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CHAPTER 1
THE ASIAN SAGES: LAO-TZU, CONFUCIUS, AND
BUDDHA
Chapter 1 Key Concepts
Humanism is the name given to any philosophy that
emphasizes human welfare and dignity.
The word sage is derived from the Latin sapiens, meaning
wise. Its original meaning was associated with knowing (or
tasting) through experience. Today, the term sage is often used
to refer to masters associated with religious traditions or the
In ancient Chinese cosmology, everything was influenced
by the harmonious working together of Heaven and Earth
following the Tao, literally way or path. Tao, which
cannot be precisely defined, is translated as the source or
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Tao means way or path in the sense of the way to
go. Rather than present a philosophic system, Lao-tzu
struggled to express a sense of the ultimate, underlying great
Given the cyclic nature of Tao, Lao-tzu found rationalistic,
systematic attempts to understand reality fundamentally
The second great Taoist sage, Chuang-tzu, told some of
the richest stories in Taoist literature. One of the finest
illustrates two important principles. It shows how the same
According to the early Taoist sages, if there is One
ultimate reality, One Way Things Really Are, then neat
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The union of relative opposites leads to the Taoist doctrine
of inaction, or wu wei. Wu wei is a warning against
unnatural or demanding action. In this case, natural
Manipulation is action ; possessiveness is action ; self-
righteousness is action ; harboring hostile feelings is
action ; trying to control or reform others is action. The
problem with action is that our own desires and beliefs
interfere with our intuition of Tao.
Confucius is the Latinized name of K ung Ch iu of Lu, a
legendary teacher. For much of his life, Confucius sought high
Confucian humanism focuses on moderation according
to the Golden Mean.
The Confucian chun-tzu is the morally superior man, a
great and noble soul as well as a cultivated gentleman. His
undesirable opposite is the small or vulgar hsiao-jen. The
Once Siddhartha s eyes were opened to sickness, old age,
and death, his anxiety grew. How, he asked himself, could
anyone be happy, since there is absolutely no escape from
suffering, disappointment, sadness, and loss? If no one
escapes, why be born at all? How could any woman want to
give birth, knowing what awaited her child? No one could
answer him.
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After years of searching, Siddhartha realized that no one
Siddhartha had reached a state of bliss and utter
Siddhartha refused ultimate release and, because he
chose to stay and help others, became the Buddha, He Who
Awoke, or He Who Became Aware.
This Buddha who chose to remain among people giving
help to other lost souls is known as a bodhisattva in some
branches of Buddhism. A bodhisattva is an enlightened being
who voluntarily postpones his own nirvana in order to help
all other conscious life forms find supreme release. A
bodhisattva is not a savior. The Buddha did not intercede for
others; he showed them a path.
The Buddha s basic teachings rest on what are called the
Four Noble Truths:
1. No one can deny that suffering is the condition of all
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The Buddha taught that we can alter our viewpoint by
following the Eightfold Path:
1. Right understanding (or views)
The Buddha was a pragmatic and insightful spiritual
teacher who believed that questions of theology and complex
philosophy only confuse and distract us from our search for
Chapter 1 Teaching Tips
1. A major focus of ancient sages was heightened
consciousness of the simplicity of profound truths. I have
found that many students (understandably) do not know how
to read wisdom literature. I begin with a few examples
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2. Bring a finger puzzle to class to illustrate an aspect of
the concept of wu wei. A finger puzzle is a tube of woven
bamboo (or plastic today); you put one finger from each hand
3. Another way to illustrate inaction, harmony, or going
with Tao is by contrasting judo with wrestling or pushing. In
4. Raise the possibility that there is a Tao of nature (Earth) by
citing any number of examples drawn from environmental
and urban planning disasters: houses built on hills (where
5. Use the notion of li (ritual and ceremony) to consider the
virtues of civility and decorum in pluralistic societies. Ask
6. Contrast Confucian conservatism with contemporary
7. Tie current global unrest to the unstable conditions of the
Period of Warring States that led Lao-tzu to develop the
doctrine of inaction and Confucius to emphasize courtesy,
moderation, and humanity. Remind students that no
community is completely safe today. As I write this, the
8. Discuss Siddhartha s searching years in a way that raises
profound questions about conflicting duties to others and to
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9. Compare Siddhartha s willingness to leave his family in
order to seek personal enlightenment with what some
commentators criticize as Socrates willingness to put his
10. Compare the relative merits of trying not to think about
11. Have students apply Gerald Heard s version of the
Eightfold Path (page 50) to some present source of
12. Discuss the fifth path ( Your livelihood must not conflict
with your therapy ) in detail. Obviously challenging
occupations are defense attorney, advertising executive, and
politician. Ask the class to determine whether there are some
legal occupations that are off-limits to a person on the
Eightfold Path. Which ones? Why?
13. Read aloud and discuss the box One Day . . . on page 51.
Supplement these interesting tales with others from the many
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14. Have students interpret the little story in the box Three
in the Morning on page 47. If you have any social science
majors, ask them if Chuang-tzu s point is an early version of