Expert: Joe McSorley - 2/29/2004

Question
Hi,
I am a student taking a philosophy course online and am very interested in learning more about the reilgions of Buddhism and Taoism. I guess there is a lot that I do not know... I know the basic beliefs and such, but would like to know anything more than that that you know or have learned from studying it longer than I have. What are the most important differences between the two religions? How do the people who follow each act differently? Do you know where most followers live geographically for each religion? How does one live following these relgions? (for example, how often does a buddhist meditate every day? do all buddhists meditate? are there rules or anything about it?) Any information would be appreciated. Thank you for your time!

Answer
Dear Jen,
 Eastern religions do not have the social structure that the Judeo/Christian religions have.  They are very personal and self driven.  There is no hierarchy like in the West.
Obviously most Buddhists live in the Far East and Taoism has its home in China.  I don't know what you mean by asking if people act differently.  If you are asking could you tell one by looking at one I'd say no.
There are many different sects of Buddhism so I cannot speak for all of them when you ask about rules and how to follow religion.  I am here to help inform about Zen and it's very different than the other sects.
Here is an overview of Zen and Taoism:
 
   In one sense Buddhism and Taoism are completely separate and arose independently of each other in India and China, respectively.  Though they are historically and culturally different they both come to the same point at their depth.  In the truest sense of the word neither of these are religions, they are an attempt to answer existentially fundamental questions about the human condition.  There is no god, dogma, creed or faith to any of these philosophies.  Buddhism is call the religion of self-awakening, meaning that in is incumbent upon the individual to come to their own awakening through their own efforts.  There is no savior or god to help one here.  
 There are many sects of Buddhism that vary greatly from one another.  Many of the more popular sects are more like what we think of as religion.  They worship the historical Buddha as godlike and pray to him for help but this is not at all what the historical Buddha taught.  Zen and Mahayana do not do this at all and some argue that Zen is the closest to the original teachings.   There are many very structure schools of Buddhism but it is really the individual's effort and not the ritual or chanting that brings one to awakening.
   At their core Zen and Taoism could be said to be identical but in their practice are vastly different.  Lao Tzu envisioned his writings to guide the rulers to become ‘emperor sages' that they would rule in harmony with nature and man.  Chuang Tzu is much deeper than Lao and in his writings tries to explain the relativity of things, man in particular, and the interpenetration of things.  There are no real formal schools of Taoism and it's articulations today go from to harmonious to bizarre.  There is a thread that some Taoists follow to be ‘all natural' and anything synthetic or man made is wrong.  Some of these folks feel that passing gas, belching and all other ‘natural' forms of being human should never be controlled but expressed fully.  It's an odd interpretation to me.  One teacher actually said to me “We Taoists piss in the yard”.   The problem with the anti-societal thinking is that society is natural.  Insects, elephants, wolves and chimps have social structures and behavior they adhere to so it is consistent with nature for man to do the same.  Taoism, as taught today, is also caught up in magic and alchemy.  There are little of the real teachings of either Lao or Chuang in it.  It is very difficult to ‘follow' Taoism for this reason.
 Here is an overview of Buddhism's foundation:
Technically speaking Buddhism is not a religion; it is not theistic and does not have an external means of salvation.  In Buddhism one's awakening and redemption is all through self-effort alone.  Historically speaking Buddhism came about because of the life of the Prince Siddhartha, who when coming upon suffering, sickness and death, wanted to find an answer to the cause of suffering for humans.  He tried to lose himself in the pleasures of the world but found no solace.  He then became an ascetic and this too yielded no answers.  After many years of searching and frustration he finally sat under a tree and declared that he would not move until he understood the solution.  According to legend, several days later as he glanced up at the morning star his mind became clear and he was enlightened.  From this he postulated the Four Noble truths of Buddhism:
Life (human) is dukkha . (Suffering, with no apparent cause), There is a cause for the suffering. ( avidya or ignorance.), the cause can be abated, and there is a path ( Margo yoga).  What the crux of this is that our minds do not see reality clearly, we do not know who we are, both to ourselves and in relation to the universe.  The cause for this is ignorance of ourselves as egos that blinds us to seeing beyond ourselves.  This can be remedied.  And there are many ways to do this, such as yoga, contemplation, self-examination, etc.  When one realizes the true nature of reality, often called ‘seeing things as they are', one has an identical experience to the historical Buddha so there is no hierarchy.  The word ‘buddha' means ‘awakened one' so anyone can become a buddha.  As Buddhism evolved through the centuries there have been many different sects arising.  Therevada is not unlike western religions as they revere the historical buddha as godlike and pray to him.  They have many rituals and prayers, gods, saints and icons.  Mahayana and Zen Buddhism do not ascribe to these practices and strive for a direct awakening.
    Again, in Taoism, the object is to overcome the self and become harmonious with Nature.  This overcoming of the ego could be said to be the same as overcoming the self in Buddhism and ‘seeing things as they are'.  From this standpoint Tao, the way, and Buddhism may be said to be identical.
 I hope this helps you.  Take care,
        Joe