What Does The Great And Venerable Teacher Mean

Buddhism was seen as practiced by the “barbarians” (document 4). Han Yu ridicules Buddhism by emphasizing that Confucianism is the truth while Buddhism contains only lies.. It is not surprising that Han Yu is opposed to Buddhism because of his position in the Imperial court. He was of a higher class and many people in the higher class tended to reject Buddhism, partly because of the religion’s teaching of equality. He could greatly influence the Emperor; however, many peasants may have disagreed because of their differences of class. Furthermore, in document 6, Wu, the Tang Emperor, denounces Buddhism by blaming it for social injustices such as people leaving their religion, “injuring humankind” and destroying the law. It is expected that the emperor of the Tang dynasty would give such an edict because many of Buddhism’s teachings such as the equality of classes and genders go against a great deal of what the empire is built on. The Tang dynasty also had a great deal of inner conflict when it came to accepting or rejecting Buddhism. This edict was given in 854 CE after the imperial structure of the government was

during the Zhou Dynasty, China was experiencing a great deal of political turmoil. A major part of this era was called the Period of the Warring States. It was a time when there were numerous wars that occurred due to the conflict that existed between seven states. (Watkins, 2013) These warring states were the Han, Wu, Zhao, Chu, Qi, Yan and Jin. According to Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler of the book Traditions and Encounters, “This period forced some people to reflect on the nature of society, and the roles of humans beings within society.” The authors continued saying that it forced others to “identify principles that would restore political and social order.” (Bentley & Ziegler, 2011) The principles of Confucianism were established and followed in order to help the citizens of China to live and govern their communities more efficiently. Through Confucianism, Confucius helped legitimize China’s rule and bring about order in the mist of turmoil. The effects of Confucius’ principles are still seen and felt today in many aspects of modern day Chinese society. Veritably, there were points throughout Chinese history where Confucianism affected almost every aspect of life in China. Confucius has impacted the development of Chinese thought and culture in various ways from education to politics, to familial relationships.

While there are many ways to be an outstanding teacher, every high-quality teacher should, in my opinion, have these skills and dispositions:

The statement made by Han Yu in document 4 demoralizes Buddhism as a cult for barbarians. He is a leading Confucian scholar that would be powerful and upper-class; the reader is unable to know if the lower-class share the views, but it can be assumed that the words of himself and Tang Wu carry weight. Document 6 paints Buddhism as the cause of the problems China is facing during the time, including poverty and the size of worship temples. Buddhism is being used as the scapegoat by the dynasty to explain the unpopular political climate. The Emperor displays worry that the Buddhist monks are becoming too powerful stating the larger number and vicinity of many

When he does die, he will leave the earth and his spirit shall be enlightened as he enters the presence of Buddha (Doc. 2). During this time period, northern China is being invaded by steppe nomads. Much of the people living within China are undoubtedly worried about this. So, this document shows one way of how Buddhism was received, as a saving grace that could spare people from the fear of the nomads. If they do believe and follow the ways of the Buddha, then they will have salvation. The scholar likely wrote this as a way to help quell and fear in people's’ hearts, whether it be his own, or those of strangers. The Buddha himself agrees with the notion that Buddhism helps conquer fear, as can be seen in one of his sermons eight centuries earlier. In the sermon, he lays out the Four Noble Truths of Buddhism. He proclaims in the sermon that death is sorrow, that being separated from pleasures is sorrow, that sorrow arises from cravings which we have, including the craving for power and the craving for a prolonged life. He goes on to say that the only way to end this suffering, to be enlightened and reach nirvana is by ending these sorrows (Doc. 1). Buddhism lays out a path to end sorrow, and in China,

China was greatly influenced by Confucian beliefs, especially during the Han Dynasty. Confucianists believe the key to harmony is good morals throughout society and the acceptance and respect of unequal relationships. Chinese Confucianists thought that society would run smoothly, as long as each person completed their respective tasks. Tang Emperor Wu stated that Buddhism allowed monks and nuns to not do their part in society, and therefore Buddhism needed to be eradicated from Chinese society (Document 6). Emperor Wu’s point of view does not reflect the viewpoint of the lower classes, especially Buddhist supporters, because he is an emperor who lives a lavish life. Emperor Wu fully supports Confucianism and has been educated using Confucian beliefs throughout his life, which further influences his negative opinion on Buddhism expressed in the proclamation. The unequal relationships between ruler and subject, or father and son, were present throughout Chinese society and were important to the success of the empire. Han Yu, a Confucian scholar, explained that the Buddha did not conform to Chinese laws or understand the unequal relationships present in Chinese culture, in order to convince the population that Buddhism does not belong in China (Document 4). The intended audience of the statement by Han Yu is the Chinese upper class in order to prevent further conversion and acceptance of Buddhism. Confucianism was most popular among the upper classes, due to the extensive education the wealthy received based on Confucianism. Negative responses were common among the Chinese population due to the many differences between Buddhist and Confucian

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.

Under Emperor Wu, Confucian way of thinking eventually became the pillars of the foundation of the Han Dynasty, and transformed Confucius into an uncrowned monarch from the traditional humble teacher that he was. As the official doctrine of the empire the Emperor was held to honor tradition, respecting the lessons of history, and had a responsibility to heaven. They embraced the Zhou based mentality on mandate of heaven to justify their rule and officials used that also to explain natural disasters and famine in the region when the emperor lost his contract with heaven, and paved way for a new ruler to take the throne. Also due to the dense population of the region, Emperor Wu was able to established a university to properly train and educate

I believe there are many skills and attributes that are necessary to an outstanding teacher; one’s ability to keep students engaged, the desire to see all students achieve, and knowledge of the content taught are attributes of an outstanding educator.

A common emotion towards death in the Buddhist culture is being scared to die. This is because Buddhists all believe in a never ending life cycle called reincarnation. This means that when somebody dies their spirit will be brought back but not in the same form as their former life. It was believed that when Genji passed away he was reincarnated as his son Kaoru who acts just like Genji did and displays the same heroism. Who or what they are in their next life all revolves around karma. If they were a bad person and they were something such as an emperor in their next life they will be reincarnated into a lower status such as being a peasant. If they were a good person, they will earn a better position in their subsequent life. No matter the status of the person in their current existence, they were all petrified of dying because even feeling simple emotions that can seem uncontrollable such as jealously or anger can be enough to be demoted in your next life. The only way to escape this reincarnation cycle was to become “enlightened”. Being enlightened is the ultimate goal when practicing Buddhism as it is the highest level that can be achieved.

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.

We have covered the general accounts of human nature found in Confucianism and Taoism in light of the historical backdrop of the Period of Warring States. Use your responses to the following general questions below as an opportunity to refer either to the Smith text and accompanying assigned scriptures(s), Smith video(s) on China, Confucianism, and Taoism, or any additional material covered in class. Look ahead to the next question on the chun tzu in order to plan on avoiding repetition of answers verbatim within each essay if there are areas of potential overlap.

Confucianism is regarded as one of the primary religions that have profoundly influenced Chinese beliefs and ideologies. While Kongzi, or Confucius, is the founder of Confucianism, he is not the only philosopher who has contributed to such a significant impact on China. Similarly, the Analects of Confucius is not the single text that represents Confucianism. In fact, during different time periods throughout the history, there are a number of eminent representatives of Confucian thoughts, such as Mengzi and Xunzi. Because Confucianism aims at eliminating chaos and maintaining order in a harmonious society , they all agree that the guidance and education of virtuous Confucian pioneers are of extreme importance to achieve this

The term seems to have a more ethical meaning. Some have argued that it is better translated as ‘goodness’10 or ‘love,’11 but these terms fail to capture the ‘completeness’ of Confucius’s meaning.12

For some reason or another certain students are drawn to particular teachers while other students are more fond of others. In my life I have studied under three memorable teachers. Teachers with which I was able to connect, to laugh, to share my misgivings. While I may have been close with each of these teachers, it is very clear, in retrospect, that each was very unique, and represented an entirely different class of teacher.