Introduction What are ethics, nature of self, ultimate reality and death in Confucianism? Before going into detail with that question, the author will very briefly answer the question in regards to western beliefs to give some contrast to the paper. The western world (United States) is typically perceived by its citizens as a modern and advanced society where everyone flourishes based on the strengths of the individual. It is a society where the nature of self is egocentric with the emphasis is on “I”. In the workplace, people are awarded and promoted for their individual accomplishments and on sports teams individual players that excel are rewarded for being the most valuable player. The ultimate reality of most westerners conforms to the view of one God based on their religious beliefs. The U.S. was founded as “One nation under God”. The reason for this “One nation under God” phrase is that the U.S. was founded by individuals whose ultimate reality, in regards to their religious faiths, viewed God as the supreme power in all reality. Western ethical beliefs typically originated from the premise of biblical laws given by God, which is basically follow the law or be punished. Western society puts a lot of emphasis on punishment if laws are broken and ethical values are not followed. Death in western society is generally considered a melancholic affair where the dead is buried or cremated. They will be resurrected at some later time at which God will pass judgment on their life. Should they have lived a life with no sin they will be rewarded with eternal life, if not, they will be cast into the lake of fire. An alternate more popular western belief is that upon death the person immediately goes to heaven. Now that these four concepts in relation to the western beliefs have briefly been discussed What are ethics, nature of self, ultimate reality and death in What is Confucianism? The Chinese philosopher Confucius lived from 551 to 479 BCE and developed a belief system called Confucianism as a structured ethical and philosophical system to promote an ordered society. Confucian belief holds that people are the ones that must take action in life according to the principles of moral feelings, such as “filial piety and humane love.” (Qinping, 2011, p. 120) The ideals of Confucianism are contained within the Confucian cannon. This Confucian canon is made up of several books and is divided into two parts; the five classics that influenced the beliefs of Confucius, and the four books that Confucius and his disciples wrote built on the teachings of the five classics. The five classics are called: Classic of Changes, Classic of History, Classic of Poetry, Spring and Autumn Classic, and Classic of Rites. The four books are called: Analects, Mencius, Great Learning, and Doctrine of the Mean. (Van Voorst, 2013) From within these books and from the ideas of Confucius and his followers, the beliefs and ideals of Confucian values were formed. From these books, the five main virtues of Confucianism (Jen, Li, Shu, hsiao, and Wen) and the five great relationships (Father/Son, Elder brother/Younger brother, Husband/Wife, Elder/Younger, and Ruler/Subject) are emphasized the most for what society should follow and how it should be structured. (Molloy, 2013) There are other virtues such as zhi, yi, and xin that will be discussed as well. The beliefs in these virtues and relationships are that each person is able to achieve them if the ideals are cultivated within the society through learning. “Learning must be put into practice (xing: 5:14, at 98; 7:3, at 111;11:22, at 146–47), as well as reflected on (si: 2:15, at 79; 15:31, at 190). This is the multifaceted process of Confucian self-cultivation: a person is informed by learning, tested in practice, and guided by reflection. Analects 2:15 emphasizes the place of both learning and reflection: The Master said: “Learning without due reflection leads to perplexity; reflection without learning leads to perilous circumstances” (at 79). Both learning and reflection are necessary for the cultivation of the individual” (Lai, 2008, p. 114). Each person is then able to be good and would be able to be outstanding individuals in society. Confucianism believes that one must achieve their full potential by the cultivation of intelligence and virtues through formal education and social interaction. By being able to cultivate excellence in everyone through these moral and ethical teachings, this in turn would create an ideal ethical society that in turn would create more ideal ethical individuals. This is what Confucianism is primarily about; now to discuss the four concepts in more detail. Ethics in Confucianism Ethical behavior in Confucianism originated from the thoughts of Confucius himself from pondering how an ordered society should function. Over time, Confucius’s followers developed his ethical beliefs further (Woods, & Lamond, 2011). E