Is the survival instinct selfish? Do we cooperate because we have a desire to help people? We can start this discussion with the terrible twos. Nature and nurture play a role in our sense of good and evil. We are testing our limits and seeking attention when we are two. We are learning and being punished for actions. Personally, I had to figure out how to word my arguments in class because I am a religious person, so my answers and beliefs are from the Bible. I think of Genesis and how in the beginning it was good, but because Adam and Eve sinned, sin entered the world and every human being born has a sin nature. All instincts that we have were good but are now tainted with evil. For me this question is easily answered in the Bible. Do we do good things because of rewards/ punishments? Even in the Bible it talks about faith and good works. Am I doing “good works” because that is what I am being told to do or do I genuinely feel doing good works is the right thing to do? I have been taught that when I do a good thing, I do not need to be praised for it. So, if I genuinely do a good deed and I know I will not be recognized for, it is that still selfish? We can agree to disagree.
The Higher Life and Greater Self 9.24.19
In this section in the book it talks about wanting to be able to have everything, meaning we all don’t get everything we want. It say’s “I like fish, but I also like bear’s paw, but if I can’t have both at the same time, I will forego the fish and eat the bear paw”. This is very common that we see in the news today with China and the US. Each country is saying what they want, this will never work because of how each country want’s to get everything. This is not how it should be, compromise is key and it shows us in the book with this small life lesson, like a common saying goes “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade” It is simple but makes sense, compromise and do the easy thing and all is good.
Why Chinese nationals want their children to be born in America
As I was reading some news about China, I came across an interesting article from BBC News. This article talked about a Chinese woman who is pleading guilting here in the United States on federal charges of a “birth tourism” scheme where Chinese nationals would pay to come to the States and have their children, allowing their children to be born American citizens. Dongyuan Li, owner of You Win USA Vacation Services, would be paid by Chinese Nationals, such as government officials, to coach them on coming to the United States to have their baby. This included flying from China into Hawaii because there was a belief that it was easier to get through US customs in Hawaii, then they would fly to Los Angeles and would be housed in apartments. Along with guiding the Chinese nationals into the United States, Li helped them go through the US consulate in China by telling them that they were going to the United States for two weeks instead of their intended couple of months to give birth. This got me wondering about why a Chinese national would want their child to be born as an American citizen so badly that they would pay someone to help them sneak into the States and lie to the Consulate. I found another article that helped answer this question. This article states that “more than a third of rich Chinese surveyed ‘are currently considering’ emigrating to another country”. Many people in China are seeking a better education system, a country with less polluted cities and less strict government. The United States is the most popular destination for those who are interested in leaving China (for the fourth year in a row), with the U.K. as second, and Ireland and Canada after. The United States is the most popular due to our education system along with our visa-free travel, ease of adaptability and President Trump’s tax cuts. Learning all this information was very interesting to me because I would never had guessed that government officials in China would want their children to be born in the United States. I would have better understood if the people who wanted their children born in the US were lower class, but the fact that those in the government wanted their children born in the US is surprising to me.
The Good, The Bad and the Ugly
Are we humans naturally good? Or are we good because we fear punishment if we step out of line? Legalism v Daoism poses a classical ideological debate that still goes unanswered today. Daoism would lead us to believe that all humans are naturally good, that our life is natural and that our actions have responses that fall in line with the natural world. In a world with no rules, where we all live each day to our fullest and forgo possessions for a life that is rewarding spiritually. This is by all means the ideal world, Daoism paints a picture of a spiritual Utopia and by far one of the more peaceful religions ever conceived. But is it realistic? Legalism offers a much cruder counter point, humans are naturally evil and selfish and will only do good if directed to by a government or set of laws that threaten punishment otherwise. Though Daoism sounds nice, Legalism offers a more realistic view of human nature, greed and survival power our motives regardless of how holy and kind a person appears. Daoism says we are naturally good, Legalism says we are naturally evil.
Maybe Daoism is right and legalism in the yang to Daoism’s Ying. But a question I think everyone should ask themselves when looking at Chinese religions is that age old classical debate mentioned earlier, Are humans naturally good or naturally evil? Understanding this question will help us understand Daoism and the response of Legalism.
Mencius and Hsun-Tzu
Pages 45-71
In Mencius’ teachings, I think it is interesting that he thinks our “original nature is destroyed.” I like the analogy of a beautiful green mountain becoming plain and bear from animals and people. We can use that for ourselves. I was so excited to be a pharmacist in a retail setting but working at a technician and constantly being yelled at and under pressure to meet deadlines the excitement has faded away. Sometimes we let the world bring us down.
Hsun-Tzu had a different view on human kind. He thinks that people start off bad and by gaining knowledge can become good. He argues, “Man wishes to be good because his nature is evil” (61). Personally, I believe that we all have a nature to be “bad”, but how we are raised and taught we fight that “bad” part of ourselves to do the right thing.
Tao Te Ching Part 2 (Sept. 19 Class)
In the second half of Tao Te Ching, number 68 really stood out to me. It talks about how it is never good to be aggressive or have a bad temper. I think this is super important, because in real life, such negativity doesn’t get you anywhere. It is important to be patient and understanding when stressful situations arise, and it is important to be polite and nice in order to be successful as a human being.
Since we have finished the Tao Te Ching, I was browsing the web looking at ways that this can be connected to life in ways other than what we discussed in class. I came across this article that relates it to Jewish teaching, therefore also relating to the Old Testament side of Christianity. As a religion minor, and just someone who is fascinated by the subject in general, I found it interesting to see that someone wrote a book meant for the Jewish community that sort of relates to something that is definitely not Jewish. While I am also not Jewish, I still found the connection interesting, and might have to add the book to my reading list at some point.
BBC Documentary-Genius of the Ancient World
The film was not only interesting but gave me a better understanding of Confucius’s life, and those who lead him towards the ideas that are incorporated today in China’s culture. Those who he spoke with early on were people of “Daoism,” which enlighten him on the way and that “man should not interfere with the way.” In addition, Confucius spoke with Laozi, who encouraged him to “put away his desire and wild will,” and how these behaviors are of “no advantage” to him. The more people he encountered along his journey shaped and constructed some of the ideas based on the conversations he had with them.
However, what wasn’t really mentioned in-depth in the documentary was how Confucius mother raised him. He didn’t just develop these ideas, his father wasn’t around, a professor/teacher, or Buddhist wasn’t around to give him this sense of philosophy. So, what exactly did his mother teach him? Did his father tell her what all to teach him? And what if his father didn’t die, would his sense of the philosophy be different? All of these what-ifs had me thinking about his teachings from the beginning. Moreover, mentioned in the film was the “two cosmic forces,” which was a symbol similar to yin and yang, however, this symbol had a dragon and a phoenix. The dragon represented heavenly force and the phoenix was a female, who represented cold and Earth forces. These forces control the balance in the world, but the forces do try to over power the other, however, when humans partake in rituals it restores the balance. Moreover, the phoenix is a female, and this goes back to my thoughts on Confucius’s teachings when he was a child. Did his mother lead towards the phoenix when teaching him, the dragon, or did she equal this out. If his father was around, would he enforce more of the dragon? Since his father died when he was three, his mother did all the teaching, she taught him history, poetry, and rituals. But if his father didn’t die, would the philosophy of Confucianism be different ? As well as, would Confucius have left and met the Laozi and a Daoist? We will never know, but its worth discussing about what our own parents, those with one parent, or raised by other relatives/ family friends taught us, and the ideas we hold today. Whether we follow our guardians ideas or have we shaped our own.
Tao Te Ching Pt. 2 (Focusing on Te)
After class discussions, about the reading Tao Te Ching, made me really want to read up on possibly some hidden meanings/messages I did not catch from reading it. In class, the topic of “Te is the way” was mentioned, and how Chinese’s culture has followed this path for nearly 2,400 years. The ‘way’ being a feeling/motive which people followed apart of Confucianism One phrase in particular that caught my attention was ,”People are hungry. When rulers tax grain People are Hungry. People are rebellious. When rulers are active People are rebellious.” This made me think of today’s society, issues on world hunger, day-to-day strikes, and riots against different governments, as well as, just people not getting along. This quote goes in hand for example in recent news on abortion, for years now this has been a big discussion but not really brought up. Until, different state government’s decided to make new laws or revoke old ones. The government being active made people be rebellious to any decision they made no matter what. This example just shows how people don’t really act unless the government does, or feel as if their rights are being challenged. However, I was curious what other cultures may have thought of this, in this article, surprisingly this article compares to the quote with “when rulers are active people are rebellious,” people in China were outraged that this debate on abortion was over rights, whereas, for them it was law and order with the government. How the government controls this law to control its people which compares to early times in China how abortion was banned to increase its populations. The Chinese government never looked into their rights more so focused on planned population and control over its people. Then, China switched to restrict it saying they were not ready for fast-growing population and the resources/supplies they would need to feed everyone. A familiar law I’ve heard before is the “one-child policy,” which was put into effect in 1979, this let the government control the population. However, since sons were favored more as firstborn than a girl, this created a sex-ratio gap. The problem China then faced was their wasn’t enough females for marriage. The law was removed in 2016, the Chinese government created a new policy which allowed only two children if one or both parents were an only child. However, many people in China commented on this issue in the US and hope China doesn’t follow this path of controlling them more.
Furthermore, in Beijing, over the past few years people have been demanding their rights be respected. Today we see more and more protests happening in Hong Kong, in this article , shows people trying to draw attention to the issue on how the government has been controlling them and restricting their rights. This contrast, shows how the Chinese are now going against their rulers, going against the Confucius’s way for respecting all government hierarchy, the people are now following their own Te and revised confucianism philosophy which benefits their life, and rights.
Protests in Hong Kong
I recently have been researching and reading about the current protests and issues in Hong Kong. I stumbled upon an article about events that have been cancelled due to the uncertain circumstances of the country. The article talked about multiple events that have been cancelled in Hong Kong. These events include; A tennis tournament, concerts, soccer games, and a traveling performance of “Matilda.” The reasons for these events being canceled are due to the uncertainty of safety for the athletes, performers, and attendees. If you are not aware of why these protests are happening, it is a protest of the Chinese government. Hong Kong is semi-autonomous from China. This means that Hong Kong does not have full control of their affairs, and are under the rule of China. The protests orignially started after a bill proposed about extradition. After the protests started in June against the extradition bill, it has gained prominence and support. Now the protests have the goal of full independence of Hong Kong. I believe that Hong Kong should be its state and should gain full independence from China, but it will be hard. The Chinese government pushes large amounts of propaganda out, including having fake social media accounts criticizing the protests. The Chinese government also has strict rules of what the people under their rule can post on social media, and what they can see. The protesters are showing persistence and bravery by protesting the Chinse government for all of these months, and I hope that they end in independence soon. I will continue to follow the news regarding this issue because I find it to be very interesting.
Here is the link of the article: https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/tennis-musicals-latest-events-postponed-hong-kong-65587910
Mosque Visit
Yesterday, I went to Nur-Allah Mosque for Friday service. I went for a pre-requisite of my ICR, which will be helping with Sunday school at the Mosque. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about the visit. I have not been to a church service of any kind since 2nd grade, and I also do not know very much about the Islamic religion. But, I was warmly welcomed by both the Imam and others within the Mosque. The service was very interesting. The Imam, which is similar to a priest/pastor, spoke about the importance of physical health. He spoke about certain foods of which the followers should eat, such as fruits and organic foods. He also talked about exercise and how important it is for the human body and why it is important to their faith. He then spoke about although food is important; fasting also is important. He talked about the importance of fasting during Ramadan and how it is important to their faith. The service ended with a prayer. The service was interesting and has me very excited about volunteering at Nur-Allah.