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Eastern Philosophy For Beginners

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Eastern Philosophy for Beginners From the wisdom of Confucius and the teachings of the Buddha to the meditations of Laozi and the insights of Zen masters, Eastern Philosophy for Beginners explores the ideas that shaped civilizations across Asia. This series introduces the core principles of Chinese, Indian, and Japanese thought—harmony, mindfulness, compassion, and balance—while showing how these ancient traditions remain deeply relevant today. Each episode makes complex ideas accessible, offering listeners a path to understanding the philosophies that continue to guide millions of lives. Produced by Selenius Media & The Artificial Laboratory

Episodes

  1. Ashoka

    10/09/2025 • SELENIUS MEDIA + ONLY

    Ashoka

    Today we meet a ruler whose life is a hinge between two worlds: the world where empire is measured by blood and borders, and the world where a king kneels before conscience and tries—against history’s habits—to govern for the welfare of all beings. His name is Ashoka, third emperor of the Maurya dynasty, who reigned in the third century before the common era. If Mahavira showed us the rigor of personal nonviolence, and the Buddha taught a path of liberation one mind at a time, Ashoka tried to move a continent’s politics by turning remorse into policy. Produced by Selenius Media

    25 min
  2. Buddha

    10/09/2025

    Buddha

    Picture an old sage riding on the back of a water buffalo, departing the gates of an ancient city as the sun sets. This wise old man is Laozi – literally “Old Master” – the legendary philosopher of ancient China. According to tradition, Laozi grew weary of the moral decay and turmoil of his time. In his twilight years, he chose to leave civilization behind, traveling westward toward the mountains, seeking solitude. At a frontier pass, a guard named Yinxi recognized the sage and begged him to record his wisdom before he vanished into the wilderness. Laozi stopped and composed a slender book of aphorisms and poetry – the Daodejing, or “Classic of the Way and Virtue.” Handing over this manuscript, he rode beyond the border and out of history, never to be seen again. Produced by Selenius Media

    37 min
  3. Confucius

    10/09/2025

    Confucius

    In a small walled town in ancient China over two and a half millennia ago, a child was born who would become one of history’s most influential teachers. This child, born in 551 BCE in the state of Lu, was named Kong Qiu – later known to the world by the Latinized name Confucius, meaning “Master Kong”. At the time of his birth, China was not a unified empire but a patchwork of feudal states. The once-glorious Zhou dynasty was in decline; its authority had fragmented, and local lords ruled their domains like independent kingdoms. It was an age of political turmoil and moral crisis. Warlords vied for power, common folk suffered the ravages of constant wars, and the old order seemed to be fading into chaos. In this atmosphere of uncertainty and change, Confucius grew up with a profound sense of history and a yearning for order. Little could anyone have guessed that this humble man from Lu would, through the power of his ideas and example, fundamentally shape the civilizations of China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and beyond. His influence on East Asian intellectual and social history is immeasurable – so much so that he has been revered as the Great Sage and teacher for thousands of years. Yet Confucius’s own life was far from lofty or easy, and understanding his journey offers a poignant glimpse into how one person’s search for virtue and harmony echoed across the ages. Produced by Selenius Media

    50 min
  4. Mahavira

    10/09/2025 • SELENIUS MEDIA + ONLY

    Mahavira

    Today we step into the dust and sunlight of the Gangetic plain, into a world where wandering renunciants moved from village to village with bowls in their hands and fire in their questions. Our guide is Mahavira, remembered by the Jain tradition as the twenty‑fourth Tirthankara, a “ford‑maker” who showed a crossing from the fast current of suffering to the far bank of liberation. If the Buddha traced a middle way between indulgence and self‑mortification, Mahavira proved how far human resolve can go in the name of harmlessness. He lived a life that to most of us seems impossibly strict—bare feet in the hot season and the cold, careful steps to avoid crushing an ant, a mouth covered to spare the gnat—and yet his vision was radiant with care. He taught that every living being, from the elephant to the unseen micro‑organism, is a center of experience; that harm echoes back on the one who harms; that freedom is not an idea but a discipline; and that truth itself has many sides. To understand him is to encounter an ethics that refuses to compromise with cruelty and a philosophy that trains the mind in humility. Produced by Selenius Media

    26 min
  • 4 Episodes

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Eastern Philosophy for Beginners From the wisdom of Confucius and the teachings of the Buddha to the meditations of Laozi and the insights of Zen masters, Eastern Philosophy for Beginners explores the ideas that shaped civilizations across Asia. This series introduces the core principles of Chinese, Indian, and Japanese thought—harmony, mindfulness, compassion, and balance—while showing how these ancient traditions remain deeply relevant today. Each episode makes complex ideas accessible, offering listeners a path to understanding the philosophies that continue to guide millions of lives. Produced by Selenius Media & The Artificial Laboratory

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