Essay On Daoism And Confucianism

Confucianism is a way of being loyal to the government and loving and caring for one’s family. Daoism is a way in living in harmony with the Tao. Both of these religions strive for peace and

"If an individual can practice five things anywhere in the world, he is a man of humanity...reverence, generosity, truthfulness, diligence and kindness" (Ebrey 19). Confucius' gentleman has to possess these fine qualities to achieve success. On the other side of the token, Daoism emphasized the need for similar entities. Laozi explains: "For minds, the depth is good. In social relations, human-heartedness is good. In speaking, the trustworthiness is good. In government order is good" (Ebrey 28). Both systems, through through different approaches, promote peace and goodwill among the family, society and with neighboring states.

The Daoist outlook on life focuses on the relationship between humanity and nature. In the Daodejing, there is a

Thousand of smart people are born and died everyday, yet none of them are like Confucius and Laozi. Confucius is the founder of Confucianism and Laozi is the founder of Daoism. Confucianism and Daoism started as indigenous religion, and later became part of the Three Doctrine in China. While both Confucius and Lao Tzu believed in a ideal religion, Confucianism focused on having a structured society while Taoism focused on connecting with nature. Some of early development principles of early China religions are spirits, tian, venerations of ancestors, seeing patterns in nature, yang and yin, and divination. There are two kinds of spirits. The good spirit which brings good health and wealth; however, the bad spirit brings chaos and destruction. Example of good

Confucianism and Daoism both were seeking trues Even though in different ways both had a profound effect on today’s society

While the Way can be considered an intangible idea of how to live your life, others believe it is an omnipotent force that shapes all things and cannot be named. Confucianists believe the former, where they have a superior chance of achieving a better life through ritual. Daoists, however, trust in nonaction, in not interfering with nature, to have a better and longer life. Conversely, the Daoist idea can only hold true in an ideal society, since it would be hard to employ. I will argue that a Confucianist society is better, because it relies on action in a society, the use of virtue with rituals to learn, and the overall betterment of the self to create order in the community as a means of reaching Way.

Let’s celebrate the malleable reality (Jason Mraz, “Live High”). It is no secret that I am a ratty seventeen-year old girl, my opinions change like the seasons. In the Daoist religion, the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, rejects barriers. Daoists observe that most people see the world from their perspective and divide things into opposites and similarities. To attain understanding of the world, it is imperative to go beyond simple opposites. For Daoist philosophers, change is not necessarily change, but adaptation. Basic Daoist teachings suggest paranormal and normal are not opposite, but relative.

Another similarity that Daoism shares with Confucianism is that neither of them talk about a higher being or the supernatural, and instead fous on human beings own inner goodness. While Daoism was not as popular as Budhism, it still promoted peace and order in Classical

Before parallels can be drawn between ideals and paths in Daoism, Daoist philosophy and Dao must be defined. It is hard to put Daoist Philosophy into a nice, neat sentence because of the complexity and vast amount of information on the subject. For the intent of this paper, Daoist philosophy is defined as a Chinese philosophy that takes a more naturalist approach to religion and way of living. It is the connection between imitating nature and harmony. Dao is defined in Chapter 1 as the constant moving “everything” that surrounds us. It is not tangible, it is just what it is, and you do not know exactly what this something is.

Daoism and Confucianism are both considered to be an ancient Chinese type of living (Fisher, 2014, p. 188). They both became very widespread in China, Japan, and Korea (Fisher, 2014, p. 188). Although, Daoism and Confucianism are relatively different, not to mention that they both share the same corresponding value system in East Asians civilization (Fisher, 2014, p. 188). Also, for two hundred thousand years Daoism and Confucianism have co-existed in China, while they both have played a role equally to the culture (Fisher, 2014, p. 207). Nonetheless, they both have their differences, as well as a unique way of harmonizing with cosmos (fisher, 2014, p. 193). Daoism is a more mystically religious way, unlike Confucianism that is more political

Daoism appeared as a reaction to a civil war across China, known as the warring states period, which caused a wide feeling of civil unrest. The war went on for nearly two hundred and fifty years and spread across the Zhou Dynasty, which was divided into eight separate states. Daoist believed that war was a result of excessive desire, and only through modest desire will people and the state experience peace and unity. Daoist argued that desire and all actions must be natural, and we must return to nature to establish our balance. We must return to nature and to a time like the Golden Age, that came before the Zhou Empire and the warring states. The Golden Age refers to a more simple time in life, in which people had relied on agriculture in small villages with a trusted government that also followed the way, causing a balance and unity. To manifest this simplicity and selflessness naturally is the Dao, which is the way of all things. Though in today’s world we have strayed far from nature, for reason and excessive desires have corrupted people and their values. Daoist would believe that our society is unbalanced ,and we must return to the path of the Dao to restore our unity. We must behave naturally and act modestly in order to find the way, but like the opposing states in the Zhou Dynasty, we have excessive desires causing unnatural behaviors. These unnatural behaviors keep many people from finding the way, but the Daodejing supplies many passages of the effects of

The Confucian ideas of Dao, Xiao and Li, all have important aspects in contributing to Kongzi’s ideal society. Dao (the Way) is part of the moral path Tian gives to human beings. Dao (the Way) is followed by the sage kings and provides the proper way of behaving for human beings. Xiao, representing (familial piety) is a fundamental attribute too Kongzi’s ideal society. Xiao is centered on family duties, love and respect, identifies the natural relationship of superiority/inferiority. With

Another belief of Daoism is that life should be simple and for a person live as an individual, not a follower of a ruler. Daoism, during the Tang period, gained “priests, temples, and monasteries.” This goes to show the basic ideals of Daoism.

“The sages trace out the admirable operations of Heaven and Earth, and reach to and understand the distinctive constitutions of all things.” Daoism holds the idea that the ultimate achievement one can accomplish is not to make any progress, but return back to one’s originality and nature. Furthermore, the “nature” of human being is originally the same as the “nature” of sky, water, or swan. And as there is intrinsic beauty and wisdom within the everything, the only thing sages need to do, is to detach the narrow and secular “ego” from their everyday experience, and to “trace out” a broader “self” which connection to the “otherness”, the “Heaven”, “Earth” and everything. Generally looking through the life of Su Shi, he had ambition encouraged by Confucianism, but the unpredictable fate reduced that Confucian part in the secular or social level. And thereby, the other Daoist half was increasing, with Su Shi’s exile, or “travel” across the country. He embraced the “utter wonder” that was not artificially made, and born in the nature without judgement. So, the philosophical reflection shown in his poetry, is actually a spiritual transcendence of his unsatisfactory ambition or Confucianism, through the intrinsic value of himself and every natural scenes, or

According to Russell Kirkland and the Daoism Handbook, “among many world religions, Daoism is the most incompletely understood religion ”. Referred to as Daoism or Taoism, it is to be understood that most of the basic facts are unclear, nor understood properly . This paper will clearly define the religion of Daoism/Taoism. It will point out how it is practiced, where it is practiced and the basic facts that are necessary to build a picture of what Daoism/Taoism is.