Religions of the Far East Are Often

Religions of the Far East are often clumped into a monolithic entity, perceived as essentially alike by those not familiar with the complexity and individuality of these traditions. Closer examination, however, shows that the major religions with roots in the Far East demonstrate a wide variety of beliefs. The tendency to group them under the heading of "Eastern religion" alone does not allow for the different histories, beliefs, and practices of these traditions. This tendency, however, has some validity in that Eastern belief systems do share many characteristics. In this essay, I will explain the basic precepts, including similarities of, differences in, and the relationship between three major Eastern traditions: Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

First, I will give a basic overview of the three belief systems, exploring their histories and general precepts . Then, I will explore the specific beliefs which these faiths share, as well as the beliefs which differentiate the faiths from one another. Finally, I will summarize these similarities and differences and give an analysis of the relationships that these belief systems have with one another.

The oldest tradition of the three, Buddhism, originated in India in the sixth century B.C. Its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, gave up his life as prince in search of truth; he attempted to find this enlightenment in several traditions, but eventually arrived at his own conclusion regarding the way to enlightenment. This conclusion was that desire and craving were what caused human suffering, and that by giving up these wants which tie us to the human condition, we may be released from these bonds with human mortality and achieve enlightenment. Siddhartha became known as the Buddha, or "enlightened one," and called his teachings the "middle way," saying that this midpoint between the extremes of asceticism and indulgence was the true way to achieve nirvana, the ultimate enlightenment and freedom from the bonds of desire (Hopfe 2001, p. 129).

Confucianism is based on the teachings of Confucius, who lived, by most accounts, around 500 B.C.E. His teachings were written down and disseminated as The Analects of Confucius during the third century B.C.E. By his disciples; by the second century B.C.E. Confucianism had been adopted as the official state religion of China and was taught in all of the schools of the empire (Sharma 1993). Confucianism became an ethical and political system with an emphasis on virtuous behavior; its definition of virtue is based on a person's interaction with five major relations in his life, the Five Hierarchical Relationships: "the bond between child and parent...the ties between husband and wife, between elder and younger brother, between friend and friend, and between ruler and minister" (Esposito, Fasching, and Lewis, 2002). These ethics have been described as "virtually inseparable from the moral fabric of Chinese society," (Sharma 1993, p. 165).

Taoism was started, most scholars believe, by Lao-Tzu in sixth century B.C.E., around the time of both Confucius and Siddhartha Gautama, but was not really developed until the second century B.C.E. (Sharma 1993). Lao-Tzu wrote down his philosophies in the Tao Te Ching, and they were then passed on and taught via his followers in subsequent generations. The Taoists were focused on longevity, even physical immortality, and like Confucians, were centered on one's behaviors in the world (ibid). The system has focused on values and practices of the present world and has incorporated much Chinese folk culture and religion into its canon, absorbing indigenous beliefs and practices under the umbrella of Taoism and has been defined as "more important as a part of cultural tradition than as an organized religion." (Sharma 1993, p. 245). However, the history, value system, and religious practices of Taoism distinguish it from being solely a cultural phenomenon, instead suggesting that at the very least, it expounds values and practices for its followers in the fashion of a religious belief system.

Having a general definition and history of each of the three traditions, we will now examine the relationships between the three. Syncretism, the melding of belief systems with one another, is prevalent in definitions of the three major religions examined above. Each of the three influences and is influenced by the others. Taoism, with its focus on longevity and on a certain way of living, has been influenced by Buddhism's rituals such as structured meditation; it has also been influenced by Confucianism's focus on the way one ought to behave in this life. In turn, both Confucianism and Buddhism have been influenced by Taoism's attention to rituals and of a certain way of living leading to a better lot in one's next life. Taoism also adopted the worship of many Buddhist and Confucian deities and ancestors. Buddhist traditions like vegetarianism were incorporated into the Taoist tradition (Hopfe 2001).

This syncretism is not to say that the three belief systems are interchangeable; Taoism also has significant differences from Buddhism and Confucianism, one of which is the fact that it has "little use for formal religion," where Confucians believe "that the rites and rituals of religion served the function of uniting the people" (Hopfe 2001, p. 179). Taoists helped Buddhists translate their text into Chinese, however, this did not signal an easy peace between the two religions; Buddhists were persecuted by Taoist rulers in the ninth century A.D., until the two religions came to a truce regarding shared beliefs (ibid., p. 182).

Buddhism and Confucianism share an emphasis on one's earthly behavior; however, Buddhism focuses on one's earthly actions in terms of how they effect one's karma, while Confucians focus more on the immediate results of ethics in this world, especially with regard to governance. Buddhists and Taoists share the idea of karma influencing one's future lives, while Confucians do not participate so fully in this belief.