What is the biggest difference between Buddhism and Taoism?
Comparative Taoism between Buddhism and Taoism is a religion with the core of Laozi and Zhuangzi, the combination of immortal belief and popular belief, and influenced by Confucianism and Buddhism. Although Taoism believes in Laozi and Zhuangzi, there are still obvious differences-Taoism in the pre-Qin period focused on "carefree life and death" and Taoism in the Eastern Han Dynasty focused on "immortality"; Taoism in the pre-Qin period paid attention to the inner cultivation of "virtue", and later Taoism paid attention to the outer cultivation of "skill" ... Taoism absorbed Buddhist karma, hell concept and Confucian ethics in its development, and also collected and reformed various folk belief in gods on the premise of immortal belief, so the ancients said that Taoism was "miscellaneous and multifaceted". This paper summarizes the origin and development of Taoism, the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism, the influence of Buddhism on Taoism and the comparison between Buddhism and Taoism as follows: The origin and development of Taoism began in Zhang Ling in the Eastern Han Dynasty, with its sons Zhang Heng and Sun Zhanglu as the epitome. Taoism's doctrine is based on Taoism's reactionary thought to Confucianism, that is, the "inaction" world outlook. In addition, because of dissatisfaction with the politics of the Eastern Han Dynasty, he turned to religion to express his wishes. Taoism has a strong folk color. In addition to various actions, voluntary homes have been established in various places to facilitate believers, so it has gradually become a huge religion against Confucianism and Buddhism. But it is undeniable that they are more absorbed from Confucianism and Buddhism. By the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Kou had completed a rich and organized Taoist teaching system, and his followers had also expanded to the upper class. After the Sui and Tang Dynasties and Song San, there was a separation between Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism. At the same time, Taoism has developed in a balanced way in theory and practice. In the Song Dynasty, Taoism and Buddhism had a great influence on Confucian philosophy. As for the development of Taoism, it originated from ancient witchcraft and fairy magic in Qin and Han dynasties, and then it was combined with yin and yang, five elements, divination and incantation. Establish a Taoist ideological system and introduce Buddhist thought to develop it. During the period of Shun Di in the Eastern Han Dynasty (125- 144), Zhang Ling advocated the Five-Way Rice Road, respecting Lao Zi as the leader and taking Lao Zi's 5,000 books as the main classics. At this point, Taoism gradually took shape. During the reign of Emperor Ling of the Han Dynasty (167- 189), Taiping Taoism was another important school of Taoism in the early period, which took Taiping Ching Ling as the main course, educated disciples with "good Taoism" and treated people with water. Hundreds of thousands of disciples spread all over eight states, such as Qing and Xu, and the Five Dou Mi Daoism with Zhang Heng and Zhang Lu became the foundation of the peasant uprising at that time. Later, Laozi's disciples appeared, advocating Laozi's westward journey to turn Hu into Buddha and turn Buddha into Tao. In the first year of Jianwu in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 3 17), Ge Hong wrote the Inner Chapter of Bao Puzi, which sorted out and expounded the theory of immortal magic since the Warring States Period, systematized the ideological content of Taoism and became the basic classic of Taoism. At the end of the Eastern Jin Dynasty, Sun En, Lu Xun and others also used Mi Dou's Five Knives to organize peasant uprisings. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, during the reign of Taiping Zhenjun in the Northern Wei Dynasty (440-450 BC), with the support of Wei Emperor (reigned in 424-45 BC1year), Taoist Kou in Songshan called himself "the old gentleman on the throne", cleaned up Taoism, abolished the "three pseudo-laws", made a movement with reference to Buddhist rituals and recited new laws. Soon after, Lu Heliang, a Taoist priest in Lushan Mountain in the Southern Dynasties and the Song Dynasty, and Tao Hongjing compiled scriptures and a model of fasting, and the theory and organizational form of Taoism became more and more complete, which was called "Southern Daoism". In the Tang Dynasty, Taoism developed more prosperously. Wang Yuan, the grandson of Tao Hongjing, knew that the harmony of Taoism between the north and the south in Shi Tian became an important foundation for the prosperity of Taoism in the Tang Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, the monarchs extensively built Laozi temples and Taoist temples, and added the subject of Tao Te Ching to the imperial examination. In the 11th year of Zhenguan (AD 637), Emperor Taizong put Taoism above Buddhism, and this policy of "Taoism before Buddhism" became the consistent policy of the Tang Dynasty. Tang Gaozong (reigned from 649 to 683) took Laozi as the ancestor of the royal family in the Tang Dynasty, and gave him the title of "Emperor Tai's Xuanyuan", which made every state have Taoist temples. During the reign of Xuanzong (7 12-756), he further made every scholar keep a copy of Laozi, praised metaphysics, and regarded Laozi, Zhuangzi, Liezi and other classics as "true classics". During the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, Du Guangting devoted himself to the collation of Taoist classics and the collection of Taoist rites. Lv Dongbin took "compassion for heaven and compassion for others" as the way to become a monk, and replaced fencing with greed, hatred and madness, which had a great influence on the development of Taoism in the Northern Song Dynasty. Song Zhenzong (997- 1022), Wang Qinruo, Zhang Junfang and others were ordered to edit Taoist scriptures, of which the Seven Signs of Yun Qi 122 was the representative work, and a Taoist temple was also built. Song Huizong (1100-1/25 years in office) once claimed to be "Emperor Daojun, the founder of Taoism", ordered the world to visit Taoist immortal scriptures, set up a rigid version, publish all books, and set up Tao Te Ching, Zhuangzi and Liege in imperial academy. Taoism prevailed at that time. After the Tang and Song Dynasties, Taoism in northern and southern Shi Tian gradually merged with the schools of Shangqing, Lingbao and Jingming, and merged into a "orthodox school" dominated by Fu You in the Yuan Dynasty. In the seventh year of Dading in the Jin Dynasty (A.D. 1 167), Wang Zhongyang founded Quanzhen Religion in Ninghai, Shandong Province. In the Jin and Yuan Dynasties, Liu Deren founded Daoism (later called Zhenda Daoism) and Xiao Baozhen founded Taiyi Daoism, all of which were in Hebei, but the duration was short, and only Quanzhen Daoism was still thriving. At that time, Quanzhen religion and Shi Tian Taoism were the two main streams of Taoism. Wang Zhongyang tried his best to reconcile the views of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, removed the elements of incantations and superstitions, and emphasized the teachings of Buddhism (especially Zen) and the truth of becoming a monk. His seven disciples were called "seven real people", among which Qiu Chuji was more important than Yuan Taizu (reigned in 1206- 1228). During the reign of Yuan Shizu (1260- 1294), Taoism failed because of the fierce debate between Buddhism and Taoism caused by Laozi's Hu Jing, so Taoism was banned by imperial edicts in the eighteenth year of Yuan Dynasty (128 1 year). As a result, the development of Taoism suffered a great blow, and the power of cults gradually declined. Since then, Taoism has been formally divided into orthodox school and quanzhen school, which continued to spread in the Ming Dynasty and gradually declined in the Qing Dynasty. In the early days of Taoism's prosperity, religious organizations combined with state power, thus forming a special class and a religion specializing in monks; After the gradual decline of Taoism, it turned to pay attention to people's religious desires, based on people's life and daily morality, so it was called "People's Taoism", and at the same time, a large number of good books and precious volumes came out, which is the so-called People's Taoist classics. Taoism holds that the fundamental hope of human beings lies in getting lucky, happy, longevity and prosperity in this world. In order to realize this ideal, people are actively advised to do good deeds, and prayers are held, so Taoist beliefs are particularly popular. Therefore, not only its adaptability and adaptability have expanded, but also the believer class has widened. Although there are many schools of Taoism, in general, its basic beliefs and teachings are still "Tao", which is regarded as "the system of nothingness, the root of nature, the foundation of gods, and the yuan of heaven and earth". It is also said that the universe, yin and yang, and everything are transformed from "Tao". The highest god worshipped is the god of Sanqing, personified by Tao, and the "moral god" is Laozi. However, after the Song Dynasty, popular Taoism either deified natural stars or historical figures, such as Emperor Wenchang (learning gods), Emperor Lv Zu, Emperor Guan Sheng, Beidou (deifying Beidou) and Xuantian (deifying North Star). The specific methods of Taoist cultivation are: taking the bait (taking the fairy medicine), guiding the way (a kind of soft exercise), fetal breathing (also known as breathing and promoting qi, which is a breathing method to suck the vitality of the universe into the body in order to live forever), spells (the secret of magic), house art (nourishing yin and nourishing yang), and avoiding food (avoiding food). Religious ceremonies include fasting, prayer, chanting and rituals. The dispute between Buddhism and Taoism originated from Taoism, and Buddhism came from the East. In the early days, there was a lot of mutual use, because the two had the same meaning. However, the introduction of Taoism into Buddhism conflicts with the increasing number of believers, and the Han, Wei, Southern and Northern Dynasties have not declined since Sui and Tang Dynasties. The dispute between Buddhism and Taoism first appeared in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and it was difficult for Jia She to discuss with Taoist priests. During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Zhi criticized the falsity of immortals in On Tao. In the Western Jin Dynasty, Yuan Bo also had an argument with Taoist Wang Fu, who was an important material for the later debate. However, after the Southern and Northern Dynasties, during the reign of Emperor Taizu of the Northern Wei Dynasty, Kou reformed and enlightened Taoism and established the religious order of Taoism. Lu and Tao Hongjing in the Southern Liang Dynasty systematized the preparation of teachings and the collation of Taoist classics, and their influence on society increased relatively, which was enough to compete with Buddhism. The focus of their debate is the theory of "Yi Xia", arguing about the right and wrong of believing in Buddhism instead of China's inherent religion; In the third year of the Southern Song Dynasty (A.D. 467), Taoist wrote Yi Xia Lun, which led to the publication of Zheng Lun and Hui Tong's Refutation of Taoist Yi Xia Lun by eminent monks in Ming Dynasty, and Zhang Rong wrote Human Law, which advocated the unity of Taoism and Buddhism and the original theory. However, as far as its advantages and disadvantages are concerned, they argue that. In the first year of Xiaoming in the Northern Dynasty (AD 520), there was also a dispute between Buddhism and Taoism in the palace, that is, the Taoist priest of the Qing Dynasty and the shaman Tan of Rongjue Temple were the most controversial topics. As a result, Jiang Bin was defeated and exiled to Mayi. Before that, Zhen Xuan's On Laughter and Daoan's On Two Religions were two important works about the debate on the merits and demerits of Buddhism and Taoism at that time, both of which powerfully discussed the inferiority of religion with powerful arguments. However, in the Northern Dynasties, the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism was not only a dispute between the two sides, but also a policy oppression by those in power. This is the famous "three martial arts to destroy the Buddha" in history, and the Northern Wei Emperor Tai Wu and the Northern Zhou Emperor Wu destroyed the Buddha. Three martial arts means to destroy the Buddha: Taoist Kou Qian's way of calming the immortals, instigated Stuart Cui Hao to send letters to the states, entrapped the Samans and destroyed the Buddha statues. Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty wanted to spread his life to the world. He listened to the words of Taoist Zhang Bin and Song Yuan and was determined to destroy the Buddha. Tang Wuzong cherished the Taoist Zhao Guizhen, demolished more than 4,600 Buddhist temples, forced 265,000 monks and nuns to become monks, and levied two tax households. For the catastrophe of Buddhists in history. The Sui Dynasty unified the north and the south, and the Tang Dynasty flourished. Lao Zi and Tang Shi, both surnamed Li, have special courtesy to Taoism. Emperor Taizong was more aware that Taoism was above Buddhism, and setting up a seat after Buddhism became the consistent policy of the Tang Dynasty, so Taoism flourished. In the fourth year of Wude (AD 62 1 year), Taoist Fu Yi beat eleven grains of sand to destroy monks and nuns, and Ji Fa Temple Falin wrote "On Breaking Evil" to discuss Taoist fallacies. In Taoism, Li Zhongqing wrote "On Ten Different and Nine Mysteries", and Liu Jinxi criticized Buddhism, and had a heated debate on the seating of Buddhism and Taoism. Eight years, set the order of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Taoist priest was above the monk, and the wise master appealed to the emperor to try to explain the improper way to kill the Buddha. The emperor ordered Cen Wenben, the prime minister, to condemn him, but Shi Zhi, the monk, refused to obey the imperial edict. The emperor was furious. The court beat Master Shi Zhi with a stick. He put on people's clothes and exiled him to Lingnan. Some people laugh at Master Zhishi for overreaching himself and not knowing how to advance and retreat. Master Zhi Shi sighed and said, "I know I can't do anything, so I want future generations to know that there were monks' ears in the Tang Dynasty!" " Master Zhi Shi wanted to let future generations know that even in the troubled times of Buddhism, there were still monks in the Tang Dynasty. In the third year of Emperor Gaozong (AD 658), he convened three schools of Buddhism and Taoism to discuss in the inner hall. In five years, the monk Jingtai and the Taoist Li Rong once again argued about Lao Zi Hu Jing. By the year of Longshuo (662-663), the debate had not stopped. Due to these disputes between Buddhism and Taoism, Taoism absorbed the teachings of Buddhist classics and produced various classics to fight Buddhism. Taoism was very active in Song Dynasty, and Wang Zhongyang founded Quanzhen religion. In the Yuan Dynasty, Li Zhichang, the disciple of the leader of the fifth generation Qiu Chuji, occupied the Buddhist temple, destroyed the Buddha statue and published Hu Chengjing and Lao Zi's Eighty-one Pictures in a rigid manner. Shaolin Temple spared no effort to denounce its vanity. In the fifth year of Xian Zong's reign (AD 1255), the two men contended and their ambitions were defeated repeatedly. The emperor then ordered that Lao Tzu should be burned except the Tao Te Ching. In the future, the dispute between the two religions will continue; From the 18th year of Yuan Shizu to the Yuan Dynasty (A.D. 128 1 year), Quanzhen religion was suppressed by imperial edicts, and the dispute between Buddhism and Taoism since Wei and Jin Dynasties was settled. In the early days of Buddhism's influence on Taoism, the ideological system of Taoism was "the trinity is religion", that is, "heaven and earth are in harmony" and "the essence and spirit are mixed to become immortal" From here, the concept of "immortality, soaring body and three pure qi" has evolved, and its goal is "immortality" and "health preservation into a god" Taoism has always had the doctrine of "retribution for good and evil" and "heaven takes responsibility". Later, some Taoists gradually absorbed the ideas of Buddhist karma and reincarnation to enrich and adjust Taoist theory. Wu Yun, a Taoist priest in the Tang Dynasty, said in the thirtieth article of "On Metaphysics and Immortality": "My wife is so dead that she is in good shape. Immortality is also sex. The saint who has not yet become a skeleton is the home of God and has sex. The most precious thing is the ear of God. If death is fear, it is the way of Xiu De, and the cultivation is not wonderful. " He believes that human body will die, and we should pay attention to the cultivation of divinity. Later, Quanzhen Sect paid more attention to the cultivation of mind and nature, and thought that the world of hue was illusory. If we don't realize this, we will get tired of it and can't get rid of it. In the Taoist collection, "all shapes have a way", modeled after Buddhism, "all beings have buddhas". It can be seen that Buddhism's theory of Buddha nature and Zen's theory of understanding have a profound influence on Taoism's theory of Tao nature and cultivation of mind. Taoist commandments include "Taoist commandments" and "fasting". If you don't learn Tao, you can't become immortal. There are many kinds, including three commandments: convert to the body, convert to God, and convert to life. Five commandments: no killing, no drinking, no duplicity, no stealing, no lewdness. Bajie: I don't kill animals to earn my own living, I don't take pleasure in lust, I don't steal other things to support myself, I don't talk nonsense about my abilities, I don't lie in bed drunk, I don't learn sesame oil as decoration, I don't indulge in singing and dancing and I don't become a geisha. In addition, there are ten commandments, twenty-seven commandments of Laojun and so on. , are modeled after Buddhist precepts. Taoism's exposition of heaven and hell has enriched its content under the influence of Buddhist cosmology. There is a saying in "Seven Stars Cloud" that "there are three realms of four Brahma for thirty-two days", that is, six days, eighteen days of color, four days of colorless, and four Brahma above the three realms. There are thirty-six caves and seventy-two blessed places, which are said to be places where gods are sent by heaven to rule. Buddhism's view of heaven is "three realms and twenty-eight days": six days is desire, eighteen days is color, and four days is colorless. Practice ten good and three good things such as giving, keeping precepts and meditation, and you can be born. Mount Tai in Dongyue is "majestic in the sky". During the Warring States period, people regarded Mount Tai as a place where people communicated with heaven. Therefore, whenever the king pacifies the world, he goes to Mount Tai to report peace to the sky, that is, "sealing Mount Tai" and offering sacrifices to the earth, that is, "Zen Fu Liang" (Fu Liang is the Lord of the earth). Later, Mount Tai gradually had the meaning of the underworld. The Biography of Wu Huan in the later Han Dynasty said: "When China people died, their souls returned to Daishan." Daishan is Mount Tai. Returning to Mount Tai after death, combined with the Buddhist theory of hell, became an important part of ancient religion in China. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Taoism absorbed the Buddhist theory of hell retribution. Buddhist scriptures say that there are eight levels of hell, including Yan Luowang; According to Taoism, Yan Luowang was appointed as a "ghost official" and was appointed and removed by God. According to the organization and classification of Buddhism's "Three Zangs and Twelve Departments", Taoist Taoist collections have three caves (Dong Zhen, Dong Yuan and Dong Shen) and four auxiliary caves (Tai Yuan, Tai Ping, Tai Qing and Zheng Yi). In a word, Taoism is influenced by Buddhism in many ways. Comparison between Buddhism and Taoism The Buddha statue of Buddhism is golden, unpretentious, solemn and without beard, which symbolizes that Buddhism is a young and energetic religion. Taoist idols wear robes, gold and silver, and long beards are fluttering. Buddhism stresses three dharma seals, four noble truths, twelve karma, and six degrees of movement. It is a religion that was born and joined WTO. Taoism, on the other hand, focuses on the belief in immortals, pursuing "immortality" and "keeping in good health to become a god". Therefore, it is a natural religion to attach importance to alchemy, nourishing qi, five lines of gossip and magic. Buddhist monks and nuns shave three thousand troubles, wear "dung-sweeping clothes", Lohan shoes, three clothes and a bowl, and live a rigorous and simple life. Taoists are disheveled and have long beards, and their costumes were not customized before the Jin Dynasty. It was not until the Southern Dynasties and Lu Dynasty that Taoist costumes began to be institutionalized and had certain specifications. For example, "Fairy Sword" said: "The number of Taoist costumes is fixed, the moon is covered with a star scarf, the sleeves are covered with a dress, and the ten unique flags are here." In addition, there are five orders of Taoist robes, so as to distinguish between noble and noble. Different ceremonies wear different robes, and they are also customized. Now Taoist costumes include robes, vests, vests, floral skirts, scarves and so on. This also shows its simple and plain style. Buddhist monks and nuns live in monasteries, monasteries and lecture halls. Musical instruments used in daily life include chimes, chimes, wooden fish, clanging hafnium and cymbals. The places where Taoist priests practice are called palaces, temples or temples. Among the instruments they use, swords and mirrors are important magic weapons to eliminate evil spirits and disasters. There are so-called three-spindle mirrors, that is, three kinds of metal mirrors of heaven, earth and man. They have a fixed size and need to be cast according to law. Since the establishment of Taoism in the Han Dynasty, Taoism has never been divorced from "Chinese religion" and it is impossible to become a world religion. The reason is that it is too superstitious. In modern times, Taoism can only deal with folk superstitions with fasting as a symbol, and it is even more declining. There are temples in Taiwan Province Province, but it is difficult to find Taoist priests. Although the history and content of Taoism are mostly related to falsehood and absurdity, it has also contributed to health care medicine, smelting and casting, and folk worship of goodness. Therefore, while studying Taoism, we should treat it with respect.