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52-412: In Indian philosophy and religions , jñāna ( Sanskrit : ज्ञान , [ˈdʑɲaːnɐ] ) is "knowledge". The idea of jñāna centers on a cognitive event which is recognized when experienced. It is knowledge inseparable from the total experience of reality, especially the total or divine reality ( Brahman ). The root ज्ञा- jñā- is cognate to Slavic znati , English know , as well as to

104-430: A millennium. Neo-Confucianism is a social and ethical philosophy using metaphysical ideas, some borrowed from Taoism, as its framework. The philosophy can be characterized as humanistic and rationalistic, with the belief that the universe could be understood through human reason, and that it was up to humanity to create a harmonious relationship between the universe and the individual. The rationalism of neo-Confucianism

156-469: A person meditates these ñanas or "knowledges" will be experienced in order. The experience of each may be brief or may last for years and the subjective intensity of each is variable. Each ñana could also be considered a jhāna although many are not stable and the mind has no way to remain embedded in the experience. Experiencing all the ñanas will lead to the first of the Four stages of enlightenment then

208-674: Is intuitive and not rational . These revolutionizing ideas of Wang Yangming would later inspire prominent Japanese thinkers like Motoori Norinaga , who argued that because of the Shinto deities, Japanese people alone had the intuitive ability to distinguish good and evil without complex rationalization. Wang Yangming's school of thought ( Ōyōmei-gaku in Japanese) also provided, in part, an ideological basis for some samurai who sought to pursue action based on intuition rather than scholasticism. As such, it also provided an intellectual foundation for

260-1424: Is also said to lead to moksha . It is said that each path is meant for a different temperament of personality. According to the Jain texts like Tattvārthsūtra ( śloka 1.9) and Sarvārthasiddhi , knowledge is of five kinds: Gyan or Gian refers to spiritual knowledge. Learned people are often referred to as "Giani". It is mentioned throughout the Guru Granth Sahib . Indian philosophy Confucianism Persons Topics Neo Confucianism New Confucianism Daoism Persons Topics Legalism Mohism Military and Strategy Han Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism Maoism General topics Vedic philosophy Mimamsa Vedanta Samkhya Yoga Nyaya Navya-Nyāya Vaisheshika Nāstika (heterodox) Tamil Other General topics Jainism Buddhism Traditions Topics Japanese Buddhism Japanese Confucianism Kokugaku Modern Thought Statism Kyoto School Korean Buddhism Korean Confucianism Persons Topics Donghak Modern Thought Persons Topics Indian philosophy consists of philosophical traditions of

312-436: Is based on Buddhist systems of the time that divided things into principle (again, li), and function ( Chinese : 事 ; pinyin : shì ). In the neo-Confucian formulation, li in itself is pure and almost-perfect, but with the addition of qi , base emotions and conflicts arise. Human nature is originally good, the neo-Confucians argued (following Mencius ), but not pure unless action is taken to purify it. The imperative

364-455: Is commonly regarded as the most important Neo-Confucian thinker. Wang's interpretation of Confucianism denied the rationalist dualism of Zhu's orthodox philosophy. There were many competing views within the neo-Confucian community, but overall, a system emerged that resembled both Buddhist and Taoist (Daoist) thought of the time and some of the ideas expressed in the I Ching (Book of Changes) as well as other yin yang theories associated with

416-404: Is free of conceptual encumbrances, and is contrasted with vijñana , which is a moment of 'divided knowing'. Entrance to, and progression through the ten stages of jñana ( Bodhisattva bhumi s) , will lead one to complete enlightenment and nirvana . In Theravada Buddhism there are various vipassana - ñanas or "insight knowledges" on the path of insight into the true nature of reality. As

468-556: Is generally categorized into two different schools of thought. The school that remained dominant throughout the medieval and early modern periods is called the Cheng–Zhu school for the esteem it places in Cheng Yi , Cheng Hao , and Zhu Xi . The less dominant, opposing school was the Lu–Wang school , based on its esteem for Lu Jiuyuan and Wang Yangming. In contrast to this two-branch model,

520-482: Is in contrast to the mysticism of the previously dominant Chan Buddhism . Unlike the Buddhists, the neo-Confucians believed that reality existed, and could be understood by humankind, even if the interpretations of reality were slightly different depending on the school of neo-Confucianism. But the spirit of Neo-Confucian rationalism is diametrically opposed to that of Buddhist mysticism. Whereas Buddhism insisted on

572-414: Is then to purify one's li . However, in contrast to Buddhists and Taoists, neo-Confucians did not believe in an external world unconnected with the world of matter. In addition, neo-Confucians in general rejected the idea of reincarnation and the associated idea of karma . Different neo-Confucians had differing ideas for how to do so. Zhu Xi believed in gewu ( Chinese : 格物 ; pinyin : géwù ),

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624-635: The Common Era . Some schools like Jainism , Buddhism , Yoga , Śaiva and Vedanta survived, but others, like Ajñana , Charvaka and Ājīvika did not. Ancient and medieval era texts of Indian philosophies include extensive discussions on ontology ( metaphysics , Brahman - Atman , Sunyata - Anatta ), reliable means of knowledge ( epistemology , Pramanas ), value system ( axiology ) and other topics. Indian philosophies share many concepts such as dharma , karma , samsara , dukkha , renunciation , meditation , with almost all of them focusing on

676-720: The Goryeo dynasty . At the time that he introduced neo-Confucianism, the Goryeo dynasty was in the last century of its existence and influenced by the Mongol Yuan dynasty . Many Korean scholars visited China during the Yuan era and An was among them. In 1286, he read a book of Zhu Xi in Yanjing and was so moved by it that he transcribed the book in its entirety and came back to Korea with it. It greatly inspired Korean intellectuals at

728-567: The Indian subcontinent . The philosophies are often called darśana meaning, "to see" or "looking at." Ānvīkṣikī means “critical inquiry” or “investigation." Unlike darśana, ānvīkṣikī was used to refer to Indian philosophies by classical Indian philosophers, such as Chanakya in the Arthaśāstra . A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes

780-558: The New Confucian Mou Zongsan argues that there existed a third branch of learning, the Hu-Liu school , based on the teachings of Hu Hong (Hu Wufeng, 1106–1161) and Liu Zongzhou (Liu Jishan, 1578–1645). The significance of this third branch, according to Mou, was that they represented the direct lineage of the pioneers of neo-Confucianism, Zhou Dunyi, Zhang Zai and Cheng Hao. Moreover, this third Hu-Liu school and

832-564: The Taiji symbol ( Taijitu ). A well known neo-Confucian motif is paintings of Confucius , Buddha , and Lao Tzu all drinking out of the same vinegar jar, paintings associated with the slogan "The three teachings are one!" While neo-Confucianism incorporated Buddhist and Taoist ideas, many neo-Confucianists strongly opposed Buddhism and Taoism. Indeed, they rejected the Buddhist and Taoist religions. One of Han Yu 's most famous essays decries

884-587: The Vedas as a valid source of knowledge; whether the school believes in the premises of Brahman and Atman ; and whether the school believes in afterlife and Devas . (though there are exceptions to the latter two: Mimamsa and Samkhya respectively). There are six major (āstika) schools of Vedic philosophy — Nyaya , Vaisheshika , Samkhya , Yoga , Mīmāṃsā and Vedanta —and five major non-Vedic or heterodox (nāstika or sramanic) schools— Jain , Buddhist , Ajivika , Ajñana , and Charvaka . The āstika group embraces

936-411: The Vedas as an essential source of its foundations, while the nāstika group does not. However, there are other methods of classification; Vidyaranya for instance identifies sixteen schools of Indian philosophy by including those that belong to the Śaiva and Raseśvara traditions. The main schools of Indian philosophy were formalised and recognised chiefly between 500 BCE and the late centuries of

988-516: The Western learning to seek a way to modernize Chinese culture based on the traditional Confucianism. It centers on four topics: The modern transformation of Chinese culture; Humanistic spirit of Chinese culture; Religious connotation in Chinese culture; and Intuitive way of thinking, to go beyond the logic and to wipe out the concept of exclusion analysis. Adhering to the traditional Confucianism and

1040-610: The bureaucrats and Chinese gentry actually believed those interpretations, and point out that there were very active schools such as Han learning which offered competing interpretations of Confucianism. The competing school of Confucianism was called the Evidential School or Han Learning and argued that neo-Confucianism had caused the teachings of Confucianism to be hopelessly contaminated with Buddhist thinking. This school also criticized neo-Confucianism for being overly concerned with empty philosophical speculation that

1092-474: The 15th century, the esteemed philosopher Wang Yangming took sides with Lu and critiqued some of the foundations of the Tao school, albeit not rejecting the school entirely. Objections arose to Yangming's philosophy within his lifetime, and shortly after his death, Chen Jian (1497–1567) grouped Wang together with Lu as unorthodox writers, dividing neo-Confucianism into two schools. As a result, neo-Confucianism today

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1144-518: The Greek γνώ- (as in γνῶσις gnosis ) and Lithuanian žinoti . Its antonym is अज्ञान ajñāna "ignorance". Jñāna sometimes transcribed as gyaan , means " knowledge " in Sanskrit . The root jñā- is cognate to English know , as well as to the Greek γνώ- (as in γνῶσις gnosis ). Its antonym is ajñāna "ignorance". In Tibetan Buddhism , jñāna (Tibetan: ye shes ) refers to pure awareness that

1196-470: The Investigation of Things, essentially an academic form of observational science, based on the idea that li lies within the world. Wang Yangming (Wang Shouren), probably the second most influential neo-Confucian, came to another conclusion: namely, that if li is in all things, and li is in one's heart-mind, there is no better place to seek than within oneself. His preferred method of doing so

1248-602: The Song dynasty, and a reaction to the challenges of Buddhism and Taoism philosophy and religion which emerged during the Zhou and Han dynasties. Although the neo-Confucianists denounced Buddhist metaphysics, Neo-Confucianism did borrow Taoist and Buddhist terminology and concepts. One of the most important exponents of neo-Confucianism was Zhu Xi (1130–1200), his teachings were so influential that they were integrated into civil-service examination from approximately 1314 until 1905. He

1300-531: The Tang dynasty; the Confucianist scholars Han Yu and Li Ao are seen as forebears of the neo-Confucianists of the Song dynasty. The Song dynasty philosopher Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073) is seen as the first true "pioneer" of neo-Confucianism, using Taoist metaphysics as a framework for his ethical philosophy. Neo-Confucianism was both a revival of classical Confucianism, updated to align with the social values of

1352-688: The concluding part of the Vedas, are regarded as the repository of this spiritual knowledge, and are thus referred to as the jnanakanda . Prajñānam Brahma (प्रज्ञानम् ब्रह्म), one of the Mahāvākyas , roughly means "Insight is Brahman" or "Brahman is Insight". Jñāna yoga (ज्ञानयोग, lit. Yoga of Knowledge) is one of the three main paths (मार्ग, margas ), which are supposed to lead towards moksha (मोक्ष, liberation) from material miseries. The other two main paths are Karma yoga and Bhakti yoga . Rāja yoga (राजयोग, classical yoga) which includes several yogas,

1404-520: The cycle will start over at a subtler level. In Nyaya , jñāna is a mental event, better translated as cognition rather than knowledge. Jñāna can be true or false. Jñāna is not belief, but lead to the formation of belief. All true cognitions reflect their object. However, true cognitions do not always arise from a source of knowledge. True cognitions can also arise accidentally. In Vedanta , Jnana refers to "salvific knowledge", or knowledge that leads to liberation ( moksha ). The Upanishads, forming

1456-698: The development of Japanese neo-Confucianism. In 1070, emperor Lý Thánh Tông opened first Confucius university in Hanoi named Văn Miếu . The Lý, Trần court expanded the Confucianism influences in Vietnamese Mandarin through year examinations, continued the model of Tang dynasty until being annexed by the Ming invaders in 1407. In 1460, emperor Lê Thánh Tông of Lê dynasty adopted Neo-Confucianism as Đại Việt's basic values. Neo-Confucianism became

1508-480: The diverse range of philosophies found in other ancient cultures. Some of the earliest surviving Indian philosophical texts are the Upanishads of the later Vedic period (1000–500 BCE), which are considered to preserve the ideas of Brahmanism . Indian philosophical traditions are commonly grouped according to their relationship to the Vedas and the ideas contained in them. Jainism and Buddhism originated at

1560-473: The early 16th century, Jo attempted to transform Joseon into an ideal neo-Confucian society with a series of radical reforms until he was executed in 1520. Despite this, neo-Confucianism soon assumed an even greater role in the Joseon dynasty. Soon neo-Confucian scholars, no longer content to only read and remember the Chinese original precepts, began to develop new neo-Confucian theories. Yi Hwang and Yi I were

1612-571: The end of the Vedic period , while the various traditions grouped under Hinduism mostly emerged after the Vedic period as independent traditions. Neo Confucianism Neo-Confucianism could have been an attempt to create a more rationalist and secular form of Confucianism by rejecting mystical elements of Taoism and Buddhism that had influenced Confucianism during and after the Han dynasty. Although

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1664-430: The equals of officials, capable of bottom-up collective action, constrained the authority of the local officials. Neo-Confucianism was a heterogeneous philosophical tradition, and is generally categorized into two different schools. In medieval China, the mainstream of neo-Confucian thought, dubbed the "Tao school", had long categorized a thinker named Lu Jiuyuan among the unorthodox, non-Confucian writers. However, in

1716-402: The exclusion of "correct learning," the necessary basis for moral order. Their ideal of moral order, which could be inculcated by scholars outside of government, stood in contrast with previous ideas of moral instruction by ruling authorities. Neo-Confucians could be distinguished by their stronger concern with personal ethics and morals. Politically, Neo-Confucians also opposed centralization in

1768-409: The imperial court and instead argued for more local autonomy and the creation of lateral, community-centred institutions for social improvement. These voluntary local literati organizations focused on local education and local relief instead of aligning with the requirements of government service or government officials. The growing numbers of literati who did not serve in government but saw themselves as

1820-621: The interpretation of Confucianism whose mastery was necessary to pass the bureaucratic examinations by the Ming , and continued in this way through the Qing dynasty until the end of the Imperial examination system in 1905. However, many scholars such as Benjamin Elman have questioned the degree to which their role as the orthodox interpretation in state examinations reflects the degree to which both

1872-469: The most prominent of these new theorists. Yi Hwang's most prominent disciples were Kim Seong-il (金誠一, 1538–1593), Yu Seong-ryong (柳成龍 1542–1607) and Jeong Gu (한강 정구, 寒岡 鄭逑, 1543–1620), known as the "three heroes". They were followed by a second generation of scholars who included Jang Hyungwang (張顯光, 1554–1637) and Jang Heung-Hyo (敬堂 張興孝, 1564–1633), and by a third generation (including Heo Mok , Yun Hyu , Yun Seon-do and Song Si-yeol ) who brought

1924-411: The movement its Chinese name, literally "The study of Li ". In the view of Neo-Confucians, the true form of Confucianism had been lost after Mencius as "later" Confucians were more concerned with the vehicles of knowledge such as Classics or literary writing rather than the "values that all should share," They claimed that "later" Confucians focused on correct governance (found in the canonical texts) to

1976-450: The neo-Confucianists were critical of Taoism and Buddhism, the two did have an influence on the philosophy, and the neo-Confucianists borrowed terms and concepts. However, unlike the Buddhists and Taoists, who saw metaphysics as a catalyst for spiritual development, religious enlightenment, and immortality, the neo-Confucianists used metaphysics as a guide for developing a rationalist ethical philosophy. Neo-Confucianism has its origins in

2028-456: The newly emerging ruling class called Sarim (사림, 士林) also split into political factions according to their diversity of neo-Confucian views on politics. There were two large factions and many subfactions. During the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598) , many Korean neo-Confucian books and scholars were taken to Japan and influenced Japanese scholars such as Fujiwara Seika and affected

2080-617: The radical political actions of low ranking samurai in the decades prior to the Meiji Restoration (1868), in which the Tokugawa shogunate (1600–1868) was overthrown. Defunct In Joseon Korea, neo-Confucianism was established as the state ideology. The Yuan occupation of the Korean Peninsula introduced Zhu Xi 's school of neo-Confucianism to Korea. Neo-Confucianism was introduced to Korea by An Hyang during

2132-599: The school into the 18th century But neo-Confucianism became so dogmatic in a relatively rapid time that it prevented much needed socioeconomic development and change, and led to internal divisions and criticism of many new theories regardless of their popular appeal. For instance, Wang Yangming 's theories, which were popular in the Chinese Ming dynasty , were considered heresy and severely condemned by Korean neo-Confucianists. Furthermore, any annotations on Confucian canon different from Zhu Xi were excluded. Under Joseon,

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2184-741: The second Lu–Wang school , combined, form the true mainstream of neo-Confucianism instead of the Cheng–Zhu school. The mainstream represented a return to the teachings of Confucius , Mengzi , the Doctrine of the Mean and the Commentaries of the Book of Changes . The Cheng–Zhu school was therefore only a minority branch based on the Great Learning and mistakenly emphasized intellectual studies over

2236-512: The study of sagehood. Zhu Xi's formulation of the neo-Confucian world view is as follows. He believed that the Tao ( Chinese : 道 ; pinyin : dào ; lit. 'way') of Tian ( Chinese : 天 ; pinyin : tiān ; lit. 'heaven') is expressed in principle or li ( Chinese : 理 ; pinyin : lǐ ), but that it is sheathed in matter or qi ( Chinese : 氣 ; pinyin : qì ). In this, his system

2288-446: The time and many, predominantly from the middle class and disillusioned with the excesses of organized religion (namely Buddhism) and the old nobility, embraced neo-Confucianism. The newly rising neo-Confucian intellectuals were leading groups aimed at the overthrow of the old (and increasingly foreign-influenced) Goryeo dynasty. After the fall of Goryeo and the establishment of the Joseon dynasty by Yi Song-gye in 1392, neo-Confucianism

2340-501: The ultimate goal of liberation of the individual from dukkha and samsara through diverse range of spiritual practices ( moksha , nirvana ). While many sutra texts explicitly mention that the work leads to moksha, Indian philosophy is not exclusively concerned with moksha. They differ in their assumptions about the nature of existence as well as the specifics of the path to the ultimate liberation, resulting in numerous schools that disagreed with each other. Their ancient doctrines span

2392-641: The unreality of things, Neo-Confucianism stressed their reality. Buddhism and Taoism asserted that existence came out of, and returned to, non-existence; Neo-Confucianism regarded reality as a gradual realization of the Great Ultimate... Buddhists, and to some degree, Taoists as well, relied on meditation and insight to achieve supreme reason; the Neo-Confucianists chose to follow Reason. The importance of li in Neo-Confucianism gave

2444-473: The worship of Buddhist relics . Nonetheless, neo-Confucian writings adapted Buddhist thoughts and beliefs to the Confucian interest. In China , neo-Confucianism was an officially recognized creed from its development during the Song dynasty until the early twentieth century, and lands in the sphere of Song China ( Vietnam , Korea , and Japan ) were all deeply influenced by neo-Confucianism for more than half

2496-442: Was jingzuo ( Chinese : 靜坐 ; pinyin : jìngzuò ; lit. 'quiet sitting'), a practice that strongly resembles Chan (Zen) meditation , or zuochan ( Japanese : 座禅 ; Chinese : 坐禪 ; pinyin : zuòchán ; lit. 'seated meditation'). Wang Yangming developed the idea of innate knowing , arguing that every person knows from birth the difference between good and evil . Such knowledge

2548-462: Was a rather prolific writer, maintaining and defending his Confucian beliefs of social harmony and proper personal conduct. One of his most remembered was the book Family Rituals , where he provided detailed advice on how to conduct weddings, funerals, family ceremonies, and the veneration of ancestors. Buddhist thought soon attracted him, and he began to argue in Confucian style for the Buddhist observance of high moral standards. He also believed that it

2600-516: Was important to practical affairs that one should engage in both academic and philosophical pursuits, although his writings are concentrated more on issues of theoretical (as opposed to practical) significance. It is reputed that he wrote many essays attempting to explain how his ideas were not Buddhist or Taoist and included some heated denunciations of Buddhism and Taoism. After the Xining era  [ zh ] (1068–1077), Wang Yangming (1472–1529)

2652-519: Was installed as the state ideology. Buddhism, and organized religion in general, was considered poisonous to the neo-Confucian order. Buddhism was accordingly restricted and occasionally persecuted by Joseon. As neo-Confucianism encouraged education, a number of neo-Confucian schools (서원 seowon and 향교 hyanggyo ) were founded throughout the country, producing many scholars including Jo Gwang-jo (조광조, 趙光祖; 1482–1520), Yi Hwang (이황, 李滉; pen name Toegye 퇴계, 退溪; 1501–1570) and Yi I (이이, 李珥; 1536–1584). In

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2704-713: Was unconnected with reality. The Confucian canon as it exists today was essentially compiled by Zhu Xi . Zhu codified the canon of Four Books (the Great Learning , the Doctrine of the Mean , the Analects of Confucius, and the Mencius ) which in the subsequent Ming and Qing dynasties were made the core of the official curriculum for the civil service examination. In the 1920s, New Confucianism , also known as modern neo-Confucianism, started developing and absorbed

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