Religious Practices and Morality in Ancient China

When I think of great cultures I immediately start to imagine myself in Ancient China. They had interesting ways of living and dying. In this essay I will compare and contrast the different religions and morality in Ancient China. Ancient China had 3 main religions which are Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism. The three religions have different guidelines but have an ultimate goal that is somewhat similar.

Religion separates the world into several different regions with its own beliefs. Religion is what keeps the world alive with divine thoughts and beliefs for most of the population, they wake up everyday living their lives with a purpose. People of a certain religion have an established set of rules and guidelines they follow in order

to reach the ultimate goal in their certain religion. Different religions believe in different aspects of God or none at all. Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism share some differences and similarities in their beliefs , practices and moral views.

Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world, the origins of Buddhism pinpoints to one person by the name of Siddhartha Gautama, an Indian prince who gave up royal life in search of a pure life. He was the leader and founder of a sect of wanderer ascetics (Sramanas). Buddhism was founded on the Northeastern part of India in the c. 520 BCE. The teachings of Siddhartha Gautama are considered to be the core of Buddhism.

Some of the core beliefs of buddhism are The Four Noble Truths witch are Life, in essence, is ridden with suffering and pain , All suffering is caused by harmful desires , by eliminating all such desires, we can eliminate suffering and by following Buddha's path, we can succeed in conquering such desires. The Noble Eightfold Path emphasizes wisdom, avoidance of harm to others, and mental self-discipline. The 5 Precepts which are do not kill,do not lie, do not steal,do not misuse sex, do not consume alcohol/drugs. The Three Marks of Existence are Impermanence which states that everything around you is impermanent and will eventually disappear and leave this world. Nothing is forever. When one becomes too attached to anything, therefore, suffering and unhappiness will be inevitable when that thing eventually disappears. Suffering which states that the result of being attached to that which is impermanent. The key is therefore to detach from all things and have no desire. Desire is the root of attachment which, as we've seen, leads to suffering and Egolessness that is having an ego means you take great pride in your achievements or possessions which means you are attached to these impermanent things. Pride is a sign of attachment which leads to suffering. Having no pride or ego is a sign that you have no attachment to anything and that these things are unimportant to you. And the last belief is going for refuge in the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha.
The sacred texts of Buddhism are the Pali Tipitaka, Mahayana and the Vajrayana Canons.

In conclusion Buddhism does not say if gods exist or not and they do not believe that people should look to gods to save them or bring them enlightenment.

Taoism is one of the oldest religions in the world, the origins of Taoism points to one person by the name of Lao Tzu, a philosopher and poet of ancient China. Taoism was founded on China in the c. 550 BCE. The writings of Lao Tzu are considered to be the core of Taoism.

Some of the core beliefs of Taoism are that the way to happiness is for people to learn to go with the flow of life. Ying is the moon in other words death and Yang means sun which is birth, they both have to be balanced if not tragedy will occur. Lao also belief in that one should make their own decisions.

The sacred text of Taoism is The Tao-te Ching and the Chuang-tzu, they both define the nature of the universe and provide a guide for living a spiritual life. In conclusion Taoism is to follow your nature and the nature of the

world.

Confucianism is one of the oldest religions in China, the origins of Confucianism pinpoints to one person Confucius, the most famous philosopher of China and founder of a school of philosophy, which emphasized harmony, tradition, and order.

He also was known for his work in “ Four Books”. Confucianism was founded in China on the c. 500 B.C.E. The ideas and writings of Confucius are considered to be the core of Confucianism.

Some of the core beliefs of Confucianism are people should live their live by this two principles that are concern for others and appropriate behavior. Confucius beleved that everyone has a role to play in society. The sacred text of Confucianism are Analects , the Five Classics and the Four Books, they define the way people should live their life and how to help others. In conclusion Confucianism is an ethical system which strives to create harmonious relationships between people.

The major difference between Confucianism and the other 2 religions is that Confucianism is not a religion. It is an ethical system emphasizing on responsibility to family, etc and the responsibilities of rulers and citizens, but it does not have any gods or other supernatural beings. Confucianism is about making people more educated so they themselves can make better choices. Buddhism is about controlling one's selves emotions to prevent negativity from entering the world. The central concepts in taoism are power, virtue and

integrity