Comparing Analects And Chuang Tzu Death - 947 Words

Analects Chuang Tzu: Death Should death be mourned as in The Analects or embraced as in the Chuang-Tzu? According to The Analects, Confucians believe that death should be mourned. This is in stark contrast to the Taoist belief, as outlined in the Chuang-Tzu, which states that death should be embraced. Each are approaches to coping with death, but I agree with the Confucian way of thinking that death should be mourned. Mourning appears to be the most natural way people handle death. It is necessary to differentiate between the various types of deaths and also define what the Confucian way of mourning is. Two kinds of death portrayed in each text are one s own death and the death of a loved one. The Analects goes even further and distinguishes between the mourning process for the death of a parent, family member and a friend. According to The Analects, Confucians do not appear to mourn one’s own death. They believe that if a person was following the Way in the morning, that it is okay to die in the evening (4:8). As far as the purpose of one’s life, The Analects places more of an emphasis on living one’s life according to the Way, and when time is up, accept death. The text reads, â€Å"Be steadfast unto death in pursuit of the good Way,† (8:13). This can be interpreted to mean that one should not worry about death, but on living one’s life in a manner that is consistent with the Way. If that Way should lead to death, it is what was meant to happen. The Confucian mourning