Expert: Joe McSorley - 10/6/2006

Question
I have read the I Ching, but I'm still a little  unclear on it's meanings.
First, how does one go about the quest for Tao?
What actions does this entail?
Also, is there any correlation between Taoism and Buddhism?
Lastly, how is the meditation in Zen Buddhism diffrent than traditional Buddhism?
Your response is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Answer
Dear Paul,
There is no clear instruction on how to obtain the Tao in I Ching and it is not the central book of Taoism.  “The Tao Te Ching” and “The Inner Chapters” are more the cornerstones of Taoist thought.  The I Ching is mainly thought of as the book of divination with the use of the hexagrams as a way of ‘seeing’ the future.   It is considered to contain classic Chinese thought as it employs the use of the interaction of yin and yang extensively.
I don’t know how you would use it as a daily practice of the Tao.
     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 called 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.  
     At their core Zen and Taoism could be said to be identical but in their practice are vastly different.  If there is an ultimate reality it must be the same for all philosophies.   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.    Taoism, as taught today, is 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.  I find that most native Chinese that I know who practice Taoism have a conglomeration of philosophy, superstition and myth that they believe in.  There are many gods in the folk practice of Taoism but they are not in the original writings.
 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.  
    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.  Each sees the ordinary human mind as disconnected from true reality and urges an awakening to true reality.
  Zen Buddhism has no concern for ritual, form or tradition; it is about awakening here and now and you need not know the sutras or canons of the philosophy.  It can be argued that traditional mediation are the same and in some schools they may be.  It is the idea of zazen, zen meditation, to be ever aware in the present and not to detach.  In some schools of Buddhism meditation is the practice of detachment and therefore unlike Zen.  There was a study done years ago on the reaction of the brain to an outside stimulus while meditating.  The idea was to have a constant  sound, like a bell clanging every few seconds while the person meditated  to see what the brain registered.  This was not a comparison between Zen and other forms of mediation but a comparison between Indian meditation and Zen.  It turns out that as time went on those in the Indian schools lost awareness of the bell, the brain reacted to it less and less till it was unaware of it.  The Zen students registered the same level throughout; i.e. ; they heard it the same each time in the moment and did not lose awareness of it.  It is the point of all Zen practice to see fully in the moment and not to detach but to awaken to true reality here and now.  If there’s a Buddhist school that teaches a different approach to meditation this is how it would vary from Zen.
 I hope this helps you, take care.
           Joe