Wybrane aspekty taoistycznej praktyki wéiwúwéi

Author(s): Wacław Romer / Language(s): Polish Issue: 5/2015

The article aims to explore some aspects of the wéiwúwéi (Ⅽ↓Ⅽ) practice recommended by the DàodéjÎng byexamining it in various contexts. Five theses are postulated: (1) we read in the DàodéjÎng about an ontological principle which states that the functionality of the entity is determined by its structure which is a nonentity; (2) wéiwúwéi can be performed by inspiring by personal example; (3) wéiwúwéi can be realized as a result of a transcendental orpsychological transformation of the subject by liberating the agent from conditions; (4) wéiwúwéi can be performed as permission for the errors of one's subordinates; (5) The ideal ruler as proposed by the DàodéjÎng is characterized by low time preference.

Taoism: Eastern Message of Non-Duality

Author(s): Tetiana Viktorivna Danylova / Language(s): English Issue: 11/2016

Taoist thinkers interpret existence as a continuous process. The source of changes is not an external force, but a tendency for transformation inherent in the Universe. In the world limited by space, time, and causation, in the world of distinctions and oppositions, Taoist practitioners achieve freedom of the mind and go beyond such a distinction. A new worldview without preferences towards any binary opposition is formed. Taoists obtain true knowledge of the world and develop complete awareness of infinity and diversity of life. This paper aims to analyze the key concepts of Taoism.

BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY OF THE GLOBAL MIND FOR SUSTAINABLE PEACE

Author(s): Juichiro Tanabe / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

While violence and conflict are the main problems that must be tackled for a peace-ful world, they are caused and sustained through our own thoughts. Though external causes must not be ignored, the most fundamental problem is an epistemological one—our way of knowing and understanding the world. Since its beginning, Buddhism has deepened its analysis of the dynamics of the human mind, both as a root cause of suffer-ing and as a source of harmony. This paper explores how Buddhism's analysis of the human mind can be applied to conflict dynamics, conflict resolution, and building a sustainable peace.

Filosofijos Tapsmo Praktika Fenomeno Aspektai

Author(s): Matas Bytautas / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 81/2014

This article discusses the phenomenon of philosophy becoming a practice. The article’s starting point is a dual position. On the one hand, this process happens in a certain specific environment which affects subject. The subject has not only open but also a conspirative tendencies. This means that the subject who wants to actualize philosophy practically has to coordinate his actions with these tendencies so they do not interfere with his practice of chosen philosophy. For that act of coordination he needs to know these tendencies which are affecting him and the particularity of them. On the other hand, the process of philosophy’s becoming a practice is performed by particular subject. This fact presupposes that this subject has to have skills adequate for accomplishing this process. Hereby this study analyzes external tendencies which are related with philosophy’s becoming practice and internal tendencies and that presuppose integral approach on this phenomenon.

Filosofijos Tapsmo Praktika Fenomeno Aspektai

Author(s): Matas Bytautas / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 80/2014

This article discusses the phenomenon of philosophy becoming a practice. The article’s starting point is a dual position. On the one hand, this process happens in a certain specific environment which affects subject. The subject has not only open but also a conspirative tendencies. This means that the subject who wants to actualize philosophy practically has to coordinate his actions with these tendencies so they do not interfere with his practice of chosen philosophy. For that act of coordination he needs to know these tendencies which are affecting him and the particularity of them. On the other hand, the process of philosophy’s becoming a practice is performed by particular subject. This fact presupposes that this subject has to have skills adequate for accomplishing this process. Hereby this study analyzes external tendencies which are related with philosophy’s becoming practice and internal tendencies and that presuppose integral approach on this phenomenon.

Небо и човек су једно: древни кинески концепт три својства космоса – неба, земље и човека – у Промени Џоуа

Author(s): Nataša Kostić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 152/2015

This paper uses a completely innovative point of view to analyze The Change of Zhou – a comprehensive ancient Chinese philosophical work, which is composed of well-known Book of Change and its philosophical commentaries, so called The Commentaries of Change. The chapters of The Commentaries of Change like “Jicizhuan”, “Tuanci” and “Xiangci” are quoted in this paper and their meaning is explained, which is important for understanding the ancient Chinese cosmological concept of “the Unity of Heaven and Man”. According to the Chinese perception of the Universe – Heaven, Earth and man are holistically connected and interdependent. Man is considered to be responsible for all his actions and it is emphasized that even the most trivial human activity causes the changes in the whole cosmic order. A human being is born not to indulge in carefree pleasures, but to choose himself a goal of spiritual growth i.e. self-cultivation through the stages of honest man (junzi), and wise man (shengren). He should also endeavor to establish and maintain harmony with nature and thus have a beneficial effect on all the beings and things in nature.

Wang Anshi’s “Treatise on Great Men”

Author(s): Thomas Jülch / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2013

With his “Treatise on Great Men” Wang Anshi wrote a short yet sharp rejoinder contradicting a daring assumption formulated in previous Buddhist apologetic thought. Basing themselves on a famous passage in Liezi, chapter 4, Buddhist apologists claimed that the Confucian sages would not be real sages, while the only real sage would be the Buddha. Being an early representative of Neo-Confucianism, Wang Anshi in his treatise attacks this Buddhist apologetic position. In his counter-argumentation, he develops a system ascribing three different qualities to every sage. These are the qualities of ‘greatness’, ‘sageliness’, and ‘numinosity’. Wang Anshi implies that the Buddha mainly excels in numinosity, while Confucian sages mainly excel in greatness and sageliness. Since numinosity is regarded as the highest quality, he also stresses that the three qualities are all interconnected, so that also the Confucian sages are connected to numinosity. However, Wang Anshi’s main argument is that numinosity, though being the highest of the three qualities, does not benefit the common people. In order to benefit them, he says, one rather has to engage in practical action being represented by the qualities of greatness and sageliness. In the present paper I present both an analysis and a translation of Wang Anshi’s treatise.

The Juche philosophy of North Korea – Philosophical Content and Practical Failure

Author(s): Timo Schmitz / Language(s): English Issue: 02/2017

The Juche philosophy has been the leading philosophy of the DPRK, probably one of the most isolated countries of the world, and therefore the content of this philosophy is not known to many outsiders, and even further, not too many people are interested in it. But what exactly is the content of this philosophy? The content of the Juche philosophy is clearly individualistic and focusses on the freedom of human beings to engage in a Socialist society. Juche indeed gave new chances to the people as it abolished the confucianist hierarchies and duties, but gave freedom to shape one’s own destiny and gave every human his own responsibility. However, Juche in practice failed to do so, because it was never implemented, but instead was overtaken by Kimilsungism from the beginning, giving it no chance to develop.

Some Critical Reflections on Berleantian Critique of Kantian Aesthetics from the Perspective of Eco-aesthetics

Author(s): Cheng Xiangzhan / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

In order to develop environmental aesthetics, Berleant takes environment as an aesthetic paradigm. His understanding of the nature of environment decides the nature of his aesthetics of engagement, which emphasizes experiential continuity and rejects the separation between subject and object. Based on these ideas, he criticizes Kant’s core idea of disinterestedness in his series of books. Berleant’s environmental aesthetics has a significant impact on ecoaesthetics in China. However, Berleant’s criticism of Kant’s core idea of disinterestedness is a misunderstanding and his conception of environment is not fundamentally sound. The future of ecoaesthetics is taking ecosystem not environment as a new aesthetic paradigm.

O kultúrnych koreňoch analytickej filozofie (na pozadí komparácie s čínskou filozofiou

Author(s): Antony Flew / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 3/1999

Uplynulo už niekoľko rokov odvtedy, čo časopis Journal of Chinese Philosophy, vychádzajúci v angličtine v Honolulu, vyzval niekoľkých odborníkov napísať príspevok na tému "Kultúrne korene analytickej filozofie".

„Nowy” konfucjanizm w krajach Azji Wschodniej

Author(s): Roman Sławiński / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2010

ECOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE UNDERSTANDING OF HUMAN BEING IN THE CLASSICAL CHINESE THOUGHT

Author(s): Antoaneta Nikolova / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2019

The paper aims at discussing the ecological implications of the understanding of the human being in the Classical Chinese thought. The study consists of three main parts. In the first one, the peculiarities of the Chinese thought as a philosophy of dynamism are discussed. I argue that in contrast to the Western thought, where the main ontological question is connected with the issue of essence and the epistemological approach is based on the opposition of subject and object, the Chinese thought reveals reality in terms of dynamism, where the most important concepts are these of processes, relations and transformations.In the second part, I analyse the place of human beings in this dynamic universe in terms of three different perspectives: (i) their relations; (ii) their actions/interactions; and (iii) their value. I point out that it is the harmony that could be defined as the most privileged position in the Chinese universe. In the third part, I discuss two main kinds of ecologically wise behaviour of human beings that are in accordance with the dynamic nature of the universe: (i) the Confucian idea of the outer harmonisation of the human society with the patterns of transformation in the Universe and (ii) the Daoist idea of the inner achievement of the pivot of transformation within oneself. In the conclusion, I outline the idea that the combination of inner and outer activity of harmonisation with reality could be used as an example of wise ecological behaviour and attitude to nature.

Daoism and the Meontological Imagination

Author(s): David Chai / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2019

Of the things needing to be forgotten if we are to partake in the oneness of Dao, language is perhaps the hardest. Since the purpose of words is to delimit things, words create an artificial division between things and their image qua form. While humanity views images as distinct entities, Dao leaves them in their jumbled collectivity; while humanity feels compelled to act upon our thoughts and feelings, Dao remains silent and empty. This leads to the following question: Will modelling ourselves after Dao result in a more creative form of thinking and if so, can it be carried-out without words and images? To demonstrate why the answer to this question is yes, we will first analyze why words are an obstacle to deeper thinking before looking at how images, despite their ability to connect with Dao, are nevertheless hindered by their dependency on being. It thus falls to spirit to lay bare the constant non-image of Dao, the core of the Daoist imagination and focus of the final section of this paper.

Philosophy in the Epoch of Alternative Facts: An Invitation from East Asia

Author(s): Naruhiko Mikado / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2020

The primary aim of this essay was to elucidate the unique philosophical concept of “the non-interpretive”, which Masaya Chiba, one of the most prominent philosophers in East Asia, formulated mainly by bridging the theories of Quentin Meillassoux and Graham Harman, who have generally been reckoned as two of the most pivotal proponents in the contemporary philosophical movement dubbed Speculative Realism. In order to achieve the aim, the first part clarified the chief arguments and doctrines of Meillassoux’s Speculative Materialism and Harman’s Object-Oriented Philosophy. Thereupon, the second and main part investigated how Chiba invented the concept, what it precisely meant, and what insights it could offer for us. The concluding section summarized the chief arguments of this paper and sketched a worldview which we could adopt in order to survive the turbulent epoch of alternative facts and post-truth.

Ankstyvieji konfucianistai ir imperatoriškieji muzikos valdininkai

Author(s): Bin Zhang / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 103/2020

By using ethimological analysis and relying on historical documents, this article attempts to answer the question of the significance of music in the Confucian tradition of thought and action. The analysis reveals the tight relation between the Confucian tradition, especially the early Confucians who are named the “Ruists”, and the imperial music officials. The class of imperial music officials prospered even before the Zhou dynasty, and they were in charge of the state’s music, rites and education. As an important ruist tradition inheritor and representative, Confucius used these three vectors (music, sites and education) as fundamental principles for later Confucianism.

Book of Changes: Cosmological and Anthropological Metaphors in Chinese Philosophy

Author(s): İlknur Sertdemir / Language(s): English Issue: 24/2021

Ancient Chinese history holds a quality which has syncretized traditional thought with its cultural wealth unified of mystical and mythological figures in the background. Such that classical documents, which had begun to be written before Common Era, has directly influenced the political regime, education system and status of society in China. One of the most prominent features of these works is to propound collective knowledge about perception of cosmology, attitudes to earthiness, community standards, policy and morality. Among Five Classics works of these masterpieces of Chinese philosophy, Book of Changes which stands closest to metaphysical narrative, mainly consists of the texts about prophecy. While this piece of work had been referred as a divination guide in Western Zhou Dynasty (1046-771 BC), it turned into a cosmological text that included a range of philosophical commentary during Warring States Period (475-221 BC). The mainstay of this remarkable change is the direct correlation of all the concepts and terms that characterize the worldly beyond along with the relevant text, especially yin-yang dualism, which symbolizes an extraordinary harmony in early Chinese thought. Traditional idea suggests reciprocity in which heaven, earth and man are interconnected to maintain natural order. However, the superiority attributed to human beings also brings compulsive responsibilities to idealize a compatible society. This paper aims to discuss influences of cosmological and anthropological items on human behaviors explained in prescriptive perspective.

A Study of the History of Chinese Philosophy in Independent Ukraine: The Sinological Experience of Kyiv Universities in the Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries (Part 2)

Author(s): Heorhii Vdovychenko / Language(s): English Issue: 17/2022

This paper continues observing the main achievements of studies on the history of philosophical education, science and culture of China in the universities of the capital of independent Ukraine since its proclamation in 1991 and to this day. In 2021, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of our Motherland’s difficult but irreversible return to the circle of famous world powers as a historical descendant of Ukraine Rus as a known co-creator of European civilization. This jubilee coincided with the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s development of the vector of its geopolitical partnership in the Asia-Pacific, primarily with the People’s Republic of China. As evidenced by the results of this cooperation in education and science, considered in the first paper of this series, not only many Ukrainian academic institutions, first of all, the A. Yu. Krymskyi Institute of Oriental Studies of the NAS of Ukraine and the H. S. Skovoroda Institute of Philosophy of the NAS of Ukraine played the main role in the growth of modern domestic, in particular philosophical, Chinese studies. As it turned out, this role is also performed by a number of Kyiv universities, f.e. Sinologists of the Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, such as V. Sednev, S. Kostenko, N. Kirnosova, Y. Shekera, G. Bokal, O. Boichenko, V. Urusov, S. Rudenko, etc. Like their colleagues from other Kyiv universities, namely: the National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy”(NaUKMA), Borys Grinchenko Kyiv University, Kyiv National Linguistic University, Vadym Hetman Kyiv National Economic University, – they jointly made a significant contribution to the study of Chinese philosophical thought. It is noteworthy that this progress was obtained as a result of their active teamwork with the Sinological Centers of the said academic institutes, the Ukrainian Association of Sinologists, Chinese studies hotbeds of each other, and other Ukrainian universities and Chinese colleagues. This paper deals with the general analysis of the study, mainly of the history of Taoism, Confucianism and Chinese Buddhism, in these five universities of the capital of Ukraine, primarily in the Center for Oriental Studies the second one of them, the Confucius School of the third and the Sinological subdivisions of the fourth, as well as in the group of Sinological centres of universities in other regions of Ukraine.

The Interpretation and Reconstruction of the Process of the Japanization of Confucianism: A Case Study on the Kyoto Faction of Zhu Xi Studies in Tokugawa Japan

Author(s): Ying Liu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

The concept of the ‘Japanization of Confucianism’ took shape during the Meiji 明治 period (1868–1912 C.E.), reached its highest point of development in Tokugawa Japan (1603–1868), and is epitomized by the rise of the Kyoto faction (Kyō-gakuha 京學派) of Zhu Xi studies (Shushi-gaku 朱子學). However, due to the underestimation of Japanese Zhu Xi studies by scholars like Inoue Tetsujirō 井上哲次郎 from the early twentieth century onward, the Kyoto faction ipso facto has been largely eclipsed in the history of the study of Japanese Confucianism. In light of this, the present article investigates the representative scholars in the Kyoto faction to uncover the dynamic process of Confucianism’s penetration into Japanese society. A multiple-dimension study is conducted to dissect varied approaches to promoting the Japanization of Confucianism, including the vernacularization and sanctification of Confucianism in Japan. This article seeks to redefine the role of the Kyoto faction in the transmission of Confucianism across East Asia.

Unveiling Gsang phu Madhyamaka Thought in Xixia: The Tangut Version of the Analysis of the Essence of Madhyamaka

Author(s): Zhouyang Ma / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2023

Among the Tangut Buddhist texts discovered from Khara-Khoto, there emerges a text entitled Gu tśja ɣiej tsji̱r tśhji kjịj, which means ‘Analysis of the Essence of Madhyamaka.’ Intriguingly, a Tibetan treatise composed by Rgya dmar ba Byang chub grags (fl. 12th century) bears the same title. A comparison between the texts in both languages shows that about 50% of their contents are the same. Although the Tangut text cannot be regarded as a translation of the Tibetan text we see today, the complex relationship between both texts and the history of the transmission of the Tibetan treatise is worth investigating.