Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism

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Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism
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History of Buddhism

• 570-632 Life of Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha
  enlightened one)
• Seers predicated that he would become with a
  great king or a great holy man, so he was raised
  in a completely protected environment
• Eventually he saw a sick man, old man dead man
• Became an ascetic (someone who practices fasting
  and other forms of self-denial)
• Finally achieved enlightenment under the bodhi
  tree

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Buddhisms 4 Noble Truths

• All life is suffering
• The cause of suffering is desire (craving)
• The way to eliminate suffering is to eliminate
  desire (Nirvana)
• The way to eliminate desire is not by asceticism,
  nor ordinary life, but the middle way of the
  eightfold path (a basic moral code)

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Reincarnation in Buddhism

• Cause of reincarnation is desire (especially
  desire for separateness) Tanha
• Desire leads to traces of self continuing in
  reality
• Idea of individual soul is an illusion
• When this illusion is finally dispelled, one
  achieves enlightenment and the egoless state
  of nirvana
• Nirvana is not heaven or God (Brahman), but a
  state of union with impersonal reality

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Major Buddhist Groups

• Early Buddhism (Theravada-S.E Asia) taught that a
  person can only achieve Nirvana alone and
  stressed meditation practice
• Later Buddhism (Mahayana-N.E. Asia) emphasized
  loving kindness and that people must work
  together to achieve Nirvanaemphasis on
  Bodhisattvas (many statues of such), who are
  Buddhas that choose to forego Nirvana and remain
  on earth to help others
• Gampo Abbey in Cape Breton is from the Tibetan
  Shambhala tradition which is a Mahayana form of
  Buddhism http//www.gampoabbey.org/

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Chinas Complementary Religions

• In China traditionally there have been three
  major religions
• Confucianism
• Taoism
• Buddhism
• Unlike in the West, in which Religions have
  tended to be exclusivist in nature (you cannot
  be a member of multiple religions, but must
  choose one), Chinese people have traditionally
  accepted that one can be a member of any one of
  these religions or all of them at one time
  (inclusivist religions)

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The Tao or Way

• In Chinese religious tradition there are many
  ways or religions, but one of the oldest of
  these is the philosophy of Taoism THE way,
  first promulgated by ancient sages as far back as
  the Shang Dynasty (1523 BCE)
• Two opposing forces in the world Ying and Yang
• No single founder and no central authority, just
  a spiritual tradition based on a diverse array of
  ancient and modern writers

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Chuang Tzu - Translator Burton Watson Where is
the Tao? (Section Twenty-Two)

• Master Tung-kuo asked Chuang Tzu, "This thing
  called the Way-where does it exist?"
• Chuang Tzu said, "There's no place it doesn't
  exist."
• "Come," said Master Tung-kuo, "you must be more
  specific!"
• "It is in the air."
• "As low a thing as that?"
• "It is in the grass."
• "But that's lower still!"
• "It is in the tiles and shards."
• "How can it be so low?"
• "It is in the piss and shit."

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Confucianism

• Whereas the Taoist focuses on nature and the
  otherworldly Tao, Confucians focus on the worldly
  affairs of daily life (home and public) as the
  chief arena in which to seek a balance
• Confucius (Master Kung) taught a pragmatic
  philosophy of getting along with people and
  organizing community affairs that became a
  standard in Chinese life after his death.
• Philosophy meant to be complementary to any
  religious outlook that might predominate in ones
  community

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Bioethical Issues

• Typically Buddhists will have no objections to
  autopsies, transfusions or transplants (check for
  variations)
• Most Buddhists only allow abortion in cases of
  threat to mothers physical or mental health
• Some Buddhists and Taoists might refuse
  medications that interfere with meditation
  practice
• Some Taoists might because Yin and Yang are
  associated with Feminine and Masculine traits
  hold discriminatory attitudes towards homosexuals

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Falun Gong

• Falun Gong (alternatively Falun Dafa) is a system
  of beliefs and practices founded in China by Li
  Hongzhi in 1992
• Falun Gong places a heavy emphasis on morality in
  its central tenets Truthfulness, Compassion,
  and Forbearance
• Its teachings include concepts from qigong,
  Buddhist and Taoist traditions

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What is a cult? Some difficulties

• The word cult pejoratively in everyday speech
  refers to a group whose beliefs or practices are
  considered abnormal or bizarre
• The popular, derogatory sense of the word has no
  currency in academic studies of religions, where
  "cults" are generally subsumed under the neutral
  label of "new religious movement, however, some
  religious studies scholars have sought to narrow
  the definition of cult to refer to groups seen
  as particularly authoritarian
• For example of one way some theorists try to mark
  a distinction between cults and religions is
  whether prospective members are able to fully
  access to the teachings of a group before
  becoming members