Eastern Wisdom: Hinduism,Buddhism,Confucianism,Daoism,Shinto

184 Pages·1996·16 MB·English

by  C. Scott Littleton

to the Religions
HINDUISM
BUDDHISM
CONFUCIANISM
D A O I S M
SHINTO
C. Scott Littleton, General Editor
The East has long been regarded as a source of
profound and universal ideas about mind and
body and the world around us. Increasingly, its
traditions are being embraced by the West as a
way of making order out of life’s contrasts and
confusions. This book is a lavishly illustrated
and uniquely accessible guide to the
compelling systems of belief that have shaped
the East and challenged the West.
Eastern Wisdom illuminates the main
philosophies and religions of Asia and explores
the Hindu traditions of India, the richly varied
Buddhist faith, the Confucian and Daoist
beliefs of China and the Shinto religion of
Japan. Clearly written and lavishly illustrated
with striking full-colour images, the book
traces these ancient and enduring beliefs from
their historical or mythical origins to the forms
in which they exist today.
Each chapter focuses on a single tradition,
examining its central ideas and placing them in
the social and historical contexts from which
they emerged. Theories of the individual and
society, of nature and of the universe are clearly
presented, illuminating such concepts as karma,
reincarnation and immortality.
The chapters also explore the wide-ranging
forms in which these traditions are manifested,
from the energetic festivals of the Shinto faith
to the serene monasticism of the Zen Buddhists
and the philosophical discipline of the
Confucians. Through words and pictures that
vividly capture the variety and intensity of the
Asian world, Eastern Wisdom offers a vibrant
collage of the beliefs and rituals of the East.
y « /i* ’SK.' _ . - j
V* 'A-yL^
* ■ &$&: lJ&& &£&&$&
Digitized by the Internet Archive
in 2018 with funding from
Kahle/Austin Foundation
https://archive.org/details/easternwisdomhinOOOOunse
EASTERN WISDOM

EASTERN WISDOM
HINDUISM . BUDDHISM . CONFUCIANISM . DAOISM . SHINTO
C. SCOTT LITTLETON, GENERAL EDITOR
DBF
DUNCAN BAIRD PUBLISHERS
LONDON
Contents
Eastern Wisdom _INTRODUCTION 6
Professor C. Scott Littleton
First published in Great
Britain in 1996 by Macmillan
an imprint of Macmillan
General Books
Conceived, created and designed by
HINDUISM BUDDHISM
Duncan Baird Publishers,
This edition published by Professor Mary McGee Dr Oman Rotem
Duncan Baird Publishers
Sixth Floor
Castle House
75-76 Wells Street
London W1P3RE.
A CIP catalogue record (Macmillan)
for this book is available from the
British Library Introduction 14 Introduction 54
The Self and the Absolute 18 The Buddha’s Previous Lives and
ISBN 1 900131 30 7
Sacred Texts 20 his Final Birth 58
Copyright © 1996 Duncan Baird
The Ramayana 22 Princely Life and the Great
Publishers.
Text © 1996 Duncan Baird Publishers. The Mahabharata and the Renunciation 60
Commissioned artwork/maps Bhagavad Gita 23 Enlightenment: the Struggle
© 1996 Duncan Baird Publishers.
For copyright of photographs see Cycles of Time and Creation 24 and its Reward 63
page 176. Dharma and Karma 26 The Buddha’s Teachings 66
All rights reserved. No part of this The Four Stages of Life 27 The Buddhist World:
book may be reproduced or utilized in The Four Aims of Life 29 "All is Duhkha" 68
any form or by any means electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, Paths to Salvation 30 Rebirth and Karma 72
recording or by any information stor¬ Manifestations of the Divine 32 The Four Noble Truths 74
age and retrieval system now known or
hereafter invented, without the prior Vishnu and his Avatars 34 The Path Leading to the Cessation
written permission of the publishers. Krishna 36 of Duhkha 76
1098765432 1 Rama and Sita 37 Different Visions of the Path 78
Shiva 38 The Buddhist Community 80
F.ditor: Daphne Bien Tebbe
Assistant editor: Lucy Rix Ganesha 41 Canons and Sutras 82
Designer: Sue Bush The Goddess 42 Arhats, Bodhisattvas and other
Picture research:
Temples and Shrines 44 Great Teachers 84
Cecilia Weston-Baker
Map illustration and decorative Pilgrimage and Religious Zen and Japanese Buddhism 86
borders: Lorraine Harrison
Devotion 46 Buddhism in Tibet 90
Commissioned calligraphy:
Yukki Yaura Festivals and Holy Days 50
Saints and Sages 52
Typeset in Times NR MT
and Rotis Sans Serif.
Colour reproduction by
Bright Arts, Hong Kong.
Printed in Singapore by
Imago Publishing Limited.
CONFUCIANISM PAPISM SHINTO
Dr John Chinnery Dr John Chinnery Professor C. Scott Littleton
Introduction 92 Introduction 116 Introduction 144
Confucius, the Great Master 96 Lao Zi and the Dao De Jing 120 The Principal Kami 148
The Sages of Antiquity 99 The Way and its Power 121 Shrines and Sacred Places 151
Heaven and the Spirits 100 Zhuang Zi and Lie Zi 123 Ritual and Ceremony 157
The Qualities of a Gentleman 102 The Seven Sages of the Bamboo A Neighbourhood Matsuri 159
Confucian Ritual 106 Grove 126 Shinto and Buddhism:
Mencius and Xun Zi 108 Alchemy and the Pursuit of 1500 Years of Coexistence 160
The State Cult 110 Immortality 127
Neo-Confucianism 112 The Five Bushels of Rice
Confucianism Today 114 Society 132 Glossary 162
Buddhism and Daoism 134 Further Reading 166
Priesthood and Ritual 136 Index 168
The Daoist Pantheon 138 Picture Credits 176
The Immortals 140
Daoist Sects 143
INTRODUCTION
Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism and Shinto together
command the devotion of well over half of the human race, and
the range and variation within each of these religious and
philosophical traditions is vast. In this book we have therefore
chosen to emphasize key themes and ideas rather than to provide
a plethora of details about specific beliefs and practices.
We have also have attempted to ground these five traditions in
the cultural and historical milieux that produced them, and to
comment, where relevant, on the impact they have had on the
societies that have subsequently adopted them. Indeed, without
at least some understanding of these five traditions, it is
impossible to comprehend fully the course of civilization in India,
China and Japan, as well as in a host of other east and Southeast
Asian countries.
Yet above and beyond their immediate historical and cultural
significance, the religious and philosophical beliefs we shall
shortly explore - that is, those which comprise what may be called
“Eastern wisdom” - have something important to say to all of us,
no matter what portion of the globe we call home; and it is hoped
that the reader will come away from this book with new insights
into the myriad ways in which human beings have come to grips
with what the eminent Protestant theologian Paul Tillich
(1886-1965) called matters of “ultimate concern”. For essentially,
Hinduism. Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto - like
all religious and philosophical systems. Eastern or Western
attempt to provide answers to the fundamental questions that
6