Immanuel Kant, specifically his ideology on ethics. Kantian Deontology was a huge turning point for me in college. I remember learning about the flaws in modern moral standards (Golden Rule (Catholicism)). The categorical imperative at the time I thought was an amazing idea. Mostly his ideals about treating humanity as a means and an end really made sense. He believed in a universal law which in some regard I do believe in. Reading and taking classes on his work played a huge role on my moral standard.
Rahula had some very similar ideas to Kant when it came to the CI and moral ethics. I think you'd probably enjoy some of his works!
No problem! I like eastern philosophy a lot, and it's always cool to share with others.
What sort of stuff have you read on Eastern Philosophy?
Indian: Well, I'm a Buddhist, so I've read the Dhammapada, the Kalama Sutta, the Mahasatipatthana Sutta, and most of the Pali Canon. I've also read some of the Mahabharata (the Hindu epic that includes the Bhagavad Gita). Chinese: I've read the Art of War, the Tao Te Ching, Analects, and parts of the Book of Ritual. Japanese: A few of Sen no Rikyu's poems (most of my information on Rikyu comes from the Book of Tea, though), and I've read of Bushido (I haven't read any primary documents).
I've read the most about the Buddha and his teachings, so that's what I'm most knowledgeable about. I don't know a lot about Mongolian philosophy or Eastern Russian. Everything else pretty much derived from the Buddha, the Bhagavad Gita, Confucius, and Lao Tzu. But I'm always interested in finding more things to read about from any culture! My current interests are in Sub-Saharan African tribes (if you were interested, hahaha). Thanks for asking! :)
And what sort of Buddhist are you again?Theravada,Mahayana or one of the schools of Vajrayana Tibetan Buddhism?
I'm sorry, I didn't answer that! I consider myself Theravada, but I guess calling myself a Buddhist is a little insulting to true Buddhists because I really only follow the moral philosophies.
'Theravada Buddhism-influenced' would be more accurate,although quite a mouthful XD.
Yeah, that's why I usually just say I'm Buddhist! :) But it's awesome that you actually knew about the other kinds of Buddhism! Most people don't even really inquire that far into it.
I kinda learned about it from the disputes it had with other (Indian) philosophical schools as well(that part in particular is my favourite about Buddhism).