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Nina300
4/16/2002 12:38 AM
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1 out of 6 |
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Each one of us who has been deeply affected by the words of Lao Zi, Zhuang Zi, or any of the Taoist Masters has found something that played the strings of our hearts. It was like a resonance that brought back mysterious memories of what we always knew to be true, but we felt so alone in our beliefs that we began to doubt our sanity. Then a little trickle of Truth seeped into our spirits through words we read, and we felt that we might be on track after all.
Then all of a sudden we're confronted with all of the religious offshoots that came down through the centuries from the original concept of Dao. We wonder, what are we? Buddhist? Zen? Confucian? Mohist? Or one of the various Daoist sects? Everyone wants to find a label where they can fit comfortably, but is that really possible within the universality of Dao?
I was just wondering, have any of you found a label for your beliefs?
?ist-
Nina
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pause
4/16/2002 8:17 AM
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2 out of 6 |
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It's somewhat cliché to say that people don't fit labels, or that it's impossible to qualify someone's personal beliefs... but in my opinion it just happens to be true.
We choose designated religious/spiritual/philosophical names to give people a better-but-still-not-thorough understanding of what we believe. In reality, there are probably very few people that agree with everything that is taught in the world's various religions and philosophies. These religions and philosophies provide the loose net framework of our beliefs, but could do very little to get more specific than that.
When forced to give an answer, I usually provide a recycling symbol of Taoism, Buddhism and science.
- pause
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kungfutzu
4/16/2002 10:58 AM
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Nina,
I don't personally see Confucianism as an "offshoot" of Daoism. It does speak of the Dao - but as I have remarked in essays on this topic before, the Dao of Confucianism does not equate with the Dao of Daoism. They are quite distinct.
I have a lot of respect for Daoism, and I take many of the teachings of the Tao Te Ching to heart, for they are so beautiful, simple and at the same time so very insightful - but, I acknowledge their separate nature from Confucianism.
Even in terms of timelines, Confucianism (or more accurately ru jia) is older than Daoism (though Lao Tzu did indeed predate K'ung Fu Tzu). However, I am not here to say "my philosophy is better than yours" or anything of that sort :) I just wanted to say that Confucianism is not to be accurately termed an "offshoot" of the Dao.
I hope this discussion thread grows more!
Peace and harmony,
KFT
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Nina300
4/16/2002 2:06 PM
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4 out of 6 |
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kungfutzu-
It's nice speaking with you again - at a different forum.
Your point is well taken, and I stand corrected, unless anyone else can shed more light on this historically. I'm sure San Bao will have some information.
I tend to think of the yi jing as a Taoist text, and that's why I made the statement that Confucianism was an offshoot of the original Taoism. But Master Confucius was the one who revived it and wrote the commentaries, wasn't he?
But Lao Zi pre-dated Confucius, and there's no reference to Confucius or any of his thoughts in the DDJ, whereas Confucius refered to the ideas of Lao Zi. Could you elaborate a little on this?
Thanks-
Nina
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