I have one vast and incomprehensible world view, unexplainable in one short essay. My world view encompasses many other world views, because I seek to understand other people. I believe that other people have a right to see things their way, so I don't let my world view trounce on theirs. My culture teaches me to understand, so as to not jump to conclusions before I know all the facts. Understanding everyone is key. Understanding other people goes hand-in-hand with understanding myself and what I believe in, and that ultimately is my world view.
I believe that it isn't right to be arrogant. I don't want to look down on people in any way. I do not want to think of myself as better than other people. I don't look down on people if they are better than me, because if they are better than me, I will seek to emulate their good qualities and not their bad qualities. If some people are worse off than me, I will not look down from a higher position, thinking them below me or thinking that they are not hard-working. Instead, I should seek to help them. The moment I start thinking that I am better than other people, and if that seed grows into a forest, I will become blind and I won't be able to understand myself and other people.
My beliefs are many and varied. One of my beliefs is that although there is violence in the world, there is also peace. That is why if somebody does something violent, I don't quickly criticize him or her for being violent. That is also why if somebody is peaceful, I don't quickly praise him or her for it. Instead, I seek to understand a deeper meaning. I seek to understand their motivations and their drives, so that I can accurately judge whether or not my analyses are precise. If I judge incorrectly, that could lead to many problems. This is what my culture taught me: to see clearly about what really happened so as to not jump to conclusions.
I come from a Chinese culture, full of thousands of years of history. My religion – Buddhism - and Confucianism (Confucius was not a Confucianist, by the way) shaped my values. The thing about religion and culture is that it isn't precise. There are people who study Confucianism or Buddhism, yet aren't able to practice what is taught, and so aren't people who understand the teachings. It is very difficult to accurately judge whether a person who lives in a certain environment actually knows what the beliefs are, and practices what is preached. That is why many people in a certain culture or religion will have different world views.
Understanding is one of my core beliefs. I seek to understand others, and the first step is to understand myself. When I have understood myself, I can open my eyes and see the world in a new light. But the process is gradual. I can only begin to chip away at personal flaws one at a time. I seek to get rid of imperfection. I do my best to throw out greed and anger and all those things that are not qualities of people of character, knowing that I believe in what I do. It does not matter what other people think. It matters what I think, and that gives me confidence. I will get more confident without being arrogant by understanding myself better: understanding my flaws and my strengths. When I understand myself, then I realize that it isn't right to scoff at other people's opinions. If I do not agree with other people's opinions, I can “disagree without becoming disagreeable”, as the great coach John Wooden said. When I understand other people's beliefs, then I can inspire people. And that is how people like George Washington inspired the country.
I have many beliefs and not enough time to explain them all, but that is the nature of life. My culture is an old culture, with lots of values and traditions. I know that it isn't right to not understand others, because from my own experience, I don't want to be misunderstood. That is why I seek to understand others. If everybody could understand each other, then communication would be much easier, and the world would be easier to live in.
I believe that it isn't right to be arrogant. I don't want to look down on people in any way. I do not want to think of myself as better than other people. I don't look down on people if they are better than me, because if they are better than me, I will seek to emulate their good qualities and not their bad qualities. If some people are worse off than me, I will not look down from a higher position, thinking them below me or thinking that they are not hard-working. Instead, I should seek to help them. The moment I start thinking that I am better than other people, and if that seed grows into a forest, I will become blind and I won't be able to understand myself and other people.
I come from a Chinese culture, full of thousands of years of history. My religion – Buddhism - and Confucianism (Confucius was not a Confucianist, by the way) shaped my values. The thing about religion and culture is that it isn't precise. There are people who study Confucianism or Buddhism, yet aren't able to practice what is taught, and so aren't people who understand the teachings. It is very difficult to accurately judge whether a person who lives in a certain environment actually knows what the beliefs are, and practices what is preached. That is why many people in a certain culture or religion will have different world views.
"Understanding other people goes hand-in-hand with understanding myself and what I believe in."Confucius is not some old man who doesn't know anything. He was a wise man, and I only saw that after I looked back and discovered how much I had learned. This is a story about an experience Confucius had: One day, a student of Confucius cooked some rice to serve it to his teacher. After it was cooked, some ashes landed on the rice. The student tried to take it off the rice, but it was stuck on the rice. Because he didn't want to waste the rice, he ate the rice himself, because he didn't want to serve dirty rice. Someone saw it and told Confucius, and Confucius wasn't happy, because food isn't supposed to be eaten before it is offered. It is against the custom to eat food before it has been offered to the ancestors. Confucius said that he had a dream of his late father (this may have been a test to see whether the student would tell the truth or lie), and he wanted to serve the unserved rice in memory of his father before they ate the food. He asked that student what his opinion was, and the student answered. When the student explained, Confucius said that he couldn't trust what he sees. He realized that what his eyes saw did not mean that what he saw was what he saw. He understood that if he saw or heard a story or a rumor, it could be incomplete. Without knowing all the facts, he might make the wrong assumptions or decisions. Therefore he didn't want to jump to conclusions. It is hard to explain my world view, because every once in a while, I would have to explain customs and traditions, each of which requires more explanation. It isn't possible to explain everything, but there is one string tying all of his teachings together, and that is understanding.
I have many beliefs and not enough time to explain them all, but that is the nature of life. My culture is an old culture, with lots of values and traditions. I know that it isn't right to not understand others, because from my own experience, I don't want to be misunderstood. That is why I seek to understand others. If everybody could understand each other, then communication would be much easier, and the world would be easier to live in.
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