the pessimistic tone of Hsun Tzu's message he does propose conscious activity as a solution to man's evil. This paper will examine Hsun Tzu's perspective in light of both Mencius

In the folktale “The Burro and the Coyote” from book “The Norton Anthology of Latino Literature” the main character, a burro was in route to deliver food to his master. The burro stopped to lend a helping hand to another character a fox asking for a ride. Without hesitation the fox gobbles up all of the master’s food the burro was carrying despite notifying the burro. The coyote takes the burro for granted when the burro only was portraying kindness. The theme of this folktale is directed for the audience to understand that the actions and decisions you make always comes back around in other words karma.

In conclusion, it is pretty fair to assume karma has a big role in Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. Countless times throughout the novel characters are punished for the bad things that they do. Curley’s wife should not have been around the boys, Curley should not have been an awful person, and Lennie should have been more careful. All of these are key times that prove karma is

Every culture ever known has operated under a system of values. Many varied on exact principles, but most applied the idea of Natural Law. Or, as C.S. Lewis would refer to it in his Abolition of Man, the Tao. In this particular book Lewis discusses the implications that would follow could man overcome this basic value system that has been in place since the development of rational thought. However, paradoxical as his opinion may seem, he holds that to step beyond the Tao is to plunge into nothingness. Simply put, it is his claim that to destroy, or even fundamentally change, man’s basic value system is to destroy man himself.

Karma is not fate, but is a reaction from someone’s sinister action. This can be seen true in the excerpt of “The Curse of the Poisoned Pretzel” from Two Hot Dogs with Everything by Paul Haven. The two protagonists named Skidmore C. Boddlebrooks Manchester E. Boddlebrooks. Manchester is the founder of the baseball team, Sluggers, who in this story, wins their first championship, that ends up being their last. Skidmore is found guilty of poisoning his brother, and being cursed for eternity. The author of “The Curse of the Poisoned Pretzel” develops the point of view Skidmore poisoning Manchester by showing Skidmore on having a grudge on Manchester, his appearance, and Skidmore giving the pretzel.

In conclusion, I have described the afterlife and the death rituals in Ancient China by describing some of their practices as well as what they believed in. I characterized the afterlife and the beliefs of Ancient China by explaining and describing the different concepts and perceptions that tie in with my topic. I also described that in Ancient China they do use the use of terror management theory by knowing that they are going to die because they know that they are promised an afterlife (C. Davis, personal communication, October, 2016). As ethical responsibly goes, it is the chore to follow and continue the correct path, which ties in with the people of Ancient China being promised an afterlife as well (C. Davis, personal communication, September,

That shaped a man’s inability to hold intelligence and that they are a lower man doomed to be selfish in the eyes to Confucianists.

“ This gave rise to the premise that if the people of an empire are unhappy, they have to right to overthrow the ruler and give the Mandate of Heaven to a new and better ruler. Confucius believed that in order to have a good society and good life, there must be a benevolent ruler who will lead the empire to prosperity. History continues to repeat itself in China by an empire rising and prospering and eventually becoming corrupt. Then the people award the Mandate of Heaven to a new ruler who will go through the same cycle of creation and degeneration. This tracks with another Chinese philosophy, Yin and Yang, which states that opposite forces—such as benevolence and despotism—are interconnected in the natural world. All of this combines to emphasize the relevance of historic repetition to the development of China.

The myth demonstrates “Aloha Aku, Aloha Mai”, which means, what goes around comes around. I agree with what this myth is teaching. My actions should affect my life in positive and negative ways. A way that this is portrayed in today's society is karma, the belief of how your past actions affect your future.

One of the oldest philosophies in Chinese history is Confucianism. At the time of the warring states, Confucius wandered throughout China seeking a ruler who accepted the Confucian way. Since then, his ideas grew and are still relevant today. Throughout time other philosophers, Mengzi and Xunzi, have interpreted Confucius’ teachings and have long debated whether human nature is good or bad. I argue that human nature is not, as Mengzi believes, inherently good, instead, completely self-interested.

Availability and understanding of available information by an individual was taken as a very important treasure. The issues that Confucius taught to be followed were not entirely scientific learning but rather the study of the consecrated contents and the tenets of good worth and propriety (Oliver, 1985). An additional element which he held high was the control of proper example. The heroes, heroines and great people that existed were greatly exemplified by Confucius. Confucius did this by persisting on the scrutiny of the conservative models. Many of his well recorded aphorisms are tributes of his considered men of high caliber. Confucius trained his supporters the significance of constantly welcoming the rectification of personal liabilities. To further assist in the creation of an upright moral fiber, he cherished a particular amount of strength of will. He acknowledged the threat, particularly in the youthful, of falling into unwanted behavior, so he persisted on eradicating the push for uncalled for reassurances (Ferguson, 1972).

People always wonder what makes them who they are. However, the extent to which our characters are derived from ourselves is always an argument for many philosophers. Marx, a German philosopher, and Mengzi, a representative thinker of Confucianism, present similar accounts in explaining how humans are shaped. Both Marx and Mengzi believe that our individual character is not solely shaped by ourselves but are shaped in ways by external forces. However, I will argue that, compared with Mengzi’s view of the moral attributes that inherently exist in humans themselves, Marx’s account is more systematic and compelling due to his emphasis of the effect of the interrelationship between humans themselves and the external forces of labor and social structures.

By contriving the story into a "quandary" which can be solved by the application of a rule, these theories divorce the dilemma from the context. Consequently the analogy which McCoy draws between that context and the corporate/bureaucratic one is warped. As the story is colored by a rule-based analysis, each hiker has only an abstract moral obligation toward the Sadhu, but in McCoy's version the hikers have individual values based on a set of shared goals. One can draw their own conclusion, but we claim that McCoy's narration of how those few moments were actually lived on that icy mountain path, of how that monumental choice was made, and of its deeply troubling consequences, stands in stark rebuttal of rule-based arguments that justify the minimal actions of the hikers. Their very understanding of moral obligation fosters neglect for cooperative efforts and for inter-subjective relationships. Rule-based analysis conceptualizes a moral question as arising for a generic agent in total isolation - one who is totally context-free, character-free and who gets his or her moral clues only from his or her innate faculty of reason.

The concept of filial piety was exhibited in other Confucian texts as well, such as the Book of Rewards and Punishments. Although this text was technically a popular religious text, rather than a Confucian one, it highlighted many Confucian ideals, such as filial piety. It describes good, virtuous people seeking immortality as those who "exhibit loyalty to their ruler, filial piety to their parents, true friendship to their older brothers" (143). Contrarily, those who are evil "insult their ruler and their parents behind their backs" (143). According to this text, it is impossible to be a good, virtuous person without showing respect for one's parents. The inclusion of filial piety in this popular religious work also helps to show how widespread the belief in filial piety was in China. Although it received a great deal of support and promotion from Confucianism, filial piety was not limited to Confucians -- it was a widespread part of Chinese culture.