When it comes to comparing Doaism and Mahayana Buddhism very few similarities exist. Although both religions are practice based, opposed to religions based on faith, the ultimate goal of each religion are vastly different. In Daoism it is believed that the spirit is eternal after death while In Mahayana Buddhism we see that there is an end to the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. However, there is one similarity in both that is incredibly important to the practice of both religions. This similarity is the concept of emptiness. By observing the proper practices of Bodhisatvvas in Buddhism and the ideal ruler in Daoism we can see how both religions have a very similar view on the importance of emptiness, and also how they differ. In the Daoist text the Tao Teh Ching, there is mention of the idea of an empty bowl. This concept is very important and can be applied to many aspects of Daoist practice. When thinking of a bowl we understand it as something that is to be filled. However, as it is referred to in the Tao Teh Ching it is the empty space inside the bowl that gives it purpose. Metaphorically the bowl is a representation of our mind. If we fill our mind and in turn close it off to any new understanding we our limiting our potential. One of the most important concepts in Daoism is Wei Wu Wei, or, action without action. Like water bending and moving through a stream it is believed that people should act accordingly to nature not challenging or trying to act
Religion is one of the oldest and most sacred traditions of the human species. Religion started off as a basic belief in an afterlife, and then further developed into tribal religions, which evolved into ancestral worship, then to polytheism, and lastly into monotheism. Monotheism in the form of Christianity is the largest religion of the modern world, and it has similar beliefs to other world religions such as Buddhism. Christianity and Buddhism are similar because both religions teach about the equality of people and that making good choices reflects the positive teachings of that religion. They are also similar in how they formed, as both broke off from another religion that was exclusive, and both became popular and spread easily
Buddhism and Hinduism come from the same region, India. Both of them are very focused on nature, the things around them, though they both believe in several hells and heavens, or higher and lower worlds. They both believe in karma which is the affect a person’s actions in this life will change his next life. Another point is that both religions focus on peace, and non violence towards all living things. They are compassionate, which ties into their focus on nature. Buddhism and Hinduism also believe in various spiritual practices such as meditation, concentration, and states of mind. Desire is the largest cause of suffering in both of the faiths. Another likeness is they both believe in reincarnation, and salvation. They believe the good deeds of a person are their work for salvation and their salvation will decide their next life, when they are reincarnated. Also, they both believe that there are many paths to enlightenment, such as overcoming your feelings and controlling over the six senses. Both religions are more philosophical then religious. Buddhists and Hindus both practice many forms of yoga and meditation
Although Daoism believes in modesty, and Confucianism emphasizes honesty, ruling a kingdom effectively during a time of turmoil requires sovereignty. Legalism is a system of pure power that demands restraint and discipline with an emphasis on strict laws. Daoism maintains the balance of nature and embrace harmony by utilizing “The Dao.” Confucianism highlights virtues and morality wanting people to become The Superior Man. For an East Asian Kingdom plagued by famine, war, and civil unrest, Legalism would bring order to the Kingdom by a centralized and powerful government, strict laws that govern the people, and once peace ensues, a secure economy.
Buddhism and Taoism both originated and influenced most the Asian area. They are not just religions but a way of living life with philosophic principles. They are both seeking equality and moral existence. Buddhism have several branches just like the Hinayana, Mahayana, Esoteric, Pure Land, and the Zen Buddhism. Taoism can also be divided into a few. The main ones are the Southern and Northern Taoism. Taoism got many principles borrowed from the Buddhist one they influenced each other through their history. Taoism in the beginning was rather a mixture of mythology, folk, and philosophy teachings. With the arrival of Buddhism, it was forced to renew and reorganize itself. Both of the religion does their practices in monasteries, temples and shrines and also both of them use statues and pictures expressing their beliefs.
Similar to Confucianism, Daoism has concepts of Tien and Te. It also has philosophical and religious concepts that descended from folk traditions. The difference that Daoists has limitations confucius got somethings wrong. “Daoists developed a counterpoint to the Confucian focus on social hierarchy, political involvement, emotional and moral discipline, and ritual regimentation, a counterpoint based on the concept of the Dao” (CIWR, 491). The two founders, Laozi and huangzi, developed harmonious life in line with Tau. Laozi had his own philosophy, and Zhuangzi believed things were better with no politics. Similar to Confucianism, Taoism have a concept of Te, only they have a different way of obtaining it. “The term de in the Daodejing refers to a ‘virtue-power’ that embodies the mystic inner power attained through alignment with the unseen world, the power that allows a sage ruler to infuse his realm with the harmony he has achieved by ‘doing nothing,’ wuwei” (CIWR, 495). Daoists believe that one can point to what something is by implicitly pointing to what it is not. “To use a finger to show that a finger is not a finger, is not really as good as using something that is not a finger to show that a finger is not a finger” (BC, 12-13).Basically, in order to point to a finger and say what’s around it is not a finger, it would be better not to use a fingure. “The fanciful and the historical exist side by
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism are all religions that connect in more than one way. One major way that these religions connect is through the afterlife, otherwise known as the unconditioned reality. Hinduism and Buddhism have very similar views on the afterlife while Daoism has a slightly different view. In the end, they all have the same goal which is to achieve the final state that lasts forever. Even though this is true, that does not mean they do not differ in more than one way. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Daoism rely strongly on theoretical, practical, and sociological standpoints. A large part of the theoretical standpoints, are myths about the gods and how things are. A large part of sociological standpoints are festivals, and temples. Lastly, practical is practiced through mediation, yoga, and payers. In Hinduism, there are various sects that worship a total of roughly 360,000,000 different gods. As you could imagine, this would be difficult to generalize in just one essay, so the branch of Hinduism I will go over just includes the basic trinity and Vedic gods. Along with this, this essay will include information on the two major types of Buddhism and how one attains enlightenment. Finally, we will go over how one is to attain immortality through Daoism, along with the beliefs of the traditional Chinese Folk religions.
One way I believe that Wu Wei “non action” can be applied in my life is when I coach softball. I share how to become a better team and we teach team building skills and keep these teenagers from staying off the streets and having fun all in one. It is nice when the parents thank me for dedicating my free time to give back to our communities youth, but it also fulfills my desire to keep playing and enjoying softball. Coaching is a very emotional and mentally stressful activity at times , but by volunteering my time to do the right thing to keep these young individuals from staying out of trouble is the reward in itself winning and the attention is not my intention. I coach for the pure action of the greater good of others not for my own desire
Daoism means “Followers of the way”, although Dao does not means only “way”. According to the BBC religion, the word Dao or Tao can include several concepts such as “the source of creation”, “the ultimate”, “the unnameable” ,“the way of nature as a whole”, “the natural universe as a whole” and “the inexpressible and indefinable.” In Taoism they believe in way of living in which there were not many rules and believes in the philosophy of inaction. They say that you can find happiness through nature and harmony. Also this is where yin and yang come from. As we can see, there are major differences between Daoism and Confucianism, but one of them is very important, the life after death.
In my opinion, the Daoist imagery of the wheel is a concept that offers concise insight into a number of different areas of life. One idea that the imagery of the wheel provides that I believe holds significant merit is the idea of the emptiness of the hub. This idea of the emptiness of the hub seems an especially important quality for individuals tasked with the responsibility of organizations, communities, or similar collectives. In order to rule or govern effectively, it is necessary they are devoid of personal inclinations, biases, or preferences that may prompt them to made decision that would be unbeneficial to the welfare of their collective. Daoist thought presents the state of emptiness as one of mental clarity, being free of desires
Before parallels can be drawn between ideals and paths in Daoism, Daoist philosophy and Dao must be defined. It is hard to put Daoist Philosophy into a nice, neat sentence because of the complexity and vast amount of information on the subject. For the intent of this paper, Daoist philosophy is defined as a Chinese philosophy that takes a more naturalist approach to religion and way of living. It is the connection between imitating nature and harmony. Dao is defined in Chapter 1 as the constant moving “everything” that surrounds us. It is not tangible, it is just what it is, and you do not know exactly what this something is.
Taoism (Daoism) first originated in East Asia, specifically China and then spread throughout the Eastern hemisphere. Its philosophical basis is grounded by the emphasis of the three jewels: compassion, moderation and humility. The founder of Taoism “Laozi [is an] advocate [of] being natural and reject[ing] the social” (Hansen 4). Taoism teaches the importance of life and how one should go about living it. It teaches ethics, morals and most importantly Wu Wei. Wu Wei is the act and conscious of knowing when and when not to act and when not to act. This religion does not have a central God or multiple Gods that it worships; rather, they stress the importance of revering one's ancestors as well as nature. The most well known symbol of Taoism is the yin and yang. This phrase represents the importance of the unity of opposites and celebrating these differences through peace and bliss. Scholars derive their knowledge of Taoism from the readings and scriptures from the texts of Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi. “The core of Zen practice is seated meditation, called zazen. Shikantaza (nothing but sitting) involves sitting in a state of alert attention that is free of thoughts. Koans are paradoxical questions, phrases, or stories that cannot be solved using intellectual reasoning, like ‘What is the sound of one hand clapping?’ ” (Spuler 2). Unlike western religions, it provides a clear quest of how one
The second major difference is the incentive for not doing evil in life. For a Buddhist, the reason why one does not harm other beings, for example, is that it will affect your karma. For a Muslim, it is more of because Allah will punish bad deeds and reward good ones. The ultimate goal in both religions also differ, Muslims' are to go to heaven, whereas Buddhists' are to attain nirvana. The Buddha also said that the human self has no atta (soul) in contrary to Muslims.
The Taoist philosophy followed an interesting circle. On one hand, that Taoists rejected the regulation of life and society and preached instead to turn away from it to a solitary meditation of nature. On the other hand, they believed that by doing this one could ultimately have power enough to harness the whole universe. That by doing "nothing" one could accomplish "everything".
Daoism is synonymous with Taoism; in this religious philosophy, the way of nature is central theme of life. It was founded by Lao Tzu in 500BC in China. Lao is believed to have authored the “Dao de Jing”, which details the Daoist beliefs. Dao is a concept, a way, a principle that will lead a person to a happy, peaceful life. Dao can be achieved by incorporating the Three Jewel of Taoism that are humility, simplicity and compassion in one’s life. According to Dao, de Jing “The Way to Heaven is to benefit others and not to injure”.15 Further, there is no concept of good and evil, the Dao is simply the universe, which is perceived as a self- sustaining entity that generates energy called qi. Like other Chinese traditions, Daoist also have great reverence for the spirits of ancestors as well as spirits of nature that is plants, animals, rivers, etc. 16
Compassion is basically considered to be one of the most virtues in almost all religious traditions such as Buddhism and Christianity. Buddhism and Christianity are two different religions but both of them are interrelated. Both religions have hope of life after death, hope of reincarnation of Buddhists, eternal life of Christians, but live consciously. Both Buddhism and Christianity were founded by spiritual leaders and masters who tried to prove a way of salvation. Based on religious writings, this paper explores the way Buddhism and Christianity are different and in what ways they similar from the point of salvation, life after death, and love.