Great Works at 10.20am Spring 2015

In the first section, we have read a lot of works about divines and philosophy. These works are categorized as the works of authority, which have great influences in people’s believes and thoughts within a specific environment. Unlike religious text, which is a major part of works we have read in section 1, Confucianism deals with human behavior and conduct towards each other and pay little attention to the matters such as sin, souls or after life. In fact, in the text of Analects, the Master suggests “to respect ghosts and gods, but keep them in a distance” in order to gain wisdom. The initial goal of Confucius spreading his idea is to establish an ethical system that guides individual’s behavior and makes people act in an appropriate way, that is, to be a gentlemen. Its ultimate goal is to have harmonious society and the world peace. It seems like Confucianism has nothing to do with religion. However, when Confucianism became the official philosophy of China, religions function were automatically incorporated into it. Confucius and his famous students became objects of worship. His temples were built all over the country and world, and rituals and sacrifices were performed.

As we discuss in class, there are many qualities a gentlemen should be capable of. Among these qualities, Ren is the most important virtue to be gentlemen, and other virtues follow from it. In the text we are reading, Ren is translated as goodness, but in my opinion, it not just goodness. . In Chinese, the character of Ren is consist of character Human on the left and character Two on the right, which indicates it is the virtue based on human relationships. The nature of Ren is a sense for the human dignity, which contains the concepts of love, benevolence, humanity, forgiveness and respect. To achieve Ren, people not only focus on self-cultivation but also extend Ren to others. Ren is considered the ultimate guide for the human action.

Other than Ren, the Li is the second important virtue in Confucianism. Li can be translated as ritual, but it’s not the ritual that practices in religion. Just like Ren, Li also deals with human relationships. Moreover. Li is the concrete guide of human action. Under the concept of Li, there are five relationships that should act properly in social life. They are father and son (love/respect), elder brother to younger brother (gentle/ respectful), husband and wife (love/obey), ruler and subject (benevolent/loyal), and friends (trust). We can notice three out of five involve family, because family is the basic unit of society. In Confucianism, a competent man should achieve their ultimate goals through the steps of self-cultivation to family harmony to country management, and eventually, to the world peace. Although the concept of Li existed in ancient time only apply to the nobles and rulers, Confucius broadened it to apply to all human activities and languages. The concept of Li regulates people’s action and makes people be more ethical.

Ren & Li are like two sides of a coin, and they always related each other. In the Analects, the Master defined Ren as “to master and control the self and return to Li”. In my point of view, Ren is a moral idea, and Li is the actual law to interpret Ren. A person who practices Ren & Li is going to be highly cultivated and acts properly in every situation, that is called gentlemen.

Shifan Fu

When discussing authority, one cannot overlook the overwhelming presence of King Unis. King Unis, the Egyptian God, first appears in 2325 B.C.E on the walls of the Pyramids; his story is compiled into a text known as the Cannibal Spell for King Unis. Within the text we learn that Unis is the son of Atum, the creator of God, yet Unis is a more powerful entity. Unis governs the Egyptian people with an authority revolving around Fear, “Unis is one who eats people . . . one who has fetchers” (26). Unis threatens to eat his followers if he is not followed correctly (non-followers are identified as those who do “bad”). Through blatant, mortal threats Unis asserts his authority, in other words through Fear. Not only should followers fear Unis himself, rather they should also fear the reach of King Unis’ authority. The fetchers of Unis are his butchers, they are extensions of his power enacted through butchering people. The use of fetchers indicated Unis’ methods of fear widespread. Theoretically, if one is to question the legitimacy or power of Unis, they are met with a reality-check, “Unis is the most controlling power who controls the controlling powers” (27). Unis is not a sole body of jurisdiction, yet Unis is not an escapable jurisdiction, he is a controller of all powers. One cannot hide from the influence of Unis as he controls any other form of authority you wish to be governed by. Unis does not only assert his power through fear, he also ensures that his followers remain tamed and loyal as they cannot escape him because of his omnipresence. What differs Unis from many different authorities is he does not assume everyone to be a believer of his sovereignty. Many texts present their god(s) as a default knowledge who then commands things of people which warrants a consequence; Unis rather demands that he simply be recognized.

The Ramayana is a tale of adventures for which grasps readers with belief, drama, love, and good triumphs over evil. It is a fable of an ideal couple whose relationship weakens later into their marriage. It is about the life and quest of Rama to rescue his wife, Sita, from the demon king Ravana. They face many challenges for which they morally fail based on their belief on dharma. It is a system of beliefs, where one can only be liberated if they have acquired good faith and reason. The moral laws and codes of conduct are often complicated and subtle, hence making it easy to violate.

Dharma serves as the authoritative figure to each character of the story. Both men and women have moral roles for which they must abide by. Rama’s brother had been coroneted king and feared it would be a conflict of interest if he would stay in the city. Rama was soon exiled into the forest, by his father, and chose to follow his own dharma as a son.

Sita, his wife, follows Rama, fulfilling her dharma as a wife: “…if she does not serve her husband, [she] is deemed to be a sinner (p.1180).” Women carry the role of submissiveness to their dominate male counterparts in this society. They are merely property of this hierarchical society to which women’s opinion is rarely taken into consideration.

Rama is petrified when he discovers his wife has been kidnaped and soon devises a plan to rescue her. Over a period of a year, he scavenges every angle of the forest and battling demonic creatures in search of his beloved. He locates his wife and is filled with great delight. Although love for Sita was his motivation, he did not let love blindside him from his dharma. He was quick to question her fidelity and was concerned of what the public might think if he did not take action: “I wish to let you know that all this is done not for your sake, but for the sake of preserving my honor. Your conduct is open to suspicious. (p.1229).”

Although Sita assured Rama she was untouched, it did not prevent him from punishing her in public through fire. Her acceptance to undergo such punishment demonstrates the importance of dharma. In this scene, dharma has priority over love and ultimately life itself.

Neli Llangari

The language being used by Laozi has a complex message deeply rooted inside of it. It explores the complex abstract nature of language, without directly touching the matter. The writings are full of paradoxical  messages, such as from lines 7 to 10 when he says “Hence always rid yourself of desires in order to observe it’s secrets; But always allow yourself to have desires in order to  observe its manifestations. These two are the same, But diverge in name as they issue forth”. Language, although getting us as far as it has, is one of the greatest limitations of man. With this in mind, we can explore the language being used by him to get a better understanding.

Laozi first touches on the purest most fundamental use for language by saying “the way that can be spoken of, is not the constant way. The name that can be named, is not the constant name”. The first sentence, implies that if a way can be spoken of, it isn’t always the way, and the second implies if something can be named, it isn’t the constant name. What does this really mean? We are only animals, and we only have 5 senses. Our eyes can only see a tiny portion of the light spectrum, and yet we have words such as beautiful, or smart. In reality, what is beautiful to us, is only beautiful to us, and isn’t the constant beautiful. Being smart helps us, but isn’t the constant name for what smart actually means to us. Laozi continues to say “The nameless was the beginning of heaven and earth, The named was the mother of the myriad creatures”. The Universe is estimated, by as far as our senses have been able to tell us, to be 13.7 billion years old, with the earth  forming 9 billion years later, and humans sprouting only 500 thousand years ago. We’ve only been here for a tiny fraction of existence, yet we claim to a divine connection. Names were meaningless, and still are meaningless. Only our continuous existence gives them relevance. Myriad creatures refers to any physical being, with more emphasis on modern humans relative to this argument. Modern humans will insist that there are other explanations for existence, with stories of humans having a divine connection to the unknown, but those points of views are falsified just by there being existence.

Laozi then says “Hence always rid yourself of desires in order to observe its secrets; But always allow yourself to have desires in order to observe its manifestations. These two are the same, but diverge in name as they issue forth”. Laozi is now explaining the way to understand the more important picture to the story. Our desires are meaningless to the overall existence of nature, because they will only ever be relevant to our existence. We have to be able to let go of our human desires, to observe the true nature of somethings existence, while still having human desires to observe somethings actual physical self.  By saying that the two are the same, but diverge in name as they issue forth, Laozi is explaining that ultimately, these are the same thing. The nature of the atoms within a physical manifestation, can be understood by first noticing it from conscious interaction, through existence. This helps us to understand why language is a block to our mental capacities, and further explores this in the next section.

Laozi says “The whole world recognizes the beautiful as beautiful, yet this is only the ugly; The whole world recognizes the good as the good, yet this is only the bad”. This foreshadows the importance of language to our existence. To have a word such as good, destroys so much valuable information from nature. You can say almost anything is good, which takes away any actual valuable information that should be attached to the word. We’ve made good meaningless, and this is what is bad. There is also no such thing as beautiful, as explored before, and yet we assign this word to things in our every day lives, destroying valuable information, and this is the ugly. Laozi then tells of many opposites, such as something and nothing producing each other, the difficult and easy complementing each other, the long and short incline towards each other, note and sound harmonize with each other, and before and after follow each other.  This is where it gets tricky to follow. These oxymoron, when approached from an unbiased unconscious lens, can be interpreted to mean much more than at first glance. Existence can be used to explain all of these. To have existence, is impossible, from our understanding of the world. Cause and effect is interesting, because, when looking at multiple events, you realize that the first effect was the cause for the second effect, which means they are the same in nature, but diverge in name as they issue forth. Cause is effect, and effect is cause. this is an impossible loop, for nothing could have created something. Nothing cannot cause something, and something can’t come from nothing, yet here we are. The infinite cannot be explained by the finite, and this is why language is important and complex.

Clearly, this message is complex, and that is what makes the writings of Laozi so interesting and insightful. There is a reason these writings are still here today for us to read. It is extremely relevant to where we are now, in the information age. After billions of years of evolution, information is getting more complex, data is increasing, and communication is losing value. In order to continue to evolve, and to increase the reliability and value of language, we need to understand our place in existence and add to the collective conscious of nature, not just a mindless interaction with a physical properties.

What is authority? The Merriam-Webster dictionary provides several definitions for this word. Authority is a person with a high level of knowledge or skill in a field, the lawful control over the affairs of a political unit (as a nation), the power to direct the thinking or behavior of others usually indirectly, and the right or means to command or control others. Authority is an important term and idea that has been present throughout the history of ancient literature in every culture in the world. “The Great Hymn To The Aten” is a perfect example when it comes to presenting the idea of authority. This Egyptian hymn is dedicated to the sun as creator and sustainer of the world. The sun god Aten is an authority in this case because of his connection and influence to his human counterparts, the king and the queen. By following Aten, the king initiated a religious and political revolution, built a new capital, and changed his name to Akhenaten, which means “He who is effective for Aten.”

In “The Great Hymn To The Aten,” Aten is described with features of authority , because he is capable of doing things that normal human beings cannot do. When the hymn begins, Aten is immediately praised: “Splendid you rise in heaven’s lightland / O living Aten, creator of life!” (30). He fills the land with beauty and is high over every land. In “Your rays embrace the land,” Aten is described as the sun and the source of light for the land. Furthermore in “As you dispel the dark,” it is saying that Aten has the ability to get rid of death. The hymn associates Aten with fertility in the lines “Who makes seed grow in women, / Who created people from sperm; / Who feeds the son in his mother’s womb, / Who soothes him to still his tears” (31). Because Aten provides fertility to women, he is also the “Giver of breath.” In other words, he is the giver of life.

Another point that the hymn shows Aten as an authoriy figure is his power to control the fields with his rays. His power can be seen in the lines “Your rays nurse all field, / When you shine they live, they grow for you; / You made the seasons to foster all that you made, / Winter to cool them, heat that they taste you. / You made the far sky to shine therein, / To behold all that you made” (32). From his power to control the seasons in nature, Aten also decides the well-being in nature. Like a source of fertility, Aten’s light also supplies life to all animals on earth as described in “All beasts browse on their herbs; / Birds fly from their nests, / Their wings greeting your ka. / They live when you dawn for them. / Roads lie open when you rise; / The fish in the river dart before you, / Your rays are in the midst of the sea” (31). People’s needs are no exception in terms of where they come from. Indeed, Aten is the one who provides them these needs. He distinguishes the people in their speech, characters, and skin color.

“The Great Hymn To The Aten” gives importance to the idea of authority and shows how an abstract figure, Aten, gives much more influence to an existing physical authority, in this case the king Akhenaten. It is interesting to see how the king believed in all these powers that the god Aten had when it is possible that he only promoted Aten to assert more of his own power over his people. By following the authority of Aten, the king can maintain his authority, because he is closely connected to the sun god Aten. In this sense, religion is a source of power.

Aiying Chen

In The Ramayana the main authority is dharma. Dharma governs the actions of all of the characters because it is the moral code that they are required to live by. Each character exercises authority through their actions following their individual dharma. We encounter the various attributes of authority of dharma through three important characters. Rama follows his dharma when he follows his father’s instruction to live in the forest, Sita follows her dharma when she refuses to leave her husbands side and Ravana follows his dharma when he captures and abducts Sita. The dharma in which these three characters follow have different guidelines even though they are similar in many ways.

Dharma is the rule book, the way in which each person in a society should act. Dharma is male oriented and focuses on the importance of following one’s father. There is a strong hierarchy in the concept of dharma. One must follow the guru, or the religious authority, the king or political authority and the father also known as the family authority. The only time a person would not follow one of these individuals is if their actions would go against other codes of dharma, therefore dharma is the ultimate authority.

First we encounter the main character in The Ramayana, Rama. Rama is about to be crowned king when he is instead informed by his father that he is no longer next in line for the throne but instead must go and live in the forest for the next fourteen years. Instead of protesting or questioning the words of his father, he immediately returns home to his wife Sita to tell her that he is going to live in the forest. The fact that Rama immediately listens to his father proves that he respects his father. This respect and loyalty to his father is directly related to Rama’s dharma. Dharma is clearly stated to be the reason for Rama’s reactions to such devastating news.

Next when Sita is informed that Rama is going into the forest to live she stays true to her dharma by refusing to allow Rama to set off without her. Rama insists that his wife Sita should stay home without him. Though Rama is a man, and an authority figure in this period of time, Sita must stay true to her dharma so she refuses to listen to the instructions of her husband Rama. By refusing to stay home Sita is staying true to her dharma, determined to be by her husbands side no matter where life takes them. Ultimately this leaves her in a situation where she is abducted by a demon Ravana and Sita’s dharma is tested once again, but she stays loyal and true to her dharma and to her husband Rama.

Finally the authority of dharma is seen in a different light through the actions of Ravana. Ravana is a demon and his dharma, or moral code is different then the dharma of Rama and Sita. The dharma of the demon Revana is focused on power and devalues emotions and sensitivity. Although dharma is still male oriented and the husband is viewed as the authority figure there is a different idea of love and pleasures. Above all other things Ravana feels as if he must follow his demon dharma, proving that dharma is still the most important authority in the Ramayana.

The authority figure in The Ramayana is dharma. The way in which each character focuses on their individual dharma above all other things in life proves that dharma is very powerful. It is important for these characters to respect the authority of dharma at all times, and if they do not follow dharma they risk going off their path in life and they must come back to the authority of dharma to find their way.

Courtney Chase

Over the great span of time that is our world’s history, we come across great authority figures that enact rules and laws for those who follow them. Whether the authority figure is a fictional character, a book, or even a spiritual being, the figure seems to have an overwhelming impact on the everyday life of those who follow them. However, to understand what it truly means to be an authority figure, one must understand what an authority figure really is. Primarily, the definition of an authority figure is a person, organization, or in this case, a set of laws that has a kind of right, whether divine or hereditary, to enforce obedience and give orders. The case I bring to you today includes the spiritual set of laws known as dharma, which is inherent in the narrative, Ramayana by Valmiki. The story, which describes dharma as a major, yet controversial authority figure, is about a powerful man named Rama who undergoes a series of disastrous events. Unfortunately for Rama, we begin the narrative starting with his banishment from a kingdom he was originally supposed to take over.
One might ask: how does a powerful man such as Rama become banished from, might I add, a kingdom whom loves and respects him? Well, we see that his mother-in-law has indefinitely favored her son for the throne, even though Rama is seen as much more capable of being king. On top of that, she wishes for his banishment from the kingdom as well. With that in mind, Rama does not even object to her or his father’s wishes, as he willingly accepts his undeserving punishment. One can conclude that Rama is generally a kind-hearted and easily influenced man of honor. While that may be the case, that is not the reason why he leaves the kingdom, nor is it the reason for him accepting his father’s punishment. Rather, we return to the ideals of dharma that seem to cause Rama dread throughout the story. To his own mother, it is said by Rama that you should “abandon your resolve based on the principle of might; resort to dharma.” This indicates that one should leave his/her personal wants and needs aside, and should resort to dharma in all cases. Here, we see dharma as a powerful figure that leads Rama to abandon his own mother. As previously explained, Rama is a gentle soul who would most definitely not get enjoyment or benefits out of this. Rather, it is his dharma that persuades Rama to follow such a path.
Next, we see dharma as an authority figure, but from a different angle. After venturing into the forest, Rama, his faithful brother Laksmana, and his lovely wife, Sita encounter a beautiful deer that Sita says she must have. After sending Rama to hunt after it, Sita and Laksmana hear a loud cry that sounds very similar to Rama’s voice. While Laksmana knows it his dharma to fulfill his brother’s wish of protecting Sita, he is persuaded into leaving her and seeing what happened. Here, we still see dharma as an influential figure, but we also see it as a path that can be strayed from. As Laksmana explains, “she (referring to sita) said: ‘either you are an agent of Bharata or you have unworthy intentions towards me.” In other words, Dharma is powerful, but in some extreme cases, one must stray to fulfill his/her obligations as a human with pride and responsibility. Another instance we see this is when Sita becomes captured by the evil being that is known as Ravana. Ravana explain that he was only following the will of his own dharma by capturing her. However, we see dharma as a controversial being yet again when he explains, “but I shall not violate you against your wishes.” Ravana here is explaining that it is his dharma to do such evil things; but what then, is stopping him from simply taking her love rather than winning it? Furthermore, what is stopping him from killing her as she has no intention of marrying him? As stated before, dharma is in fact a path can be strayed from, no matter how influential it is. Through the text, we learn that even demons have a natural sense of pride that conflicts with dharma.
In any case, dharma is a powerful authority figure that influences one who follows it, but to a certain extent. We learned that dharma can lead one to leave his own mother, yet can be strayed from in the right situations. However, the idea of dharma as a controversial authority figure only symbolizes the idea that authority figures, no matter how powerful, can be strayed from.

Jonathan Ahn

Authority takes form in many different ways, some of which can be very specific and hard to follow. One authority that falls into that category is Dharma. The story Ramayana by Valmiki, is written to teach about Dharma through the pit falls of the main characters. Dharma is described as specific rules that everyone must follow. The main character Rama, has the ability to specify certain rules such as the one where a father’s command must be followed, “the commands of a guru, the king, and one’s aged father, whether uttered in anger, cheerfully, or out of lust, should be obeyed by one who is not of despicable behavior”(p.1179). This clearly shows how specific rules can be, this rule in particular states that no matter in what state a person is, the command must be obeyed. Dharma is also a way of life, it is a path, as written in the book. This path is the devotion to truth, because it is the one and only truth in the universe as stated by Rama, “the universe rests on truth, and I am devoted to truth”(p.1179). This is why even though Kaikeyi was the one to tell Rama to vanish the city, he still obeyed. Rama trusted that Kaikeyi was also following Dharma and telling the truth. Dharma is the ultimate authority, where the pursuit of prosperity and pleasure come after. Dharma is also a hierarchy, where it is at the top of the chain and followed by gurus, kings, and then fathers . Dharma is demanding; it must be done, no matter if it’s just or not. It is to be acted upon and not based on reactions or feelings, “abandon your resolve based on the principle of might; resort to Dharma”(p.1179). Dharma is purely obeying the authorities and resorting to truth.

It can be argued that Dharma is not the ultimate authority in the book because we see all of the characters drifting form them. There are many occasion where the main character Rama falls short in his Dharma. Also Ravana himself because, he went against his Dharma in not harming Sita. Thus giving an idea that everyone has an authority to themselves. However, even though these characters fall out of their Dharma, they still come back to their respective paths. Dharma is an authority figure because it encompasses everyone, it is not like other religions where peoples’beliefs set them aside from it. There is Dharma not only for the good, but also the bad. It has a set of rules for all kinds of roles as well. That of Sita is the Dharma of a wife, where she mustn’t leave her husband’s side. That of Rama is the Dharma of a son, where he follows and obeys the commands of his father. Ravana has his own Dharma too, where it is just to be evil.

Dharma as mentioned, is the demand of obeying rules and hierarchies, as well as a devotion to truth. It is in all ways the main authority in the book because, the book itself is written to teach about Dharma. This kind of authority is a legitimate authority where it specifies everyone’s duties, functions, and responsibilities.

Jenny Redrovan

In every culture there are ideologies that people must follow because that is the correct thing to do.  Some culture’s boys have to follow what their parents say they have to do. On the other hand, there are some cultures where boys must trail religious beliefs above their parents’ wishes. The story Ramayana of Valmiki shows a religious society in which religion is over the king and family. Through the character of Rama we see how a boy goes over every restriction or impediment in order to follow dharma, because dharma is presented as the higher authority, as God.  There are different ideas in the book that show how dharma is an authority, one of them is the way Rama overcomes all the obstacles in order to follow this deity.

Primarily, it’s useful to understand that when people follow dharma they go to the forest to internal integrity. In the forest it’s easy for him to get a self-examination within himself, to be able to learn about nature, to grow and then how to be a better king. Rama went into this journey because it was the correct thing to do within his society. According to story Ramayana, Kausalya said: “If, as you say, you are devoted to dharma, then it is your duty to stay here and serve me, your mother… I do not give you permission to go to the forest”. The key here is “devoted to dharma”. This illustrate how important dharma is for Rama. That it does not matter what his mom said, he is loyal to dharma and he must follow the deity’s commitments above anyone else’s. In addition, Rama said: “Among our ancestors were renowned kings who earned fame and heaven by doing their father’s bidding, Mother, I am but following their noble examples”. This shows how big is dharma’s presence in the history of this society, where many kings have fallowed this instructions from generation to generation and they have received recognition for it. For Rama, doing what their ancestors did is what is primary.

Secondly, every son has to follow what their father says in this society.  If every father, as the head of the family, follows the king and the king follows dharma, who’s the real authority? Every men must obey and do dharma’s commitments. Rama says “But I am unable to give up my resolve. Abandon your resolve based on the principles of might; resorts to dharma”. This states that there is no way Rama is going to walk away from the decision to follow dharma. That is his obligation and no one will change that. He understands that “Dharma, prosperity and pleasure are the pursuit of mankind here; and prosperity and pleasure surely follow dharma”. This illustrate how Rama is willing to complete this quest not only because society is expecting him to do it, but because he will also certainly obtain a direct benefit from dharma. This presents this god as the provider of the things man have always wanted, which make fallowing dharma very appealing.

Thirdly, when people follow dharma and after completing the journey, they find “the true in themselves” and they come back as a better person. This is important because after Rama’s brother, Bharata, made it the book quotes: “He knows what dharma is. He speaks the truth. He is modest and self-controlled and always speaks pleasantly”. After someone knows dharma “He speaks the truth” this describes what a man can accomplish after following the authority dharma. “He know what dharma is” this shows how man can be better after knowing dharma. Man can control themselves and speak properly because that is what dharma gives to those who follow what’s correct.

There are several ways to become an authority: by imposition, by tradition, by being selected, because the person is the most qualified for the position, etc. These authorities influence in their followers in numerous ways in order to accomplish a goal, a social requirement, etc. Their development can be evaluated considering how efficient and/or devote their followers are. This varies depending the situation and on how this authority is implemented, considering that a leader is an authority figure but not necessary the other way around. When a man is decided to do what he is supposed to do, there is nothing that other people can do to stop him, especially when he believes that he’s doing what his authority commands.

Anyel Rijo

Scorates was an teacher authority. He was a well known philospher in his time period. According to a special friend of his by the name of Aliciabe, describes Scorates as being a bright man. He was intelligent but yet very shy. He often would downgrade himself by saying he wasn’t smart and didn’t know anything. He was a man that was hard to prove wrong and if you tried he wouldn’t let you. He was attractive and hard to stay away from but ironically he made people feel shameful around him. He liked to tell people what to do and they often listened. He was well respected and provided young men, even adults with a great deal of knowledge about moral concepts. It was also mentioned that “he  could drink so much but you wouldn’t know he was drunk”. I conclude that he was very self-discipline and reserve.