This document provides an overview of several Eastern philosophical traditions, including Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Islam. It describes the key figures, texts, concepts, and beliefs of each tradition. For Buddhism, it discusses Siddhartha Gautama, the Four Noble Truths, karma, ignorance, and the goal of nirvana. For Confucianism, it discusses Confucius, li, tao, righteousness, and humanheartedness. For Taoism, it discusses Laozi, the Tao Te Ching, yin and yang, and virtue. For Islam, it discusses the origins and meaning of the word Islam and core beliefs in one God and the purpose

1. Part II
Philosophical Approaches to the
Study of Human Existence
according to Eastern Philosophy

2. Philosophy defined
The science of things by their ultimate
principles and causes, as known by
natural reason alone.

3. Philosophy as science.
It is not a set of opinions and theories. It
is certain knowledge of things based
on evidence and demonstrations, and
reduced to a comprehensive rational
system.

4. Of Things.
Philosophy discusses about the things
that are found in the existential world.
It also discusses, about non-material
beings and principles; about the
soul, the intellect and the free will.

5. By their Ultimate Principles and Causes.
It studies the nature of the living being as
such, of life and its principle.

6. As known by natural reason alone.
Philosophy attains knowledge, not by making
use of the Principles or Article of Faith, but
by the use of the Principles of natural
cognition, which may be obtained from the
investigation of Nature and the natural
study of things.

7. Buddhism (563-B.C.E)
The Buddhist tradition can be traced
back to the year 563 BCE, the birth of
Siddharta Gautama. Buddhism is a
teaching of Buddha who was born a
prince of kapilavathu (Himalaya
Mountains near Nepal) in 623 B.C. He
married and had a son.

8. Kamakura Daibutsu

9. Buddhism is a practice of finding peace
within oneself. It is formulated to win
happiness during the present life as
well as in the next.
The Doctrine on Dependent Origination
– is the central teaching of the
Buddha. There is nothing in this world
that does not come within the sphere
of the causal laws. Causality informs us
concerning the arising and passing
away of things in this world.

10. Theory of Karma – is based on
Patticasamutpada for it is an
implication of the law of causation.
Karma alludes to the fruit‘s of one‘s
action. Our present life is due to the
impression of the karmas of the past
life. The past shapes the future.
This is grounded in the cause-effect
relation.
By good works they can have a better
life.

11. Ignorance-the root cause of all
sufferings, of the cycle of birth and
death. Ignorance tells us that one is in
bondage.
Knowledge is only method that can
destroy ignorance.
Knowledge corresponds to the
knowledge of truth, and of the
impermanence of things in this world.

12. Existence in Buddhism is described in the
following ways:
1. All things of this world are
impermanent (Anicca)
2. All things of this world are non-
substantial (Anatta)
3. All things of this world are
unsatisfactory-suffering (Dukkha)

13. Buddha‘s Noble Eightfold Path
a. ―Right Views‖ means knowledge of
the teachings of dharma, the four
noble truths and the law of karma.
b. ―Right Intention‖ means
dispassion, benevolence and refusal
to injure others. It involves the
elimination of
ambitions, revenge, hatred, greed, lu
st and violence.
c. ―Right Speech‖ means no
lying, slander, abuse, or idle talk.
Man must be compassionate and full of
sympathy, with a heart full of loving-
kindness and free from secret malice.

14. d. ―Right Action‖ means not talking
life, stealing, not indulging in
sensuality, slander and intoxicating
liquor or drugs or being sexually
disordered.
e. ―Right Livelihood‖ is an occupation
that does not harm living things, thus
butchers, hunters, fishers, and sellers of
weapons or liquors are not prescribed.
f. ―Right Effort‖ avoids the rising of evil
thoughts and developing such good in
one‘s mind and maintains a good and
meritorious state of mind.

15. g. ―Right Mindfulness and Awareness‖ is
disciplined do that it focuses on a
worthy object of meditation.
It is right attentiveness, which means
continual recollection of all
phenomena about bodily structure, all
parts of the human body, all states of
health, purity of mind, contemplation
of various states of mind and all kinds
of temperament.

16. Bhuddist Monk

17. h. ―Right Concentration‖ is the threshold
of nirvana, consists of the four great
efforts such as the effort to avoid and
to overcome evil states of mind, the
effort to develop and maintain good
states of mind.
The state of mind must be accompanied
by right knowledge, right
intention, right speech, right
action, right livelihood, right effort and
right attentiveness.

18. Nirvana-means ‗blowing out.‘ It is the
summum bonum and goal of
Buddhism.
The person who gained this status is
known as ―arhat.‖ It dissipates
craving, a state of detachment where
there is no suffering. It is simply perfect
happiness. In its highest peak, nirvana
is the purification of the
mind, restoration to its primitive
simplicity or radiant transparency.
A person who gained nirvana becomes
enlightened, a Buddha.

19. Characteristics of an arhat
1. Experiences detachment from the
world
2. Detachment generates freedom
3. Freedom generates stability of the
mind
4. Experiences security and peace
amidst confusion in the world
5. He understands the nature of things
such as
impermanence, unsatisfactoriness, an
d nonsubstantiability.

21. Confucianism (551-479)
A major system of thought in
China, developed from the teachings
of Confucius and his disciples:
Mencius and Hzun Tzu (Xunzi)
Confucius preferred that his disciples will
be useful to state and society.

22. Following his death in 479 B.C.E, Confucius was
buried in Ch’ü-fu in Shandong province, China.
His name in Chinese is Kongzi
(also spelled K’ung-tzu).

23. Shandong Map (China)

24. For Confucius, philosophy is a kind of a
system of ideas and thoughts that talk
about human behaviour, the rules to
be followed to become successful in
life and about the government.

26. MAXIMS OF CONFUCIUS
1. The Great Alternative-to retire into
solitude or to live in the world and try
to shape it.
He who is concerned only with the purity
of his own life ruins the great human
relations.
2. The NATURE of Man-the nature of man
is called jen or ren translated as
“humaneness” or “benevolence”
which is the summation of all other
virtues.

27. A jen or ren person does what is right
regardless of the danger to himself or
herself and regardless of the hardship this
requires.

28. 3. The Source is absolute, the
Manifestation is Relative-Truth and
realities are one.
The mere idea is as nothing. The root of
human salvation lies in the
―knowledge that influences reality.‖
That is, in the truth of idea that are
translated into an inner transforming
action.

29. 4. The Necessity of Order-Order is
necessary because it is only in
human association that the essence
of man is real.
Do to no one what you would not wish
others to do to you.

30. Confucius‘ 2 great virtues
1. Righteousness-doing an action
without ulterior motive (not for profit)
2. Human heartedness-Jen or humanity

31. Confucius Ideas [M. Villaba, Philosphy of the
East, 1996]
For Confucius, men are essentially social beings.
Society is established by individual
comprising it. A moral must be a
collaborating person or member of society.
CONFUCIUS USED 2 TERMINOLOGIES, LI and TAO.
1. Li-the Li consists of courtesy and moral duty.
2. Tao-the purpose is happiness in this life, here
and now for all mankind.

32. Taoism (B.C.E.)
[tów ìzzəm, dów ìzzəm]
Lao Tzu wrote Tao Te Ching as the scripture of
Taoism.

33. The central vehicle of achieving tranquility was
the Tao/Dao, a term which has been
translated as ―the way‖ or ―the path.‖
Te in this context refers to virtue and Ching refers
to laws.
TAO TE CHING-translated as The Law of virtue
and its way.

34. Laozi or Lao-tzu, legendary founder of Taoism-
Daoism, a philosophy and religion of China.
According to popular belief, he was born in the
Chinese province of Henan (Ho-nan) around
570 B.C.E. and served as an official at the royal
court at Luoyang.

35. His original name was Li Erh, but he came
to be called Laozi, meaning ―Old Master.‖

36. The ―Tao‖ is a universal principle that permeates
every action and every phenomenon.
To understand it, man must exercise his own
intuition and get in touch with the
metaphysical reality that connects all men.

37. For example, a person‘s conduct should be
governed by instinct and conscience.
For Lao Tzu “simplicity” is the key to truth and
freedom.
Thus, a man must strive to be a man of ―Tao‖—
a sage, perfect man.

38. 3 PHASES OF TAOISM
1. The threshold of Taoist philosophy is the
preservation of life and abstaining from injury.
Yang-Chu‘s (the earliest exponent) method is to
evade/ escape. This is the method of the
ordinary recluse that flees from society and
hides in the mountain and forests.
Through escaping, he can avoid the evils of the
world.

39. 2. The 2nd phase in the unfolding of Taoism is a
composite of an attempt to discover laws
underlying the changes of things in the
universe.

40. 3. The 3rd phase in the unfolding of Taoism is
situated in Chuang-Tzu. Despite realization, a
human person could still suffer injury.
To evade this, Chuang-Tzu adhered
visualization things from a higher
viewpoint, i.e., by transcending this universe.

41. Lao Tzu‘s concept of virtue – For Lao Tzu, the way
of heaven and earth is based on virtue.
Hence, develop it, nurture it, foster it, and
mature it.

42. Yin and Yang
According to Chinese philosophy, yin
and yang are two opposing and
counterbalancing forces in the
universe. This symbol represents them.
Yin is the dark half and yang the bright
half, but neither could exist without the
other.

44. Islam
(Arabic: al-’islām, pronounced [ʔislæːm]
It is derived from the Arabic verb
Aslama, which means "to
accept, surrender or submit."

45. Thus, Islam means acceptance of and
submission to God, and believers must
demonstrate this by worshiping
him, following his commands, and
avoiding polytheism.

46. Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The al-Haram Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, holds the holiest shrine
of Islam, the Kaaba.
As the birthplace of Islam‘s founder, the Prophet Muhammad, Mecca
is considered a holy city.
It is a pilgrimage point for Muslims worldwide, who are expected to
visit the city at least once if they are able to do so.

48. Muslims believe that God is one and
incomparable and that the purpose of life
is to worship God. They regard their
religion as the completed and universal
version of a primordial, monotheistic faith
revealed at many times and places
before, including, notably, to the prophets
Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Islamic
tradition holds that previous messages
and revelations have been changed and
distorted over time.

49. ORIGIN AND DEVLOPMENT OF QUR‘AN
The word Qur'an means "recitation".
When Muslims speak in the abstract
about "the Qur'an", they usually mean the
scripture as recited in Arabic rather than
the printed work or any translation of it.

50. 8TH or 9TH Century, Illustrated Text of the Qur’an

51. The Qur'an is divided into 114 suras, or
chapters, which combined, contain 6,236
āyāt, or verses. The chronologically earlier
suras, revealed at Mecca, are primarily
concerned with ethical and spiritual topics.

52. The later Medinan suras mostly discuss social
and moral issues relevant to the Muslim
community. The Qur'an is more concerned
with moral guidance than legal
instruction, and is considered the "sourcebook
of Islamic principles and values".

53. Qur‘an or Koran, the holy book of Islam. For
Muslims it is the very word of Allah, the
absolute God of Islamic faith, and was
revealed to the prophet Muhammad.
The angel Gabriel is said to have spoken
Allah‘s words into the Prophet's ear.
According to Muslim tradition, after this
ecstatic experience Muhammad was able to
recite exactly what he had been told.

54. Duties and practices

55. 1.The shahadah, which is the basic creed of
Islam that must be recited under oath with
the specific statement:
"'ašhadu 'al-lā ilāha illā-llāhu wa 'ašhadu
'anna muħammadan rasūlu-llāh",
or
"I testify that there is none worthy of worship
except God and I testify that Muhammad is
the Messenger of God."

56. 2. Salah, or ritual prayer, which must be
performed five times a day. Salah is
intended to focus the mind on God, and is
seen as a personal communication with
him that expresses gratitude and worship.

57. 3. Sawm, or fasting during the month of
Ramadan. Muslims must not eat or drink
(among other things) from dawn to dusk
during this month, and must be mindful of
other sins.

58. The fast is to encourage a feeling of
nearness to God, and during it Muslims
should express their gratitude for and
dependence on him, atone for their past
sins, and think of the needy.

59. 4. Zakat, or alms-giving, which is giving a
fixed portion of accumulated wealth by
those who can afford it to help the poor or
needy, and also to assist the spread of Islam.

60. It is considered a religious obligation (as
opposed to voluntary charity) that the
well-off owe to the needy because their
wealth is seen as a "trust from God's
bounty". The Qur'an and the hadith also
suggest a Muslim give even more as an
act of voluntary alms-giving (sadaqah).

61. 5. The Hajj, which is the pilgrimage during
the Islamic month of Dhu al-Hijjah in the city
of Mecca.

62. Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford
it must make the pilgrimage to Mecca at
least once in his or her lifetime.
Rituals of the Hajj include walking seven
times around the Kaaba, touching the
black stone if possible, walking or running
seven times between Mount Safa and
Mount Marwah, and symbolically stoning
the Devil in Mina.

63. Mohammad
(c. 570 – June 8, 632) was a trader later
becoming a religious, political, and
military leader. Muslims view him not as
the creator of a new religion, but as the
restorer of the original, uncorrupted
monotheistic faith of Adam, Abraham,
Moses, Jesus and others.

64. In Muslim tradition, Muhammad is
viewed as the last and the greatest in
a series of prophets—as the man
closest to perfection, the possessor of
all virtues.

65. Muhammad Receiving a
Revelation
According to Islam the prophet
Muhammad received many
divine revelations during his life.
These revelations were written
down and together make up
the Qur'an, the holy book of
Islam.
In this painting from an 18th-
century manuscript,
Muhammad (shown at the right
without facial features) is
receiving a revelation during a
battle.
Muhammad’s face is never
depicted in Islamic art.

67. Hinduism
Hinduism is the world's third largest
religion, after Christianity and Islam, with more
than a billion adherents, of whom
approximately 1 billion, live in the Republic of
India.

68. Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no
single founder.

69. Hindu Family Praying at Home
Many Hindus worship a deity that they have personally chosen. Individuals or
families may set up a shrine with images of the deity and offer food to the deity
before partaking of it themselves.
Prayers and chanting are part of these daily household devotions known as pūjā.

70. Hindu Holy Men
Some Hindu men devote their entire lives to the quest for moksha
(liberation from the chain of lives).
These holy men, known as sadhus, renounce worldly concerns, live on
alms, and spend their lives wandering to avoid attachment to people
or places.
Here, sadhus share an offering of rice at a temple in Pushkar, a city in
the northwestern Indian state of Rājasthān.

71. The word Hindu is derived from the river
Sindhu, or Indus. Hindu was primarily a
geographical term that referred to India or to a
region of India (near the Sindhu) as long ago as
the 6th century bc.

72. Indus River
Formed in the Tibetan Himalayas, the Indus River flows 2900 km (1800 mi)
northwest through the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmīr to the Hindu Kush
mountain range, then southwest through Pakistan and the Indian state of
Punjab, ending at the Arabian Sea.
The Indus is very important for irrigation, supplying water to the arid land of
the Indus Valley. Once significant for commercial trade, the Indus is now
navigable only by small crafts, in part because dams built for irrigation
changed the nature of the river.

73. Upper Reaches of the Indus

74. The word Hinduism is an English word of
more recent origin.
Hinduism entered the English language in
the early 19th century to describe the
beliefs and practices of those residents of
India who had not converted to Islam or
Christianity and did not practice Judaism
or Zoroastrianism.

75. HINDU TEACHINGS:
WHAT DO HINDUS BELIEVE?

76. Within Hinduism there are various schools of
thought, which Hindu scholars have systematized
in different ways.
All of these schools have enriched Hinduism with
their individual emphases: Nyāya on rigorous
logic, Vaiseshika on atoms and the structure of
matter, Sānkhya on numbers and
categories, Yoga on meditation
techniques, Mīmāmsā on the analysis of sacred
texts, and Vedānta on the nature and
experience of spirituality..

77. Their teachings are usually summarized in texts
called sūtras or aphorisms.
These sūtras can be memorized easily and recited
as a means of gaining spiritual focus

78. A. Brahman: The ultimate reality
According to Vedānta, the highest aim of
existence is the realization of the identity
or union of the individual‘s innermost self
(ātman) with the ultimate reality.
Although Vedānta states that this ultimate
reality is beyond name, the word
Brahman is used to refer to it.

79. Good LUCK to everyone.
Everybody’s philosophers.