Laozi and Buddha

I am going to compare two iconic statues from two distinct religions, Buddhism and Daoism. The Buddhist statue I have chosen to examine is the Giant Buddha at Leshan from the Tang Dynasty in China and the Daoist statue being the Laozi Statue from the Song Period in China. Both statues are in China and are large icons, yet intricate differences lie within the details of each statue that reveal major advances and philosophies from their times. Both religious statues have a being associated behind them; Siddharth Gautama being the Buddha from Buddhism and Laozi being the founder of Daoism.

Laozi was the founder of Daoism in the 6th Century, during the Zhou dynasty. Laozi is usually depicted as an old man riding an ox, with long white or gray hair. The philosophical system of Daoism puts an emphasis on the individual, rather than the communal, pursuit of harmony with the dao.

The Dao is the prescriptive doctrine or way; conceived as the void out of which all reality emerges, beyond time and space, so vast it cannot be described. The Dao spontaneously generated the primal energy (QI) and the contemporary yin and yang. Laozi believed that social harmony would come if people tuned themselves to The Way (The Dao). To be content, one must accept that change is the absolute reality, and that all things and transformation are unified in the Dao. The best way to achieve understanding of The Way is through meditation, seeking quietude in nature, dropping out of society and living the life of a hermit — going into the mountains and getting drunk or high on various substances. Many daoists would retreat to the Boshan mountains that are located on the isle of immortals in the Eastern Sea. There is a daoist myth that the Boshan mountains give ac...

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...rtists and engineers.

The Leshan Buddha and the Laozi Statue essentially hold the same purpose, to commemorate an icon to their specific philosophical beliefs; both Laozi and Buddha are considered ones to be worshipped, dieties that many believers follow and praise. The Giant Buddhaof Leshan happens to be an icon for a more social religion, Buddhism, therefore it is designed to accommodate heavy foot traffic. It also demonstrates how Buddhist society could harmonize and solve problems together; problems like the turbulent river and the rocks. The Giant Laozi Statue is an icon for a religion that promotes seclusion from society in order to balance one’s Dao, Daoism. Both are largly followed religions, Buddhism being much more followed. To visit either of these statues would be breath taking due to their immensity and level of importance in modern and acient history.