ENGL 3413: World Literature

John M. Mercer, Professor of English

Northeastern State University, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma

Study Guide 4: Confucius, Chuang Chou, The Bhagavad-Gītā

Corrected 2-1-12

Each of the three readings in this assignment represents an important Eastern religion or philosophy of the ancient world:

• Confucius’s Analects: Confucianism (from ancient China, written in Chinese)
• Chuang Chou’s Chuang Tzu: Taoism (from ancient China, written in Chinese)
• The Bhagavad-Gītā: Hinduism (from ancient India, written in Sanskrit)

Confucius (551-479 BCE)

Confucius is more ancient than all the European (Greek and Roman) writers studied in this unit except Homer and Sappho.

• Confucius as SCHOLAR: Above all, Confucius was a lover of learning, a student of the ancient royal traditions of the kings of Chou (also called the Way of Former Kings). Because he sought to recover the documents and teachings of the past, he was a conservative social historian.

1. What passages, if any, in your assigned reading reflect Confucius’s love of learning? What passages, if any, reveal his dedication to the teachings of the former kings?
2. What is Chou (pronounced “joe”)? On the map on page 526, where is Chou? Where was Confucius from? Since he was not from Chou, why was he interested in the teachings of its ancient kings?

• Confucius as TEACHER: Because of his knowledge of Chinese history, the sons of “gentlemen” flocked to him; at one time he had 3000 disciples or students. He taught informally, not in an organized institution.

3. What Greek philosopher taught under similar circumstances?

Confucius wanted his disciples to get into government so they could implement the Way of Former Kings and thus change society. He chose 72 of his disciples to seek government positions.

• Confucius as TRAVELING SAGE AND OFFICE SEEKER: He himself wanted to be a political adviser so he could help to establish moral order in society. For 15 years, when he was 55 to 69 years old, he traveled to different kingdoms in China seeking a ruler who would let him put the Way of Former Kings into practice. He said he needed 3 years in politics to succeed. Despite his complete failure to get a political appointment, he kept traveling and teaching. He died believing his teaching had been futile.

4. Where does Confucius refer to the necessity of having three (3) years to implement his program?

• Confucius as FOUNDER OF CONFUCIANISM: After his death, Confucius was venerated as a Divine Sage with infallible sayings. He did not intend to found a religion, but Confucianism, the practical moral philosophy he transmitted, is, along with Buddhism, a major religion of China to this day.

5. Confucianism is a this-worldly religion. Even if you have never heard the term before, in what sense is Confucianism “this-worldly”?
6. What is missing from the teachings of Confucius that you would expect to find in a religion?
7. In Book VI, #22, what does Confucius say about “the gods and spirits” (549m)?

The Analects of Confucius: Background

The word “analects” means “selections or parts of a literary work”; it comes from a root word meaning “to gather.”

Origin of The Analects: As late as 80 to 100 years after Confucius’s death, these sayings were written down, perhaps by the disciples of his disciples. They are, therefore, of questionable authenticity.

Stature of The Analects: In traditional Chinese society, the sayings of Confucius are treated as scripture. They are memorized even by very young children.

Genre of The Analects

1. Is this work written in prose or poetry? Is it a philosophical dialogue? Why or why not? What other works in this unit belong to the same genre?

Arrangement of The Analects: The individual fragments (each preceded by an Arabic numeral in your text) were arranged into 20 books (indicated by Roman numerals in your textbook). Some of the fragments are (supposedly, at least) dialogues, or questions and answers, between Confucius and his students; others are scraps of monologues spoken by “the Master.” The fragments often have no context, not even supplying the question that is being answered. Sometimes Confucius appears to have tailored his responses to the needs of the individual questioners. For example, in one passage several disciples ask Confucius “about government,” and each gets a different response.

Difficulty of The Analects: For the above reasons, the sayings are often hard to understand, cryptic, and subject to many interpretations.

2. What different interpretations can you come up with for #22 and #28 on page 551?

3. Two longer passages are Book XI, #26 (551) and Book XVIII, #6 (555). What is the subject matter of these passages? What meaning do you find in them?

Themes and Values of The Analects

Below is a list of some of the themes and values emphasized in the sayings of Confucius. When citations of passages are already supplied for you, explain how the passages relate to the theme or value, and try to identify additional relevant passages. When citations of passages are not listed, find relevant passages that support the themes or values.

1. The Way (554m)

2. Study, learning (548t; 550, #13; 554b, #31) as opposed to meditation (554, #31)

3. Rituals (repeated ceremonies) relating to

a. Politics

b. Religion

(1) ceremonies in ancestral temple (551, #26; 552m)

(2) sacrifices, sacrificial vessels (550t)

(3) Rain Altar (552t)

c. family

d. sports (549b)

e. mourning

f. food

g. music (551b, #26)

h. clothing (551b)

i. proper behavior for a gentleman

j. roles for each person in society (553t)

4. Moral conduct

a. Confucius’s summary of his own moral development (548, #4)

b. Relationship of moral conduct to reform of state

c. Greater importance of moral conduct than physical desires

d. Cultivation of virtue

e. Golden Rule (552m): How does Confucius’s Golden Rule compare with the Golden Rule in the New Testament?

5. Family
1. Reverence for family
2. Ancestor worship in ancestral temple (551b)
3. Respect for the old
4. Respect for and cherishing of the young (551t)

6. Reliability, loyalty, good faith, trustworthiness (552b)

7. Industry, hard work (548b, 553m)

8. humility (550, #5)

Chuang Chou’s Chuang Tzu

Chuang Chou and Lao-Tzu are the two great philosophers of Taoism, another religious philosophy of ancient China. The philosophy of Chuang Chou (collected in a book titled Chuang Tzu) contrasts sharply with the philosophy of Confucius.

· Chuang Chou is completely apolitical, showing no interest in politics. In fact, Chuang Tzu is the ONLY ancient Chinese work that doesn’t discuss politics or government at all. Whereas Confucius often spoke of government and spent his life trying to get into it, Chuang Chou tells a story (not in our textbook) of his being offered a high government position and refusing it. He says that just as a tortoise would rather stay in the mud than be stuffed and put on display in a museum, so he would rather stay out of politics.

· Chuang Chou’s Taoism is otherworldly. Taoism teaches that, in this life, meditation and right thinking can lead people to find freedom on a spiritual plane above the pettiness of the physical world, where they can unite with the Tao, “the mystical working of the universe.” Taoists may choose either to remain in or withdraw from society. Either way, they should be concerned only with their own freedom and integrity, not with societal expectations.

An important theme in Chuang Tzu, as identified by the editors of your textbook, is the “relativity of perception and value” (529). Taoists believe that values are relative rather than absolute and that human distinctions, such as the difference between life and death and between right and wrong, are superficial and meaningless. Chuang Chou urges us, “Forget the years; forget distinctions. Leap into the boundless and make it your home!” (564b).

Explain how each of the following passages relates to this theme of the “relativity of perception and value”:

1. Right vs. wrong (next-to-last paragraph on 559; 561t; 564m)
2. “This” vs. “that” (559b-560t): In this discussion “this” and “that” stand for any pair of values that people assume to be in opposition to each other, such as good/bad, up/down, black/white, moral/immoral.
3. The story about the monkeys and “three in the morning” (560): What insight into human nature does this story reveal?
4. Where to sleep, what to eat, what is beautiful (563, 2^nd paragraph)
5. The story of Lady Li (564t)
6. Chuang Chou vs. a butterfly (565t)

Mahābhārata

The Bhagavad-Gītā is part of the Mahābhārata (pronounced “mah-ha-BAR-uh-tuh”), an epic of ancient India. Fifteen times longer than the Bible, the Mahābhārata is the longest poem in the world. The central plot of this epic involves the struggle between two related royal families (two groups of cousins) for the Bhārata throne. The title of the epic means “War of the Descendants of Bhārata” or “Great War of the Bhāratas.” The plot of the epic can be broadly divided into three parts:

• Part I: In a rigged dice game, the Pāndavas (the rightful king Pandu and his 5 sons) lose the throne to the Kauravas (the usurping king and his 100 sons [sic]).

• Part II: Exiled to the forest for 13 years, the Pāndavas prepare for battle to regain the throne, acquiring weapons of destruction.

• Part III: In a fierce battle with devastating weapons, the Pāndavas, led by Arjuna, the third son of Pandu, defeat their enemies with the help of the god Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu). At the end of the poem, the victors retire to the forest and rise to heaven, having achieved moksha or liberation from the cycle of reincarnation.

The Bhagavad-Gītā comes at the most dramatic point in the epic, between Parts II and III, right before the battle.

1. On your “Chart of Epics” handout, what information is revealed about the Mahābhārata?
2. To what extent does this epic exhibit the first seven traits of epics described under “Definition of Epic” on Study Guide 1?
3. Which of the conventions of Homeric epic (#8- #12 under “Definition of Epic” on Study Guide 1) are present in the Mahābhārata? Which are NOT present?

The Bhagavad-Gītā

The Bhagavad-Gītā (“The Song of God,” referring to the god Krishna) is the best-known section of the Mahābhārata. It has been considered Hindu scripture since the 3^rd or 4^th century BCE.

Language: The Bhagavad-Gītā is written in Sanskrit, the classical (literary) language of ancient India.

Genre: The Bhagavad-Gītā a philosophical dialogue between Arjuna, leader of the Pāndavas, and the god Krishna, who has assumed the physical form of Arjuna’s charioteer. It is also part of an epic (long narrative poem) and an example of didactic literature, whose primary purpose is to teach.

1. What other primarily didactic works have we studied?

Arjuna’s dilemma: At the moment when the battle is about to begin, Arjuna tells his charioteer (Krishna) that he doesn’t want to fight because he fears the consequences of the battle, including the following:

• Killing his own kinsmen.
• Killing many men of the same caste (warriors), which could lead to the breakdown of society.
• Pursuing and achieving worldly rewards like victory and power. As a good Hindu, he knows that the physical world, after all, is only an illusion.

Krishna’s reasons: In your reading, Krishna explains why Arjuna MUST fight the battle. For each of the three reasons listed below, find several relevant verses from the “Second Teaching” and “Third Teaching,” and explain Krisha’s argument.

1. Because of the reincarnation of the soul, the soul (“self”) can’t be killed. Therefore, it isn’t possible to really kill another person.
2. It is the duty (dharma) of everyone born into Arjuna’s caste (the warrior caste) to fight. It would be dishonorable for him not to fulfill his duty.
3. One must do his appointed work without concern for the “fruit” or results of work. Arjuna must fight without worrying about the consequences of the battle.

Other Questions about Hinduism

1. What effects have these Hindu teachings had on Indian society?
2. What is karma, and how does it relate to Arjuna’s situation?
3. What is yoga, as discussed in your reading?
4. What is moksha, and how does one achieve it?
5. Is Hinduism a this-worldly or otherworldly religion? Support your answer.