BEYOND EAST AND WEST: WHAT ‘LADDER’ DID JOHN WU USE TOWARDS THIS GOAL? (PART TWO)

Author(s): Zbigniew Wesołowski / Language(s): English Issue: 9/2021

John Wu Jingxiong (1899-1986) was a diplomat, scholar, and authority on international law. He was also a prominent Chinese Catholic convert. His spiritual autobiography Beyond East and West (1951) reminds us of the Confessiones of St. Augustine for its moving description of John Wu’s conversion to Catholicism in 1937 and his early years as a Catholic. The very title of Wu’s autobiography points to his spiritual ideal which let humanity go beyond cultural particularities (be they Western, Chinese, or other). John Wu found wisdom in China’s great traditions, i.e., Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism, pointing to their universal truths that come ultimately from, and are fulfilled in, Christ. The author of this contribution has searched for John Wu’s universal traits which go beyond any culture and calls them, metaphorically, a “ladder”. He has found a threefold ladder, i.e. that of the Christian faith, of human friendship and human and divine love, and that of natural law.

Biogaming Limbo: Ressentiment of the New Era in Sion Sono’s Tag

Author(s): Ana Došen / Language(s): English Issue: 27/2022

Dealing with the unstable (virtual) realities...

Body ‒ Tradition ‒ Expression. Remarks om Japanese Culture

Author(s): Leszek Sosnowski / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2014

The way the Japanese attribute the meaning to their world and how it becomes under-standable to them seems particularly attractive. This attitude underlies the fundamen-tal difference between the European and Japanese culture. A Westerner seeks to fully disclose the world, unveiling all its secrets. Accordingly, various strategies to achieve this goal have been developed in the Western culture, leading to different results. All scientific (philosophical) and non-scientific (commonsense) stands share a common conviction that truth is a Holy Grail of cognition, and that it is equally unattainable. The Japanese have been shaped by three religions: Shinto, Buddhism and Confucian-ism, and these regulate every aspect of their private as well as social functioning. An internal participant has no difficulties to adjust to the requirements of a particular re-ligion. Likewise, the truth also acquires different meanings depending on the context. For an external observer, however, the overlapping of these diverse domains of life creates a problem, as it results in an original but complicated culture.

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.

Book review: Xueliang Ding. (2017).丁學良. Zhengzhi yu zhongguo tese youmo 政治與中國特色幽默. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press.

Author(s): Antonio Leggieri / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2020

Buddhist philosophy for the treatment of problem gambling

Author(s): Edo Shonin,William Van Gordon,Mark D. Griffiths / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2013

In the last five years, scientific interest into the potential applications of Buddhist-derived interventions (BDIs) for the treatment of problem gambling has been growing. This paper reviews current directions, proposes conceptual applications, and discusses integration issues relating to the utilisation of BDIs as problem gambling treatments. Method: A literature search and evaluation of the empirical literature for BDIs as problem gambling treatments was undertaken. Results: To date, research has been limited to cross-sectional studies and clinical case studies and findings indicate that Buddhist-derived mindfulness practices have the potential to play an important role in ameliorating problem gambling symptomatology. As an adjunct to mindfulness, other Buddhist-derived practices are also of interest including: (i) insight meditation techniques (e.g., meditation on ‘emptiness’) to overcome avoidance and dissociation strategies, (ii) ‘antidotes’ (e.g., patience, impermanence, etc.) to attenuate impulsivity and salience-related issues, (iii) loving-kindness and compassion meditation to foster positive thinking and reduce conflict, and (iv) ‘middle-way’ principles and ‘bliss-substitution’ to reduce relapse and temper withdrawal symptoms. In addition to an absence of controlled treatment studies, the successful operationalisation of BDIs as effective treatments for problem gambling may be impeded by issues such as a deficiency of suitably experienced BDI clinicians, and the poor provision by service providers of both BDIs and dedicated gambling interventions. Conclusions: Preliminary findings for BDIs as problem gambling treatments are promising, however, further research is required.

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.

Budistinė Samdhinirmocana Ir H. G. Gadamerio Hermeneutika: Lyginamoji Analizė

Author(s): Tadas Snuviškis / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 90/2017

Gadamer’s hermeneutics and Buddhist samdhinirmocana are two different traditions of interpretation that have common parallels between them. Samdhinirmocana is closely related to the Buddhist religious context and developed as guidelines to interpret the words of Buddha (Buddhavācana). The similarities between Gadamer’s hermeneutics and Buddhist samdhinirmocana can be indicated at various levels. In the paper Sache selbst of Gadamer and paramārtha of samdhinirmocana are highlighted as examples of providing ways for any interpretation of an object. In both theories the interpretation process is grounded in a particular situation. The hermeneutics of Gadamer and Buddhist samdhinirmocana do not seek objective understanding, but the one, which preserves the intention of the other, while exploring it in different profiles.

Characteristic Features of the Chinese Marxism’s Formation: Key Philosophical and Socio-Political Foundations of Research

Author(s): Nataliia Yarmolitska,Katherine Gan / Language(s): English Issue: 18/2022

In this article, the authors analysed the history of the origin and formation of Marxism in China. An analysis of the main provisions of the philosophical and socio-political foundations of research is proposed. The authors conducted a study of the development process and the main contradictions in the formation of Chineseized Marxism and also tracked the impact it can have on the humanitarian development of modern Ukrainian society. For more detailed coverage of the formation of Chineseized Marxism, the authors conducted a historiographical study of current sources, as well as analysed the literature of the Soviet period, in which the primary attention was paid to the study of the figure of Mao Zedong as the «theoretician of the national revival of China» and the founder of Chineseized Marxism. The main narratives of Soviet studies regarding the «philosophical ideas of Mao Zedong», the «concept of movement and development», the «great leap» and the «cultural revolution» are analysed. In the course of the research, it was established that the vast majority of works of the Soviet period were aimed at criticizing Maoism for anti-communism and nationalism. It was also proved that «Chineseized Marxism» during the entire historical period of its formation did not have much in common with Marxist theory, but was based on the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, Western philosophy, using the teachings of traditional Chinese philosophy as a basis.

Chinese Kung-fu Films and the Posthuman Daoism

Author(s): Wong Kin Yuen / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

This paper argues that Chinese- Kung-fu films are unique presentations of human movement as a system of bodily aesthetics. By adopting a Daoist aesthetics of yin-yang cosmology, martial artists perform the dictum by Zhuanzi’s “The myriad things come out of ji and go into ji”, with the character ji as some kind of the Deleuzian “desiring machine”. There we see a human-technicality convergence as characterized by a posthuman merger within the process of complex visuality, particularly presented through the cinematic form. Kung-fu performance on screen, therefore, affords a kind of natural cyborg intersectionality within what can be called a posthuman Daoism, a kind of commingling of the ancient and posthuman technics.

Confucius and the Rectification of Names

Author(s): Silviu Lupaşcu / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2018

The Ch’un-ch’iu (Chunqiu) or Annals of the Spring-Autumn Period had been indited according to the textual pattern of a Court chronicle which describes the autocratic regime of the twelve dukes who governed the State of Lu from the Shan-tung (Shandong) region, a vassal-state of the Eastern Chou (Zhou) dynasty (770-256 B. C. E.), during the period 722-481 B. C. E.. The syntagm “Spring-Autumn” is a standard synecdoche which designates an entire calendarial year, or, through a semantic extension, a chronicle the textual continuity of which is structured according to the calendarial continuity of the yearly intervals which include diplomatic dialogues, political intrigues and feudal wars, in the framework of the relationships developed by the State of Lu with the neighboring states, as well as testimonies concerning eclipses, floods, earthquakes and wonders of nature.The decadence of the Chu-hsia (Zhu Xia) civilization, under the Eastern Chou (Zhou) dynasty (770-256 B. C. E.), could have been prevented only through the establishment of a new political order, conformably to the Confucianist ritual ideal, capable to mirror the celestial will in the rigors of an ascetical monarchic regime and in the necessity of the rectification of names (cheng-ming; zhengming).In spite of the fact that he defended the political-moral order of the Eastern Chou (Zhou) dynasty, Confucius traversed the experience of the disintegration of this order and of the transition towards an unknown epoch. Even if he was a loyal subject of the State of Lu, Confucius was forced to to admit that Lu “has only the name, not the substance of a great State”, and the ideal of the rectification of names (cheng-ming; zhengming) did not mold in a lasting manner the immediate historical time. The purity of the unicorn did not preserve his liberty as against the violence of the hunters, its wonderful nature did not preserve his existence as against the ignorance and brutality of human beings. The coming of the unicorn presaged, simultaneously, Confucius’ unfulfilment as a statesman, his imminent death and his investiture as an “uncrowned monarch” (su-wang; suwang).

Confucius’ Philosophy of Zhengming ("Rectification of Names"): Implications for Social Harmony in Africa

Author(s): Mark Omorovie Ikeke / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2020

Social harmony is an imperative for the development of society. Without social harmony there is bound to be conflicts, violence, and social turmoil that impede the wellbeing of society. A key factor that can promote social harmony is when people live out the meaning of their names. This is what Confucius called Zhengming (“rectification of names”). For him the rectification of names implies every citizen living out the full import and meaning of their names and roles. Without rectification of names society will continue to be bedeviled by disharmony. Like many other societies the African continent is bedeviled with social disharmonies caused by poor leadership, bad governance, corruption and embezzlement of public funds, kidnapping and hostage taking, youth restiveness, illegal migration, environmental degradation, etc. It is difficult for there to be social harmony when citizens are experiencing social deprivations. The paper will use critical analytic and hermeneutic methods to examine the doctrine of rectification of names as proposed by Confucius. The paper will also apply this doctrine to the situation of social disharmony in Africa. The paper finds and concludes that there is need to use the ideas of Zhengming to mitigate social disharmonies in Africa.

Constructing a Moral Person in the Analects 論語 and Mengzi 孟子

Author(s): Katarzyna Pejda / Language(s): English Issue: 9/2020

In early Chinese philosophy, the concept of a unique individual separated from the outside world has no ontological basis. Every person is an open, interdependent construction, whose uniqueness can only be achieved and cannot be given. A person is an undetermined range and locus of experiences expressed through specific roles and relationships. In this article, the Author analyses such an understanding of the person in Confucian and Mencian thought. In Confucius’ philosophy, the junzi 君子 lives up to his status as long as he maintains ren 仁 relationships and displays proper emotions connected to ren. The author argues that, in the Analects, ren is a concept connected to the terms shu 恕, zhong 忠, yi 義 and li 禮. Ren may be interpreted as an ideal interaction that starts with an emphatic reaction towards another human being. Emphatic reactions, along with zhong—a sense of duty— is the basis for applying the situational moral norm yi and carrying it out according to li—the social norm. Ren behaviour is different for every person in every situation. It has to be learned and practised during the process of self-cultivation, xiushen 修身.Mencius’ moral theory is more complex, and concentrates on human nature and its features. According to this, human nature is shan 善, commonly translated as ‘good,’ because every person has four dispositions—emotions for developing ren, yi, li and zhi 智. Ren may be considered a virtue—it is not inborn, but has to be achieved and learned. Another skill required to be a sage was the understanding that every situation is unique, and that there is a right time to apply different norms—shizhong 詩中. Mencius’ thought is not simply an ethics of virtue, but it is also influenced by situational factors. Mencian moral behaviour is complex; not only does it require a deep understanding of oneself and the other, but also the use of all senses, sensitivity and creativity to deal with every situation in a different way. A sage, or a person who wants to become one, has to watch, listen, feel and understand every person and every situation. Moral cultivation in Mengzi’s thought is also a cultivation of the body’s qi 氣 (vigour or energy). Properly cultivated qi becomes haoran zhi qi 浩然之氣 (overflowing qi) and enables one’s body to have the zhi 志 (will) to follow its ren (heart/mind).

Contemporary New Confucianism and the Ancient European Philosophy: Analysis and Comparison

Author(s): Hanzhen Liu / Language(s): English Issue: 1 (73)/2015

Looking back, both of the two great ancient civilizations in the world, China in the East and Greece in the West, benefitted from philosophies that evolved almost simultaneously: Taoism and Mo-Tzu Confucianism in the East, and the trilogy of Socratic, Platonic, and Aristotelian thought in West. This exploration of philosophy in Europe, from the movement into the Renaissance in the fifteen century in Italy to industrialization in the eighteen century in England, the ancient Greek civilization blossomed, and the value of the different philosophical thoughts and opinions concerning the livelihood of mankind and demands on the human being were honed until they reached the achievement of democracy. In China, by contrast, over several thousand years from Huang Di to the latest pres¬ident Xi Jinping, Confucian principles remained constant for the most part, with President Xi declaring at the first meeting at which he officially presided in November 2012 that “we are undertaking our Renaissance.”33 It is very late in the course of human history to proclaim it, and this re¬flects that China lags behind the Western world. The reason for this is that the autocratic values of Confucian thought have remained constant and not changed into the democratic values of Socrates, Plato and Aris¬totle that in turn precipitated more modern philosophical thoughts and forms of governance during and since the Renaissance.

CONTEMPORARY REVIVAL OF SPIRITUAL HERITAGE AS A BASIS FOR FAITH IN THE FUTURE

Author(s): Kaspars Kļaviņš / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2021

The pace of globalisation, which by the end of the 19th century had become unstoppable and since then only accelerated, brought people ever more things invoking reaction. This had an effect on public safety, economic welfare, health, longevity and identity. Today, the “East” and the “West” are just theoretical constructs inherited from our past that exist amidst a vibrant mutual exchange of various spiritual teachings, religions, technologies, lifestyle models and even stereotypes.

Cultural Assimilation: Two Ibsenian Women in Traditional Chinese Yue Opera

Author(s): Terry Siu-Han Yip / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2016

Chinese interest in Henrik Ibsen’s plays has flourished for more than a century and many of his plays have been performed on or adapted for the Chinese stage since the early twentieth century. However, attempts to adapt his plays for the traditional Chinese theatre were only made in the past decade with Peer Gynt adapted into Peking opera in 2006, The Lady from the Sea and Hedda Gabler into Yue opera in 2006 and 2010. A close study of the re presentation of two Ibsenian women characters, namely, Ellida Wangel and Hedda Gabler on the Chinese traditional Yue operatic stage during Ibsen’s centenary in 2006 reveals the Chinese cultural assimilation of the two Norwegian women with their distinct character and outlook of life to suit the traditional Chinese notion of femininity and morality, as well as the conventionality of the Yue theatre with its unique theatrical and aesthetic considerations. What is more important is the Chinese desire to invite the audience, especially the young audience, to reconsider what constitutes happiness and integrity for married women in the Chinese context with an emphasis on moral responsibility.

Czego muzyk improwizator może się nauczyć od mistrza sztuk walki?

Praca z qi w wewnętrznych sztukach walki oraz we współczesnej improwizacji swobodnej

Author(s): Rafał Mazur / Language(s): Polish Issue: 2/2013

In the Confucian cultural circle it is believed that the efficiency and quality of one’s actions is closely determined by the quality of one’s “work with qi.” This belief is found equally in philosophical writings, texts on aesthetics, and notes of masters of the martial arts, as well as within the so-called “folk/common wisdom.” The phenomenon of “working with qi” is related to working on one’s mind, and on closer examination seems adaptable and applicable in contexts other than that of Chinese culture. In this article I will try to explain what the “work with qi” consists in on the example of Taijiquan martial art, and then sketch a theoretical possibility of “working with qi” in the practice of free improvisation in contemporary music.

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.

Daoistinés Sąmonés Specifika: Neapibréžtos, Neveiklios, Tuðèios Sàmonës Fenomenologija

Author(s): Agnieška Juzefovič / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 60/2009

The article analyzes the Daoistic consciousness, emphasizes such features as indetermination, variability, contextuality, interrelation with all the phenomena and events of the world. Such features of consciousness are analyzed with the help of popular extracts from the Zhuangzi text - a dream about a butterfly and a story about the fish joy. Also, the correlation between the Daoistic consciousness indetermination and knowing relativity is emphasized. During the analysis of popular Daoistic motive of travelling, it is stated that travelling was treated as a way of consciousness purifying, overcoming stereotypes and affections, seeking for brightening and melting in the immensities of the universe. It is shown that when reaching this aim, Daoists appreciated both the real trips around the world and inner trips, which happen deep in the heart or soul. Finally, a brightened, empty consciousness is analyzed through the concepts of nonaction (wawéi) and spontaneity (zìrån); it is stated that such consciousness acts naturally, spontaneously, unconsciously, without the help from the outside, control or encouragement.