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Buddhism
Christianity
Confucianism Islam
Sufism
Taoism Zen
Buddhism
According to Buddhism, life is a consistent misery:
birth is misery, old age is a misery, separation from a loved one is a misery,
inability to achieve a desired goal is a misery.
The Wheel of Life in Buddhism
The cause of this suffering is attachment to life,
the craving for existence. To end this misery it is necessary to get rid of of
this craving by stifling all desire. A person must suppress in himself any
aspiration for existence, any desire, passion, attachment to anything. A person
would ultimately reach perfection by following the Noble Eightfold Path to
become an arhat (a perfect person, saint) and attain Nirvana. Nirvana is the
final, ideal state towards which a sage strived. Nirvana signifies the end of
the eternal cycle of reincarnation which lead any living creature from one
transmigration to another through constant suffering.
The Four Noble Truths the teaching about misery,
the cause of misery, that this cause can be eliminated, and that misery can be
ended by following the correct path:
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Everything that exists is filled with suffering
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Suffering is caused by desires
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You can get rid of suffering by stifling all desire
-
The Noble Eightfold Path leads to the end of
suffering:
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Right mode of seeing
things
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Right thinking
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Right speech
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Right action
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Right mode of living
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Right effort in every mode of being
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Right mindfulness
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Right
meditation...More
about Buddhism Buddhism about
Happiness
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion
centered on the life and teachings of
Jesus Christ as presented in the
New Testament.
Christians believe that, as the Messiah, Jesus was
anointed by God as ruler and savior of humanity, and hold that Jesus' coming was
the fulfillment of messianic prophecies of the Old Testament. Christians
generally believe in the immortality of the soul. Forgiveness of sins is one of
the key marks of Christianity.
These beliefs are key to the Christian faith:
-
There is one God and only one God. He is
personal and knowable. He manifests Himself in three persons: the Father,
the Son and the Holy Spirit.
-
God created the universe and all that is in it.
God is a person, but of a somewhat different type than human beings. God is
entirely spiritual. He exists in a sphere outside the physical universe he
created.
-
The Bible is the Word of God. It is inspired
and inerrant in its original autographs. It is a complete and final
revelation of God.
-
Jesus Christ is God manifest in the flesh, born
of a virgin, without sin, and the chosen Messiah who will one day set up his
kingdom on earth.
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Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins,
was buried, rose again from the dead, ascended back to heaven, and will one
day return to this earth again...
More about
Christianity
Jesus on Love
Confucianism
Founder:
Confucius,
Chinese philosopher and reformer (B.C. 551 - 479)
Confucianism is the moral and religious system
of China. Its origins go back to the Analects, the sayings attributed
to
Confucius, and to ancient
commentaries, including that of Mencius.
Core value
balance
between individual variety and social harmony.
The main theme wisdom inside and kindness
outside: "The wise man admires water, the kind man admires mountains. The wise
man moves, the kind man rests. The wise man is
happy, the
kind man is firm."
Keys to success:
Virtuous life
and adherence to performing your duties
Three main principles:
-
Jen
humaneness, love of fellow men; the central virtue of Confucianism and the most
important characteristic of the ideal man (chόn-tzu)
-
Li
morality, uprightness, custom, observing rules
-
Chi
virtuous life
The practice of jen is governed by li:
"To conquer oneself and turn to
li; that is humaneness."
To achieve Jen, you must maintain decent
relationships (wu-lun) with people, especially in the five pairs of
social roles:
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Between father and son
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Between the ruler and the subject
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Between the older and the younger
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Between husband and wife
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Between friends
Practicing Jen "doing without a purpose" because
you must, not because you want
-
Shu: Do
unto others as you would have others do unto you (mutuality)
-
Chung: Don't do unto others as
you wouldn't have others do unto you (loyalty)...
More about Confucianism
Confucius Quotes
Islam
Islam means
submission to Allah (God).
The word Islam means "entering into a condition
of peace and security with God, through allegiance or surrender to him".
Islam was revealed to the Prophet
Muhammad who lived from 570 CE to
632 CE in Mecca.
Muhammad (or Mohammed), A.D. 570-632, is the
founder of the world religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as the
messenger and prophet of God (Allāh), the last and the greatest in a series
of prophets of Islam. Muslims consider him the restorer of the original,
uncorrupted monotheistic faith (Islam) of Adam, Abraham and others. The name
Muhammad literally means "Praiseworthy".
Six
Articles of Belief:
-
There is only one God without limit, called
Allah.
-
Muhammad received the
Quran as a copy of the eternal Quran
which is inscribed in heaven.
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God created heavenly beings called angels to
serve God and they are opposed by evil spirits.
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God sent his prophets to the earth at their
appointed times, and the Prophet Muhammad was the last and greatest
messenger of God.
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There will be a last day of world history
called the Day of Judgement. Good and evil will be weighed in the
balance.
The wicked will be punished and the just will enjoy eternal life in
Paradise.
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Everything in the universe has a predetermined
course. Nothing happens without the will or knowledge of God.
Islam
Islamic Wisdom Quotes
Sufism
Sufism is a mystical branch of Islam. It is
practiced mainly in South Asia.
Islam adopted the mystical and semi-monastic trend
of Sufism (sufi is a coarse wool fabric) between the eight and tenth
centuries. Sufism grew within Shiism, but was also taken up among the Sunnites.
Sufism was influenced by the ideas of Mazdaism, perhaps Buddhism and even
Neoplatonism. The adherents of Sufism did not pay much attention to superficial
ritual; they sought true understanding of God, a mystical merging with the
divine.
-
Sufism emphasizes the direct knowledge of the
divine within each person.
-
Its followers see music, dance meditation as a means to spiritual quest.
-
The ecstatic dancing ritual of dervishes is the most recognizable aspect.
-
Sufism is based on the principles of self-esteem and love.
-
Sufism opposes orthodoxy, caste/creed division.
-
Sufism "affords freedom within a structure"
Rumi
Rumi on Love
Enneagram
Taoism
Tao is Chinese for "Way" or "Path," and forms the basis for Taoist
philosophy.
Taoism in general received a great jolt from
Lao Tzu's powerful teaching.
Lao Tzu about a Wise Leader
Taoism points our attention towards our natural
capacity
for transcendence. "A unique gift of the Taoist tradition is that it does
not see transcendent experience as separate and "other" but fully integrates
inner and outer, everyday and mystic, pragmatic and transcendent. The Tao is a
path we can all readily follow without fears of falling over some esoteric edge,
because the Tao points directly to everyday reality and says, right here before
you, in your everyday routine, you will find transcendence you will encounter
the Tao."8
Yin and
yang are symbols of the Tao and Taosim. They are the
dynamic force of the Tao, constantly interacting with one another.
The Tao of
Change Management
The Tao of Business Success
The Tao is the law of nature and the basic
principle of universe. It is the law of your true self.
If the follower of the
Tao understands the principles, structures or trends of human nature,
human society and the natural order, then he can expend least energy in
dealing with them. When he does exert this power at the right moment, his
efforts will have a spontaneous, natural or unforced quality about them...
More about Taoism
Taoist Parables
Zen
Zen way of thinking about the world is based first of all on clarity and
preciseness of images, as opposed to the Western approach based on formal
logics. The secret of Zen philosophy is that it can be expressed not only
through words and
writings, but also through arts, paintings, calligraphy, customs, and ceremonies
(e.g. tea ceremony is also some kind of philosophy).
Key ideas of Zen:
-
True enlightenment comes suddenly. Special
preparations may be necessary, but it' actually comes through experience.
-
Action can be achieved by inaction,
where the result is achieved by "Not-Me"
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Enlightenment and experience are
closely connected, while books, texts and theory don't open the way to nirvana.
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True wizard lives in every person and
every thing. The man does not need to seek recluse or to be an ascetic to
achieve enlightenment...More
about Zen
Zen
Parables
See
also:
One World Quotes
East vs. West: Philosophy and Cultural Values
Culture Dimension
Scores for
Selected Countries
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