01 Comparison between Chinese Philosophy and Western Philosophy
Chinese Taoism focuses on the ineffable, while Western Kant believes that things cannot be known and are also ineffable. Although the two are similar, they are actually quite different. From a Taoist perspective, Kant's "thing-in-itself" is a very misleading term because it often gives people the wrong impression. If we follow Kant's thinking, everything will become unspeakable in the end, only silence. In silence, we also crossed the boundary of understanding things and reached the other shore. In China, Taoism uses this method, as does Zen.
But here comes the problem. If you want to describe things on the other side, you cannot express them in words. You cannot say what it is, you can only say what it is not. This gives rise to the concept of negation. In the end, it can only lead to mysticism.
From the perspectives of Taoism and Zen, although there is a certain amount of mysticism in Western philosophy, it is not mysterious enough. The West talks about God and the unity between man and God, but this God, who seems omniscient and omnipotent, is actually a concept created by human reason. It is actually the product of human history and the history of human spirituality, which is still on the other side of the boundary. Chinese philosophy emphasizes the unity of nature and man, the unity of knowledge and action, and the unity of situations.
Unfortunately, we have not fully developed the correct method of metaphysics, that is, logical analysis. Neither Zhu Xi, Wang Yangming, nor the earlier Taoists and Confucians were able to form a system, and then To disseminate and develop in a philosophical sense. Taoism opposes knowledge and reason, and the debates and proofs they make revolve around these, but knowledge and reason are the beginning of our understanding of the world and nature. We should learn from the West on this point. (Mathematics, geometry, physics, chemistry, these subjects are almost all monopolized and disseminated by the West. We still have to continue to work hard)
Chinese scholars believe that future world philosophy will be more rational than traditional Chinese philosophy , only by unifying Western rationalism and Chinese harmonious thought can we form a philosophy that is worthy of the important task and commensurate with the world.
02 The ideal state of life achieved by philosophy
According to Indian philosophy, it is believed that people reach an indescribable and incredible state and are identical with absolute reality. This state is nirvana. Once Nirvana is achieved, people can be liberated and achieve the vacuum state of immortality. But according to Chinese tradition, we are born as human beings and cannot cross the boundary of the human world. Otherwise, once we reach the other side, where should your relatives and friends be placed? Where should all your memories and emotions in this world be placed?
Traditional Chinese philosophy requires us to be ourselves and improve our own realm of life in order to improve our lives. According to the understanding of Chinese philosophers, the reason why humans are different from other animals is that humans know what they are doing and are conscious of what they are doing. The meaning of what he is doing to him is precisely given by this understanding and consciousness. This builds our meaning and value system and forms our realm of life.
Different people can do the same thing, but according to their different levels of understanding and awareness of things, they will have different meanings and values, and thus different realms. According to the tradition of Chinese philosophy, the realm of heaven and earth or the realm of the unity of heaven and man is an extremely high philosophical realm, because it is impossible for a person to gain some understanding of the universe as a whole without understanding and sublimating it at the philosophical level. It reaches the realm of heaven and earth. Without this kind of cognition and understanding, he can at most reach the utilitarian realm and the moral realm.
In ancient Chinese philosophers, Taoism emphasized that the highest life is joy and happiness, which is a kind of deep tranquility and emptiness. However, from the perspective of Confucianism, improving people’s living realm is the best. People should not only be happy and enjoy themselves, but also bear social responsibilities. A person may be a powerful person in a certain field, but he is not a perfect person, because only in the highest realm of life can a person become a perfect person. The function of philosophy is to cultivate people into perfect people through thinking and training. The highest achievement of a perfect person is to become one with heaven and earth and one with the universe.
03 About the unity of the universe and the unity of heaven and man
The universe and heaven and earth are not rational objects. Without human participation, the universe, heaven and earth are dead things. Therefore, in understanding this reflection process, we must not give up caring for the subject.
When we think about the totality of all existence, we are reflecting. We must include ourselves and our thinking in the totality of existence. If not, the totality of our thinking is not the totality of existence. There will be omissions or loopholes. Strictly speaking, the totality of all existence is a concept in human thinking.
In Plato's "Utopia", he taught us that philosophers must rise from the "cave" of the perceptual world to the real world of reason. If a philosopher is in the intellectual world, he is in the realm of heaven and earth. This way you can understand the world better. The unity of the individual and the universe manifests itself in Spinoza as an intellectual love for God. He believed that God is the sum total of all existence, but once this happens, God cannot be the object of love, and people cannot love it, because unless people themselves can be identical with it. Otherwise, we cannot know God. With William James, pure experience was the main thing. Pure experience can make us innocent and allow us to enter a natural state where all knowledge is based on our feelings and experiences.
Philosophies that deny rationality are mostly idealistic and, like Buddhism, are often transcendental. Its purpose is to eliminate people's selfish and vain nature, but this does not mean that it can exclude people's interest and concern in daily affairs in the world. A true philosopher is both a person of the world and a person of the world. He knows how to realize the highest realm of human life in the daily affairs of human life, that is, becoming one with heaven and earth and one with the universe. This is also the core point of Chinese philosophical tradition.
People who have reached the realm of heaven and earth are saints. Saints do not have many miracles and do not need to do so. What he does is not more than ordinary people, but he has a very high understanding and awareness of life, life, and even the universe, which creates meaning. In other words, he does things in a state of "light", while ordinary people do things in a state of "ignorance". This is the difference in understanding and awareness of each of our lives, which results in different meanings and values ??of life.
Having the highest realm of life and realizing it consciously in daily life is the ideal life that traditional Chinese philosophy aims to achieve.
Conclusion——
Chinese philosophy regards life as a natural fact, faces it bravely, strives to improve spiritually, does not flinch when problems arise, and does not show off when achievements are made. Make life as beautiful as possible. This outlook on life is not a simple moral preaching or religious creed, but a time-honored attempt to survive for the better, a system of meaning and value established in self-improvement and life experience, and a way of learning through daily life. The highest spiritual understanding of man, which is tempered and realized.
Chinese philosophy has no supernaturalism or transcendentalism, but it can always guide practical life without being vulgar; Chinese philosophy does not have too many schools and humanistic propaganda, but it can always be people-oriented and integrate into the spirit of the times without being vulgar. As for the possibility of falling into rigidity and backwardness. This is the blessing of our people and the nation.