Buddhism and Taoism are two major religions in the orient, especially China. There are several similarities and differences between the two.

History

Buddhism finds its roots in Nepal at a time when religious and social turmoil was prevalent. A sect of people who shunned the traditions of the Brahminical religion followed the path led by Gautama Buddha. Indian Buddhism is categorized into five periods. Mauryan emperor Ashoka was a big supporter of this religion and put his efforts in spreading the Buddhist philosophies and ideologies. It spread to Central Asia and to Sri Lanka and eventually to China.

Some forms of Taoism find its roots in Chinese prehistoric folk religions. Laozi is regarded as the founder of this philosophy and Taoism gained official status in China. Many Chinese emperors have been instrumental in spreading and propagating the teachings of this religion.

For a comparison of Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist beliefs in China, watch the video below.

Underlying Concept

The Vinegar Tasters, a traditional Asian allegorical painting where Buddha, Confucius and Laozi are gathered around a vat of vinegar. , a traditional Asian allegorical painting where Buddha, Confucius and Laozi are gathered around a vat of vinegar.

Buddhism as a religion believes in Karma and has unique spiritual, physical and metaphysical beliefs which are well grounded in logic, belief and meditation.

Taoism is a philosophy of harmony with nature by way of use of principles like acceptance, simplicity, compassion, relying on experience, wu wei, living in the moment beside others.

The classic Chinese painting Vinegar Tasters shows three men around a vat of vinegar—Confucius, Buddha, and Laozi, author of the oldest existing book of Taoism. Confucius has a sour look on his face, the Buddha wears a bitter expression, and Laozi is smiling.

In his book The Tao of Pooh, Benjamin Hoff writes about the painting and the men in it:

Each has dipped his finger into the vinegar and has tasted it. The expression on each man's face shows his individual reaction. Since the painting is allegorical, we are to understand that these are no ordinary vinegar tasters, but are instead representatives of the "Three Teachings" of China, and that the vinegar they are sampling represents the Essence of Life.

To Buddha, life on earth was bitter, filled with attachments and desires that led to suffering. The world was seen as a setter of traps, a generator of illusions, a revolving wheel of pain for all creatures. In order to find peace, the Buddhist considered it necessary to tran- scend "the world of dust" and reach Nirvana.

To Lao-tse, the world was not a setter of traps but a teacher of valuable lessons. Its lessons needed to be learned, just as its laws needed to be followed; then all would go well. Rather than turn away from "the world of dust," Lao-tse advised others to "join the dust of the world." What he saw operating behind everything in heaven and earth he called Tao (DAO), "the Way." A basic principle of Lao-tse's teaching was that this Way of the Universe could not be adequately described in words, and that it would be insulting both to its unlimited power and to the intelligent human mind to attempt to do so. Still, its nature could be understood, and those who cared the most about it, and the life from which it was inseparable, understood it best.

Important Beliefs

Buddha statue in Phnom Penh

The tradition and practice of Buddhism emphasizes the Three Jewels that include the Buddha, The Dharma and The Sangha. Buddhist ideologies vests on the Four Noble Truths (Life ultimately leads to suffering, suffering is caused by craving, suffering ends when craving ends and the liberated state can be reached by following the path etched by Buddha) and the Noble Eightfold path which when adhered to is believed to put an end to the suffering.

Ethics of Taoism lays stress on the Three Jewels of the Tao that include moderation, humility and compassion. Reverence for immortals and ancestor spirits is important in Taoism. Chinese alchemy, Feng shui, many Chinese martial arts, Zen Buddhism, Chinese traditional medicine and breath training find their roots in Taoism.

Branches

There are two major branches of Buddhism:

Theravada is the School of the Elders

Mahayana is the Great Vehicle.

The former is the oldest surviving branch and is widely popular in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. Mahayana is popular in East Asia. Vajrayana is a sub category of Mahayana which is also accepted as the third branch. Buddhism is recognized as the world’s fourth largest religion.

Livia Kohn categorized Taoism into three branches:

Philosophical Taoism that is based on texts Zhuangzi and Dao De Jing

Religious Taoism that originated from the Celestial Masters movement

Folk Taoism that is the Chinese folk religion.

Ethics

Buddhism defines ethics as Sila which is the overall principle of ethical behavior. There exist five precepts in this religion that are pre-determined training rules to lead a happy and better life. These precepts include:

refraining from violence / adherence to non-violence or ahimsa

refraining from taking what is not given to one (committing theft)

refraining from sexual misconduct

refraining from the act of lying

refraining from intoxicants that makes one lose his mind.

The basic ethics or virtues of Taoism are the Three Jewels or the Three Treasures:

Compassion

Moderation

Humility that can also be referred to as kindness, simplicity or modesty.

Texts or Scripture

Buddhist scriptures are written in Pali, Tibetan, Mongolian and Chinese languages. A few others include Sanskrit and Buddhist hybrid Sanskrit. There is no single central text that is referred to by all traditions.

Tao Te Ching or Daodejing is the most influential Taoist text. The other Taoist texts include Zhuangzi, Daozang and a few other significant texts.

Further Reading

For further reading, there are several books available on Amazon.com on Buddhism and Taoism:

References