Ancestor Worship Essays - East Asian Religions, Taoism, Confucianism

Ancestor Worship 4. Compare and contrast Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. How are they similar? How are they different? 5. Describe the Chinese tradition of ancestor worship. -Question 4. Buddhism Has over 300 million members, and was founded around 2, 500 years ago in India. The founder is Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha, or referred to as the Enlightened One. Their major scripture are The Triptaka, Anguttara-Nikaya, Dhammapada, Sutta-Nipata, Samyutta-Nikaya and many others. Buddhism today is divided into three main sects: Theravada, or Hinayana (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, Cambodia), Mahayana (China, Japan, Vietnam, Korea), and Vajrayana (Tibet, Mongolia and Japan). Their Life goal is Nirvana (A place of great condition, or complete Bliss). Toward that end, Buddha's teachings are capsulized in the Four Noble Truths: The truth of suffering: Suffering, duhkha, is the central fact of life. Being born is pain, growing old is pain, sickness is pain, death is pain. Union with what we dislike is pain, separation from what we like is pain, not obtaining what we desire is pain. The truth of the origin (samudaya) of suffering: The cause of suffering is the desire (iccha), craving (tanha) or thirst (tishna) for sensual pleasures, for existence and experience, for worldly possessions and power. This craving binds one to the wheel of rebirth, samsara. The truth of cessation (nirodha) of suffering: Suffering can be brought to an end only by the complete cessation of desires-the forsaking, relinquishing and detaching of oneself from desire and craving. The truth of the path (marga) to ending suffering: The means to the end of suffering is the Nobel Eightfold Path (arya ashtanga marga), right belief, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right meditation. CONFUCIANISM Adherents, Estimated at 350 million, mostly in China, Japan, Burma and Thailand. Understand his relationship to the heavens and earth. Beginning as early as the prehistoric age, it is evident from cave paintings that religious rites may have been used to ensure the success of hunting, fertility, and harvests. Confucianism began about 2,500 years ago in China. The founder Supreme Sage K'ung-fu-tsu (Confucius) and Secong Sage Meng-tzu (Mencius). Its, Doctrine of the Mean, Great Learning and Mencius. Confucianism has been for over 25 centuries, the dominant philosophical system in China and the guiding light in almost every aspect of Chinese life. Confucius and his followers traveled throughout the many feudal states of the Chinese empire, persuading rulers to adopt his social reforms. They did not offer a point-by-point program, but stressed instead the Way, or One Thread, Jen, which is (translated as humanity or love) that runs through all Confucius' teachings. They urged individuals to strive for perfect virtue, righteousness (called Yi) and improvement of character. They taught the importance of harmony in the family, order in the state and peace in the empire, which they saw as inherently interdependent. Teachings emphasize a code of conduct, self-cultivation and propriety - and thus the attainment of social and national order. Stress is more on human duty and the ideal of the superior man than on a divine or supramundane Reality. Still, Confucius fasted, worshiped the ances tors, attended sacrifices and sought to live in harmony with Heaven. Confucianism is now enjoying a renaissance in China. TAOISM (pronounced Dow-ism) Taoism is China's oldest indigenous religion. Dating from the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E. --- 220 A.D.), Its 81 chapters have been translated into English more times than any other Chinese document. It was founded and began 2, 500 years ago in China. The founder is Lao-tzu whom Confucius described as a dragon riding the wind and clouds. Their major scriptures are The Tao-te-Ching, or Book of Reasons and Virtue, is among the shortest of all scriptures, containing only 5,000 words. Also central are the sacred writings of Chuang-tsu. It is estimated that there are 50 million adherents, mostly in China and other parts of Asia. Taoism is a potently mystical tradition, so interpretations have been diverse and its sects are many. Taoism teaches that everyone should try to achieve two goals, happiness and immortality. The religion has many practices and ceremonies, intended to help people. They include prayer, magic, special diets, breath-control, meditation, and recitation of scriptures. Taoists also believe in astrology, fortune telling, witchcraft and communication with the