What is the difference between Buddhism's emptiness and Taoism's Tao?

Emptiness refers to the source without self. Simply put, it means that things must depend on various reasons to exist at any time, rather than being independent of the general concept of nature.

According to the textual research and induction of Taoist scriptures, the meaning of "Tao" in Taoism refers to "the system of nothingness, the foundation of nature, the foundation of gods, and the element of heaven and earth". Generally speaking, "Tao" is the foundation of the universe, yin and yang, and everything, and it is the maintenance of all things' changes. Obviously, "Tao" is a miraculous thing with spirit and sex, and it is a god.

The difference between Buddhism and Taoism

(1) Attitude towards life and death.

The goal pursued by Buddhism is to break away from the "nirvana" of life and death. Buddhism believes that life is bitter. Life is bitter, and death is bitter. And this kind of suffering is endless, in an endless cycle of life and death. Only by reaching nirvana can we escape from the cycle of life and death.

So how to achieve nirvana? That is, people should "realize". Buddha, sleep also. In the final analysis, it is an understanding of the bitterness of life. Buddhism believes that when you really realize that life is bitter, you "wake up". This is the core idea of Buddhism.

Taoism generally holds a positive attitude towards life. This is the biggest difference between Taoism and Buddhism and even other religions. For example, Christianity believes that people are born with original sin and are born with atonement. Buddhism believes that life is bitter. Is to achieve immortality through cultivation. There is a saying in the secret of Taoist practice, "Being a man and becoming an immortal are all inverted yin and yang", which is how Taoism achieves immortality. This sentence originated from China's Five Elements Theory, which is the basic theory of traditional Chinese medicine.

(2) The biggest difference between Taoism and Buddhism is that "Taoism says this life and Buddhism says the afterlife".

The Buddha said the afterlife and advised the world to be patient. The so-called sin in this life, the retribution in the afterlife, is very miserable in this life, and it may not be bitter in the next life. Simply put, its purpose is to pin hopes on the afterlife.

Taoism is completely different. The so-called first step of successful cultivation is to live forever. Taoism pays attention to this life, while Taoism believes in immortality. The afterlife is about the afterlife. I won't die in my life anyway.

And still need abstinence, only Buddha in my heart, sitting after death, leaving Buddhist relics, lotus throne reborn; Taoist priests are not so strict, more practical, have the belief of helping others, pay attention to cultivation, and finally stand out and soar.

(3) The basic difference is that Taoism advocates taking life as the truth, pursuing longevity and health preservation, and becoming immortal through the body. Taoism believes that human life is made up of vitality, and the body is the residence of the spirit. To live forever, we must cultivate both form and spirit, that is, "internal cultivation" and "external cultivation" Contrary to Taoism, Buddhism advocates "no life" and thinks that reality is the suffering of all things. People can't do anything about reality, they can only endure it. To endure, we must give up all kinds of desires, pin our hopes on the afterlife, pursue the "sea of suffering" beyond the cycle of life and death, and enter the nirvana-like wood (the world of bliss without suffering). It can be seen that Taoism advocates pursuing real life, while Buddhism advocates abandoning the pursuit of realistic material and paying attention to spiritual cultivation and yearning for the afterlife.

Buddhism, with compassion, abandons the doctrine of evil Yangshan, and the law of causal reincarnation is admirable, which is also the vitality of Buddhism. Compared with Islam and Christianity, Buddhism is less barbaric and xenophobic, and more exotic. Buddhism is more like a delicate lotus flower.

(4) The origin of life should come from the Book of Changes and the Book of Confusion. In Hinayana Buddhism, the quartering method stipulates that Buddhist disciples can't tell fortune, divination, geomantic omen, etc. whether they are at home or becoming monks. Mahayana Buddhism and the Buddha in the amulet of the Sanskrit Bodhisattva also stipulate that these things cannot be done. This is called evil karma. However, Buddhism in China has the characteristics of China. People in China sent letters of life, and the Book of Changes originally came from divination, so Confucius said, "I don't know my life, I don't think it's a gentleman." . The culture of China for thousands of years is actually the Zhouyi culture, because the Book of Changes is the head of the four books and five classics.

Buddhism has a cloud. As long as all living beings are advised to do good, all dharma is Buddhism. Good people use evil laws, and evil laws are also good. Bad people use good laws, and good laws are also evil. When there was the Book of Changes, there was no Taoism. Therefore, Taoism classifies the Book of Changes as its own theory, which is somewhat ideological theft. As for the taiji diagram and the fish of yin and yang, Taoism used the idea of the Book of Changes. Generally speaking, The Book of Changes is neither Buddhist nor Taoist. Confucianism developed the Book of Changes. It can be said that, to some extent, the Book of Changes is closer to Confucianism. There are many great scholars who have annotated the Book of Changes in the past dynasties, such as Zhu and Wang Anshi in the Song Dynasty, Yu Fan in the Three Kingdoms, Dong Zhongshu in the Han Dynasty, and Yu Yue in modern times.

(5) The wisdom of the Buddha proves that he has broken the troubles of ignorance and achieved Bodhi (enlightenment), so the Buddha means enlightenment. Buddha is not omnipotent. He can only teach us. He can't let us go to heaven or condemn us to hell. Buddha is a person who consciously realizes him and realizes himself perfectly. In other words, Buddha is a person who has realized himself, which can be achieved by further helping others, and this consciousness and awareness of his own work have reached the most satisfactory state at the same time. Monks are representatives of practicing Buddhism. We usually know Sakyamuni Buddha, Tathagata, Guanyin Bodhisattva and Amitabha, including the Monkey King.

Religion is an inherent religion in China and one of the major religions in China. It was formed in the Eastern Han Dynasty and prevailed in the Southern and Northern Dynasties. It has a history of 1800 years. It has distinctive China characteristics, and its teaching is closely linked with the local culture of China. The name of Taoism originated from the ancient Shinto and Laozi. Taoism takes Laozi as its ancestor. His philosophical thoughts can be traced back to Laozi and Zhuangzi, with "Tao" as the highest belief. The way to live a long life. Taoist priests are the representatives of Taoist monasticism. The Taoist figures we are usually familiar with are Jade Emperor, Grandfather, Eight Immortals, Huangdi Laozi, Zhuangzi and so on.

Now, two different beliefs are seriously confused. Monks and Taoists are invited together when they meet religious beliefs. I didn't know they represented two completely different religions. These are all caused by Wu Cheng'en's novel The Journey to the West. This ghost novel combines the immortals of eastern Taoism with the buddhas of western Buddhism to "perform", which makes many people confuse the two religions. Although both religions are aimed at guiding people to do good, we should not regard it as a mistake. ?