Why Are You Focused on Buddhist Philosophy?

Why am I focused on Buddhist philosophy?

I was a Buddhist when I was a kid (like one is born into a religion, if you get what I mean), become an atheist, then a Christian when I was 13 or so, then back to being an atheist for a few reasons.

But wait, whatever I believe in right now—even if I’m with the Church of Cats (not sure if such a thing even exists) because cats are the boss and it’s therapeutic to watch them—or whether I’m a Buddhist or not is inconsequential to my mission.

My mission:

To find out what and how things really work: What it takes for us to live happy, successful and fulfilling lives, but with a catch: a focus on—but not limited to—Buddhist philosophy.

So in this post, you’re gonna learn 3 reasons why jeannzhuang.com is focused on Buddhist philosophy:

• Buddhism: Can we separate philosophy from religion?
• How it all started: Buddhism, Buddhist philosophy & me
• Personal growth & direction: The ideas from Buddhist philosophy

And I welcome you to read this post whether you’re just super curious and interested in my quest or you’re currently learning and using the DCIG Seed System.

3 REASONS WHY I’M FOCUSED ON BUDDHIST PHILOSOPHY

Reason 1: Can We Separate Philosophy From Religion?

Firstly, I want to say, if a staunch Buddhist sees no need to do so, that’s cool. However, that doesn’t stop me from finding out if we can separate philosophy from religion when it comes to Buddhism, since so many has claimed that Buddhism is more of a way of life than just religious practices.

So really, is Buddhism a religion, philosophy, or a way of life?

Buddhism, religion and philosophy that developed from the teachings of the Buddha (Sanskrit: “Awakened One”), a teacher who lived in northern India between the mid-6th and mid-4th centuries BCE (before the Common Era). Spreading from India to Central and Southeast Asia, China, Korea, and Japan, Buddhism has played a central role in the spiritual, cultural, and social life of Asia, and, beginning in the 20th century, it spread to the West.

— Encyclopaedia of Britannica

From this simple introduction of Buddhism from an established encyclopaedia that has been around for 250 years, I take it from their authority that Buddhism is both a religion and philosophy. Whether it is a way of life, or can be one, we’ll find out along my quest.

But the above leads me to wonder then whether a person can apply the ideas from Buddhist philosophy in their life, without converting to become a Buddhist?

Now, let’s get to the part on philosophy.

Philosophy, (from Greek, by way of Latin, philosophia, “love of wisdom”) the rational, abstract, and methodical consideration of reality as a whole or of fundamental dimensions of human existence and experience. Philosophical inquiry is a central element in the intellectual history of many civilizations. The subject of philosophy is treated in a number of articles.

— Encyclopaedia of Britannica

The interesting thing I noted in this article is that there’s Eastern and Western philosophy. Whereby in Eastern philosophy, Buddhism is mentioned alongside Chinese philosophy; Confucianism, Daoism (or spelled as Taoism mostly), Indian philosophy, Japanese philosophy and so on.

And why my interest in philosophy?

Well, I have unfinished business.

Or rather a relationship that never quite had the opportunity to take root.

As a major in Theatre Studies, in the department of English Language and Literature, I was exposed to fields of study such as semiotics; the study of signs and symbols and their use, interpretation, as well as the process and production of meaning, history of Western theatre, which also somehow exposed me to Western philosophers such as Aristotle, Jacques Derrida, philosophical movements such as existentialism, phenomenology, deconstruction, postmodernism and so on.

It’s been 10 years since I graduated so… I’m rusty. But you get the drift.

So why Buddhist philosophy, specifically?

Reason 2: How it All Started

Buddhism, philosophy & me.

Like I said, I was a Buddhist when I was a kid, before I became an atheist, then a Christian when I was 13 and so on.

I have memories of running around a Burmese Buddhist temple when I was a kid, because my grandma volunteered and contributed to the building of the temple. And I recall walking around barefoot on the smooth cold tiles.

Times when we also sat with our eyes closed in front of this massive and magnificent Buddha statue while a monk chanted and showered us with occasional splashes of cold water—which stopped me from dozing off completely; I was basically nodding from side to side, trying to fight the sleep, with my eyes closed.

After my grandma passed, we stopped visiting that temple. My childhood impression of Buddhism?

Prayers and rituals in a language that was not only foreign to me, but something that I didn’t understand.

Fast forward to 2014.

I was feeling lost with my life after a failed business and trying to figure things out, I started doing crazy research:

I was trying to make sense of life. Happiness, success, a life worth living.

I was looking for some direction, and answers.

Eventually in July 2015…

I attended a business seminar by DCI Global, with its master trainer Geshe Michael Roach, a monk who managed the purchasing division of a global diamond company, Andin International, which was eventually acquired by Richline Group Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway.

After the talk Geshe Michael gave, I bought his best-selling books:

• The Diamond Cutter: The Buddha on Managing Your Business and Your Life
• Karmic Management: What Goes Around Comes Around in Your Business and Your Life
• The Karma of Love: 100 Answers for Your Relationship, from the Ancient Wisdom of Tibet

I read the books, attended book clubs, attended trainings and began applying the ideas to my life.

After all, the only way to know if the ideas work is to experiment with them. I started seeing changes in my life and became more into the Diamond Cutter Institute Global (DCI Global) training system, which is called the DCI Method, Diamond Cutter System, OR more commonly known as Seed System.

“DCIG was conceived as a way to recognise the universal nature of the greatest ideas of Asian philosophy, and make these ideas practical as “The Diamond Cutter System,” a method for leadership and success among governments, corporations, entrepreneurs and other professionals around the world.”

You can learn more about what is DCIG here.

So long story short, after attending the trainings to become a certified teacher, I’m currently a DCI teacher and the Director of Creative Services.

Which explains then, professionally, I’m positioned to expand my knowledge on the “ancient wisdom” or Asian philosophy.

Reason 3: Personal Growth & Direction

After becoming a DCI teacher who has visited many cities around the world, I began to reconnect with my dreams that I had put on hold.

And then with the COVID-19 situation around the world right now, where most of us are staying home because of advisories, lockdowns or quarantines, I had the time to reconnect with my interests—such as reading fiction and non-fiction books, and writing, as well as do some quiet thinking.

(Obviously I am extremely interested in personal development as well since my quest is about living happy, fulfilled and successful lives.)

After reading Cal Newport’s So Good They Can’t Ignore You, Deep Work, and mid-way through Digital Minimalism, (more books, not by Cal Newport, in the queue) I began writing down what’s on my mind and organising my thoughts.

The theme that emerged after a month of daily reflections eventually boiled down to my current quest:

Can we extract, adapt and contextualise the ideas and concepts from Buddhist philosophy to live a happy, successful and fulfilling life?

Can we really make a 2500-year-old tradition relevant to the 21st century, not as a “religion” but as a secular philosophy with broad applications that we can use in our lives? (source)

And thus, this blog came to life, where I will share my thoughts; ideas, insights, opinions, findings, and experiences as a test subject, and then document how you too can apply practical strategies and methods in your daily life to live a happy, successful and fulfilling one.

Conclusion: What’s Next?

There we go, the 3 reasons why I’m focused on—but not limited to—Buddhist philosophy.

• Buddhism: Can we separate philosophy from religion?
• How it all started: Buddhism, Buddhist philosophy & me
• Personal growth & direction: The ideas from Buddhist philosophy

Armed with my quest and an extensive collection of works available for me to immerse myself in, and the extra time I have on hand right now (since I can’t travel for work and we’re advised to stay home with the tight measures in Singapore as of this writing), I decided to make the best use of the time I have right now—to work on my mission and write.

So this is why I’m focused on Buddhist philosophy, but not limited to it.

What’s your mission, and what are you working on?