The Three Religions - Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism


The Three Religions - Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism

With Buddhism firmly established in China, if the three religions - Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism - continued to influence the religious life of the Chinese people and have done so up to the present time. In ancestor worship, which is usually identified with Confucianism, they prayed to their departed ancestors, and so in a sense, all the dead men of China could be considered gods. After decadence set in, soon after the 6th. century A.D., Taoism began to create a pantheon of gods, particularly during the Ming dynasty (14th. century A.D.), vastly different from its original non-theistic form. Instead of the search for spiritual enlighten ment, it degenerated into a crude cult of longevity and personal immortality. Alchemy was practised and the search for the 'elixir of life' resulted in the belief in the efficacy of 'divine pills' (shen chu)y to extend the length of physical life. It was inevitable for Taoism, when faced with the strong challenge of the popular Buddhist religion, to create its own body of saints, called the 8 Immortals, believed to have come about during the Yuan dynasty (13th. century A.D.), which was sometimes regarded as the counterpart of a similar body of Buddhist saints known as the 18 Lohans (Arahants). Other Taoist gods still popular with the Chinese even today are the Kitchen God, the Door God, the Earth God, the God of Wealth and the Nine Emperor Gods, to name a few. The Chinese in Malaysia call these gods 'Ang Kong* (Red-faced-gods), a name given during the British colonial period, probably due to the fact that the faces of the gods' images were at one time painted red. A more appropriate name to refer to these divine beings isf shen j(equi valent to the 'devas' in Buddhism), while the name 'Hsien' is respectfully!bestowed upon the 8 Immortals and the 18 Lohans.

When Mahayana Buddhism came to China, the Indian monks introduced a number of Hindu gods, which were later worshipped by the Chinese as Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The three foremost Buddhas of the Chinese Buddhist pantheon were Amitabha Buddha (Buddha of Boundless Life), Sakyamuni Buddha (Gotama Buddha), and Bhai-sajyaguru Buddha (the Healing Buddha). Then there was Maitreya Buddha (Mi-Lo-Fo), the future Buddha, who now resides in Tusita Heaven. His image was usually of a fat, genial-looking figure with a large belly, sometimes also called 'The Laughing Buddha | The Chinese prayed to him for wealth and happiness. Well-known Bodhisattvas worshipped by the Chinese were Avalokitesvara (Kuan Shih Yin P'usa), Samantabhada (Pu Hsien P'usa), Manjusri (Wen Shu P'usa) and Ksitigarbha (Ti Tsang Wang P'usa). Of these, Avalokitesvara, the Goddess of Mercy, became the most popular deity worshipped all over China by both Buddhists and Taoists, so much so that Sakyamuni Buddha was almost eclipsed by her. She was the patron goddess of mothers, who prayed to her for sons. The people prayed to the gods because they feared them but they prayed to the Goddess of Mercy because they loved her.

Strictly speaking, the Chinese could not be said to profess any one particular religion men tioned earlier on, in the same manner as those belonging to the mono-theistic religions. Even those who called themselves Buddhists, Taoists or Confucianists, did not strictly observe the beliefs and practices of any one particular religion exclusively. It would be more correct to describe them as multi-religious since they also worshipped nature, spirits, multiple gods, Heaven and their departed ancestors, apart from the three officially recognized religions. In other words, Chinese religion is syncretic because it contains pluralistic religious beliefs. There were temples dedicated to one particular god, but usually the temples displayed images of various deities belonging to^h# Buddhist and Taoist pantheons. Devotees observed tie practices of both religions. Temples which were purely Buddhist or Taoist could be identified by the deities displayed on the main and secondary altars. If the main deity was Buddhist, there it was a Buddhist temple. If no deities from the|Buddhist pantheon were displayed, and the main deity was Taoist, then it was a Taoist temple. A temple was designated syncretic (' mixed temple') if deities of both religions were displayed, together with ancestral tablets.'
Thus, Chinese religion gradually evolved, alongside Chinese culture, from the time of the mythological emperors about 5000 years ago until the present, with a vast array of beliefs and practices, some of which bordered on superstitions, and many were without any meaningful foundation. The Chinese are a practical people deeply involved in the pursuit of worldly success. Nevertheless, they did not deny the existence of spirits, ghosts and gods which had to be appeased with various kinds of rites and rituals. Out of lq|e, respect and fear for their dead ancestors, they practised ancestor worship. They followed the teachings of the founders of the three religions -Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism - up to whatever level they could. They prayed to many deities, those which belonged to their own religion as well as to those which did not, because they believed that each one of these deities could grant a different favour and that the more deities they Worshipped, the more favours they received. They paid proper respect to the gods and spirits but kept them at a distance. Such matters, to them, were best left to the monks and nuns. In times of trouble and distress, they consulted mediums, fortune tellers and diviners, who they believed could tell them where things went wrong and whom they had offended, and who could also provide advice and guidance on how to make amends in order to restore them to good health or to bring about peace and harmony in their daily lives. This was the situation with respect to Chinese religious beliefs and practices which prevailed during the 19th. century when the Chinese, in particular those from the south-eastern provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, emigrated in large numbers to South-east Asia.

Tang Tein Beng

Related Artlices:
Confucius - China Tradition and Truth

More in the Buddhism Beliefs Series:
Beliefs - Nature and Ancestor Worship
Beliefs - Worship of Gods, Spirits and Heaven
Beliefs - Confucianism and Buddhism
Beliefs - Taoism and Buddhism
Beliefs - History of Buddhism
Beliefs - Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism
Friday, February 27, 2009 Category: Beliefs, Confucianism, English, Taoism ShareThis