The Individual's Goal in Buddhism and Hinduism
The Individual's Goal in Buddhism and Hinduism
I have always been intrigued by Chinese philosophy. As a little boy growing up on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, I would try to read my uncle’s college books on philosophy and try to understand what is going on. I had no idea what was going on. Maybe it was because I was young, but I did not understand anything I was reading. Let us now go to the present. I am now in college and I am studying Asian Philosophy.
At this time I am studying the ways of Confucious, who speaks of humaneness, fillial devotion and ritual decorum. I am also learning about Mozi, who preaches of universal love, of Laozi, who teaches about simplifying life and being in harmony with the dao.
Lastly there is Zhuangzi, who...........
In Theravada Buddhism, the goal of the individual is to achieve Nirvana through the loss of individuality and cease to exist in the current world. In order to achieve this goal, Theravada Buddhists were taught to develop a state of mind in which any type of action towards them would not affect them in any way. They were taught to have a state of mind like the earth, for the earth if littered upon by men yet it does not get angry and hate. The same goes of water, air and fire, men defile all of these elements but these elements are not hurt by these actions. This way of thinking is useful because there will be encounters with unpleasant people throughout life, these such encounters, if not reacted upon in a neutral manner, can accumulate Karma, which for the Theravada Buddhist, means that Nirvana cannot be achieved. This is why having a passive state of mind could become useful. Furthermore, Theravada Buddhists should be conscious of the corruption of the body. This is important because passion will grow less. If passion grows less, then sin grows less. Also, meditation of the mind is exercised. This is done in order to develop the mind in such a way as to be conscious of even your last breath.
Moreover, according to Embree,”A monk becomes his own lamp and refuge by continually looking on hid body, feelings, perceptions, moods and ideas in such a manner...