Thesis: “Confucianism
and Buddhism are the sources of psychological
and cultural change in the Japanese society as
both these philosophies introduced the means to
achieve cultural and societal peace and harmony.”
Introduction
Murasaki Shikibu is one of the greatest literary
artists of Japan of the Heian period. She has
produced a remarkable piece having strong observations
and deep reflections of the court life. For this
purpose she use to keep a diary in which she recorded
the life at court. Her diary is a mixture of detailed
descriptions and sharp personal observation interspersed
with strong self-analysis. As she also focused
the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism in
the cultural as well as society of Japan, The
diary also seems to be a collection of observations
seemingly written for some public purpose.
Contributions of Confucianism and Buddhism
Confucianism is more like a set of moral codes
rather then a religion. It teaches the people
to play an ideal role in an unchanging society.
While “Buddhism is a way to achieve personal
enlightenment, nirvana, through the awareness
of impermanence in all matters.” Where the
ideals of Confucian were treasured as an orthodox
religion of the state, Buddhism on the other hand
always struggles to bring together their religious
principles with the Confucians.
The main area of concern in Confucianism was to
develop social harmony and also to explain the
basic responsibilities and duties in maintaining
all the various relationships existing in the
society. These relations are master and servant,
parent and child, husband and wife, brother and
sisters as well as friend to friend. These relations
are known as “dyadic relations”. Therefore,
“when the dyadic relationships are hierarchical,
the person in the superior position is to care
for the person in the lower and the person in
the lower position is to be loyal to the superior.”
In Japan, the royal and majestic families use
to follow this system to institute an erect bureaucracy.
Despite the fact that Confucianism brought structural
changes in Japan but the ancient Japanese did
not show much interest in the philosophy of Confucianism.
On the other hand Japanese were easily attracted
to Buddhism due to its aesthetic qualities. Many
Buddhist artisans migrated from Korea and introduced
advanced and elegant techniques in the architecture,
paintings as well as sculpture and music of the
Japanese state. Basically these well-designed
techniques were adopted as a part of their art
and culture and specifically used in the country’s
rituals for the prosperity of the state.
Apart from art and culture, the psychological
impact of Buddhism was more passionate. Buddhism
introduced many social, moral as well as psychological
aspects of life and related them to the environment
and human being. Buddhism sharpens the awareness
of Japanese people about the working of the heart
and mind. It made the people realize that the
root cause for anguish and dissatisfaction is
the egoism of a person. Therefore, in order to
achieve inner peace and social harmony, one should
control the inner desire and eliminate egoism
from its personality.
In brief, according to Confucianism, harmony
and peace could be achieved in the society by
realizing the duties and responsibilities towards
each other made in every dyadic relationship.
On the other hand, the philosophy of Buddhism
made a stronger impact on the psychology of Japanese
people and culture
The Diary of Lady Murasaki and Women:
Though the Diary of Lady Murasaki is not a typical
reflection of Japanese ladies during the Heian
period but it gives an implicit expression about
women of that period. She also examined the life
of upper class women during this period. “For
instance the freedom of expression provided to
them and the level of education with relation
to men at that time.”
The lady she portrayed was based on her personal
observation and experiences in court. According
to Richard Bowring, she defines “what a
lady-in-waiting considered "good" character.”
Basically the role of women was taken as a sensitive
issue along influencing the two different philosophies
for structural change of the Japanese Society
and its culture.
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