Axial Period: Non-Western Thought Beyond China

South Asian thought

Zoroastrian Hinduism Buddhism Jainism African

Zoroastrianism

Pre Axial era beginnings but should be mentioned briefly as a precursor to Hinduism

Zarathustra (Zoroaster)– ~1400-1200 BCE (though some

put in axial era)– Trained as a priest

Zoroastrianism

Key concepts Asha

– Principle of cosmic order to which things adhered E.g. sun rise and set, change of seasons

By observing asha humans would live a fulfilling life, and in accordance with their true nature

– Just, true, filial, devoted

Mainyu– The invisible inner, sentient spirit of all things

Zoroastrianism

Ahuras– Trinity of gods who were guardians of asha– Mazda, Mithra and Vouruna Apam Napat– The gods created the elements and a plant, animal and

man which were sacrificed to set things in motion and create the multitude of living things

Notions of heaven and hell, good vs. evil– Evil less power, man with the free will to overcome

Man lived according to asha to empower the gods to maintain the world

Hinduism

Shaped by influx of people from outside the Indian area

– Indo-Iranian (Aryan) 2000-1000 BCE– Zoroastrian – Eventually even Greek toward the end

of the Axial period It is during the Axial period where

previous (sometimes ancient) thought became more formal and organized

Not really driven by a single individual as other philosophical approaches

Hinduism

Vedic literature– Vedas

up to 5th century BCE but initially developed much earlier Rigveda ~1500- 1200 BCE

– Brahmanas Prose, more elaborate ritual

– Aranyakas Upanishads

– 800-500 BCE Bhagavadgita

– Ancient, but first written probably during the late Axial period Various schools of thought, both orthodox (consistent with

Vedas) and non-orthodox (Buddhism as the most extreme)

Hinduism

Vedas– some of the oldest surviving texts of humanity

Ultimate authority in Hinduism (revealed knowledge, shruti)

Four hymns (samhitas). Rough order of compilation:– Rigveda (oldest)– Samaveda (Rigveda redux)– Yajurveda– Atharvaveda (more independent of Rigveda)

Hinduism

Rigveda Indra most popular and powerful deity Agni, the sacrificial fire, man’s connection to the gods, the

counterpart among the gods as the priests are to men– Also as fire in general, has the properties of being one and many

Soma– Deified plant, still not sure which– Seen as a cosmic power, Indra the great soma drinker

These the three the greatest in the pantheon of 33

Hinduism

Cosmology– Being born from non-being– World egg floating on waters of chaos out of which the maker of all

(Visvakarman) emerges Sacrifice of the cosmic person (thousand heads eyes and feet)

which created the beasts, the gods, the hymns Thus the creating power and the created are interdependent

– “Non-being did not exist, nor did being exist at that time; what enveloped it, where, whose the protection? Was there water, profound and deep?”

– Answer: don’t know

Hinduism

Artharvaveda– Less ritual, more spells

Uses the term Brahman both regarding its incantations and the universal principle

More hymns concerning creation, including the notion of a support framework on which the universe is erected and in which being and non-being exist

Knowledge of the true nature of things as a liberating force but also practical (e.g. giving power over others)

Hinduism

Upanishads Dialogues recording debates, though still in the ritual world of

the Vedic hymns Focus on the nature of Brahman, the underlying eternal and

infinite reality– The power underlying the cosmos

The world has Brahman as its essence and emanates from it Atman as the permanent self or soul within the individual In addition, the concept of rebirth is introduced and developed

– How rebirth occurs depends on one’s knowledge and karma (one’s actions and/or their results)

Hinduism

Three states of self– Normal waking

Influenced by the external world– Dreaming

Self is projected and operates in the interior world– Deep sleep

Bliss Individual objects are only matter, however the formless matter

is true reality Now being (sat) seen as emerging from non-being Sat as essence of universe and man

– ‘You are that’

Hinduism

Different facets of atman– As creator– As intelligence

Brahman as truth, knowledge, infinity– 5 sheaths of man

Physical Vital Mental Intellectual True self one with Brahman

– Gods ignorant of Brahman, even futilely challenging it Later Upanishads

– Appeal to tradition– 4th stage of being, sum of others opposed to them also– Atman is not born, doesn’t die– More theistic approach (Siva, Vishnu)

Hinduism

Bhagavadgita Conversation between

Krishna and Arjuna which takes place on a battlefield just before war

During the conversation, Krishna reveals himself to Arjuna as the supreme deity

Hinduism

The conversation summarizes a number of different philosophies, explaining the meaning and purpose of life and existence.

Arjuna is concerned because it is a civil war and he does not want to kill his friends and relatives

Krishna speaks of the undying atman which transmigrates from entity to entity; Arjuna cannot kill what truly is

Hinduism

Krishna suggests that all have a duty to perform the particular roles society has laid out

As it is Arjuna’s duty to engage in battle he should, and do so with a sense of impersonal detachment– Disinterested action

So here we see parallels to Confucian and Taoist perspectives

Hinduism

The Bhagavadgita and Yoga Four yogas as means of enlightenment Raja yoga

– The yoga of meditation Karma yoga

– The yoga of selfless action in the world. Bhakti yoga

– The yoga of complete devotion to a deity Jnana yoga

– yoga of transcendent knowledge. Varying paths leading to realization of Brahman

Hinduism

Other Hindu concepts and themes Maya

– The illusion of the perceptible world Objectives of life (from base to ultimate goal)

– Kama Physical pleasure

– Artha Material wealth

– Dharma Cosmic law or guiding principle of which we are to accord ourselves Act according to our duty

– Moksha Enlightenment that leads to cessation of karmic rebirth Goal of yoga

Non-Western Philosophy

Buddhism and other philosophies

Buddhism

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama b. ~623 BCE Western contemporaries

– Presocratics

Buddha = “the Awakened one”

The Buddha

Much legend surrounds the Buddha Born into nobility (a prince) in present day Nepal

– One story is that of an immaculate conception, that his mother dreamed he entered the womb as a white elephant

– Due to this, predicted to be a great king or spiritual leader Led a posh existence through young adulthood, excelled in martial arts, even

married and had a son Although his father tried to shelter him from exposure the evils of the world,

generally dissatisfied, at one point went out alone from the palace and witnessed on different excursions witnessed the Four Signs

– Old man, bent and feeble– Sick man– A corpse– Wandering monk content in his simplicity

It was at this time (age 29) that he left his world behind to seek the good*

*Yep, the Buddha was a deadbeat dad

The Buddha

He practiced mediation, and eventually opted at one point for self-mortification

Finding no satisfaction with the path of extreme austerity, chose in sense to ‘find the truth or else’

Now 35, sat under a tree, attained bodhi (supreme enlightenment)

The Buddha

Gave the first sermon, and here he presented the Four Noble Truths

Suffering exists Suffering arises from attachment to desires* Suffering ceases when attachment to desire ceases Freedom from suffering is possible by practicing the

Eightfold Path

*See the Bhagavadgita

The Buddha

What is the Eightfold Path?

 Three Qualities  Eightfold Path

 Wisdom (panna)  Right View

   Right Thought

 Morality (sila)  Right Speech

   Right Action

   Right Livelihood

 Meditation (samadhi)  Right Effort

   Right Mindfulness

   Right Contemplation

The Buddha

What set the Buddha apart from other views of that time regarded his treatment of tradition and view of the self

Rejected what could not be experienced (empiricist, though religious experience included)

– If tradition (even Vedas) dictates something that does not correspond to experience it must be left behind

– No reliance on revelation and traditional authority, instead on outer and inner observation

The Buddha

Rejected a permanent self, did not find it necessary to posit permanent entities underlying the perpetual change of experience

– The self as a bundle of states or processes (physiological, perceptual, consciousness)

– Rebirth as passing from one state to the next– Nirvana as a change in states that led from rebirth, a

transcendental liberation Hinduism saw reality as permanent being,

consciousness, bliss For the Buddha they are impermanence, no

consciousness and suffering

The Buddha

Core metaphysics Phenomena are marked by three characteristics: Anicca

– The essential flux of experience– All things are impermanent

Dukkha– The reality of suffering for all– ‘Whatever is impermanent is subject to change. Whatever is

subject to change is subject to suffering.’ Anatta or Anatman

– None possess a permanent ‘self’

The Buddha

Law of dependent causation (pratitya-samutpada)

Phenomena arise together in a mutually interdependent web of cause and effect

As such the notion of karma is a key factor in the cycle of rebirth

Problem: getting causality from the no longer existing source

The Buddha

Ethics The middle way (Eightfold path) as a means to act From it we see parallels to both Western and non-Western thought

– For example, Confucian propriety, Platonic contemplation of the ideal 5 percepts or guidelines to aid in the path to enlightenment

– To refrain from harming living creatures (killing)– To refrain from taking that which is not freely given – To refrain from sexual misconduct– To refrain from incorrect speech – To refrain from intoxicants which lead to loss of mindfulness

Transcendental virtues– Kindness (maitri)– Compassion (karuna)– Joy in other’s happiness (mudita)– Equanimity (upeksa)

Buddhism

Schools Two traditional, competing schools

– Hinayana (Theravada is a school of) Way of the elders

– Mahayana Greater vehicle Hinayana as Lesser Vehicle

Most of the distinction regards what particular texts are considered authoritative

– Sutras Spoken by Buddha himself

– Sastras Commentary on Buddha’s teachings

Sayings of the Buddha

"Mindfulness (sati) is the way to the Immortal, unmindfulness the way to death. Those who are mindful do not die, (whereas) the unmindful are like the dead."

"Oneself, indeed, is one's saviour, for what other saviour would there be? With oneself well controlled one obtains a saviour difficult to find.“

"Let go the past. Let go the future. Let go the present (front, back and middle). Crossing to the farther shore of existence, with mind released from everything, do not again undergo birth and decay."

"The mind is hard to check. It is swift and wanders at will. To control it is good. A controlled mind is conducive to happiness."

"Victory breeds hatred. The defeated live in pain. Happily the peaceful live, giving up victory and defeat."

"Though one should conquer a thousand times a thousand men in battle, he who conquers his own self, is the greatest of all conquerors."

Jainism

In many ways similar in thought to that seen in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy

Hallmark is an ethical commitment to the value of all, emphasis on non-violence (ahimsa).

– Living an extreme ascetic lifestyle is the means by which Jains attain liberation from the cycle of rebirth

Mahavira (6th century BCE)– Key Axial period spiritual leader

Eternal truths reveal themselves through the teachings of various thinkers, of which 24 have been identified

Mahavira as the last– Western contemporaries Presocratics

Jainism

As each living thing is to be regarded as having a soul, what hurts us will obviously injure others which is to be avoided

Jains practice vegetarianism, sometimes wear masks to avoid accidental injury to insects, and some, believing in the sentience of plants as well, will starve themselves to death to prevent injury to others

Jainism

Universe has always existed and always will, comprising the whole of time

– No creation– Unfolds for the individual consciousness in the flow of time

Also contain the notion of atman, the perfect eternal and unchanging soul which is manifested in an infinite number of ways

– How so depends on karma The phenomenal world as composed of two substances:

– Jiva, the infinite number of spiritual essences– Ajiva, that which has form and is subject to time, space and motion

Atomistic theory– Smallest units of matter of 4 kinds (air, water, fire, earth) which combine to

create material objects

Jainism

Cognition– 2 kinds with 5 aspects

Direct– Senses– Language comprehension– Clairvoyance

Past, future, distant Varying in degree in individuals

– Yogis may develop a sort of apprehension of the contents of other’s minds– The liberated soul gains direct cognition of everything

Indirect– Recollection– Recognition– Inductive reasoning– Other inference– Trustworthy testimony (from a liberated person)

Jainism

Relativistic notion of truth can be seen as an extension of non-injury to the problem of what can be known

No one has claim to absolute truth Each view as one perspective among many

each as viable– Maybe-ism

Africa

Egypt Pre-axial literature

– Instructions Advice from father to son regarding topics such as justice, moderation,

truthfulness – Tomb inscriptions

Descriptions of the person but also hymns and entreaties to the gods– Didactic literature

Dialogues regarding ethics and meaning of life Book of the Dead final form during the Presocratic period Compilation of spells regarding the afterlife and provides an

ethics by which one can claim innocence– The weighing of the heart against ‘Truth’ Ma’at

Book of the Dead

Means to achieve eternal life, but to obtain one must establish their innocence

Of note are some things that have relation to other ethics discussed, but in general practical considerations for how one should live life

‘Commandmentesque’– Do not harm others, commit adultery, lie, cheat, steal, curse

the gods, talk needlessly etc. So with this we can see a concern for ritual and a

concrete ethic for how to conduct oneself