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BUDDHISM and TAOISM: A COMPARISON OF BELIEFS, THEORIES, and
PRACTICES
The belief in some higher presence, other than our own, has existed since man can
recollect. Religion was established from this belief, and it can survive and flourish
because of this belief. In Chinese history, Taoism and Buddhism are two great
philosophical and religious traditions along with Confucianism. Taoism, originated in
China around the sixth century BCE and Buddhism, came to China from India around the
second century of the common era, Together have shaped Chinese life and thought for
nearly twenty-five hundred years.
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. Reincarnation, life after death, beliefs are
not standardized. Each religion has a different way of applying this concept to its belief.
The goal in Taoism is to achieve Tao, to find the way. Tao is the ultimate reality, a
presence that existed before the universe was formed and which continues to guide the
world and everything in it. Tao is sometimes identified as the 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 (Watts,
1957).
According to those who believe in the 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. The desire for
immortality sharply contrasts Buddhist values; the Buddhist appreciates impermanence
above all else. The after life for a Taoist is to be in harmony with the universe, to have
achieved Tao (Watts, 1957). To understand the relationship between life, and the Taoism
concept of life and death, the origin of the word Tao must be understood. The Chinese
character for Tao is a combination of two characters that represent the words head and
foot. The character for foot represents the idea of a person's direction or path. The
character for head represents the idea of conscious choice. The character for head also
suggests a beginning, and foot, an ending. Thus the character for Tao also conveys the
continuing course of the universe, the circle of heaven and earth. This is similar in
Buddhism, where wheels and circle symbols are prevalent, representing continuity, and
the cyclic nature of the world. Finally, the character for Tao represents the Taoist idea
that the eternal Tao is both moving and unmoving. The head in the character means the
beginning, the source of all things, or Tao itself, which never moves or changes; the foot
is the movement on the path (Schipper, 1978). Taoism upholds the belief in the survival
of the spirit after death. This is something most Buddhist practitioners either disagree
with entirely, or simply refuse to discuss at all.
To have attained the human form must be always a source of joy. And then to
undergo countless transitions, with only the infinite to look forward to, what comparable
bliss is that! Therefore it is that the truly wise rejoice in, that which can never be lost, but
endures always (Watts, 1957, p90). Taoist believe birth is not a beginning, death is not
an end. There is an existence without limit. There is continuity without a starting point.
Applying reincarnation theory to Taoism is the belief 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 (Watts, 1957, p59). Buddhists believe both life and death is an illusion, and that
believing in this illusion, or “Maya”, causes suffering; if we can detach ourselves from
Maya, then we won’t cling to life, nor have any fear of death. In the writings of The Tao
Te Ching, 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 Tao. In ancient days a
Taoist that had transcended birth and death, achieved Tao, was said to have cut the
“Thread of Life” (Schipper, 1978). The soul, or spirit, is Taoism does not die at death.
The soul is not reborn, it migrates to another life. This process, the Taoist version of
reincarnation, is repeated until Tao is achieved. The following translation from The Tao
Te Ching best summarizes the the theory behind Tao and how a Taoist can achieve Tao.
The Great Way is very smooth, but the people love the by-paths. . . The wearing of gay
embroidered robes, the carrying of sharp swords, fastidiousness in food and drink,
superabundance of property and wealth: - this I call flaunting robbery; most assuredly it
is not Tao. . . He who acts in accordance with Tao, becomes one with Tao. . . Being akin
to Heaven, he possesses Tao. Possessed of Tao, he endures forever. . . Being great (Tao)
passes on; passing on, it becomes remote; having become remote, it returns (Watts,
1957).
The followers of the Buddha believe life goes on and on in many reincarnations or
rebirths, yet do not, as a rule, believe in a personal form of “soul” that exists forever. The
eternal hope for all followers of Buddha is that through reincarnation one comes back
into successively better lives - until one achieves the goal of being free from pain and
suffering and not having to come back again. This wheel of rebirth, known as samsara,
goes on forever or until one achieves Nirvana. The Buddhist definition of Nirvana is the
highest state of spiritual bliss, as absolute immortality through absorption of the soul into
itself, but preserving individuality, in the sense of an ever-present awareness
(Humphreys,1991, p15). Birth is not the beginning and death is not the end. This cycle of
life has no beginning and can go on forever without an end. The ultimate goal for most
Buddhist, Nirvana, represents total enlightenment and liberation. Only through achieving
this goal is one liberated from the never ending round of birth, death, and rebirth
(David-Noel, 1971). This is especially true in Theravada Buddhism, where personal
liberation is of the utmost importance. In Mahayana Buddhism, one takes vows to be
constantly reincarnated until all are enlightened.
Yet in Pure Land Buddhism, those who devote themselves to “Amitbha Buddha”,
and devote themselves to serving others and committing good deeds, will be reborn into
the heavenly realm, known as the Western Paradise. In the Pure Land sect, there are some
correlation’s to the Christian beliefs in Hell and Heaven, of being rewarded or punished
according to how one has lived their life, and a belief in a personal soul that is
unchanging. They do believe people can end up in the Hell realm, but can be saved by
enlightened souls who descend into the lower realms out of compassion. Unlike
Christians, though, they believe that neither Heaven or Hell is a permanent state.
According to Buddhist doctrine, all actions are simply the display of thought, the will
of man. This will is caused by character, and character is manufactured from karma.
Karma means action or doing. Any kind of intentional action whether mental, verbal or
physical is regarded as karma. All good and bad actions constitute karma. As is the
karma, so is the will of the man. A person's karma determines what he deserves and what
goals can be achieved. The Buddhists past life actions determine present standing in life
and current actions determine the next life, all is determined by the Buddhist's karma.
Buddha developed a doctrine known as the Four Noble Truths based on his experience
and inspiration about the nature of life. These truths are the basis for all schools of
Buddhism. The fourth truth describes the way to overcome personal desire through the
Eightfold Path. Buddha called his path the Middle Way, because it lies between a life of
luxury and a life of poverty. Not everyone can reach the goal of Nirvana, but every
Buddhist is at least on the path toward enlightenment.
To achieve Nirvana the Buddhist must follow the steps of the Eightfold Path. 1. Right
Knowledge is knowledge of what life is all about; knowledge of the Four Noble Truths is
basic to any further growth as a Buddhist. 2. Right Aspiration means a clear devotion to
being on the Path toward Enlightenment. 3. Right Speech involves both clarity of what is
said and speaking kindly and without malice. 4. Right Behavior involves reflecting on
one's behavior and the reasons for it. It also involves five basic laws of behavior for
Buddhists: not to kill, steal, lie, drink intoxicants, or commit sexual offenses. 5. Right
Livelihood involves choosing an occupation that keeps an individual on the Path; that is,
a path that promotes life and well-being, rather than the accumulation of a lot of money.
6. Right Effort means training the will and curbing selfish passions and wants. It also
means placing oneself along the Path toward Enlightenment. 7. Right Mindfulness
implies continuing self-examination and awareness. 8. Right Concentration is the final
goal to be absorbed into a state of Nirvana (Sangharak 1990, p11). Compliance to the
path does not guarantee reaching Nirvana, but it is the only path that leads to Nirvana.
Only through following this path established by Buddha does a Buddhist have a chance to
reach enlightenment, to free oneself from the continuous rounds of birth, death and
rebirth, to have reached the ultimate goal - to be absorbed into a state of Nirvana.
The goal in both Taoism and Buddhism is to reach the ultimate goal, to transcend life
on earth as a physical being, to achieve harmony with nature and the universe. The
ultimate goal for both religions is to achieve a higher state of consciousness, and that
although everyone possesses this consciousness, it takes discipline, and commitment to a
spiritual practice. The Taoist called this ultimate goal Tao, while the Buddhist seek
Nirvana. Whatever the name, the followers of these religions believe there is an existence
beyond life which can be achieved provided the right path or behavior is followed. The
path to Tao and Nirvana are similar, yet different. Both believe there is an inner light
which guides a person in the right direction to the ultimate goal. Personal desires must be
forsaken to enable the inner light to guide a person to achieve eternal bliss. The inner
light concept is similar, but the actual path is the difference between Taoism and
Buddhism.
The path toward enlightenment for the Buddhist was defined by Buddha in his
Eightfold Path. Only through following this path does the Buddhist reach Nirvana. The
path to Tao is individual, it comes from within. No one can define a path for the Taoist, it
must come from the inner light. Tao means way, but in the original and succeeding
manuscripts no direct path is explored or expounded. Desire, ambition, fame, and
selfishness are seen as complications. That idea is consistent with Buddhist teachings; it
is the personal life of each individual that gives Taoism its special form (Watts, 1957).
Taoism and Buddhism perceive life, death and rebirth as a continuous cycle. This cycle
has no beginning and no end. The soul is eternal, yet the soul is not the object of
reincarnation, which is a paradox many westerns have a hard time grasping. Taoist
believe the soul is not reborn, it migrates to another life (schipper 1978, p90). Buddhist
also believe the soul is not reborn, but instead a consciousness containing the seeds of
good and evil deeds is the object of rebirth (Harvey, 1990, p171). This implies that there
is still an underlying awareness that is reborn, that is separate from individual personality
traits, yet is still “us”, otherwise we would not experience the fruits of our karma. For if it
was someone else’s awareness, then why would we care? Karma would then be irrelevant
beyond this life.
One major difference between Taoism and Buddhism is the concept of karma to the
Buddhist. This idea that all actions are the display of thought, the will of man, is known
as karma. Karma determines the Buddhist actions and position in life. A person's karma
limits the goals which can be achieved. Karma determines where in the cycle of birth,
death and rebirth the consciousness returns. This return can be in the form of an animal
or human, and the Buddhist must progress through a hierarchy to achieve Nirvana.This
idea is probably from Hinduism originally, where animal life is considered lower than the
human realm. Actually, many Buddhists today, especially those who are Americans,
disagree with this theory. Most will tell you that it makes no sense for it to be a
punishment to be an animal, for how does an animal know it’s “lower”? They just exist,
and couldn’t have any comprehension of what it means to be human.
The Taoist has no concept similar to karma, and no mention of the soul migrating to
an animal form. The determining factor to one's life is contained in the individual
behavior for the Taoist. By forsaking personal desires in life, by concentrating of the self,
a longer life is prolonged. Eventually, by following the inner light, immortality can be
achieved. The similarities between Taoism and Buddhism in the belief of some kind of
life after death far outweigh the differences. Both religions believe the individual must
focus on the self to achieve the ultimate goal. To become aware of oneself, and to
completely know everything about oneself, and to realize what is in our own head is
often nothing more than delusions of the ego. One must focus on the proper way of life to
reach immortality. The cycle of life continues indefinitely until the Thread of Life is
broken.
For the Taoists, the ego is not such a focus of suffering as it is in Buddhism. They
beleive it has it’s place in human life, as long as it’s not in control of our life, and does
not create chaos and disharmony for ourselves and others. Buddhists often talk about
abolishing the ego-self entirely, and that it is our ego that is the root of all our problems.
Actually, according to most the Buddha’s teaching, it is as wrong to hold the opinion “I
have no self” as to hold the idea of “I have self”, because both are illusions arising out of
the false idea “I”. Buddha taught that we should not remain fixated on any belief or
concept; he even quoted before he died, “ If you see me at any time in the future, kill
me”. This simply meant not to blindly believe anything he had taught; he wanted his
desciples to think for themselves. This view makes sense in light of the fact that he
believed that there is nothing permanent, everlasting, unchanging and eternal in all of
existence. With this concept, how could one set of teachings be true forever, and work
for all people?
Both Taoism and Buddhism teach us only through proper living, by following the
correct path guided by the inner light, one can achieve the ultimate goal of Tao or
Nirvana. They teach us to trust ourselves, to find our own inner guidance, and to know
there is much more to the universe than just our own little observable reality. Above all,
they teach us to think for ourselves, and find out what works for us, because no one is the
same.This is probably why Buddhism, especially, is often considered a philosophy rather
than a religion preset. This is a rarity in most Western religions, where blind faith and
obedience is of utmost importance for personal salvation. There are so many religions,
and a lot of them are the basis of people’s culture and belief. Through learning about
diversity we can become more tolerant and open-minded. There is something to be
learned from all belief systems if we are not afraid to explore differences.
Bibliography
WORKS CITED
David -Noel, Alexander. “ Buddhism, Its Doctrine and Its method”.1971.
Harvey, Peter. “Introduction to Buddhism”. 1990
Humphreys, Christmas. “ Buddhism”. 1966
Sanghara, Maha Sthvarira. “A Survey of Buddhism”. 1987
Schiper, Kristofer. “The Taoist Body”, from the “History of Religions”. 1978
Watts, Alan Wilson. “The Philosophy of the Tao” 1951
Word Count: 2826
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