Confucianism

This great ethical and philosophical system is named after its founder, Confucius (Master Kong), who lived in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC, born into a middle class family, although the family was actually in the superior class of the current dynasty. His Chinese name was later latinised to Confucius by Jesuit missionaries. This form became the convention in most western languages, and accordingly we shall refer to him by this westernised name. When grown up, Confucius went state to state teaching rulers of the states. He is credited with a number of books, the best-known of which is the Analects, a collection of his sayings that was compiled and edited to its modern form during the Han dynasty.

It is debatable whether the system he founded should be called a religion. While it prescribes a great deal of ritual, little of it could be construed as worship or meditation in a formal sense. Confucius occasionally made statements about the existence of other-worldly beings that sound distinctly agnostic and humanistic to western ears. Thus it is usually considered an ethical tradition without being considered a religion.

However, its effect on Chinese society and culture was very deep and parallels the effects of religious movements seen in other cultures. Also, one should guard against too narrow a definition of religion. Those who follow the teachings of Confucius are comforted by it; it makes their lives more complete and their sufferings bearable. Finally, consider the fact that religions in Chinese culture are not mutually exclusive entities - each tradition was free to find its specific niche, its field of specialisation. One can be a Taoist, Christian, Muslim, Shintoist or Buddhist and still profess Confucianist beliefs.

Confucianism specialised in ethics, in the orderly arrangement of society and correct relationships between people. Confucius himself lived in an era (The Eastern Zhou dynasty) when China was divided into a number of small states each ruled by a warlord or nobleman who paid little more than lip service to the emperor who in theory still ruled the Middle Kingdom (China) from the capital, Luoyang. The frequent wars between these states disrupted the structure of society. As a result, there was a deeply felt need for a theory of society that would act as a cohesive factor and that could reunite the Chinese nation. A number of philosophies (e.g. Mohism and Legalism) arose to fulfil this need. That of Confucius was eventually the most successful, due largely to the supremacy it achieved during the Han Dynasty.

Daoism Religion

Daoism is China's indigenous traditional religion; its name stems from 'Dao' being its highest object of faith.

The core of its belief is that by engaging in a process of Cultivation and Refinement, man can attain to a state of Immortality.

Daoist religion reveres Laozi as its Founder; its primary scripture is Laozi's Book of Dao and its Virtue.

Daoism has formed itself gradually over the ages, building upon the ancient Chinese worship of Heaven and Ancestors as its foundation, taking Daoist philosophy as its primary ideological source, absorbing concepts from the Yin-Yang, Mohist, Confucianist and Legalist schools, and adhering to the essential path of cultivation of the Magic and Immortality and Huang-Lao traditions.

Since its formation in the middle of the Eastern Han dynasty (25 - 220 AD), Daoist religion has undergone phases of formation, reform, flourishing and development, division into sects, and gradual decline, over a period of almost two thousand years.

Over the course of its long history of development, it has exercised a deep influence on Chinese government, economy, philosophy, literature, art, music, chemistry, medicine, health cultivation, breathing arts, and gymnastics, as well as China's ethnic relations, ethnic psychology and social customs.

Daoism has also accumulated a large quantity of scriptures and documents, temples and monuments, and sculptures and stone inscriptions, adding to the cultural treasury of the Chinese people and making significant contributions to the progress of human civilization.

Author: Jiang Sheng

Is Buddhism a Religion or a Philosophy?

Lack of standard definition of "religion:"
Whether Buddhism is, or is not, a religion depends upon how the word "religion" is defined. Lots of people have their favorite definition; some think that theirs is the only valid meaning for the term.

Some definitions required a religion to include belief in the existence of one or more deities; this would classify most expressions of Buddhism as a non-religious since it is essentially a non-theistic religion.

Other definitions do not require religion to include belief in a deity; these would probably include Buddhism as a religion.

For example:

Webster's New World Dictionary (Third College Edition): defines religion as: "any specific system of belief and worship, often involving a code of ethics and a philosophy."

Buddhism would not be considered a religion under this definition, because it is basically non-theistic: it does not generally involve worship of a supernatural entity.

Wikipedia once defined religion as: "... a system of social coherence based on a common group of beliefs or attitudes concerning an object, person, unseen being, or system of thought considered to be supernatural, sacred, divine or highest truth, and the moral codes, practices, values, institutions, traditions, and rituals associated with such belief or system of thought." 1

Buddhism could be considered a religion because its various forms share a system of thought that is considered to be the highest truth. It involves moral codes, practices, values, traditions and rituals.

More recently, Wikipedia have adopted the definition of the late Clifford Geertz, an anthropologist from Princeton: Religion is: "an organized approach to human spirituality which usually encompasses a set of narratives, symbols, beliefs and practices, often with a supernatural or transcendent quality, that give meaning to the practitioner's experiences of life through reference to a higher power, God or gods, or ultimate truth. 2,3

Here again, Buddhism would be considered a religion.

Anthony F.C. Wallace, a North American anthropologist who specializes in Native American cultures, suggested a definition as: "a set of rituals, rationalized by myth, which mobilizes supernatural powers for the purpose of achieving or preventing transformations of state in man or nature."4

Buddhism would not be considered a religion because it does not usually involve belief in supernatural powers.

Robert Bellah, professor at the University of California, Berkley, in a legal declaration concerning the nature of transcendental meditation (TM), defined religion as: "a set of symbolic forms and acts that relate man to the ultimate conditions of his existence." 5

If the word "forms" is defined broadly, this would seem to imply that Buddhism is a religion, along with TM.


H.L. Menken, 20th century editor, person of ideas, satirist, and Agnostic defined religion's "...single function is to give man access to the powers which seem to control his destiny, and its single purpose is to induce those powers to be friendly to him." 6

This would imply that Buddhism is not a religion, because it does not presuppose the existence of supernatural powers with whom humans can react.

Buddha is not a god, just a great teacher

Those who do not know the Buddha properly, consider Him a God. The Buddha never esteemed such unnecessary glory, praise or honour. Nor did He expect such things.

" O Bhikkhus, gains, offerings, glory, praise are all harsh and fierce. They are a danger preventing the achievement of the highest bliss of liberation."

The Buddha appeared among men solely to make people see their ignorance, lack of awareness, wrong views, fallacies, and wrong actions. Such a great man will never expect limitless deference, praise or honour from the people.

One day, the Buddha walked along the road from the city of Ukkattha to the city of Setavya. A Brahmin named Drona, travelling along the same road after the Buddha, saw His footprints. He looked at them and thought, " These can never be the footprints of a human being. " The Buddha stepped aside from the road and sat under a tree. Brahmin Drona walked up to the Buddha, whose demeanour was exceedingly calm and serene, and questioned Him thus:

Brahmin : " Are you a God? "

The Buddha : " Brahmin, I am not a God. "

Brahmin : " Are you a Gandhabba ( divine musician )? "

The Buddha : " Brahmin, I am not a Gandhabba. "

Brahmin : " Are you a Yakkha? "

The Buddha : " Brahmin, I am not a Yakkha. "

Brahmin : " Are you a human being? "

The Buddha : " Brahmin, I am not a human being, either. "

Brahmin : " When I ask you whether you are a God, you say " No, I am not a God. " When I ask you whether you are a Gandhabba, a Yakkha or a human being, you say " No. " If that were so, who are you? "

The Buddha : " O Brahmin, if I am a god, I must have those sense-desires. But, I have eradicated sense-desires fully. Therefore, I am not a God. If I am a Gandhabba, I must have sense-desires. But I have eradicated those fully. Therefore, I am not a Gandhabba.

O Brahmin, if I am a Yakkha, I must have the sense-desires that a Yakkha should have. But, I eradicated all that fully. Therefore, I am not a Yakkha, either. O Brahmin, if I am an ordinary human being, I must have the sense-desires of ordinary men. But, I have totally eradicated those. Therefore, I am not a human being like other human beings.