Buddhists and Taoists believe in the here and now more than what happens after death
Taoists and Buddhists both very peaceful religions and use meditation for peace of mind and enlightenment
Buddhism and Taoism are similar religions which contain many similar beliefs and practices, such as a belief in reincarnation and extensive use of meditation.
Taoism and Buddhism are two religions which are having many similar practices and beliefs. The most common beliefs and practices among both of these are extensive meditation use and reincarnation. Due to their huge influence on each other many people around the world perceive Buddhism and Taoism as the same thing. However, Taoism has influenced more Buddhism because it was the official religion of China while Buddhism was migrated. Therefore, most of Buddhism practices are influenced by Taoism to some extent.
Taoism is also called Daoism. This is a way of thinking and another type of belief about life. However, Taoism is one of the oldest traditions which came from China and still existing in the world. It is almost 25000 years old. This Chinese religion and philosophy are attributed to Lao Tzu which has majorly contributed to the people’s folk religion, majorly in the rural regions.
However, under the Tang Dynasty, it has become the country’s official religion and now it is being recognized as both a religion and a philosophy. While, Buddhism is the 4th largest religion in the world which contains more than 500 million followers, and this more than 7% of the overall population in the world. The followers of Buddhism are known as Buddhists
How Taoism influenced Buddhism?
Buddhism was introduced in China in the first century C.E. for the very first time. Here, Buddhism has developed through multiple interactions with the traditional culture of China before being emerged as an essential part of religious tradition in China. After a long period, this religion came to the stage of independent growth.
Although in this period some schools were flourished there to let the people learn and grow with Buddhism however, the systems of thoughts and beliefs of these schools were Chinese practically. Due to which the things could not remain in the sense that these were not the extensions of the pure Indian ideas. Instead, these restatements and reinterpretations of doctrines of Buddhists within Chinese modes of expressions and thoughts distinctively to meet the spiritual and intellectual needs of particular space and time.
Well, most interestingly, it is a fact that due to being grown under the influence of Chinese tradition, Buddhism and Taoism have had a close relationship since the occurrence of Buddhism in China, especially with the Neo-Taoism. As a result of their close relationship, the term “Matching the concept” started to develop there which is known as Ko-I now. Due to this terminology, Buddhist started to explain their practices, teachings, beliefs, by using Taoist terms and ideas.
Although this method of matching was arbitrary and superficial and was discarded later after the arrival of a great scholar and translator Kumaarajiiva in 401 C.E because they considered it as a misleading and useless idea. And the general thought there was that there is no influence of Taoism on Buddhism.
However, to see the influence of Taoism on Buddhism the most general example which can be narrated by many people in the development of “Six Houses and Seven School” during the early stage of Buddhism in China. Although these were basically dealing with the suunyataa which is known as the concepts of emptiness but most of the vocabularies of these were based on the terms of Neo-Taoist.
As the basic problem of the Neo-Taoists was the query of being or not, these schools agreed to the similar line of thought but called themselves with the names “Variant School of Original Non-being, “School of Original Non-being,” and similar more. However, resultantly these were being called as “Buddho-Taoists.”
However, other than this the close contact between Buddhist and Taoism has an important influence on the Chinese Buddhist thoughts development. Due to which this has become a more interesting topic for a lot of people out there to interrogate. The most prominent elements which can be pointed is the idea of Hsuan, Returning, life after death and meditation use.
Taoism and Buddhism beliefs and Practices
This is a religious or philosophical tradition in the Chinese region which is emphasizing on living with Tao in harmony. Tao is the central and fundamental concept of these and is being perceived as a natural order that is underlying activity and substance of the Universe. Taoism is teaching to embrace the joy and wonder in living with more style and grace.
They do not believe in life after death as many other religions in the word do, rather they think that life after death is another part of the life itself. However, most of the believers said that this is neither a philosophy nor a religion instead it is a perfect way of life. According to the Tao is a force which is flowing through every living thing in the entire world. According to them when Tao is in balance then you can find a perfect level of happiness in the best possible way. In Taoism, the major effect of the teachings is on spiritual development.
However, Buddhist encompasses a huge variety of spiritual practices and beliefs. Most of these practices are based on the teachings which are attributed to Buddha. This is a path of spiritual development and practice which are leading its followers to the true nature of the reality. Its attributes are known as the set of traditions which are focusing more on the personal and spiritual development of their followers. Their practices are mean of changing and working on you to develop the qualities of kindness, wisdom, and awareness in the best possible way.
As Buddhism contains no idea of worshiping the creator god, therefore most of the people do not consider it as religion. Even more, the basic teachings of Buddhism are practical and straightforward and these are nothing in the entire world is permanent, actions contain consequences and changes are possible.
Although there are more parallels to enumerate between Buddhist religion and Taoist philosophy but here we have discussed the causes and some of the important points which can let the people understand that Taoism has influenced the Buddhist religion in some ways.
