Emerson, Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus Where Does the Self...

Emerson, Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus: Where Does the Self Stand? Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ideas from his essay Self-Reliance may sound absurd to some, though this also helps to ensure that his ideas on self-reliance are some of the most well known on the subject. Many people these days seem to be more inclined towards focusing almost entirely on the self, rather than going and pleasing other people. There are also other teachings from the past that are contradicted by the ideas in Emerson’s essay. One notable statement that Emerson made was that â€Å"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself (Emerson, 47).† This is slowly becoming the truth for most individuals, who are taking up this approach, rather than going around and pleasing other people†¦show more content†¦One should be wary of his actions towards the whole, which is in contradiction with what Emerson is preaches in his works. It should also be noted that some of the teachings of Buddhism regardin g happiness and serenity of the person deal with how to treat one another. The reward given to a person who treats others well might not be experienced in their present lifetime, but will instead occur in a future life. The idea of self is not given much attention, especially when compared to Emerson’s ideas of self. Another teaching of Buddha is â€Å"One should do what one teaches others to do; if one would train others, one should be well controlled oneself. Difficult, indeed, is self-control. (â€Å"The Dhammapada,† 60)† Even if the self would be taken into notice at this point, one’s action should still be in coordination with the betterment of others. Emerson also seemed to be going the opposite way compared to Confucius’ ideas. Whereas Emerson’s ideas basically state that one should only take into consideration what will make him achieve happiness, Confucius believed that happiness of the person should rely on what he has done to anot her person; this has been referred to often as the golden rule and it states â€Å"What you do not want done to yourself, do not do unto others.† The happiness of the person still depends others, unlike Emerson’s proposal that the self should be happy regardless of what another person might think towards him or how others might be