EASTERN

PERSPECTIVES OF
THE SELF
 • All living beings have an “inner-most self” called
ATMAN
• ATMAN is connected to the Brahman which is the
one Divine Principle that brings unity to the
universe. Because of this connection to Brahman,
this “innermost self” becomes the “absolute self” or
the Brahman-Atman
• Atman is linked to Hinduism’s view of God
• Goals in Hinduism: 1) bring the individual person to
the realization that he is not a separate being, but
rather a partaker of the great SELF1 (Brahman-
Atman), and 2) attain detachment from self-desires
HINDUISM and wants, and to become one with the Great Self
(universal self). Hence, Brahman-Atman is attained.
 Rituals of Purification to attain
BRAHMAN-ATMAN
• Karma
• Closely involved with the Hindu doctrine of
reincarnation which means that when a
person dies, a person is reborn as another
being in the future.
• Reincarnation happens when the Atman
(Soul) leaves its material receptacle (body)
and finds another material receptacle to
reside on in another life cycle.
• The process is called transmigration of the
HINDUISM soul.
 Rituals of Purification to attain
BRAHMAN-ATMAN (continued)
Samsara
• Cycle or wheel of birth-death-rebirth.
• An Atman that has not achieved the
sufficient level of enlightenment and
detachment from material goods and
pleasures will be reborn again and again
in different material receptacles. The
HINDUISM goal of spiritual practice is to end this
cycle and stop the wheel of Samsara.
 Rituals of Purification to attain
BRAHMAN-ATMAN (continued)
Moksha
• is the experience of momentous release or
liberation (salvation) from the seemingly never-
ending cycle of birth-death-rebirth.
• This is the aim of serious spiritual practitioners:
to achieve moksha within their lifetime.
• If Moksha is achieved, the Atman does not look
for a material receptacle to reside on and unites
HINDUISM with the Brahman-atman, the principle of all life
in the universe.
 Siddhartha Gautama
• Denies the existence of a separate soul, self, or atman
• The concept of anatta, often defines as “no self”, or
“non-self”, simply means that this self cannot have any
existence except in terms of the interconnected net of
causal conditions that made their existence possible.
• A human being is made up of five aggregates (called
Khandas or Skandhas) of functions namely matter,
sensation, perception, mental formations, and
consciousness.
BUDDHISM • These five aggregates will dissipate with the person’s
death and nothing remains.
• A person is a temporary arrangement of these five
aggregates or skandhas.
 • While these aggregates are together, the
person exists, if they are removed, the person
ceases to be
• The doctrine of Anatta (no self) does not
negate the person, rather it empowers the
individual by erasing the boundaries of
separateness that limit the personal ego or
self.
• The goal is to become interconnected integral
BUDDHISM part of the universe.
• This is the realization known as
enlightenment, the emergence of the big
SELF, which is boundless.
 • To begin the work of building or restoring a strong sense
of self, one must begin by befriending the self through
the inner work of meditation and mindfulness.
• Research have shown that mindfulness meditation
practices bring about positive significant effects in
improving active growth and well-being, changing self-
knowledge and the mode for self-referential processing.
• Engaging in mindfulness meditation practices especially
over long period of time is closely associated with
increases in positive self-attitudes equally so to others.
BUDDHISM such as non-attachments (acceptance), and becoming
more compassionate to the self and
• Empowering the individual through developing a
“mindful self”
 • Famous quote, “Don't do unto others what you don't
want done unto you.”
• learning to be human - broadening and deepening of
thought and being that acknowledge the
interconnectedness of all the modalities of existence
• Confucianism is an ethic governing human
relationships
• Five Cardinal Relationships: between ruler and
minister, between father and son, between husband
and wife, between brothers and sisters, and between
friends. Essentially, proper conduct means knowing
CONFUCIANISM how to act in relation to others.
• Confucian self called relational self, is an open, never
static but is a dynamic, ever changing process,
transforming the world from within the self
 • Confucian selfhood is anchored in interpersonal
relationships
• Confucius was insistent on the need for examining
oneself from within on a daily basis and even in
the absence of other
• The man of virtue must be watchful over himself
when he is alone” which means that the private
self should not be discrepant with the public self.
Incongruence signifies disharmony.
• The “golden law- two principles simply means,
“Loyalty is doing one’s utmost” and “fully
realizing the self”. On the other hand, Reciprocity
means, “putting one in the other’s shoes”,
CONFUCIANISM “extending the self”, Adhering to this doctrine of
Loyalty and Reciprocity, Confucianism can provide
a way to deal with perennial challenges of
mankind
 Lau Tzu
• The goal of Taoism is to bring human beings into
union with the Tao (The Way) by imitating certain
qualities in nature such as harmony and fluidity.
• “The Way”, Taoism prizes the values of individual
life reflected in the two core topics of longevity and
immortality
• It insists that human life is of the highest value, a
worthy goal for people to pursue forever,
• Taoism believes that human beings can control
their lives through self-exercise and moral
TAOISM behavior
 • Human fulfillment lies in harmonizing with the
Tao, which is generally conceived as patterns in
nature (relationship between human beings and
nature)
• Tao is the unique source of the universe and
determines all things that everything in the world
is composed of positive and negative parts.
• Selfhood entails conscious self transformation
leading to the embodiment of “sageliness within
and kingliness without”. When selflessness is
attained, the distinction between “I” and “other”
disappears and one may then act with complete
TAOISM spontaneity.
 • To embrace the “Way of Nature” and the
“Way of Life”.
• Three Significant Processes
• Wu Wei or non-action - adopt simplicity of
lifestyle
• Longevity and Chi - “to live the longest
possible natural life by living in harmony with
one’s social and natural environment which
can be achieved through self-cultivation and
internal alchemy (common may be
transformed into something precious.)
• Yin-Yang - are complementary; the Yang
moves upward, represents the heavens, and
TAOISM therefore “pure and light”, while the Yin flows
downward, forms the earth, and so “turbid and
heavy”
 • Unity of Opposites ( oneness of Yin and Yang) to
understand psychological activities and
experiences involves recognizing a special
interdependence of objective events, as well as
with the subjective (psychic) states of the
observer or observers. This is so because human
experience exists at the intersection of two
worlds (internal mental life, complete with our
private thoughts, feelings, and beliefs and the
external social world brimming with other
people.
• Taoist principle of the unity of opposites
represents an authentic perspective for creating
peace in human relationships and to the
TAOISM environment as well.
 • To experience harmony is through the process of awareness.
• Two types of perceived Tao
• Taoist awareness -views human activities and experiences as
determined by the interactions of the mental systems and evolving
human reality.
• Personal awareness - assumes that the use of self’s belief systems or
categories can understand and overcome invalidations generated by
the self, others, and situations, with the awareness of the incongruity
between the mind and the reality.
• Taoist psychology suggests that conflict at the mental and
interpersonal levels is produced by opposites without unity.
The lack of connection is engendered by following and
applying misperceived reality and patterns as guidelines for
explaining experiences. Discord, animosity, and frustration
stem from mistaken beliefs based on a limited and distorted
awareness of the reality of interaction. Conversely, mental
peace and consonance with others and nature can be
TAOISM achieved through understanding the lack of unity between
one’s microcosm and the universal system.