The Filipino Mind, like the Chinese Mind, Surrenders to Higher Power or Force to Work through Man’s LifeBoth Filipino and Chinese have always considered life and the world as eternally mysterious and unfathomable. They struggle to work their way through life, but a certain junction, when they can no longer course their life through obstacles, they surrender to a higher power to help them get across. “Bahala naâ€, a Filipino will say.
On a carefree day a Filipino will normally dream, struggle through life; he may plan for his future, but once confronted with a problem, he surrenders everything to God or to Bathala – let God finally decide on my future, “Bathala na.†For this all – knowing God will never leave him at a time when he needs Him most.
The Chinese notion of Wu – Wei (literally, non – action) in the Daoist Philosophy speaks of a natural course that is also considered the right path of life. A man may have his desires, dreams, and wants, but there is only one path that can deliver him from harm – the path of the Dao. In Dao everything comes naturally, effortlessly, and unmistakably. A man who lives along this path surrenders everything to the Dao to work through his life. He glides along the Way of Nature – forever simple, unaffected, sincere, and non – artificial.
This surrender to a higher force allows the Filipino as well as the Chinese to keep him intact and forever assured of a comfortable place under the sun. Because Bathala cannot abandon him in his time of need, “Bathala will protect him from all odds, and in time, the nightmare will pass away, the storm will be over and he can continue his smooth sailing again. While allowing the path of man to course itself along the path of Dao, man is also assured of the smooth road that leads to inner; serenity and peace.
As can now be gleaned, there seem to be many similarities between the Filipino and the Chinese Minds, and we will discover more of them. If we dig more deeply into the workings of both, this is just an initial attempt to draw such comparison. This project should be continued because history has shown significant collaborations between these two peoples. Moreover, a deeper Filipino understanding of the workings of Chinese Mind in him may in the future awaken his Dragon Spirit that has made Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Hongkong, Singapore, and lately, Thailand and Malaysia, assert themselves courageously in building their nations for the twenty – first century.
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