A very long story short, Taoism is based on balance. If you want more information, you can read the Tao te Ching, but, long story short, all things are should be balanced by it's opposite. Male/Female, Light/Dark, Good/Evil... and enlightenment lies in that balance.
Buddhism is based on the teaching of the Buddha. Life is suffering, enlightment is escaping life. The cause of that suffering is desire. You eliminate the desire, you reach enlightenment, you stop reincarnating in a world of pain and differing.
This is like.... Eastern Religions for first graders, but it's simple and too the point. Help any?
Helps a bit. I've thumbed through the Tao de Ching and have read the Tao of Pooh (neat read, actually) and while going through some other literature I just see a lot of similarities between the two ways of life. Probably because they're both ancient Eastern philosophies...
It's likely because they both developed in the the same-ish areas, and there are cultural similarities. Similar cultures = similar religions. *shrugs* Just the way people work.
IM in ur LJ, talkin Eastern Philosophy.saint_of_meMarch 3 2010, 17:17:40 UTC
Taoism is older than Buddhism. Taoism says that if you feel the need to make a law, then disorder already reigns and it's kind of pointless to make the law. It says that ignorance is bliss, and knowledge leads to evil. Taoism says that we must all follow the way of nature, the natural flow of things. There's no messiah in Taoism. No salvation. There's magic, and there's an afterlife (the bardo, I think) but there's nothing saying that if you read up on all the stuff the gurus wrote that you'll become a better person better capable of dealing with the universe. I mean, sure, you can think that you know what's what, but if you really do then it's only because you've become syncronized with the nature of existence
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Re: IM in ur LJ, talkin Eastern Philosophy.drawsmcgrawMarch 4 2010, 01:13:32 UTC
That makes Taoism sound.... defeatist? This is a new interpretation on it that I've not heard before. I'm trying to map this description onto the vinegar tasters and I can see that working. I believe that ignorance is bliss, but to willingly enter into that state of ignorance...?
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Buddhism is based on the teaching of the Buddha. Life is suffering, enlightment is escaping life. The cause of that suffering is desire. You eliminate the desire, you reach enlightenment, you stop reincarnating in a world of pain and differing.
This is like.... Eastern Religions for first graders, but it's simple and too the point. Help any?
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Misti mentioned that you two might venture to Rennfest this weekend. We're going today. Ring us if you decide to go. We'd love to see you both.
Happy Anniversary Too!! (I think?)
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