The more i thought about it, the less sense the christian notion of an absolutely good deity made. An earlier religion from which confucianism and taoism each grew out. A concept that has been accepted in confucianism, as well as philosophical and religious taoism, is that of the yin and yang. Many look to taoist priests to resolve illness or misfortune by communicating on their behalf to the gods. Anything that helps and flow with what your yuen sun is doing or leading you toward is good. The confucian view of human nature is that human beings are, for the most part, good. Individuals are best off if they accommodate themselves to natures laws and. Taoism teaches that humans ought to accept life and death as complementary aspects of the tao. Daoism and confucianism grew largely in china, and later spread to japan and korea.
Confucianism vs taoism difference and comparison diffen. According to some interpretations of confucianism, suffering and evil are inevitable in human life, and can promote learning and growth. Taoism beliefs, taoism suffering and the problem of evil. Opinions of good and evil or true and false only happen when people forget that they are all one in the tao. Confucianism believes people will internalize acceptable norms and only take proper actions. View of good evil daoism the dao known as the ultimate. Empathy for the suffering of others also provides motivation to grow morally, but not all humans are capable of empathy. This insightful explication of oriental philosophy meets a long felt need for a critical introduction to four systems of eastern thoughtconfucianism, taoism, buddhism, and hinduismpresented in familiar western terms. Taoism and confucianism disagree on several points on their understanding of how the world functions and the best role for a person to play in that world. View of good evil with daoism the universe is neither good. From the tao come the complementary yin and yang forces, tension and energy, which confucius believed to be the cause of all there is in the universe. The positive side is known as the yang and the negative side the yin. This will not only lead to a harmonious social order, but will also improve an individuals inner character and.
Lao tzu seems to have said that the distinction between good and evil is really a wrongheaded human contrivance. Death is simply a transformation from being to nonbeing. Unlike buddhism, however, taoism and confucianism have not become world religions but have basically remained in china and wherever chinese culture has asserted its influence. On the other hand, confucianism also argues that evil and suffering are ever present in life and cannot be avoided. Compare and contrast essay on taoism and confucianism.
Put away your polite airs and your vain display of fine robes. It is believed that in future lives the good and bad deeds from a former life in the wheel of death and rebirth are shown. Confucianism believes in setting good examples for others to follow, primarily in 5 key relationships. Taoism says there is no good no evil no reality only patterns observable in our experiences. According to this concept, good and evil, right and wrong, beauty and ugliness. The most important characteristic of the eastern world view one could almost say the essence of it is the awareness of the unity and mutual interrelation of all things and events, the experience of all phenomena in the world as manifestations of a basic oneness. Therefore we must understand the definition of evil b. Confucianism focuses on the development of good society where peace and order are preserved between individuals and the government. Confucianism and taoism are some of the major religions in china. There is a kind of cause and effect in buddhism called karma. The beatles, shirley mclain and many others have fallen for this deception.
The ultimate collected works of 68 books with active table of contents. The secret to living a good and harmonious life is through inactivity. Some taoist adepts also worked to accumulate merit, sometimes for their own benefit, and sometimes for others. How did the chinese apply the concept of tao to human affairs. Confucianism god is the creator of all things of heaven. In todays westernized world, nonwestern cultures and philosophies are studied, compared and evaluated with the western term and value system in english. The purpose of this article is to show that there is a proper distinction between good and evil in lao tzus thought and to analyze the different aspects of his conception of evil. Confucianism valued living in a series of relationships as the best way of achieving harmony with nature, whereas taoism instead focused on finding balance with nature to ensure good relationships. Evil is the opposite, which is anything that puts resistance to, stops, interfere, drag, or damage your flow from the tao is evil. Unlike confucius and mencius, both earlier and later taoists avoided. The connection between the two religions has influenced many people over time. The best books on confucius recommended by daniel a.
Confucianism and taoism are indigenous to china both had been in existence for 500 years before the introduction of buddhism from india. Altaough all things emanate from the tao, there are those elements that are contrary to each other, such as good and evil and life and death. One of the issues that put me on the path to taoism was that of good and evil. Confucianism sees no contradiction in following more than one religion. If you have good knowledge in philosophy, religion. I argue that daoists are ethical relativists, who consider the idea of good and evil as fluid and that one can only truly understand what is to be considered good or evil by constantly improving oneself and studying the way. Early taoism emphasized confucian virtues, which encouraged harmonious. Its only once one has a good grasp of what our ancestors have said that one is in a position to evaluate it and to think critically about it. Confucius gives an example of a child falling down a well.
A mistake is not a sin, but an opportunity to learn and do better next time. It is difficult to say that one is a criticism of another, but there are comparable issues in which taoist writings can be interpreted as directly. In other words, a taoist perspective is that whats considered good and whats considered evil is relative and personal. Taoists believe that everything is one despite all appearances. There is not a solid definition of good and evil by the word itself, but there is a solid definition when you understand what you are talking about. Daoism, indigenous religiophilosophical tradition that has shaped chinese life for more than 2,000 years. Taoism, confucianism, and buddhism constitute the three major religions of china and. Taoism and confucianism were aligned in their view of the innate. In taoism, life and death are merely two aspects of reality, the unchanging tao. Start by marking confucianism and taoism as want to read. Confucianism and taoism are both ancient chinese styles of living. In china, taoism came into conflict with confucianism and later, communism. In china, two major religions are taoism and confucianism, while in the west one of the oldest religions is judaism. His view of confucianism was pretty marginalised in theory.
All religions outside of belief in christs death and reconstruction for our sins are false. On evil continued the reality of good and evil is that all actions contain some aspect of each. Thereupon lao tzu wrote a book of two parts consisting of five thousand and odd. Confucianism, daoism, and legalism were the three main philosophies in. Good and evil throughout different religions by shelby. The core teaching is about cultivation of virtue and moral.
Back came the neighbor, this time with more commiserations, only to encounter for the third time the same response, who knows what is good or bad. China stands alone among the worlds great civilizations, having developed in almost total isolation from the rest of the world. It is a book of poetry presenting the simple way of following the tao and. There is much more you need to know to write a good quality compare and contrast essay. Compares and contrasts the social and economic development of chinese and western societies and demonstrates the way in which confucian and taoist religious values inhibited the development of a capitalist economy in china. Since people were thought of as naturally good, they would following the right path based on their own conscience. Taoism is a religion, and you join the religion to learn things for your own benefit, to make life better. Confucianism believed that a ruler s job was to set a good example, and not order.
Good is anything that flows with the way of the tao, meaning the yuen suns flow to your body. Within confucianism, the presumption is that human beings are fundamentally good. Chuang tzu talks about this issue pretty directly and its a great text. Suffering and the problem of evil written by jeffrey richey according to some interpretations of confucianism, suffering and evil are inevitable in human life, and can promote learning and growth. What is good and evil according to confucian morality. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
To many people, a confusing aspect of taoism is its very definition. They have greatly influenced the culture of the chinese people as well as their world view. In the broadest sense, a daoist attitude toward life can be seen in the accepting and yielding, an attitude that offsets and complements the moral and dutyconscious character ascribed to confucianism. The concept of good and evil positive and negative forces in. They believe that life itself is generally happy and is void of suffering and.
They thought people were evil, and needed strict laws and punishment to keep them in line. Welcome to personal tao personal tao im sure itll answer your question. The problem of evil and a possible dialogue between. The way i understand it, taoism laughs at the whole concept of good vs evil. Hinduism, buddism, taoism, confucianism, shinto coogan, michael d. Lao tzus conception of evil by sungpeng hsu originally published in philosophy east and west, july 1976 collected in classical and medieval literature criticism gale research inc. Taoism taoism beliefs, taoism suffering and the problem of evil. Taoism, confucianism, and buddhism constitute the three major religions of china and the far east. In this chapter we will explore the two that developed in china from similar roots but.
This fascinating volume provides a concise, illustrated introduction to five of the great religious traditions of the worldbuddhism. It is also the main theme of witchcraft in that nature is one with the gods. To understand the taoist notion of good and evil, it is important to distinguish between the concept of evil versus the reality of evil. The dao governs nature and it is the supreme method to live by. There is no creator, no good and evil, just existence and you make life what you want it to be. The tao also explains the powers that drive the universe and the wonder of human nature. Legalism was a more harsh way of ruling, led by hanfeizi. As a concept, taoists do not hold the position of good against evil. Taoist ideas about suffering and evil come from a variety of sources and are quite diverse.
These contradictions arise out of the multiple belief systems from which. Students of comparative religion, eastern philosophy and civilization, and the philosophy of religion who have been trained in traditional western modes of thought often find. Beyond that, secondary sources and studies on fiction, moral books. Having that said the only way to come in contact with. In this paper ill examine the views of good and evil of the following religions. From the point of view of many lay people, demons, unhappy ancestors, or orphaned souls are the cause of illness and other problems in life. Confucianism is a humanistic view, and confucius believed that our creation and purpose was to discover our true selves and improve our lives and society as a whole. This is represented in the tai chi, more commonly referred to as the yinyang symbol. A mistake is not a sin, but an opportunity to learn and do. Many religions will happily teach a philosophydogma which in refl. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools.