The Aztec create their own philosophy. It contained Mawu-Lisa, Tao, Yin-Yang, and Maat. This philosophy was very pragmatic. It contained metaphysics, epistemology, values, and aesthetics. Their system of thought was less compartmentalized than Europeans. This philosophy was practiced by the elite. Lower class people may have not of known any philosophy at all! Maybe they had a different philosophy.
Teotl is the spirit that all things is are connected too. The Chinese called it the Tao. The Aztec deities are the different attributes of Teotl. Change is the only thing that's constant in the universe (Teotl). The Aztec philosophers understood it.
Teotl contains complementary pairs. The Chinese called it Yin-Yang. Yin-Yang were seen as equal. Zoroastrians saw Yin-Yang as opposing each other. An example is good vs evil. Teotl is always changing from one polarity to the next. At the same time, the Teotl is beyond that.
All things are simply parts of Teotl. You can think of Teotl as the ocean and everything else as waves. Where does the waves end and the ocean begin? There is a seamless unity of the universe that humans miss out on because of our ego.
The Teotl never created the universe because it always was. The universe is the mask of Teotl. It similar to the statement: "Brahman is the truth the world is maya." Humans only see the fluctuations of Teotl, they never see the totality.
The Aztecs believed in time-space. They were able to perceive the various dimensions of time-space with astronomy. Time-space cycles help keep humans in aligned to the cosmos. A person birthdate affects their character and destiny. They believed humanity had been destroyed 4 times in the past. We are living in 5th Sun era. Hopis have similar ideas. The next destruction will wipe us out forever.
People should always fellow the path of the dharma. This makes your life better. They advocated fellowing the middle path. Buddha advocated the middle path as well.
Teotl is better expressed by song, poem, art, etc. They called this flower and song. The art they created was meaningful. All of their art were created to have a positive effect on the people.
Conclusion
Their philosophy was very pragmatic. It promoted the dharma. It is wonderfully complex. It has great beauty!
http://www.iep.utm.edu/aztec/
http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/53017-aztec-philosophy-understanding-a-world-in-motion/
http://www.mexicolore.co.uk/aztecs/home/aztec-philosophy
This Sweet!!!!
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