Buddhism |Daoism |Confucianism
Name: _______________________________________
As you read about the “Three Teachings” complete the following chart in YOUR NOTEBOOK! Buddhism and Daoism need
more detail and more bullet points. Be sure that you understand what you are writing and that you cover the important
ideas in the sub-sections.
Daoism
Confucianism
Buddhism
Founder
Beliefs
Practices
History
Buddhism is a religion based on the teachings of a man called the Buddha who lived sometime between about
500 and 300 BC. The Buddha started life as a rich prince named Siddhartha Gautama but later gave up his
wealth to become a monk. Buddhism began in India and spread to central and southeastern Asia, China, Korea,
and Japan. Today some people in the Western world also follow Buddhism. At the beginning of the 21st
century Buddhism was the fourth-largest religion in the world, with about 360 million followers.
Beliefs and Practices: Buddhism is based on the Buddha's teachings, which are called the Four Noble Truths. The
First Noble Truth is that life is made up of pain and suffering. The Second Noble Truth is that all suffering is
caused by one's desires. The Third Noble Truth is that one can be free of these selfish desires. The freedom from
desire is called nirvana. The Fourth Noble Truth is the Eightfold Path, which explains eight ways to achieve
nirvana. The Eightfold Path is also called the Middle Path. It teaches that people should not indulge in too much
luxury and pleasure. But they should also not harshly deny themselves all worldly comforts. Instead, people
should take a middle, or balanced, course in their behavior.
Buddhism has three main parts. These parts are called the Triratna, or “the three jewels.” They are: the Buddha,
or the teacher; the dharma, or the teaching; and sangha, or the community of believers. Buddhist monks believe
that the three jewels protect them. This is expressed in the Buddhist prayer, “I take refuge in the Buddha. I take
refuge in the dharma. I take refuge in the sangha.” All Buddhist countries celebrate holidays to remember the life
and teachings of the Buddha. They celebrate the three major points of the Buddha's life—his birth, his
enlightenment (freedom from the cycle of desire and suffering), and his death, or final enlightenment.
History: The Buddha began teaching his philosophy after receiving enlightenment. According to tradition, one
day he sat down under a tree in Bodh Gaya, in the state of Bihar in India, and began meditating. On the 49th
day, he achieved enlightenment and was free from suffering. He became known as the Buddha, which means
“enlightened one.” The Buddha lived and taught for 45 years after his enlightenment. However, he did not
write a single word of his teaching. The Buddha's followers shared his teachings with other people by word of
mouth. These teachings were not put in writing until many years after the Buddha's death. The Buddha
preached in a language called Pali. This was the language of the common people. He believed that his teachings
were for everyone and not just scholars. The other major religion of the time was Hinduism. Hindu religious
texts used Sanskrit, a language very few people knew. Later, Buddhist teachings were also compiled in Pali.
These are known as the Tripitaka, or the Three Baskets.
After the Buddha's death, monks helped spread Buddhism through northern India. In the 200s BC Buddhism
gained a powerful sponsor. Asoka, the ruler of an empire that spanned most of South Asia, embraced and
promoted the religion. He built many Buddhist monuments and monasteries. Buddhism later declined
somewhat in India. But from India, Buddhism spread to Sri Lanka and southeastern Asia as well as through
central Asia and Tibet and into China, Korea, and Japan. There are still many Buddhists in Asia. However, in
Tibet Chinese rulers almost wiped out Buddhism. A man called the Dalai Lama, who was the leader of Buddhists
in Tibet, escaped to India with tens of thousands of followers in 1959. After he left, thousands of Buddhist
temples were destroyed and monks were treated badly. Many monks went to Europe or the United States. In
1989 the Dalai Lama was given the Nobel Prize for peace for working to end Chinese rule in Tibet without using
violence.
Daoism (or Taoism) is a system of philosophy and religion that arose in China about 2,500 years ago. The founder of Daoism,
Lao-tzu, lived at the same time as another highly influential Chinese philosopher, Confucius. While Confucianism is largely
concerned with morals and duty, Daoism is more mystical and carefree. Both systems of thought have helped shape Chinese
culture.
Beliefs: The philosophy of Daoism teaches that the most important thing in life is to find the Dao. The Dao is not easy to
define. It can mean the unchanging reality that is the source and end of all things. A Daoist does not fear death, because life
and death are merely part of an eternal process of transformation.
In the writings of Lao-tzu, “Dao” also is translated as “the Way,” meaning the way to think and act throughout life. Followers
are taught that aggressive action always defeats itself. They are told to act instead in harmony with the natural course of
things. Often this means taking no action at all. A Daoist king would not make his subjects admire his achievements, but
instead would make them think they achieved everything themselves. Daoism admires water, which is soft and yielding but
wears down rocks. Daoism also teaches that power and wealth are not to be desired because they keep people from
searching for their original natures. The “uncarved block” is regarded as superior to the block that has been fashioned by
people into something they can use since the carving changes the original nature of the block.
History: A figure named Lao-tzu is regarded as the founder of Daoism. Little is known about the facts of his life, and it is not
clear that he ever existed. Supposedly he lived in the 6th century BC and was slightly older than Confucius. According to
legend, the two great philosophers once had a meeting. Just before he mysteriously departed from his country, never to
return, Lao-tzu is said to have written a short book called the Daode jing (or Tao-te ching; Classic of the Way of Power). He
intended the book as advice for kings on the right way to rule. Some scholars believe the book was actually written by many
authors over time. Several hundred years after its founding, the philosophy of Daoism became a religious movement. Laotzu and other authors became known as revealers of sacred truths. Followers strove to achieve endless life through diet,
breath control, meditation, and magic. Religious Daoism recognized a large number of gods that were present in the
human body and in the universe. Followers of the religion built temples and monasteries. Organized Daoism remains strong
in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. In China there are not many religious Daoists, but many Chinese people believe in
gods and spirits that affect all parts of daily life. These beliefs belong to a tradition that was drawn partly from Daoism.
Confucius was born around 551 BCE in Lu province in Chou (Zhou) times. His parents were nobility, but had become poor when the
empire disintegrated into feudal states. When Confucius was about 15 years old, he became quite interested in learning. In those
days, only the nobility and royals were allowed education. All the teachers were government officials. It was hard for Confucius to
find a way to learn. He couldn't go to the public library or go to public school. These things did not yet exist in ancient China. To
solve this, he went to work for a nobleman. This gave him the opportunity to learn and to travel to the imperial capital. Confucius
studied and learned until he probably was the most learned man of his day. People heard of his knowledge and sent their sons to
study with him. He was the first private teacher in China. Confucius taught anyone who was eager to learn. His ideas, called
Confucianism, stress the need to develop responsibility and moral character through rigid rules of behavior.
Confucianism is not, properly speaking, a religion; it's a way of behaving, so you'll do the right things.
Excerpt from The Analects of Confucius, c.400 BCE
Do not do unto others,
what you would not want others to do to you
If you make a mistake and do not correct it,
this is called a mistake
Confucianism, in T'ang times, was a social code of behavior, a very set and rigid code of behavior, that honored ancestors and
ancient rituals. Everything had to be done a certain way. One of his rules, for example, was that gentlemen could only display their
skill as archers on three hunts a year, in the spring, autumn, and winter.
There's a saying about Confucius: "If the mat was not straight, the Master would not sit." You might think to yourself: "Wow. What
a fussy." But think about it. In English, if you write a sentence, the first word must start with a capital letter and the last word must
end with a period, an exclamation point, or a question mark. Otherwise, it's not a sentence. "If the mat was not straight, the Master
would not sit." Today, the Chinese celebrate Confucius Birthday (Teacher's Day), in honor of their ancestor, the teacher, Confucius.