CONFUCIANISMThe four Religious Traditions of C.docx

CONFUCIANISM
The four Religious Traditions of China
Chinese culture is marked by four main religious traditions:1.
The traditional folk religion2. Taoism3. Confucianism (had
state patronnage)4. Buddhism
The “San-jiao heyi” conceptThe Chinese emphasis on harmony
was also extended to “the unity of the three faiths” “San-jiao
heyi” is still widely used to refer to Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism.
More popular teachers such as Jiao Hong (1540-1620) taught
that all three religions constitute in fact “a single teaching,” and
all three should be believed because each merely uses separate
language to articulate its truth.
Liu Mi (Active 1324):
“Although the Three Teaching are different,
in the arguments they put forward, they are One.”
Emperor Xiaozong (1163-1189):

“Use Buddhism to rule the mind,
Daoism to rule the body
Confucianism to rule the world.”
Lin Zhaoen (1517-1598):
“if someone is a Confucian, give him Confucius;
If he is a Daoist, give him Lao Zi;
If he is a Buddhist, give him Shakyamuni;
If he isn’t any of them, give him their unity.”
- Wisdom religions- way of life for the scholarly and governing
class- A religious conception of Government- Harmony between
Man, nature and Heaven
*Taoism focuses the attention on cosmic natureConfucianism
focuses on human nature
Characteristics of the Chinese Spirit1. Simplicity,2. Balance 3.
Harmony4. No “big ego,” 5. Patience.6. Humanness7. Politeness
(good manners)
3 KEY CONCEPTS OF CHINESE RELIGIONS1. TIEN2.
TAO3. YIN-YANG

Other concepts4. DIVINATION5. ANCESTOR
VENERATION6. QUEST FOR BALANCE AND HARMONY
TEN MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS OF CHINESE
RELIGIONS 1. THE GOLDEN RULE (OF LOVE)
In China, 500 years before the birth of Jesus, Confucius (551-
470 B.C.), when asked by a disciple if a norm existed that one
could follow throughout one’s life, said: “Love of the neighbor.
Whatsoever you do not desire for yourself, do not do unto
others.”
(Analects, 12.2 and 15.23).
In another version he stated: “What I do not wish others to do to
me, that also I wish not to do to them”
(Analects, 5.11).
Ten Major Characteristics of Chinese Religions:2. Belief in “the
Path of Heaven”3. Belief in Divination, Exorcism, Magical
Power.4. Veneration of the Ancestors
5. Quest for Harmony and Balance6. Belief in the
interconnectedness
of everybody and everything.7. “Following the Flow”:
Trust in the virtues of
“naturalness,”
“simplicity”
and “Patience.”

(“slow down,” if you want to achieve happiness).
8. Rejection of “Big-Ego.”
* trust in the virtue of simplicity.
* Belief that true Strength resides in “Weakness.”9. Focus on
the value of “Education” and Art10. T’ien Ming and the Belief
in the need for Ethics in Government. (The Mandate of Heaven).
CONFUCIANISM:I. Is it really a religion?II. The FoundersIII.
9 Sacred TextsIV. The Confucian Spirit (in 10 points)

The Founders of Confucianism1. K’UNG FU TZU
or CONFUCIUS
(552-479 B.C): 6th century
2. MENG TZU
or MENCIUS
(390-305 B.C): 4th century
The Scriptures of Confucianism:
1. The Five Classics2. The Four Books
THE FIVE CLASSICS1. I CHING2. SHU CHING3. SHIH
CHING4. LI CHING5. CH’UN CH’IU
=>These classics of Chinese civilization provide an important
part of the background for the Confucian system
1. I CHING (the Classic of Changes):A book of divination; it
contains striking images
2. SHU CHING (The Classic of History)Contains among other
things, the Chou theology

3. SHIH CHING (The classic of Poetry):A collection of some
300 poems dealing with a wide range of themes, including love
poetry.
4. LI CHI (The Book of ritual)
5. CH’UN CH’IU
(the Spring and Autumn Annals)
Originally there was also a sixth, the Classic of Music, which
has been lost.These books continued to be edited after
Confucius’s death, and in their present versions contain some
later material.
THE FOUR BOOKS
The teaching ascribed to Confucius can be found chiefly in the
following “Four Books”:1. The Analects2. The Doctrine of the
Mean3. The Great Learning4. Mencius
THE FOUR BOOKS1. The Analects: the earliest and most
reliable collection of Confucius’ teaching. Compiled several
years after his death2. The Doctrine of the MeanWritten by an
early follower;It develops the religious aspects of Confucius’
views;It forms a chapter of the Book of Ritual

3. The Great LearningA short treatise on moral education;It also
forms a chapter of the Book of Ritual4. MenciusA collection of
the teachings of one of Confucius’ most outstanding disciples,
Meng Tzu
CONFUCIANISM
As
A Religion
Confucius did not create a religion in the sense of Buddha or
Jesus.He created a religious philosophy and a set of moral
values which in broad outlines were adopted by the Chinese
scholarly and administrative class for some 2,000 years!
Confucius was not interested in creating a new religion.He
taught history, divination, and the principles of good
government.He used ancient religious teaching to develop1) a
system of ethics,2) a theory of good government, and3) a set of
personal and social goals that deeply influenced the Chinese for
almost twenty-five centuries!
3 Crucial Confucian views
Confucianism as articulated by Confucius and clarified by
Mencius1. Maintains that human nature is essentially good, that

humans are naturally compassionate, dutiful, courteous, and
inclined toward learning.2. The well-being of society depends
upon the virtue of the rulers, and it is the state’s responsibility
to ensure the flourishing of its citizens.3. The destiny of a state
and its raison-d’etre
3. The destiny of a state
If a dynasty rules by virtue, then it receives the Mandate of
Heaven, but this right to rule is revoked if rulers cease to be
virtuous.
Confucianism is generally considered one of the major religions
of the world,However some contend that the teachings of
Confucius and his disciples were never intended to be a
religion.
Indeed Confucianism is a different kind of religion.1. It has no
priesthood,2. Its sacred writings, although important, have
never been considered a divine revelation like the Vedas or the
Qur’an,3. It has frowned upon asceticism and monasticism,4. It
has no doctrine of an afterlife.
Chi-Lu asked Confucius how the spirits of the dead and the
gods should be served.
The Master said,
“You are not able even to serve man.
How can you serve the spirits?”

Chi-Lu continued, “May I ask about death?”
The Master replied,
“You do not understand even life.
How can you understand death?”
And yet there are many religious features in
Confucianism:Religious ritualsAncestor venerationCentrality of
Tien as source of individual morality and good
governmentDivination and sacrifices
The Chinese Spirit
of Confucianism
The Confucian Spirit
(in 10 points)
1. The Golden Rule“Love of the neighbor. Whatsoever you do
not desire for yourself, do not do unto others. What I do not
wish others to do to me, that also I wish not to do to them”
(Analects, 5.11; 12.2; 15.23).

Jesus (500 years after Confucius) taught that the Golden rule is
the very essence of religion:
“Do for others just what you want them to do for you”(Luke
6:36). “Do for others what you want them to do for you: this is
the meaning of the Law of Moses and of the teaching of the
prophets”(Matthew 7:12).
Muhammed more than 1000 years after Confucius taught that
the Golden rule is “the noblest religion”:
“No Man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that
which he desires for himself…
Noblest Religion is this – that you should like for others what
you like for yourself; and what you feel painful for yourself,
hold that as painful for all others too.”
(The Prophet Muhammed)
2. Confucius said:“a man who is not Good (Jen),
what can he have to do with ritual?A man who is not Good,
What can he have to do with music?”
(Analects, III, 3)
3.“The well-bred are dignified, But not pompous.The ill-bred

are pompous,But not dignified.”
4.“If there is righteousness in the heart,
There will be beauty in the character.If there is beauty in the
character,
There will be harmony in the home.If there is harmony in the
home,
There will be order in the nation.If there is order in the nation,
There will be peace in the world.”
5. “The Gentleman calls attention to the good points in others;
he does not call attention to their defects.
The small man does just the reverse of this.”
(Analects, XII, 16)
6.
“A Gentleman takes as much trouble to discover what is right as
lesser men take to discover what will pay.”
(Analects, IV, 16)
7.“He who exercises government by means of his virtue (te)
may be compared to the north polar star, which keeps its place
and all the stars turn toward it”

Confucius said:
“The rule of virtue can be compared to the Pole Star which
commands the homage of the multitude of stars without leaving
its place.”
Confucius maintained that real “te” is the power of moral
example.When asked by the Baron of Lu whether the lawless
should be executed, Confucius answered:“What need is there of
death penalty in government? If you showed a sincere desire to
be good, your people would likewise be good. The virtue of the
prince is like the wind; the virtue of the people like the grass. It
is the nature of grass to bend when the wind blows upon it.”
Someone said to Confucius,
“Why do you not take part in government?”
The Master said,
“The Book of History says,
‘Oh! Simply by being a good son and friendly to his brothers a
man can exert an influence upon government.’
In so doing a man is, in fact, taking part in government. How
can there be any question of his having actively to ‘take part in
government’?
8. "Learn that an oppressive rule
is crueler than a tiger."

(Confucius)
9. "The ruler must better learn to govern himself before trying
to govern others"
(Confucius)
10. The 5 Relationships1. Father to Son2. Elder Brother to
younger Brother3. Husband to Wife4. Elder to Junior (or friend
to friend)5. Ruler to Subject
=> “Proper behavior towards parents and elder brothers is the
trunk of goodness” (Analects, I, 1)
TEN MORAL VIRTUES IN CONFUCIANISM
CHUN-TZU (the Princely or Noble man, The embodiment of
all virtues, the superior man, the role model for all the people.
1. Ren or Jen (good heart, deep empathy or compassion for
other humans)2. Shu (Altruism, reciprocity, concern for others,
treating others the way you would like to be treated)3. Chung
(Conscientiousness)4. WEN (Love for arts, love for peace)5. LI
(good manners toward others)
6. Ho (harmony)7. TE (the power of virtue in politics, moral
force)8. I (righteousness, Justice9. HSIAO (Filial piety)10.
Respecting the 5 relationships

CHUN TZU
Confucius’ notion of the Ideal Human Being1. The Noble
person, 2. The Mature person,3. the “superior person,” 4. “the
ideal perfect human being,”5. the person who shows humanity
at its best, 6. the “civilized person par excellence.” (nobility of
the heart)
a petty person 7. CHUN TZU > < a mean person
a small-spirited person
8. Armed with a self-respect that generates respect for others,
he approaches them wondering, not, “what can I get from
them?” but “what can I do to accommodate them?”
9. He is distinguished by his faithfulness, diligence, and
modesty.10. He neither overpowers with his knowledge,
Nor is he afraid to admit error11. He looks at all sides of any
issue,12. Is cautious13. He is not concerned for personal
recognition14. He carries himself with dignity15. He appears
imperturbable, resolute, and simple.

T’IEN (=HEAVEN)
For Confucians, generally, Heaven is“a supreme spiritual
presence, a great moral power, and the source of all.”It is an
exalted sacred reality.
THE TAO (DAO)TAO = WAY, PATH, ROAD
T'ien (Sky or Heaven)T'ien Ming (the mandate of Heaven)
Tao = the way of Heaven
= the way of the universe
The path of men (Ren Tao)
must follow the path of Heaven (T'ien Tao)
T’ien Ming
(the ruler must follow the mandate of heaven
To follow the Tao means
to be in harmonywith the ancestors and the spirits,with the
forces of yin and yang and the five elements.
a petty person 7. CHUN TZU > < a mean person
a small-spirited person

8. Armed with a self-respect that generates respect for others,
he approaches them wondering, not, “what can I get from
them?” but “what can I do to accommodate them?”
9. He is distinguished by his faithfulness, diligence, and
modesty.10. He neither overpowers with his knowledge,
Nor is he afraid to admit error11. He looks at all sides of any
issue,12. Is cautious13. He is not concerned for personal
recognition14. He carries himself with dignity15. He appears
imperturbable, resolute, and simple.
JEN and SHU
REN (JEN): the mother of all virtuesIt is “the feeling of
humanity toward others” and respect for oneself.
Jen was the virtue of virtues in Confucius’ view of life; it is the
greatest of virtues;
it includes all other virtues.
It is the highest perfection of goodness,
It is the sublime moral ideal beyond the reach of ordinary
mortals
Jen is a sublime and transcendental perfection

Jen is the foundation of the Confucian Silver rule: “Do not do
unto others what you would not want others to do unto you”
In China, 500 years before the birth of Jesus, Confucius (551-
470 B.C.), when asked by a disciple if a norm existed that one
could follow throughout one’s life, said: “Love of the neighbor.
Whatsoever you do not desire for yourself, do not do unto
others.”
(Analects, 12.2 and 15.23).
In another version he stated: “What I do not wish others to do to
me, that also I wish not to do to them”
(Analects, 5.11).
Ren (Jen) =To be truly and fully humanThe nobility of the heart
that makes one supremely human
= > (Noble people will even sacrifice their lives to preserve
their Jen complete).A sense of kinship with other human beings,
a strong feeling of belonging to the same species and even being
of one body with all human beings.The feeling of humanity
toward others and respect for oneself
JEN =
Human-heartednessMan-to-man-nessBenevolence, charity,
compassion, magnanimity, good faith.LoveThe highest form of
Goodness

Jen is that largeness of heart that knows no national boundaries
It is an indivisible sense of the dignity of human life wherever
it appearsThose who are “jen-endowed”
know that “within the four seas
all men are brothers and sisters.”
* In private life, Jen is expressed
inUnselfishness,Courtesy,Empathy (or the capacity to measure
the feelings of others by one’s own.
* In public life it prompts untiring diligence
SHUJen is an interior attitude implying concern for the welfare
of others.Shu is the concrete expression of Jen in various
circumstances. It is the external practice of Jen in public life,
putting oneself in the place of others.Confucius expressed it in
the famous golden (or silver) rule: “Do not do to others what
you would not want done to yourself.”It is not enough to have
the right inner attitudes, it is also necessary to speak and act
toward others in the right external manner.
=> the Gentleman does not cause pain to others.
HO (Harmony)The confucian seeks a twofold harmony,
individual and social.In order to become fully human, an
individual must attain harmony with his own nature; and one
attains harmony with his own nature by achieving harmony with

Heaven which has conferred his nature on him, and with the rest
of the universe.And when individuals attain this harmony with
Heaven the result will be a harmonious social order.
LI (=propriety, proper behavior)Li refers to the dictum
“manners maketh man.”Li = Good manners or polite behaviorLi
= good manner toward others:Politeness
considerationhospitalitynice speech our demeanorthe way we
dressthe way we greet others or say goodbyeUse proper music
in proper circumstances.
TAOISM
Taoism, along with Confucianism, is one of the two major
indigenous religio-philosophical traditions that have shaped
Chinese life for more than 2,000 years.Taoist philosophy and
religion have found their way into all Asian cultures influenced
by China, especially those of Japan, Korea,Vietnam.
Buddhism is the third important tradition that influenced China.
*

No civilization is monochrome.In China, the classical tones of
Confucianism have been balanced by the spiritual shades of
Buddhism and by the romantic hues of Taoism
*
Taoism and Confucianism - There is a tendency among scholars
today to draw a less rigid line between what is called Taoist and
what is called Confucian. The two traditions share many of the
same ideas about man, society, the ruler, Heaven, and the
universe - ideas that were not created by either school but that
stem from a tradition prior to either Confucius or Lao-Tzu.
*
Circling around each other like yin and yang themselves,
Taoism and Confucianism represent the two indigenous poles of
the Chinese character: Confucius represents the classical, Lao-
Tzu the romantic.
*

Taoism teaches:Follow the flowBe natural and spontaneousThe
secret of happiness is to stop controlling things and people
around you!
To experience the Tao, one must let go and pursue the path of
non-interference (wu-wei):
“do nothing and nothing will be left undone.”The best
teacher is the example of water that flows with the natural
forces and circumstances yet can overcome all obstacles.
TAO CHIA and TAO CHIAO
Taoism has
- a philosophical dimension called TAO CHIA
- a religious dimension (TAO CHIAO)
Religious Taoism (Tao Chiao) has many components, especially
the quest for
longevity, prosperity, and posterity
through a variety of rituals
Veneration of ancestors
Worship of gods by prayers, incantations, sacrifices
exorcism
Rituals of longevity include
Breathing exercises
Vegetarianism
Simply not eating

Exorcism and healing process
The Taoist priest first ascertains the person’s animal sign from
the year of his birth
Takes a paper image of that animal (for instance a dog, if the
person was born in the year of the dog)
By means of prayers and incantations, he transfers into the
paper image of the animal any illness or evil present in the
person
and then burns the image
Founder of Taoism:LAO-TZU (Lao Zi, 604B.C.) “the Old
Fellow,”“the Grand Old Master”“Old Sage”
A shadowy figure
We do not know his name!
He never preached,
did not organize or promote his religion.
*
Sacred Text:1. TAO TE CHING
DAODEJING
(=The Way and Its Power)

A small volume of five thousand charactersCan be read in half
an hour or a lifetime
*
2. The second classic of Taoism:
“ZHUANG-ZI”Book attributed to ZHUANG-ZI or CHUANG
TZU (365-290 B.C)
*
*
DOCTRINE OF TAOISM
*

Doctrine and Taoist Values1. The Tao2. The Man of Tao3. Wu-
Wei4. Pacifism and Militarism5. Art of Government
*
6. Naturalness, Spontaneity7. Follow the Flow, slow down, Let
go8. Humility and the rejection of competition and “big ego.”9.
Rejection of “conventions.”10. Centrality of Love
*
The Spirit of Taoism
Follow the flowBe natural and spontaneousThe secret of
happiness is to stop controlling things and people around
you!Be simple and humble
=> The highest calling for humans, argued the Daoists, is not
state service, but retreat into the mountains where the reality of
the Dao can be felt more clearly.
(in ten points)

*
1. A LESSON IN APOPHATIC THEOLOGY
(Against Anthropomorphism, and Civic Religion)
“God is Ineffable”“The Tao that can be expressed
is not the Eternal Tao”
(Tao Te Ching)
*
The aim of the TAO TE CHING is to express the nature of the
Tao.
But the book begins with a mind-boggling paradoxical
language:The true Tao cannot be spoken or
adequately defined,The Tao that pervades all reality
can be known only
through silence and
through experiences that transcend words.
The Tao is the ultimate RealityAs such it is transcendent,
beyond the reach of human understanding and human
language.By its nature the Tao transcends all human concepts
and forms of thought.It can’t be understoodIt can’t be
named.“The Tao that can be named is not the true Tao.”

The Dao is the prime source of creation from which the yin and
yang forces emerge in ever-shifting harmonies.Dao determines
all thingsAnd flows naturally as the mysterious and spontaneous
energy (Te) of the universe, functioning without the will or
purpose of a creator god.
The Tao expresses itself in 3 ways:1. The way of ultimate
reality2. The way of the universe
(Nature’s orderer)3. The way of human life or human
heart
2. WU-WEIWEI= ActionWU = not
= “inactive action,”= “creative quietude.”= “the way to do is to
be.”The man of wu wei “works without working.”Does not mean
“do-nothingness” or “inaction.”
*
WU-WEIThe supreme good is like water,Which nourishes all
things without trying to.It is content with the low places that
people disdain.Thus it is like the Tao(chap.8).
*

WU-WEI“Nothing in the worldIs as soft and yielding as
water:Yet for dissolving he hard and inflexible,Nothing can
surpass it.
*
The soft overcomes the hard;The gentle overcomes the
rigid.Everyone knows this is true,But few can put it into
practice.
(Tao Te Ching, chap.78)
*
3. SPONTANEITY=>Follow the flow, be natural and
spontaneous.Take water as your teacher.=> “Let go!”=> “Do
nothing and nothing will be left undone”
To experience the Tao, one must let go and pursue the path of
non-interference (wu-wei).The best teacher is the example of
water that flows with the natural forces and circumstances yet
can overcome all obstacles.
*

*
4. SIMPLICITY AND HUMILITY
Be humble, and you will remain entire.Be bent, and you will
remain straight.Be empty, and you will remain full...
=> “The secret of the good life
is to stop trying to control
the world around you.”
*
5. ON THE FOLLY OF RULES AND REGULATIONSDo away
with learning, and grief will not be known.Do away with
benevolence and eject righteousness,
And the people will return to filial duty and parental love.
(Tao Te Ching, chap. 19)
=> Taoist felt that the Confucians harmed society through the
imposing of rules and artificial practices that interfered with
humanity’s natural inclinations.Its political message was to
return to primal simplicity, with the state interfering as little as
possible with the lives of the people.

6. ON WISDOMA. Do away with sageness and eject wisdom,
And the people will be more benefited a hundred times.B.The
sage does not display himself; therefore he shinesHe does not
approve himself; therefore he is noted.He does not praise
himself; therefore he has merit.He does not glory in himself;
therefore he excels."
*
7. “The Best Soldier is not Soldierly.”The best fighter is not
ferocious;The best conqueror does not take part in war;The best
employer of men keeps himself below them."
8. ON GLOBAL LEADERSHIP
“Because of not daring to be ahead of the world,
one becomes the leader of the world.”
*

9. The art of governmentA good government does not impose
preconceived pattern on people's lives, does not meddle in
people's affairs, or interfere with their activities, but will seek
only to prevent harm from being done and will allow each to
prosper and flourish in his own way.
A leader is best
When people barely know that he exists.
Of a good leader, who talks little,
When his work is done, his aim fulfilled,
They will say, “We did this ourselves.”
(chap. 17)
*
In ruling men the sage serves Heaven, therefore he must rule
with moderation and kindness
The government should be like the Tao :
It must seek the people's good, not its own.
ART OF GOOD GOVERNMENT"Govern a great State
as you would cook a small fish.”“In ruling men and in serving
heaven, the sage uses only moderation.”
(Taoist teaching)

*
The best government is the one that
governs least.
“The more laws and regulations are given, the more robbers and
thieves there are.” (chap. 57)“When the government is blunt and
inactive, the people will be happy and prosperous.”
(chap.58)“The people are hard to rule because their officials
meddle with affairs, therefore they are hard to rule.” (chap. 75)
"The people starve because their officials take heavy taxes from
them, therefore they starve.
*
10. PacifismTaoism is radically averse to violence and
militarism.In China the scholar ranked at the top of the social
scale, and Taoism is responsible for placing the soldier at the
bottom.
*
For Taoism,
“the way for a vital person to go
is not the way of a soldier.”Lao-Tzu taught that
“Only one who recognizes all people

as members of his or his own body
is qualified to guard them…
Heaven arms with compassion
those whom she would not see destroyed.”
*
“One who would guide a leader of men in the uses of life will
warn him against the use of arms for conquest.Even the finest
arms are an instrument of evil:an army’s harvest is a waste of
thorns.”
(Tao Te Ching, chap. 30)
*
“Weapons are the tools of violence;All decent men detest
them.Weapons are the tool of fear;A decent man will avoid
themExcept with the utmost restraint…
*
Peace is the highest value…He enters a battle gravely,With
sorrow and with great compassion,As if he were attending a
funeral.”

(Tao Te Ching, chap. 31).
*
TAOIST IDEAL PERSONHOOD
The Man of DaoIs different from other humansIs deeply
humaneIs guided by 1. Love2. Deep Wisdom3. Simplicity,
humility (no big ego)4. Balance 5. Harmony6. Patience.
The Ideal PersonhoodThe Ideal man The man of Tao is very
different from other men. He judges things by altogether
different standards. He looks at every event from the
perspective of eternity :The man of Tao clings to the Yin rather
than the Yang :
- He knows the masculine and yet keeps to the feminine,- Thus
he becomes a channel drawing all the world towards it.
*
CENTRALITY OF LOVE: The perfect man is godlike...The man
of Tao returns love for great hatredI have three treasures. Guard
and keep them: The first is deep love, the second is frugality,
and the third is not to dare to be ahead of the world. To the

good I act with goodnessTo the bad I also act with
goodnessThus goodness is attained" "The sage is always a good
savior of menAnd no man is rejected”Because of deep love, one
is courageous; because of frugality, one is generous; because of
not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes the leader of
the world.”
*
The best soldier is not soldierly;The best fighter is not
ferocious;The best conqueror does not take part in war;
The best employer of men
keeps himself below them.
*
HUMILITY and SIMPLICITYFollowing the analogy of water,
the Taoists reject all forms of self-assertiveness and
competition.Their almost reverential attitude toward humility
led the Taoists to honor hunchbacks and cripples because of the
way they typified meekness and self-effacement.
*

Humility
The ax falls first on the tallest tree.“He who stands on
tiptoeDoesn’t stand firm.He who rushes aheadDoesn’t go far:He
who tries to shineDims his own light.”
(Tao Te Ching, chap.24)
*
Be humble,
and you will remain entire.
Be bent,
and you will remain straight.
Be empty, and you will remain full...
*
The sage does not display himself;
therefore he shines.He does not approve himself;
therefore he is noted.He does not praise himself;
therefore he has merit.He does not glory in himself;
therefore he excels.

=======>> fin <<========
*
*
*
*

*
*
In order to better grasp the Chinese vision of genuine
personhood, we have to look at the two fundamental indigenous
religions of China, Taoism, and Confucianism, and at their
critical notions of1. Chun-Tzu (in Confucianism)2. The Man of
Dao (in Taoism)3. Yin-Yang
*
The nature of a Chun-Tzu or that of the Man of Tao is better
defined by the Chinese conception of an “ideal society” and its

notion of the ultimate reality defined by1. Tien and Tao2. Yin-
Yang
*
1. Simplicity,2. Balance 3. Harmony4. No “big ego,” 5.
Patience.6. Humanness
*
*
10. Love and humanenessI have three treasures. Guard and keep
them: The first is deep love, the second is frugality, and the
third is not to dare to be ahead of the world. Because of deep
love, one is courageous; because of frugality, one is generous;
because of not daring to be ahead of the world, one becomes the
leader of the world.”
*

*
*
- Wisdom religions- way of life for the scholarly and governing
class- A religious conception of Government- Harmony between
Man, nature and Heaven
*Taoism focuses the attention on cosmic natureConfucianism
focuses on human nature
*
A LESSON IN APOPHATIC THEOLOGY

(Tao Te Ching)
*
Major Characteristics of Chinese Religions:1. Martial Art of the
Spirit of Tao (Wu WEI)2. YIN-YANG (and the Quest for
Balance)3. The concept of T’IEN and Sage King- T'ien (Sky or
Heaven)- T'ien Ming (the mandate of Heaven)4. Belief in the
interconnectedness of everybody and everything.5. Ancestor
Veneration6. Divination
*
T'ien Ming (the mandate of Heaven)Chinese culture maintains
that a person is good when his heart follows “the way of
Heaven.” Likewise Chinese believe that when a government
becomes morally corrupt, it looses the support of T'ien and the
legitimacy to rule. The ruler rules only by the will of God and
God gives his mandate only to the just, or the sage king.
*

Fundamental Spirit of Chinese Religions:1. Simplicity,2. Search
for Balance 3. Search for Harmony4. No “big ego,” 5. Patience,
“slow down.”
*
Yin Yang
*
*
YIN-YANG DOCTRINE
“Yin-Yang” worldview is central to both Taoism and
Confucianism, and constitutes the soul of the Chinese character.
*

Drawn from an ancient tradition, this doctrine was formulated
during the 4th century B.C. in the form now known to us.
*
According to this elaboration the doctrine of Yin-Yang is the
view that everything in the universe is composed of two
different but complementary cosmic forces.
*
As the Chinese symbol shows Yang and Yin interpenetrate one
another.
Yang represents a hillside illuminated by the sun, while the
character for Yin is the hillside in the shade.
*
“Yin-Yang” is the doctrine of

“the harmony of opposites”:
YANG is male, bright, warm, active, positive.
It is embodied in the sky, summer, the sun, day.The Yang
principle is the male side of reality.
It is central in all those things that are hot, dry, bright, or
active.
*
YIN is- female,
shady or misty,
cool, passive,
negative.
It is embodied in the earth, winter, the moon, night.The Yin
principle is the female side of reality. It expresses itself in
things that are dark, cool, and moist.
*
Yang is born at the winter solstice, and waxes until it reaches
its apogee at the summer solstice.
Yin is born at the summer solstice, and waxes until it reaches
its apogee at the winter solstice.
*

It is not that one of these forces is bad and the other good.
Neither is superior to the other, and neither is better than the
other. Both are essential and indispensable.
*
Both forces are necessary and are present in everything that
exists.
All objects in the universe, including male and female human
beings, are made up of both.
Evil results from an imbalance between them.
*
Each of us is an ever moving blend of Yin-Yang. The
interaction extends beyond this world.Even heaven and earth are
linked together: heaven is Yang and earth is Yin, and the two
are inseparable.
Yin-Yang is everything, Yin-Yang is in everything.
Even the Tao is both male and female, according to Lao-Tzu.

*
I. The four Religious Traditions of ChinaChinese culture is
marked by four main religious traditions:1. The traditional folk
religion2. Taoism3.Confucianism (had state patronnage)4.
Buddhism
*
Taoism, along with Confucianism, is one of the two major
indigenous religio-philosophical traditions that have shaped
Chinese life for more than 2,000 years.Taoist philosophy and
religion have found their way into all Asian cultures influenced
by China, especially those of Japan, Korea and
Vietnam.Buddhism is the third important tradition that
influenced China.
*
Taoism and Confucianism - There is a tendency among scholars
today to draw a less rigid line between what is called Taoist and

what is called Confucian. The two traditions share many of the
same ideas about man, society, the ruler, Heaven, and the
universe - ideas that were not created by either school but that
stem from a tradition prior to either Confucius or Lao-Tzu.
Circling around each other like yin and yang themselves,
Taoism and Confucianism represent the two indigenous poles of
the Chinese character. Confucius represents the classical, Lao-
Tzu the romantic.
*
*
CONFUCIANISM
TAOISM
1. Focus on morality (Social ethic) and the need for a good
government.
Confucius stresses social responsibility.
1. Focus on personal and metaphysical preoccupations
Lao-Tzu praises spontaneity and naturalness.

2. Confucius' focus is on the human, on human nature.
("Confucius roams within society")
2. Lao-Tzu's focus is on what transcends the human, on the
cosmic nature.
( "Lao-Tzu wanders beyond" ).
*
*
*

*
KEY CONCEPTS OF CHINESE RELIGIONS1. TIEN2. TAO3.
YIN-YANG
*
Ten Major Characteristics of Chinese Religions:1. Belief in “the
Path of Heaven”2. Belief in Divination, Exorcism, Magical
Power.3. Veneration of the Ancestors
*
4. Quest for Harmony and Balance 5. Belief in the
interconnectedness of everybody and everything.6. “Following

the Flow”:
Trust in the virtues of “naturalness,” “simplicity” and
“Patience.” (“slow down,” if you want to achieve happiness).
*
7. Rejection of “Big-Ego.”
(trust in the virtue of simplicity)8. Belief that true Strength
resides in “Weakness.”9. Focus on the value of “Education.”10.
Belief in the need for Ethics in Government. (The Mandate of
Heaven).
*
Ten key Concepts of Chinese Religions
1. TIEN2. TAO3. YIN-YANG
*
4. CHUN-TZU (the Princely or Noble man) :5. Ren or Jen (good

heart)6. WEN7. WU-WEI8. LI (good manner toward others) 9.
TE10. HSIAO
*
Seven Major Doctrines1. The Ultimate Reality (TIEN and
TAO)2. “Yin-Yang” and the Doctrine of Five Elements3.
Doctrine of the Mean4. Doctrine of “Five Relationships.”5. The
Art of Good Government.
*
6. Attitude toward Material Goods7. Genuine Personhood:-
Shun-Tzu and the Man of Tao,- The Destiny of Man- The
rectification of names- (The Five Relationships)
*
THE TAO (DAO)TAO = THE WAY
- T'ien (Sky or Heaven)- T'ien Ming (the mandate of Heaven)

*
Tao = the way of Heaven
= the way of the universe
The path of men (Ren Tao)
must follow the path of Heaven (T'ien Tao)
*
To follow the Tao means
to be in harmonywith the ancestors and the spirits,with the
forces of yin and yang and the five elements.
*
4.CHUN-TZU (the Princely or Noble man) :5. Ren or Jen (good
heart)6. WEN7. WU-WEI8. LI (good manner toward others) 9.
TE10. HSIAO
*

*
*
The Importance of Religion
Today. “The twenty-first century is witnessing a resurgence and
globalization of religion. Around the world, religion has
become an increasingly more important and pervasive force in
personal and public life, and faith and politics now play a
powerful role in international affairs.”
(John L. Esposito, Darrell J. Fasching, Todd Lewis, World
Religions Today.
New York: Oxford University Press, 2002).
*

1.One God, many Gods, No God2. Patriarchal and non
Patriarchal3. A divine model based on a human
family:TrinityGods and Goddesses
*
The Divine Paradox:
Immanence and Transcendence
GOD ad extra, ad nosGOD in seDEUSDEITASSAGUNA
BrahmanNIRGUNA Brahman
IMMANENCE TRANSCENDENCEGOD OF Abraham
GOD OF The Philosophers
Isaac and Jacob,
Deus ex MachinaDeus OtiosusThe Husband of the WidowThe
Father of the Orphan
*
APOPHATIC THEOLOGY
(Tao Te Ching)

*
THE RELIGIOUS WORLDMETEMPIRICAL
WORLDMETAPHYSICAL WORLDTHE WORLD OF THE
INVISIBLETHE SUPERNATURAL REALMTHE WORLD OF
THE TRANSCENDENTTHE “BEYOND” (life after death)
*
The Sacred Space
1. Sacred Space/Places6. Sacred food,drink 2. Sacred Time
7. Sacred Clothes3. Sacred Beings8. Sacred Objects4. Sacred
Body Parts9. Sacred Art, Music, Dance5. Sacred Attitude,
Behavior 10.Sacred Language
*
SACRED SPACE AND PLACES
Churches, the Holy of Holies, Snakes, Animals, Birds, …
plants, mountains, rivers, lakes,… Crossroads
*

The Religious UniverseSupranatural beings: - God, -
Goddesses, - devil, - spirits, - ancestors, - saints.
*
*
1. THE CONCEPT OF GOD1.THE ABSOLUTE2.THE
TRANSCENDENT3.THE SUPRANATURAL BEING4.THE
ULTIMATE
REALITY5.PROVIDENCE6.DIVINITY7.DEITY8.SUPREME
BEING9.THE CREATOR10.THE GROUND OF BEING
*
THE CONCEPT OF GOD11. THE GREAT SPIRIT12. THE
INFINITE13.THE ALPHA AND OMEGA14.THE INVISIBLE

*
SOME NAMES FOR GOD1. GOD, GOTT, DIEU, DIO,
DIOS,..2. YAHWEH, EL, ELOHIM,ADONAI,
SHEKINAH,3. ALLAH4.T’IEN (China)5. KAMI (Japan)6.
BRAHMAN (India)4.WAKAN-TANKA5. AMMA, LEZA,
VIDYE MUKULU,
UNKULUNKULU
*
“What does it mean to have a God, or :What is God? A God is
that from which we should expect every good and to whom we
should have recourse in every distress... That to which you
attach your heart and on which you rely is in fact your God.”
(Martin Luther in his Grosser Katechismus).
*
1.the Alpha and omega of human’s existence and all life in the
world;
the source and end of all existence,

the origin and goal of our life.2.the Ultimate Reality.
*
3.the ungrounded ground of all reality that sustains
and moves everything.
4.the Supreme Good in which
all finite goods participate, and which
is the ground of all these goods.
*
5.the Ultimate End
that directs and orders all things.
6.The Ultimate Meaning
of human existence.
*

Eternal Peace and Rest.
*
-God is “id quo maius cogitari nequit”
“That than which nothing greater can be
thought,” that which is greater than
anything that can be thought.
(Saint Anselm of Canterbury).“God is what concerns us
ultimately”
(Paul Tillich).“God is ‘the’ reality determining all else” (R.
Bultmann)
*
-“God is the holy mystery which is the term and origin of man
and which is present in loving freedom as that which is
nameless and which is not at our disposal, and at whose
disposal we exist” (Karl Rahner)
*

“God is the holy mystery which is the term and origin of man
and which is present in loving freedom as that which is
nameless and which is not at our disposal, and at whose
disposal we exist”
(Karl Rahner)
*
*
JESUS-CHRIST27 different titles given to Jesus in the New
Testament:The Christ, The Anointed One, the MessiahThe
Savior (“Soter”)The Son of GodThe Son of DavidThe Son of
ManThe Good ShepherdThe Light of the World
*
JESUS-CHRISTThe image of the invisible GodThe First Born
of all Creation

*
*
“The full story of religion is not rose-colored; often it is crude.
Wisdom and charity are intermittent, and the net result is
profoundly ambiguous.
A balanced view of religion would include human sacrifice
and scapegoating, fanaticism and persecution, the Christian
Crusades and the holy wars of Islam. It would include witch
hunts in Massachusetts, monkey trials in Tennessee, and snake
worship in the Ozarks. The list would have no end.”
(Huston Smith, The World’s Religions.
HarperSanFrancisco, 1991; p.4)
*
OBSTACLES TO
GENUINE RELIGIOSITY1. PHILAUTIA (Michel Foucault)2.
ETHNOCENTRISM 3. PATRIOTISM, NATIONALISM4.

COLONIALISM, IMPERIALISM5. MILITARISM and
MACHIAVELLIANISM
*
6. SEXISM7. ANTISEMITISM AND RACISM 8. SOCIAL
DARWINISM
(EVOLUTIONISM)9. THEOLOGIES OF ELECTION10.
EXTRA ECCLESIAM NULLA SALUS
*
RELIGION, MACHIAVELLIANISM AND PATRIOTISM1.
THEOLOGY OF ELECTION
(Ideology of Chosen People)
Supreme Madness2. EXTRA ECCLESIAM NULLA
SALUS
*

*
*
GOOD CHARACTER IS THE ESSENCE OF RELIGION
*
Iwà Lesin
(Good Character is the essence of Religion)
Yoruba, African Traditional Religion
Epistemological Foundation:
Our MethodologyIn order to better understand the nature of
Religion and its role in our world, we shall use a method which
is* Interdisciplinary* Intercultural (Multicultural rather than
Ethnocentric)* Holistic.

*
KEY METHODS USED1. PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION2.
SOCIOLOGY OF RELIGION3. POST-MODERNISM
Deconstructing Power and Hegemony
< Avoir-Pouvoir-Savoir >4. Post-colonial Epistemology
Decolonization of knowledge about God, Religion, and People’s
history. Challenging Animism, Paganism, Primitivism5.
Feminist Paradigm
Deconstructing the lies of Phallocratic Theology, and
Patriarchy.
*
Philosophy of Religion-Biblical Foundation of Critical
Thinking (p.73)-Philosophy (p.75)-Allegory of the Cave (pp.76-
77)-Apology of Socrates (pp.78-80)-Voltaire the Laughing
Philosopher (pp.81-82)-“What is Enlightenment” (Kant, pp.83-
87)-Michel Foucault (p.88)-Francis Bacon (p.90)
*

Sociology and Philosophy of Religion
Religion, Hegemony, and economic domination.
Sexism, Colonialism, and Imperialism.-Mudimbe, Eboussi,
Balasuriya
(pp.7-8; 101-106), -Martin Luther King,
Cheikh Anta Diop (p.135)-Theology of conquest (p.152)-Weber,
Conrad, Achebe, Marx (pp.4-8)-Machiavellianism (p.95).-
Patriotism (p.97).
*
Religion is not an isolated thing flying in a spiritual vacuum.It
is rather the faith of concrete human beings whose existence is
rooted in a complex web of cultural, spiritual, intellectual,
economic, and political situations.Believers are citizen of
Heaven and Citizen of Earthly Nations.
*
TEXT AND CONTEXT
Every Spiritual Text is grounded in a social, economic, and
political Context.
*

THUS RELIGION HAS TO BE APPROACHED FROM
SEVERAL ANGLES.Only then can we grasp its tremendous
power in shaping people’s attitude toward cultural, political,
and economic institutions or ideologies.
*
There is more to Religion than Religion, than a direct
relationship with the Transcendent.Religion is more than the
simple Love of God.Religion is a totalizing way of being in the
world, a general way of feeling and understanding who we are
and our place and role in the World.
*
See the Definitions by1. Clifford Geertz2. Emile Durkheim3.
Max Weber4. Karl Marx5. Jung and Freud6. Leonard Swidler
*
ETYMOLOGY
RELIGERE

>= TO LINKRELIGARE
RELIGION IS A RECIPROCAL CONNECTION
(RELATIONSHIP) WITH THE TRANSCENDENT.
*
Orthodoxy + Orthopraxis
(Knowledge + Behavior)
RELIGION is- The EXPLANATION of- the
ULTIMATE MEANING OF LIFE,- Based on the notion of the
TRANSCENDENT,- And how to LIVE ACCORDINGLY.
*
Orthodoxy + Orthopraxis
(Knowledge + Behavior)
Worldview + Program for Action
Religion is a system of symbols and worldview that is powerful
in establishing long lasting moods and motivation in people.
Religion is the self-consciousness and Self-esteem of people.
*

Religion is
the general theory of this world, the conception of a general
order of existence
The encyclopedic compendium of our knowledge about the
world,
The logic of the world in popular form.
*
Religion isThe world’s enthusiasmThe world’s moral
sanction,The world’s basis of consolation and justification.The
heart of heartless worldThe soul of soulless conditions.It
provides hope and psychological tranquility and reassurance.
(see Achebe, Weber)
*
When a man who is happy compares his position with that of
one who is unhappy, he is not content with the fact of his
happiness, but desires something more, namely the right to this
happiness, the consciousness that he has earned his good
fortune, in contrast to the unfortunate one who must equally
have earned his misfortune.
Max Weber, The Sociology of Religion.
(Boston: Beacon Press, 1993).

*
Our everyday experience proves that there exists just such a
psychological need for reassurance as to the legitimacy or
deservedness of one’s happiness, whether this involves political
success, superior economic status,… or anything else. What the
privileged classes require of religion, if anything at all, is this
psychological reassurance of legitimacy.Max Weber, The
Sociology of Religion. (Boston: Beacon Press, 1993).
*
Chinua Achebe:“Colonization may indeed be a very
complex affair, but one thing is certain: You do not walk in,
seize the land, the person, the history of another, and then sit
back and compose hymns of praise in his honor. To do that
would amount to calling yourself a bandit. So what do you do?
You construct very elaborate excuses for your action. You say,
for instance, that the man in question is worthless and quite
unfit to manage himself and his affairs…
Chinua Achebe in African Commentary, vol.1, n0.2,
Nov.1989.
*

If there are valuable things like gold or diamonds which you are
carting away from his territory, you proceed to prove that he
doesn’t own them in the real sense of the word – that he and
they just happened to be lying around the same place when you
arrived. Finally, if worse comes to the worst, you will be
prepared to question whether such as he can be, like you, fully
human.”
Chinua Achebe in African Commentary,
vol.1, n0.2, Nov.1989.
*
The conquest of the earth, which mostly means the taking it
away from those who have a different complexion or slightly
flatter noses than ourselves, is not a pretty thing when you look
into it too much. What redeems it is the idea only. An idea at
the back of it; not a sentimental pretence but an idea; and an
unselfish belief in the idea-something you can set up, and bow
down before, and offer a sacrifice to.Conrad, Joseph, Heart of
Darkness, in Adler, Mortimer J., ed., Imaginative Literature.
Great Books of the Western World (Chicago, London:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1994); p.137
*

*
*
4.THE HUMAN PREDICAMENT1. SIN, EVIL2. SUFFERING
(DUKKHA),
THE LACK OF PEACE OF MIND3. MORTALITY
Solution
: Salvation, Redemption,
Nirvana, Enlightenment,
Liberation from Samsara.

*
*
WORSHIP: MEN’S RESPONSE TO THE CREATOR1.
TALKING TO GOD2. PRAISING GOD3. GIVING THINGS TO
GOD4. GIVING MYSELF TO GOD5. GIVING MYSELF TO
GOD by giving myself to my Neighbor
*

THE BUSINESS OF WORSHIP1. PRAYER- SONGS, DANCE,
TRANCE, TEARS.- INVOCATIONS- PRAISING GOD’S
NAME- DEMANDS for Health, Posterity and Prosperity; and
curse for the enemies.- Meditating and reading Sacred Texts
*
The Business of Worship2. SACRIFICES- BURNING
ANIMALS, BIRDS, …- PERSONAL SACRIFICE: FASTING
(Giving up food, drink, sleep, time, leisure and sexual
activities; modesty of eyes …)
*
TRUE WORSHIP

SPIRITUAL WORSHIP: JUSTICE
“I abhor the pride of Jacob, I hate his castels…
I hate, I spurn your feasts,
I take no pleasure in your solemnities;
Your cereal offerings I will not accept,
Nor consider your stall-fed peace offerings.
Away with your noisy songs!
I will not listen to the melodies of your harps…
Let justice surge like water, and goodness like an unfailing
stream.
(Amos 5,21-24; 6,8)
*
Spiritual Worship (Isaiah 58, 2-7):
“Like a nation that has done what is just and not abandoned the
law of their God; they ask:
Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
Affict ourselves, and you take no note of it?
Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits, and drive

all your labourers.
*
Yes, your fast ends in quarrelling and fighting, striking with
wicked claw.Would that today you might fast so as to make
your voice heard on high!Is this the manner of fasting I wish,Of
keeping a day of penance: that a man bow his head like a reed,
and lie in sackcloth and ashes? Do you call this a fast, a day
acceptable to the Lord?
*
This rather, is the fasting that I wish:
Releasing those bound unjustly,
Untying the thongs of the yoke;

Setting free the oppressed,
Breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
Sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them, and not turning your
back on your own.”
(Isaiah 58,2-7)
*
Spiritual Worship (Isaiah 65,1-7)I was ready to respond to those
who asked me not, to be found by those who sought me not.I
said: Here I am! Here I am! To a nation that did not call upon
my name.I have stretched out my hands all the day to a
rebellious people,Who walk in evil paths and follow their own
thoughts…
*

People who provoke me continually, to my face, offering
sacrifices in the groves and burning incense on bricks,Living
among the graves and spending the night in caverns, Eating
swine’s flesh, with carrion broth in their dishes,Crying out,
“Hold back, do not touch me; I am too sacred for your!”These
things enkindle my wrath, a fire that burns all the day…
*
Lo, before me it stands written;I will not be quiet until I have
paid in fullYour crimes and the crimes of your fathers as well,
says the Lord.Since they burned incense on the mountains, and
disgraced me on the hills, I will at once pour out in full measure
their recompense into their laps.” (Isaiah 65, 1-
6)
*

*
3. SPIRITUAL WORSHIP:“In praying do not babble like the
pagans, who think that they will be heard because of their many
words. Do not be like them. Your Father knows what you need
before you ask him.”
(Matthew 6, 7-8)
*
THE BUSINESS OF WORSHIPSPIRITUAL WORSHIP

“When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, who love to
stand and pray in synagogues and on street corners so that
others may see them…When you pray, go to your room, close
the door, and pray to your Father in secret. And your Father
who sees in secret will repay you.”
(Matthew 6, 5-6)
*
EXPECTED OUTCOMES OF RELIGIOUS STUDIES
*
According to the Mission of Cal State Northridge, the goal of
Religious Studies is to train students
1. to know Religious Texts and to know the problems and
methods pertaining to the interpretation of Sacred texts;

2. to think both empathetically and critically about conflicting
religious claims;
3. to acquire knowledge about various religious traditions;
4. to familiarize themselves with the application of intercultural
methods to religious inquiry and analysis;
5. to understand the significant role played by religion in our
society.
THE GUIDING PERSPECTIVE OF OUR COURSE
*
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
(1791):

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.”
*
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
(United Nations, 1948)
Article 2:
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in
this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion,
national or social origin, property, birth or other status…

HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM OF RELIGION
*
Article 18:
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and
religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or
belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others
and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in
teaching, practice, worship and observance.

*
“Dein Christus ein Jude
Dein Auto ein Japaner
Deine Pizza italienisch
Deine Demokratie griechisch
Dein Kaffee brasilianisch
Dein Urlaub türkisch
Deine Zahlen arabisch
Deine Schrift lateinisch
Und Dein Nachbar nur ein Ausländer?”

*
“It is a fundamental human right, a privilege of nature, that all
human beings should worship according to their own
convictions; one human person’s religion neither harms nor
helps another. It is not proper to force religions. It must be
taken freely, not under pressure.”
(Tertullian, Church Father, in his A.D. 212 appeal to the Roman
Proconsul Scapula)
*
3. “No peace among the nations without peace among the
religions.

No peace among religions without dialogue between the
religions.
No genuine dialogue among religions without an accurate
knowledge of one another.”
(Hans Kung)
*
4. “He who knows one, knows none.”
(Max Müller)
5. “It is not morally possible actually to go out into the world
and say to devout, intelligent, fellow human beings:
‘We are saved and you are damned’;

or, ‘We believe that we know God, and we are right; you
believe that you know God, and you are totally wrong.’”
Huston Smith, The Faith of Other Men
(New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1972); pp.130-31.
*
· “Gloria Dei Vivens Homo”
(Saint Ireneus)
- “Today more than ever, indeed, the bearing witness to the
Gospel in a credible way is only possible by commitment to the
rights of man.”
(Walter Kasper, theologian, 1988)

*
6. “In reality, there are no religions which are false. All are true
in their own fashion; all answer, though in different ways, to
the given conditions of human existence. They respond to the
same needs, they play the same role, they depend upon the same
causes. All are religions equally, just as all living beings are
equally alive, from the most humble plastids up to man.”
(Emile Durkheim)
*

- “Difference of opinion within my community is a sign of the
bounty of Allah.” (The Prophet Muhammad)
- “Let there be no compulsion in religion” (Koran 2:257)
· “To everyone have We given a law and a way… And if God
had pleased, he would have made (all humankind) one people
(people of one religion). But he hath done otherwise, that he
might try you in that which He hath severally given unto you:
wherefore press forward in good works. Unto God shall ye
return, and He will tell you that concerning which ye disagree.”
(Koran 5: 48).
GUIDING PERSPECTIVE
*
“The study of religion is now of much more urgent usefulness in

the politics of today than are economics or sociology"
(Mircea Eliade)
*
“Gloria Dei
Vivens Homo”
THE GLORY OF GOD
IS MAN FULLY ALIVE
(Saint Ireneus)

*
TWO MAJOR OBSTACLES
TO THE STUDY OF WORLD RELIGIONS
1. “EXTRA ECCLESIAM NULLA SALUS” Doctrine
2. Theology of Election
· Note:
God is not the private property of a single church, religion,
nation, or race.
When Man creates God in his own image, the path toward
idolatry and pseudo-religion is open. When such point is
reached, true faith requires that genuine believers use their
critical thinking abilities to criticize religion and deconstruct
the false images of God.

*
“The deeper the probings of modern scholarship, the more we
realize that ‘the history of humankind is a single great river into
which a myriad tributaries flow.”
(Basil Davidson, The Search for Africa: History, culture,
politics. New York: Times Books,1994); p.19.
*

1. “The Unexamined Life is not worth living”
(Socrates)
“The Unexamined Religion is not worth believing.”
2. “What is most thought provoking
in our thought-provoking time
is that we are still not thinking.
We are still not thinking,
although the state of the world is becoming
constantly more thought-provoking.”
(Martin Heidegger, Was Heisst Denken?)
VIA SOCRATICA - VIA CHRISTI

*
2
6
Pseudo-religiosity
I. Jesus’ challenge to the Religion and Religious Establishment
of his time.
Mt 23, 1-39: Deconstructing the Faith of
Pharisees and Scribes.
VIA SOCRATICA-VIA CHRISTI
*

II. Major forms of Pseudo-Religiosity
The pseudo-religiosity of the “experts of religious matters” was
well articulated by the ancient Rabbis of the Talmud who
classified the Pharisees in 7 categories which illustre well the
false conception of Religiosity:
1. The “shoulder Pharisee”: Hypocritical, he ostensibly carries
his good deeds on the shoulder in order to impress others.
2. The “Wait-a-While Pharisee”: When someone needs help
from him, he says “wait until I finish talking to God, or
performing rituals.”
*
3. The “Reckoning” or

“Book-keeping Pharisee”:
He calculates virtue against vice. He sins deliberately and then
attempt to cross off the fault by adding a good deed to his list.
4. The “Bruised Pharisee” :
He breaks his head against a wall to avoid looking at a woman
or is so ostentatious in his “humility’ that he keeps shuffling his
feet together and wounding them in order to fight temptations.
And yet his mind is full of lust and other evil thoughts.
*
5. The “Pestle Pharisee”:

He bends his head in sham humility like a pestle in a mortar.
6. The “God-fearing Pharisee”:
His faith is guided not by love for God, but rather by fear of
punishment.
*
The “Pharisee of love”:
This is the only authentic believer. The fundamental lesson
here is that false “self-confidence” or “self-righteousness” and
hypocrisy prevent people from discovering true holiness and
living a true faith. Only love is the core of any genuine
religious attitude, and the ultimate mark of the authenticity and
credibility of faith.

LOVE THE ESSENCE OF GENUINE RELIGION
*
GOD IS LOVE
· “Beloved, let us love one another; because love is from God;
everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Who ever
does not love does not know God, for God is love”
(1 John 4, 7-8)
· “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and hate their brothers and
sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister
who they have seen, cannot love God who they have not seen.
The commandment we have from him is this: those who love
God must love their brothers and sisters also.”
(1John 4,20-21)

LOVE IS THE ESSENCE OF A GENUINE FAITH
*
LOVE IS GREATER THAN “FAITH” (1 Cor. 13, 1-13)
“Faith, hope, and love abide these three; and the greatest of
these is love (1Cor13, 13)…If I speak in the tongues of mortals
and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a
clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and
understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all
faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing (1 Cor 13, 1-2)”
LOVE IS THE ESSENCE OF GENUINE SPIRITUALITY
*

“Torah is Love, all the rest
is commentary”
(Hillel, The major Founder of Rabbinic Judaism)
Love is the “Noblest Religion”:
“No Man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that
which he desires for himself… Noblest Religion is this – that
you should like for others what you like for yourself; and what
you feel painful for yourself, hold that as painful for all others
too.”
“Iwa Lesin (Good Character is the Essence of Religion)…
One going to take a pointed stick to pinch a baby bird should
first try it on himself to feel how it hurts.”
(Yoruba, African Traditional Religion)

CONFUCIANISM TAOISM
1. Focus on morality (Social
ethic) and the need for a good
government.
Confucius stresses social
responsibility.
1. Focus on personal and
metaphysical preoccupations
Lao-Tzu praises spontaneity and
naturalness.
2. Confucius' focus is on the
human, on human nature.
("Confucius roams within
society")

2. Lao-Tzu's focus is on what
transcends the human, on the
cosmic nature.
( "Lao-Tzu wanders beyond" ).
Iwà Lesin
(Good Character is the essence of
Religion)
Iwà Lesin
(Good Character i s the essence of
Religion)
According to the Mission of Cal State
Northridge, the goal of Religious Studies
is to train students
1. to know Religious Texts and to know
the problems and methods pertaining

to the interpretation of Sacred texts;
2. to think both empathetically and
critically about conflicting religious
claims;
3. to acquire knowledge about various
religious traditions;
4. to familiarize themselves with the
application of intercultural methods to
religious inquiry and analysis;
5. to understand the significant role
played by religion in our society.
According to th e Missio n of Cal State
Northridge, th e goal o f Religious Studies
is to train students
1. to know Religious Texts and to know
the problems and methods pertaining
to the in terpretation o f Sacred texts;
2. to think both empathetically and
critically about con flicting religious
claims;

3. to acquire knowledge about va rious
religious traditions;
4. to familiarize themselves with the
application of intercultural methods to
religious inquiry and ana lysis;
5. to understand the significant r ole
played by religion in ou r society.
The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
(1791):
“Congress shall make no law
respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the
free exercise thereof; or
abridging the freedom of
speech, or of the press; or the
right of the people peaceably
to assemble, and to petition
the Government for a redress
of grievances.”

Article 2:
Everyone is entitled to all the rights
and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration, without distinction of
any kind, such as race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status…
Article 2:
Everyone is entitled to all the rights
and freedoms set forth in this
Declaration, without distinction of
any kind, such as race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other
opinion, national or social origin,
property, birth or other status…

Article 18:
Everyone has the right to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion;
this right includes freedom to
change his religion or belief, and
freedom, either alone or in
community with others and in public
or private, to manifest his religion or
belief in teaching, practice, worship
and observance.
Article 18:
Everyone has the right to freedom
of thought, conscience and religion;
this right includes freedom to
change his religion or belief, and

freedom, either alone or in
community with others and in public
or private, to manifest his religion or
belief in teaching, practice, worship
and observance.

“It is a fundamental human
right, a privilege of nature,
that all human beings should
worship according to their
own convictions; one human
person’s religion neither harms
nor helps another. It is not
proper to force religions. It
must be taken freely, not
under pressure.”
(Tertullian, Church Father, in his A.D. 212 appeal
to the Roman Proconsul Scapula)
“It is a fundamental human
right, a privilege of nature,
that all human beings should
worship according to their
own convictions; one human
person’s religion neither harms
nor helps another. It is not
proper to force religions. It
must be taken freely, not

under pressure.”
(Tertullian, Church Father, in his A.D. 212 appeal
to the Roman Proconsul Scapula)
3. “No peace among the nations
without peace among the religions.
No peace among religions without
dialogue between the religions.
No genuine dialogue among religions
without an accurate knowledge of
one another.”
(Hans Kung)
3. “No peace among the nations
without peace among the religions.
No peace among religions without
dialogue between the religions.
No genuine dialogue among religions
without an accurate knowledge of
one another.”
(Hans Kung)

(Max Müller)
5. “It is not morally possible actually to go
out into the w orld and s ay to de vout,
intelligent, fellow human beings:
or, ‘We believe that we know God, and we
are ri ght; you believe that you know God,
and you are totally wrong.’”
(Max Müller)
5. “It is not morally possible actually to go
out into the world and say to devout,
intelligent, fellow human beings:
or, ‘We believe that we know God, and we
are right; you believe that you know God,
and you are totally wrong.’”

- “Gloria Dei Vivens Homo”
(Saint Ireneus)
- “Today more than ever, indeed,
the bearing witness to the
Gospel in a credible way is only
possible by commitment to the
rights of man.”
- “Gloria Dei Vivens Homo”
(Saint Ireneus)
- “Today more than ever, indeed,
the bearing witness to the
Gospel in a credible way is only
possible by commitment to the
rights of man.”
6. “In reality, there are no religions
which are false. All are true in their
own fashion; all answer, though in

different w a y s , to the given
conditions of human existence. They
respond to the same needs, they play
the same role, they depend upon the
same causes. All are religions
equally, just as all living beings are
equally alive, from the most humble
plastids up to man.”
(Emile Durkheim)
6. “In reality, there are no religions
which are false. All are true in their
own fashion; all answer, though in
different ways, to the given
conditions of human existence. They
respond to the same needs, they play
the same role, they depend upon the
same causes. All are religions
equally, just as all living beings are
equally alive, from the most humble

plastids up to man.”
(Emile Durkheim)
- “Difference of opinion within my
community is a sign of the bounty of
Allah.” (The Prophet Muhammad)
- “Let there be no compulsion in
religion” (Koran 2:257)
- “To everyone have We given a law and
a way… And if God had pleased, he
would have made (all humankind) one
people (people of one religion). But he
hath done otherwise, that he might try
you in that which He hath severally

given unto you: wherefore press
forward in good works. Unto God shall
ye return, and He will tell you that
concerning which ye disagree.”
(Koran 5: 48).
- “Difference of opinion within my
community is a sign of the bounty of
Allah.” (The Prophet Muhammad)
- “Let there be no compuls ion in
religion” (Koran 2:257)
- “To everyone have We given a law and
a way… And if God had pleased, he
would have made (all humankind) one
people (people of one religion). But he
hath done otherwise, that he might try
you in that which He hath severally
given unto you: wherefore press
forward in good works. Unto God shall
ye return, and He will tell you that
concerning which ye disagree.”

(Koran 5: 48).
“The study of religion
is now of much more
urgent usefulness i n
the politics of today
than are economics o r
sociology"
(Mircea Eliade)
“The study of religion
is now of much more
urgent usefulness in
the politics of today
than are economics or
sociology "
(Mircea Eliade)

“Gloria Dei
Vivens Homo”
THE GLORY OF GOD
IS MAN FULLY ALIVE
(Saint Ireneus)
“Gloria Dei
Vivens Homo”
THE GLORY OF GOD
IS M AN FULLY ALIVE
(Saint Ireneus)
TWO MAJOR OBSTACLES
TO THE STUDY OF WORLD RELIGIONS
1. “EXTRA ECCLESIAM NULLA SALUS” Doctrine
2. Theology of Election
• Note:

God is not the private property of a single church,
religion, nation, or race.
When Man creates God in his own image, the path
toward idolatry and pseudo-religion is open. When such
point is reached, true faith requires that genuine
believers use their critical thinking abilities to criticize
religion and deconstruct the false images of God.
“The deeper the probings of
modern scholarship, the
more we realize that ‘the
history of humankind is a
single great river into which
a myriad tributaries flow.”
“The deeper the probings of
modern scholarship, the
more we realize that ‘the
history of humankind is a

single great river into which
a myriad tributaries flow.”
(Socrates)

(Socrates)
1
Pseudo-religiosity
I . Jesus’ challenge to the Religion
Religious Establishment of his time.
Mt 23, 1-39: Deconstructing the Faith of
Pharisees and Scribes.

The pseudo-religiosity of the “experts of religious
matters” was well articulated by the ancient
Rabbis of t he Talmud who classified the
Pharisees in 7 categories which illustre well the
1. T h e “ s h o u l d e r P h a r i s e e ” :
Hypocritical, he ostensibly
carries his good deeds on the
shoulder in order to impress
others.
2. The “Wait-a-While Pharisee”:
When someone needs help from
him, he says “wait until I finish
talking to God, or performing

rituals.”
The pseudo-religiosity of the “experts of religious
matters” was well articulated by the ancient
Rabbis of the Talmud who classified the
Pharisees in 7 categories which illustre well the
1. The “shoulder Pharisee”:
Hypocritical, he ostensibly
carries his good deeds on the
shoulder in order to impress
others.
2. The “Wait-a-While Pharisee”:
When someone needs help from
him, he says “wait until I finish
talking to God, or performing
rituals.”

He calculates virtue against vice.
He sins deliberately and then
attempt to cross off the fault by
adding a good deed to his list.
He breaks his head against a wall to
avoid looking at a woman or is so
ostentatious in his “humility’ that he
keeps shuffling his feet together and
wounding them in order to fight
temptations. And yet his mind is full
of lust and other evil thoughts.
He calculates virtue against vice.
He sins deliberately and then
attempt to cross off the fault by

adding a good deed to his list.
He breaks his head against a wall to
avoid looking at a woman or is so
ostentatious in his “humility’ that he
keeps shuffling his feet together and
wounding them in order to fight
temptations. And yet his mind is full
of lust and other evil thought s.
He bends his head in sham humility
like a pestle in a mortar.
His faith is guided not by love for
God, but rather by fear of
punishment.

He bends his head in sham humility
like a pe stle in a mortar.
His faith is guided not by love for
God, but rather by fear of
punishment.
This is the only authentic believer.
The fundamental lesson here is that
false “self-confidence” or “self-
r i g h t e o u s n e s s ” a n d hypocrisy
prevent people from discovering true
holiness and living a true faith. Only
love is the core of any genuine
religious attitude, and the ultimate

mark of the authenticity and
This is the only authentic believer.
The fundamental lesson here is that
false “self-confidence” or “self-
righteousness” and hypocrisy
prevent people from discovering true
holiness and living a true faith. Only
love is the core of any genuine
religious attitude, and the ultimate
mark of the authenticity and
GOD IS LOVE
- “Beloved, let us love one another;
because love is from God; everyone
who loves is born of God and knows
God. Who ever does not love does not
know God, for God is love”
(1 John 4, 7-8)

- “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and
hate their brothers and sisters, are
liars; for those who do not love a
brother or sister who they have seen,
cannot love God who they have not
seen. The commandment we have
from him is this: those who love God
must love their brothers and sisters
also.”
(1John 4,20-21)
GOD IS LOVE
- “Beloved, let us love one another;
because love is from God; everyone
who loves is born of God and knows
God. Who ever does not love does not
know God, for God is love”
(1 John 4, 7-8)
- “Those who say, ‘I love God,’ and
hate their brothers and sisters, are
liars; for those who do not love a
brother or sister who they have seen,
cannot love God who they have not
seen. The commandment we have

from him is this: those who love God
must love their brothers and sisters
also.”
(1John 4,20-21)
LOVE IS GREATER THAN “FAITH” (1 Cor. 13, 1-13)
“Faith, hope, and love abide these
three; and the greatest of these is
love (1Cor13, 13)…If I speak in the
tongues of mortals and of angels, but
do not have love, I am a noisy gong or
a clanging cymbal. And if I have
prophetic powers, and understand all
mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
have all faith, so as to remove
mountains, but do not have love, I am
nothing (1 Cor 13, 1-2)”
“Torah is Love, all the rest
is commentary”
(Hillel, The major Founder of Rabbinic Judaism)

Love is the “Noblest Religion”:
“No Man is a true believer unless he
desires for his brother that which he
desires for himself… Noblest Religion is
this – that you should like for others
what you like for yourself; and what
you feel painful for yourself, hold that
as painful for all others too.”
“Iwa Lesin (Good Character is the
Essence of Religion)…
One going to take a pointed stick to
pinch a baby bird should first try it on
himself to feel how it hurts.”
(Yoruba, African Traditional Religion)

*
SHINTOISM (SHINTO)
600 BC - 1945 AD.
A religion of MAKOTO NO KOKORO (or MAGOKORO)
TSUNAGARIAMATERASU AND KAMIMIRROR (major
Symbol)
SHINTO AND THE JAPANESE SPIRIT
Japanese Miracle
A “Melting pot” civilization
*

Welcome
to Japan
the sacred country of the
** Rising Sun**
The Sacred Land of KAMI
*
JAPAN is slightly smaller than California
Total population: 127,417,244 (July 2005 est.)Ethnic
groupsJapanese 99%, others 1% :Korean 511,262,
Chinese 244,241,
Brazilian 182,232,
Filipino 89,851,
other 237,914.
Note: up to 230,000 Brazilians of Japanese origin migrated to
Japan in the 1990s to work in industries; some have returned to
Brazil (2004)

*
Japanese religions
1. CHRISTIANS: 0.7% (about 1%):
1 to 2 million.2. observe both Shinto and Buddhism: 84%
3. other religions: 16%
(including Christianity and Confucianism)
Today, about 1 to 2 million Japanese are Christian
(about 1% of Japan's population). Most of them live in Western
Japan where the
missionaries' activities were greatest during the 16th century.
*

Historical development of Shintoism: three phases
1) 6th century BC-6th Century AD: SHINTO’s rise
2) 6th century AD - 16th/19th century:
Buddhism and Confucianism dominate,
Shinto declines
16th century: Christianity enters Japan provoking a reaction that
will generate the return to Shinto as State Religion
3) 19th - mid-20th century:
Shinto becomes again the official religion
(Progressive Revival of Shinto 16th-18th century)
*
Historical development of Shintoism: three phases
1) 6th century BC-6th Century AD: development of SHINTO660
B.C: Jimmu Tenno (first emperor of Japan) and rise of
Shintoism5 C.E: Japanese build the first national Shinto shrine
at ISE.

285 C.E: Confucianism arrives in Japan538-550 C.E : Buddhism
introduced in Japan595 C.E: Buddhism proclaimed state religion
of Japan
6th century C.E:* Name Shinto given to the religion.
(In confronting Confucianism and Buddhism,
Shinto is given a name as a specific religion).* Confucianism
and Buddhism flourish.
Japan combines all the three religions as important components
of
Japanese identity.
712-720 C.E: completion of Shinto Chronicles.
*
2) 6th century AD - 19th century (Buddhism and Confucianism
dominate, Shinto declines)285 C.E: Confucianism arrives in
Japan538-550 C.E : Buddhism introduced in Japan595 C.E:
Buddhism proclaimed state religion of Japan712-720 C.E:
completion of Shinto Chronicles.6th-16th century C.E:
Buddhism dominates974-1600: Buddhism and Chinese Culture

dominate in Japan16th-17th (and 3rd-6th) century:
Confucianism dominates16th century A.D.: Christianity
introduced in Japan 1600-1700: Japanese leaders Confucianize
Japan
HEIAN Period (974-1185); KAMAKURA period (1185-1333);
MUROMACHI period (1333-1600)
During these periods,Buddhism and Chinese Culture dominate
in Japan. *TOKUGAWA period (1600-1868): Shinto
revival1949-1978:Communists suppress Confucianism and all
other religions in China
3) 19th - mid-20th century: Shinto official religion (Progressive
Revival of Shinto 16th-18th century)
*
3) 19th - mid-20th century: Shinto official religion Progressive
Revival of Shinto 16th-18th century
*TOKUGAWA period (1600-1868): Shinto revival19th
century: Revival of State Shinto under the Meiji:

Shintoism as the only official religion20th century (December
1945): State Shinto and the Emperor himself are abolished. The
emperor loses his power to govern and the Shinto foundational
myth of divine Emperor is destroyed.21st century the rise of
Asian Power (Japan, China, India)
*
1549 C.E: Francis Xavier, Catholic missionary, in Japan1585
C.E: Matteo Ricci, Catholic Missionary, in China1854 C.E: U.S.
Commodore Perry forces Japan to trade with the West1868:
Emperor MEIJI ascends to the throne and transforms Shinto into
the national religion, and put Shinto shrines and priests under
government control. A campaign of persecution of Buddhism
was launched: Their temples were closed, estates seized, and
priests persecuted.This State Shinto will come to an abrupt end
in 1945.1945: Japan surrenders in World War II; Shinto
disestablished.On December 15, 1945, four months after the end

of World War II, U.S. General Douglas MacArthur, the supreme
commander of the Allied forces of occupation, ordered the
Japanese to abolish State Shinto. He imposed the separation
between the Japanese State and Shintoism, and forced the
Emperor to declare to the Nation that he was not divine.
Thus in a statement that came as a terrible shock to the nation,
the emperor denounced1. The concept of divine emperor, and2.
The notion that the Japanese are a superior race destined to rule
the world.
*
*

SHINTOISM
600 BC - 1945 AD.
SHINTO THE RELIGION OF PURE HEART
Here are ten key points to know on Shinto:
*
SHINTO AND THE JAPANESE SPIRIT
Japanese Miracle
A “Melting pot” civilization
*

SHINTO THE RELIGION OF PURE HEART
Here are ten key points to know on Shinto:
*
1. The Essence of Shinto religion:MAGOKORO (Good
Heart)TSUNAGARI (Harmony)
Shintoism has two fundamental characteristics:
- A religion of MAKOTO NO KOKORO or MAGOKORO (Heart
of truth, pure heart, good heart)
- A religion of TSUNAGARI (harmony)
2. Foundation- Shinto has no founder- No official scriptures,

like Islam or Christianity
However,
Origin: 7th/6th century B.C.
* Unification of Japanese people, beginning of imperial dynasty
and Japanese civilization and history.660 B.C: Jimmu Tenno
(first emperor of Japan)
And rise of Shintoism5 C.E: Japanese build the first national
Shinto shrine at ISE. 712-720 C.E: completion of Shinto
Chronicles.
3. Sacred Texts:
3. The name SHINTO:
SHEN-DAO (Chinese): way of the Kami
KAMI NO MICHI (ancient Japanese name)
*

4. The concept of God: KAMI: concept of God
4. AMATERASU: Central Kami
* Mount FUJI.
* IZANAGI+IZANAMI, wife: first couple of Kami
5. JIMMU TENNO: first divine Emperor
*
IZANAGI>Amaterasu >Nihingi >Jimmu Tenno
!
(line of emperors)
SHINTO CREATION MYTHIZANAGI (+IZANAMI, wife): first
couple of Kami=>Amaterasu (daughter of Izanagi) =>Ninigi
(grand son of Amaterasu)=>Jimmu Tenno (great grand son of
Ninigi; first legendary human emperor)=> all other Japanese

emperors
*
IZANAGI (husband) + IZANAMI(wife): first pair of KamiThey
descended from Heaven along a rainbow bridge and created the
eight great islands of Japan.Many kami were born to the
coupleBut when the fire Kami was born, Izanami, the mother,
was killed by the flames.IZANAGI washed his left eye:
AMATERASU (SUN-Kami) is born washed his right eye:
TSUKIYOMI (Moon-Kami) is born washed his nose:
SUSANOO (Valiant Raging Male Kami)
Jimmu Tenno, the first emperor of Japan descended directly
from AmaterasuAmaterasu sent her grand son NIHINGI to rule
the earth

In the beginning times, the kami of the earth were unruly; so
from time to time heavenly kami were sent down to pacify and
subdue them.Finally Amaterasu decided to send down her
descendants to rule the land;Ninigi descended to the peak of
Mount Takachiko to inaugurate kami rule on earth.Amaterasu
gave Ninigi the 3 symbols of divine rule:1. The mirror2. The
sword3. the myriad curved beads
*
6. KOJIKI and NIHON-GI or NIHON SHOKI: Sacred Texts 7.
Land, People, Emperors: Sacred!8. MAKOTO NO KOKORO:
goal of the religion
*

9. JIN SHIN JYUTSU
(Traditional Medicine, among others like Shiatsu…)
Has its foundation in the KOJIKIPopularized in the West by
MARY BURMEISTER, a Japanese American who studied in
Japan with master JIRO MURAIHer residence: BURBANK, then
ARIZONA
10. Twenty Key concepts and symbols:1. The mirror2. The
sword3. the myriad curved beads
=> Symbols of divine rule; connected with the worship of
Amaterasu
*
10. Twenty Key Concepts4. MATSURI;5. MISOGI; 6. ISE;7.
TORII; 8. SHIMENAWA; 9. JINJA; 10. NOH11. Gagaku

*
10. Twenty Key Concepts
12. SHINTO 13. KAMI14. KAMIKAZE15. KAMIDANA16.
SAMURAI; 17. BUSHIDO; 18. KOJIKI19. NIHON-SHOKI20.
MAKOTO NO KOKORO
*
Jinja: a Shinto shrine
Kamidana: a shelf or home altar for the veneration of Kami
Torii: a gatelike structure that marks a Shinto sacred place.
Shimenawa: Twisted rope, marking a sacred spot
Misogi: a ritual of purification that involves standing under a
waterfall
Bushido: military devotion to a ruler, demanding loyalty, duty,

self-sacrifice; an ideal promoted by State Shinto
*
*
I. Foundation--------------------- Shinto has no founder- No
official scriptures
*

SACRED TEXTS
1. KOJIKI ("Records of Ancient Matters")2. NIHON-GI, or
NIHON SHOKI
("Chronicles of Japan")these two books are regarded in a sense
as sacred books of Shinto. They were written in AD. 712 and
720, respectively, and are compilations of the oral traditions of
ancient Shinto. But they are also books about the history,
topography and literature of ancient Japan.
*
Historical development of Shintoism: three phases538 A.D.:
Buddhism enters into Japan974-1600: Buddhism and Chinese
Culture dominate in Japan:HEIAN Period (974-
1185)KAMAKURA period (1185-1333)MUROMACHI period
(1333-1600)
During these periods,Buddhism and Chinese Culture dominate
in Japan. Kukai (773-835) founds the Shingon school of
Japanese Buddhism*TOKUGAWA period (1600-1868): Shinto

revival
*
I. The Name:1. SHINTO or KAMI NO MICHI The term
"SHINTO" sometimes is called "KAMI NO MICHI"SHINTO is
a word taken over from Chinese (SHEN-DAO = "way of
spirits") to designate the indigenous religious practices of
JapanKAMI NO MICHI means "the way of the Gods"
*

II. DOCTRINE
Characteristics of Japanese religion1. The concept of the
sacred/God: Kami (Nature of God)2. The essence of religion
(Magokoro)3. The world and the Sacred Nation4. cyclical
approach to history: Shinto does not have the concept of the last
day; there is no end of the world or the history.
*
KAMI:SHINTO CONCEPT OF GODKami are the native
Japanese deitiesAt the core of Shinto are beliefs in the
mysterious creating and harmonizing power (Musubi) of Kami
and in the truthful way or will (Makoto) of Kami
The nature of kami cannot be fully explained in words because
kami transcends the cognitive faculty of man.
*

KAMI: CONCEPT OF GOD
In Shinto mythology, the physical world and the numerous
deities who inhabit it were created by a primordial couple:
The most important KAMI are:1. the moon goddess2. A male
earth god3. And his sister, the sun goddess called
AMATERASU.
*
MIRROR and its religious meaningShinto shrine often display
mirrors as symbols of Amaterasu.The symbolic meaning of the
mirror:The mirror is free from dust and capable of reflecting
images with natural clarity.Thus it symbolizes the Shinto ideals
of purity and brilliance.For this reason too, Shinto shrines are
traditionally located in bright, sunny areas.
*

Mirror: crucial religious symbolIn earliest myths, distressed by
impertinence and rudeness from her brother, Amaterasu hid in a
cave.Then the world fell in darkness.Other Kami gathered
offerings, put on entertainments, and attracted her with a
mirror.Then Amaterasu restored light to the world.At that point
the reformed earth god and his ally, the Kami of Izumo
prefecture, blessed the people of the islands of Japan.
*
A grand son of Amaterasu, having received training from the
gods and blessings from the Izumo kami, was designated the
divine ruler of the nation, and he established the chief shrine of
Amaterasu on the seashore at ISE, with a mirror as her symbol.
Thus most Shinto shrines include a mirror, where devotees can
honor the sun goddess.

*
The Shinto Pantheon is headed by AMATERASU, the kami of
the sun,Credited for having aided in the - creation of the
country of Japan - and with being a progenitor of the royal
family.
*
Other Kami exist in profusionSome are associated with the
natural forces of wind, thunder, lightning, and rain;Some are
thought to dwell in natural objects such as mountains, rivers,
trees, and rocks.
*

Some are ancestral spirits,And some dwell in certain animals
such as cows and foxes.
*
KAMI: concept of God
Kami are the native Japanese deitiesAt the core of Shinto are
beliefs - in the mysterious creating and harmonizing power
(Musubi) of Kami- and in the truthful way or will (Makoto) of
Kami
The nature of kami cannot be fully explained in words because
kami transcends the cognitive faculty of man.

*
*
The essence of Religion:MAGOKORO (Good
Heart)TSUNAGARI (Harmony)
Shintoism has two fundamental characteristics:
- A religion of MAKOTO NO KOKORO (good or pure heart)
- A religion of TSUNAGARI (harmony)

*
A religion of MAKOTO NO KOKORO:MAKOTO NO KOKORO
(heart of Truth)or MAGOKORO (true heart): sincerity, pure
heartMan is Kami's child and should behave as a man of true
heartbecause KAMI is truth and responds to truthful prayers
A religion of TSUNAGARI:
*
- Kami are the native Japanese deities- Identity between the
State and Religion- Like the Chinese, the Japanese value

harmony in nature and in human society.- Japan has borrowed
many religious ideas and practices from the chinese- cyclical
approach to history: Shinto does not have the concept of the last
day; there is no end of the world or the history.
*
Shinto rituals- Japanese rituals seek communication with the
Kami who order and animate the world.- The Japanese world is
considered as a world of dynamic, delicately balanced, and
often unpredictable forces.
*

1. Shamanic RitualsThis ritual involves communicating with the
Kami by falling into a trance.The Kami is considered to possess
the Shaman, or Miko, and to animate her body, speaking
through her mouth. While the Shaman falls into a trance, an
interpreter is usually present in order to question the Kami
when it "descends."Shamanic ritual is often used in crisis
situations to consult the Kami before taking important
decisions: - decision about war,- to understand the cause of
misfortune, earthquake, epidemic, and other natural disasters.
*
2. Matsuri- The word “Matsuri” means "celebration"- Matsuri
are usually scheduled according to a regular ritual calendar of
yearly and monthly rites. They are done to ensure continued
order in the cosmos and to call the Kami to descend to the
shrine buildings.- Matsuri are basically rites of hospitality
(analogous to inviting honored guests to one's home). Kami are
entertained, offered food and drink, and praised or flattered, and

promises are made to them.
*
- The priests undergo purification rituals like bathing, eating
special foods, and abstaining from sexual intercourse to prepare
themselves for the presence of the kami. Then the kami who
dwell in heaven, must be called down to the ceremony.- Once
present, the kami are given offerings of food and drink, such as
rice, sake, or fish. Music, dancing, and praises are also offered.
*
Next the priest dips a branch of the sacred SAKAKI tree, a kind
of evergreen, in holy water and waves it over the assembly,

sprinkling all with the kami's blessings.- Finally, a meal of the
food offered to the kami is eaten by the priests and others.
*
4. Men and Women
Many shinto myths show that women were associated with: -
blood (particularly birth blood), - chaos,- death, - and other
polluting negative forces.
Men by contrast were identify with- purity,- life, - and order
*

This dichotomy suggested that women were a source of
pollution to men and should be kept under the strict control of
males (as fathers, husbands, and sons).Thus social and political
power belonged exclusively to men, and women's activities
were confined to the domestic sphere. In this context, Japanese
culture imposed on women extreme standards of chastity like
those of Neo-Confucian China.
*
Yet women's association with mysterious phenomena like birth
and death also rendered them religiously essential, and because
only women were generally becoming Shamans capable of
communicating with venerated dead ancestors and kami, they
started to influence decisions.(Although men can also become
kami-possessed, from earliest times professional miko have
been women).A wife is a central religious figure in the Family
shrine. She has considerable influence in clan affairs since she

speaks for the Kami.
*
RELIGIONS OF INDIA:
JAINISM
THE RELIGIONS OF INDIA1. HINDUISM (1500/1200 B.C)2.
BUDDHISM(6thcentury B.C)3. JAINISM (6th century B.C)4.
SIKHISM(15/16th century A.D)(5. ISLAM AND
CHRISTIANITY)
=>ISLAM+HINDUISM = SIKHISM

Jains and Sikhs are not Hindu because:1. They do not accept the
authority of the Vedas,2. They reject the authority of the
Brahmin priesthood3. They do not worship the Hindu Pantheon
=>However, they share many other religious concepts, values
and beliefs with Hinduism.
Jains share with Hindus the belief in1. Karma2. Samsara3.
Reincarnation4. Moksha5. Yoga (meditation)
Like Hinduism, Jainism considers Karma and Reincarnation to
be important religious concepts
But unlike Hinduism, Jainism pays little attention to deities. In
this it is close to Buddhism
But unlike Buddhism, Jainism focused on extreme asceticism.
And unlike Sikhism and Islam, Jainism focused on radical non-
violence.
The founder of Jainism was roughly a contemporary of the

BuddhaJainism appeared in the 6th century B.C., in northeastern
India in reaction to changing conditions of Indian life and
religious systems. This was a time of ferment, the era of the
Buddha, the Upanishads, and new religions emerging to satisfy
new religious needs.This time was characterized by the growth
of cities and their merchant class, and a decline in Vedic
ritualism.The Vedic religion of the ruling class was in crisis,
because of its own contradictions, its structural injustice, its
support for inequality and class oppression.
In the panorama of Hindu thought, Jainism turned away from
the religion of the Brahmins, and rejected the hereditary
priesthood, along with its bloody sacrifices, rituals, and caste
system.Jainism was constituted from non-Brahmanic, lay, and
unorthodox themes.Jainism also returned back to the religion of
original Dravidian people of India, and integrated their pre-
Aryan religious traditions.
The name JAIN means “follower of the victor.”
After 12 years of austere and disciplined life of meditation and
asceticism, Mahavira, the founder of Jainism became “victor

over his body and his passions” and gained enlightenment and
Moksha.
While the Buddha called his path
the “Middle Way,”
a calm spot of equilibrium between the polarities of
asceticism and hedonism,
While Mahavira taught a way of
stern denial and control,
Jainism exemplifies, in the extreme, what in India is called
KARMAMARGA, The Way of Works.
Attaining Liberation through rigorous personal discipline
Fasting for long periodsMeditating in the hot sunEnduring
discomfortControl of the emotions(going naked): following the
example of Mahavira, the founder of Jainism, went about naked
for many years!And many other ascetic techniques
* Thus, the denial of the body (mortification)
is taken to the extreme and made a key part of the faith.

Two fundamental Characteristics of Jainism
Jainism1. The religion of “Naked Saints.”
2. The Religion of asceticism
and non-violence
par excellence.
CHARACTERISTICS OF JAINISM1. * Urban Religion2. *
Religion of Merchants and bankers3. Religion of Non-violence
par excellence
(Radical Ahimsa)4. Vegetarianism5. “Animal rights” 6.
Religion of “Naked Saints”7. Religion of rigorous Asceticism.

AHIMSA
Since they believe that every living thing has a soul, they avoid
injuring not only humans but every living creature:1. A Jain
monk covers his face with a gauze mask or handkerchief to
guard against breathing in (and thus killing) insects. 2. He
carries a broom to sweep the path ahead of him to avoid
stepping on any living beings.
3. At night Jains refrain from drinking water for fear of
unintentionally swallowing a gnat.4. Jains put screens around
lamps to keep insects from flying into them.
5. Many Jain temples maintain homes for unwanted animals and
hospitals for injured birds.
6. Jains are strict vegetarians:
They refuse not only to eat meat but also to use leather.

JAIN ETHICS
In principle, Jains are forbidden1. To have any occupation that
involves the destruction of living beings (Ahimsa).2. To eat
meat or eggs (Jains are Vegetarians)3. To farm the land:
Even farming is taboo, since operations like tilling the soil and
weeding the crops may harm living creatures.
Jain Ethics: The 12 Vows (oaths)
Whereas monastics take only five vows, laymen affirm a longer
list of 12 oaths, expanding those of the monastics:1. Never
intentionally take a life or destroy a jiva (soul or unit of life);2.
Never lie or exaggerate;3. Never steal;
4. Never be unfaithful to one’s spouse or think unchaste
thoughts;
5. Limit oneself in the accumulation of wealth and give away all
extra possessions - for example, contribute to the maintenance
of animal hospitals or temples;

6. Limit chances of committing transgressions,
for example - impose limits on travel;
7. Limit the number of personal possessions;
8. Guard against unnecessary evils;
9. Observe periods of sinless meditation;
10. Observe special periods of personal (ascetic) limitation;
11. Spend some time living as a monastic;
12. And give alms to a monastic community.

CONFUCIANISMThe four Religious Traditions of C.docx

CONFUCIANISMThe four Religious Traditions of C.docx

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

More from maxinesmith73660

More from maxinesmith73660 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

CONFUCIANISMThe four Religious Traditions of C.docx