Taoism And Buddhism
Taoism is one of the two great philosophical and religious traditions that
originated in China. The other religion native to China is Confucianism. Both
Taoism and Confucianism began at about the same time, around the sixth century
B.C.E. China's third great religion, Buddhism, came to China from India around
the second century of the common era. Together, these three faiths have shaped
Chinese life and thought for nearly twenty-five hundred years (Hartz 3).
One dominate concept in Taoism and Buddhism is the belief in some form of
reincarnation. The idea that life does not end when one dies is an integral part
of these religions and the culture of the Chinese people. ...
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Mother, or the source of all things. That source is not a god or a
supreme being, as Taoism is not monotheistic. The focus is not to worship one
god, but instead on coming into harmony with tao (Hartz, 8).
Tao is the essence of everything that is right, and complications exist
only because people choose to complicate their own lives. Desire, ambition,
fame, and selfishness are seen as hindrances to a harmonious life. It is only
when a person rids himself of all desires can tao be achieved. By shunning
every earthly distraction, the Taoist is able to concentrate on life itself. The
longer the person's life, the more saintly the person is presumed to have become.
Eventually the hope is to become immortal, to achieve tao, to have reached the
deeper life. This is the after life for a Taoist, to be in harmony with the
universe, to have achieved tao (Head1, 65).
To understand the relationship between life, and the Taoism concept of life
and death, the origin of the word ...
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that the soul never dies, a person's soul is eternal. "You
see death in contrast to life; and both are unreal - both are a changing and
seeming. Your soul does not glide out of a familiar sea into an unfamiliar
ocean. That which is real in you, your soul, can never pass away, and this fear
is no part of her" (Head2 199).
In the writings of The Tao Te King, tao is described as having existed
before heaven and earth. Tao is formless, stands alone without change and
reaches everywhere without harm. The Taoist is told to use the light that is
inside to revert to the natural clearness of sight. By divesting oneself of all
external distractions and desires, only then can one achieve ...
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"Taoism And Buddhism." Essayworld.com. February 7, 2007. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Taoism-And-Buddhism/59952.
"Taoism And Buddhism." Essayworld.com. February 7, 2007. Accessed April 24, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Taoism-And-Buddhism/59952.
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