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Ge1 Lesson 3
Ge1 Lesson 3
General Education 1
Understanding
The
S E L F
Compilers:
Published by:
Department of Psychology
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
University of Southern Mindanao
Kabacan, Cotabato
August 2018
LESSON3:
Eastern Philosophical Perspective on the Self
BUDDHISM
• Anatta – “no self”
• The concept of a self is an illusion. There is no permanent concept of the self. All things
are not permanent.
• Teachings based on Siddhartha Gautama or BUDDHA (“the awakened one”)
• Rejection of a permanent, self-existent soul (atman)
Taoism
• True knowledge cannot be known but perhaps it can be understood.
• Taos is a system of guidance.
Te
• Awareness of the Tao together with the capabilities that enable a person to follow the
Tao.
Tzu Jan
• That which is naturally so.
• Condition something will be in if it is permitted to exist and develop naturally.
Wu Wei
• Knowledge tries to figure out why round pegs fit round holes, but not square holes.
• Cleverness tries to devise ways of making them fit. Wu Wei doesn’t try.
• It doesn’t think about it. It just does. And when it does, it doesn’t appear to do much of
anything but Things Get Done.
• T’ai Chi Ch’uan – wear the opponent out by sending his energy back at him or deflecting
it away, in order to weaken his power, balance, and position for defense.
• Live through life and accept the totality of reality.
• Believe in the power within and use it.
Chi or Qi
• Cosmic vital energy enables beings to survive and link them to the universe as a whole.
Inner Nature
• Things as they are.
• Knowing where you belong; everything has its own place and function
• “A fly can’t bird but a bird can’t fly.”
• Do with what you have.
Simplicity
• Things in their original simplicity contain their own natural power, power that is easily
spoiled and lost when that simplicity is changed.
• Knowledge and Relativity
• Knowledge is always partial and affected by the standpoint of the person claiming that
knowledge.
• Scholarly intellect may be useful for analyzing certain things but deeper and broader
matters are beyond its limited reach.
• “There is more to knowing than just being correct.”
Way of Self-Reliance
• Recognizing who we are, what we’ve got to work with, and what works best for us.