Comparing Confucius And Siddhartha Gautama

Hinduism, Confucianism and Buddhism are three of the world’s most distinguished belief systems of the past and for some, still in the present. The guidelines they provided influenced the social, political and religious lives of people within the societies that followed them. Hinduism emerged when the Aryans arrived in ancient India and began to combine their ideas with those of the Dravidians, the native population. One major Hindu idea was the caste system, which influenced the social lives of its followers and provided the state with political stability. Confucianism first saw an emergence of numerous followers during the Warring States period, when many philosophers were developing ideas for how to return order to China in this era of chaos. It provided political stability to the state by promoting an ethical system with several virtues and the idea that education could allow for social mobility. Buddhism originated from classical India when many people started looking for a new belief system, as they began to reject the caste system imposed by Hinduism. Buddhism had a minimal political or social impact on its followers, but instead influenced their religious lives. There is no doubt that these three belief systems significantly impacted the lives of their followers, but the manner in which they did this varied for each. Socially, Hinduism had the greatest impact with their caste system. Politically, Confucianism had the greatest impact by promoting virtues and

“Happiness does not depend on what you have or who you are, it solely relies on what you think”, The Buddha. Buddhism is a message of deep enlightenment for the spiritual mind set of breaking the chain of reincarnation to achieve nirvana. Buddhism was founded by a man named Siddhartha Gautama who lived five hundred years ago. He spawned a spiritual enlightenment for the mind which we call Buddhism and eventually it came to the United States. Buddha, spreading his teachings of the four noble truths throughout Asia and many parts of the world that would someday enlighten the minds of the American culture and help lead people to a higher state of enlightenment. Over many hundreds of years Buddhism has transformed into many sects throughout history and is becoming one of the many fastest growing religion in America. (Pew, 31-33).

Imagine yourself in Ancient China where you are told you can only do things a certain way. One must look very deeply into the Ancient Chinese governments to see that it is influenced greatly by the great scholar Confucius. Do we see these influences in today’s systems of governments? Confucius had many different areas of focus but we can whittle that down to three areas. The three main areas of Confucius are all seen in some way in the Ancient Chinese governments.

The Chinese civilization endured success and turmoil throughout their different dynasties. They were intelligent and were continually progressing to make their society better, or at least attempting to do so. The Shang tribe was very powerful and took over the Chinese empire. They brought law and order to two of the three rivers that China based itself off of. They were most notorious for building walls around their city to keep them safe from any foreign attacks and using bronze for weapons or cultural pieces of art.

Conficius grew up in a time where feudal lords where constantly fighting each other for control because the government was weak. As a result, Conficius never forgot his childhood misery caused by the horrendous atrocities committed by the rulers. Since his mom work was not enough to survive for both of them, he started working at a really young age, which provided him with the opportunity to understand the people’s lives. Instead of learning the art of fighting, Conficius read through many books seeking one solution that would bring peace and justice to his people. Conficius’ main goal was to end corruption and restore peace, but he needed a government position to implement his policies. He believed that the differences between classes would

Confucius created a theory to develop a peaceful society. This theory’s major belief was to put the needs of family and society first. For example parents owed children love and children owed their parents honor. Husband's owed their wives

To start off, I will compare the founders of Buddhism and Confucianism. The founder of Buddhism was Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha. The Buddha was originally from a wealthy family who sheltered him from the reality of the outside world. The Buddha would eventually leave this life and find enlightenment after meditating underneath a fig tree for forty-nine days. The Buddha would then spread his wisdom to others throughout India until his death at the age of eighty. As for Confucianism, the founder is a man named Confucius. Confucius was a scholar born into a former aristocratic family. He eventually worked his way up to being a teacher and a government scholar. At the age of fifty Confucius would travel throughout China in a failed attempt to spread his ideas and political views through the help of a feudal lord. Confucius would eventually return home where he would

Through a journey of intense contemplation and enlightenment, author Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha tells the story of a young Brahmin who leaves his life of great riches and luxury to find his inner self and gain wisdom from the world around him. Throughout this novel, Hesse shares the importance of inner happiness, and the journey of finding happiness through spirituality. Siddhartha, along with best friend Govinda search for an understanding of life, or Nirvana. Siddhartha and Govinda both share a desire to understand life through spirituality. Siddhartha and Giovinda achieve true inner happiness and spirituality by going through different trials and tribulations, in different stages of their lives.

Almost 6 percent of the world 's population or 350 million people follow Buddhism. Although among them are varying controversies over whether or not Buddhism is a religion or a followed pathway. Buddhism, founded in the late 6th -century B.C.E , and practices the ideas of varying traditions, spiritual practices, and all beliefs focused on the ideas of Gautama or the Buddha. Gautama valued the beliefs and teachings of The Universal Truths and Four Noble Truths and successfully shared them for the last 45 years of his life as a founder of a group called the Sramanas. He lived in what we now call Nepal and northern India and throughout his journey became known as “the awakened one” or “Buddha” as he found himself searching for enlightenment through having realizations on his entire existence. Buddhism really began to spread when roads were used for missionary uses and the Buddhist and merchants would cross paths resulting in the popularity and the spread of these teachings increasing drastically within Asia. However, people are still contemplating on whether or not Buddhism is a religion or a way of life. People argue that it contains aspects of a religion and others say it doesn’t and should be considered a pathway that someone can value as their way of life. Some claim that Buddhism is indeed a religion and that it holds all the elements of faith, beliefs, and self-transformation while others believe it is a way of life because it doesn’t

Buddhism is a religion that is practiced by millions of people across the world. It is a religion that heavily focuses on a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices that are based on the teachings of the Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama. Periodically viewed as a philosophy or a religion, the teaching of Confucius also known as Confucianism, is concerned with primarily ethnical principles; the way of life. Buddhism and Confucianism are both spiritual beliefs that sought ways to end peoples suffering across the world. For those that practice the Buddhist faith or that of Confucius can see many of the similarities and differences that both these practices share. To understand the similarities and differences one needs to be exposed to the pathways of Confucianism and Buddhism.

I think that Confucius was more correct in his views than Mencius, not because of differing views (although they did differ at certain points), but because of the way these ideas were carried out throughout his career, and ultimately, his life.

One can infer from the two given sources that there are two main figures: Confucius, a Zhou philosopher and Sima Qian, a Han Historian. Both of them had various depictions of the non-Chinese peoples in their respective eras. So, what are the points of comparison in which we can uncover the similarities and differences of these depictions? The essay will seek to answer the question by first discussing the different depictions of the non-Chinese peoples by both Confucius and Sima Qian based on the definition of the term “non-Chinese” and the extent of threats, the attitude towards the non-Chinese peoples, their strengths, and the idea of assimilation. The similarities will later be explored through the concept of archery and the concept of profit and individualism. Lastly, the degree of difference will be discussed in the concluding paragraph.

     Confucius and Plato are two of the most respected and most widely studied teachers of history. There philosophies of how people should be governed and what characteristics make for a good leader. Both men’s ideas are good for the civilizations that they lived in, and they shared many similarities in their ideas. My own ideas of an ideal leader are a mixture of these two men’s ideas. The personal experiences of both men also play a key role in how they shape their ideas.

He didn’t try to make himself into a religious figure or have his disciples do so. Confucianism is an all-encompassing humanism that neither denies nor slights heaven. Confucius said: "The disciples who received my instructions, and could themselves comprehend them, were seventy-seven individuals. They were all scholars of extraordinary ability." 72 of his students mastered what he taught. Buddha who lived around the same time as Confucius however was made into a religious figure - the founder of Buddhism. Some brainy quotes by Confucius: Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated. It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life. Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home. A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire. Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change. If I am walking with two other men, each of them will serve as my

was the education for China for 2,000 years. Confucius had few simple morals, to honor one?s parents and