Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism Essay

The Chinese argon the among the cultures to whose lives and philosophies be greatly influenced by their righteousness Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. These three teach of thoughts basically deal as to how the Chinese live in harmony, non only among themselves but with nature as well. Among the three schools of thought, Buddhism is the only wiz which did non originate in China. Hence, it differs with Confucianism and Taoism in as much as it deals with the human being al unity and his suffering.N unrivaledtheless(prenominal), although it is diverse from Confucianism and Taoism, it is admittedly not in conflict with these two but rather it reinforces the concepts and tenets of the two schools of thought. Buddhism primarily gestates in reincarnation (nirvana) and affirms the fact that life is suffering and that desire and craving be the causes of suffering. In order to attain happiness, one has to overcome his cravings and desires, hatred and complaints.Although Buddhism wa s not originally from China, it has nonetheless gained widespread popularity over the centuries. At the start, Buddhism and the Chinese indispensable religions vastly varied. Buddhism reinforced reincarnation time the endemic Chinese believed in single life only. Secondly, Buddhism insists that in order to achieve the state of Nirvana, one has to give up or leave society and enter the continent and homeless life of a monk or nun while the Chinese placed great emphasis on the family and its continuance of descendants.Furthermore, Buddhism does not believe in the existence of the soul compared to the native Chinese who believe in earthly and heavenly souls and lastly, while Buddhism reiterates the independence of the conventual community, native Chinese religions insist that all institutions whether religious or secular are under the government. Eventually though, Buddhism adjusted to Chinese society and vice versa. Hence, the Chinese came to believe in reincarnation and believed that their deceased relatives became ancestors.Because Buddhism propagated the belief of reincarnation and the Chinese came to believe in it, it was able to bring together the development of a series of ideas regarding heaven and eternal happiness and that they could be reborn into different levels. Hence, modern Chinese society used Buddhist temples as the centrepiece of worship and study. It also made Buddhists the key players in funerals by taking over the burial and remembrance of the deceased. Wealthy and affluent Chinese elucidate sure to have Buddhist monks during funerals because their presence more or less became an assurance of a good changeover.Moreover, a deceaseds list place in a spirit plaque inside the temple meant that he or she is part of the daily Buddhist prayer. Gleaning from the history of Buddhism, the religion took different paths. Originally, it was an individualistic religion wherein one is responsible for his own further in the path to nirvana. Thus, it entails that the believer has to enter the monastery and become a monk, with the rate of waiveing their desires. This is done by not doing any work and was only support through begging and donations from the community.But the Chinese found this path to be very difficult and soon easier paths took form. The Chinese are known for their smooth health and long life. This is also attributed to Buddhism. With the separation from the original form of Buddhism came the Tantrik form of Buddhism which stresses the total involvement of the body, mind and speech in the chase for enlightenment and nirvana. As the doctrine of the karma took hold and fabricated itself into Chinese society, start came new types of behaviour that can be attributed to the Buddhists.The Chinese began to answer position meditation and make offerings to images. They also capable the Buddhist rites of confession and consecration. term Buddhism mainly seeks to promote the belief of reincarnation and karma, i t was also able to convert the world of the Chinese in terms of materials by introducing new objects, symbols and rituals. The practice of making donations to the Buddhist monks in order to ensure their good rebirth also became adapted.Hence, inspite of its belief that in order to achieve Nirvana, one has to abandon all worldly and material things, Buddhism today especially in Chinese society encourages donations even at such(prenominal) huge amounts to the extent that the giver fails no reluctance for giving such to a supposedly celibate and austere community all for the sake of ensuring good karma and Nirvana. There is one basis for this practice the monks relied mainly on the donations of the community. Aside from donating for the monks clothing and food, donors are also encouraged to make material offerings to Buddha such as gold, topaz, silvery and crystal.Devotees are also encouraged to make images of the Buddha. While the Chinese are known for their frugality, they noneth eless place great importance in the magnificence of Buddhist practices and images or objects. As can be seen, the Chinese entertain images of the Buddha that are made of precious stones and metals. Unlike Christians who use wood or clays for their images and icons, Chinese Buddhists believe that Buddhist deities must be given such images as their expression of respect.In summary, although Buddhism maintained the belief and practice of austerity and celibacy in order to attain eternal happiness and enlightenment, Chinese society in practice contradicts the tenets of Buddhism. This may be attributed to the fact that Buddhism adapted the culture of the Chinese instead of the other way around. Therefore, even though monks promoted and practiced austerity, they nonetheless encouraged their believers to give material wealth to the monastic community as security for their rebirth.