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Buddhism and Daoism

A Japanese Kutani ware porcelain of "three laughs at tiger brook" a Song dynasty story which depicts the harmonious relationship between the "three teachings" (Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism) through three sages: Huiyuan, Tao Yuanming and Lu Xiujing.

Buddhism and Daoism have been in contact since the arrival of Buddhism in China during the Han Dynasty. Since then, East Asian Buddhism and Daoism have influenced each other, borrowed from each other, and also competed with each other for influence and the support of elites. Buddhism and Daoism are commonly seen as part of the "three teachings" of China, which are widely believed to exist in harmony. This is exemplified in the phrase "the harmony of the three teachings".

Daoist ideas were particularly influential on some strands of Chan Buddhism (especially the Oxhead school as well as the Qigong of Shaolin), while Buddhism was especially influential on the Daoist Twofold Mystery School as well on the Quanzhen School.

Due to the mutual influence as well as parallel development, Daoism and Buddhism (especially East Asian Buddhism) share many similarities. Both teach forms of meditation which use similar Chinese terminology. Depending on the sub-sect, Daoist and Chinese Buddhist traditions may also share some of the same traditional practices, including Qigong, Yijing divination, and Chinese astrology.

Daoist and Chinese Buddhist traditions may also share some of the same deities. Some forms of Daoism also accept reincarnation. Both religions also teach some of the same religious virtues, such as simple living, non-attachment and desireless. Some Daoist traditions, like Quanzhen, also share similar forms of monasticism with Buddhism (mainly due to Buddhist influence). Both Daoism and Chinese Buddhism also share some of the same religious festivals, like Chinese new year and Qingming festival.

A Brief History of the Relationship Between Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism By Zhongjian Mou

Early exchange during the Han and Tang eras

An illustration of the "three pure ones"

Buddhist influences on Daoism

Taoism in its early form was a mixture of early mythology, folk religion, and Taoist philosophy. The arrival of Buddhism forced Taoism to renew and restructure itself into a more organized religion, while addressing similar existential questions raised by Buddhism. Early Buddhism was sometimes seen as a kind of foreign relative of Taoism and its scriptures were often translated into Chinese with Taoist vocabulary. Chan Buddhism in particular holds many beliefs in common with philosophical Taoism.

Daoist (Taoist) simplicity stimulated Chan's abandonment of Buddhist theory and was accompanied by another traditional Daoist feature—the emphasis on total absorption in practice of a highly cultivated skill.

The Lingbao school was the first school to incorporate Buddhist influences. Their scriptures added Mahayana Buddhist elements such as an emphasis on "universal salvation" (pudu) which aimed at saving all of humanity through Daoist practice and resembles the universalism of the bodhisattva ideal. Komjathy Daoism guide perplexed 28-29

It was the Lingbao school who also developed the ideas of a great cosmic deity as a personification of the Tao and a heavenly order with Mahayana Buddhist influences that resemble the role cosmic Mahavairocana Buddha of Buddhist tantra. Komjathy Daoism guide perplexed 28-29

"Ling-pao scriptures, such as the Tu-jen ching, “Scripture for the Salvation of Humanity,” told of a great cosmic deity—a personification of the Tao simply called Yüan-shih T’ien-tsun, “The Heavenly Venerable One of the Primordial Beginning.”21 Anxious to save humanity, that deity sends an emissary to reveal the Tu-jen ching, which is itself an emanation of the Tao. The practitioner was instructed to recite the text, thereby reactualizing its primordial recitation by the deity and participating directly in its salvific efficacy. Though materials like the Tu-jen ching had significant influence upon later generations of Taoists..."

"T’ang-dynasty Taoists wrote extensively about “Tao-nature” (tao-hsing)—a concept of “the true reality of all things, including ourselves,” which parallels the concept of “Buddha-nature” that many know from Ch’an (Zen) and other East Asian forms of Buddhism." Kirkland 2004 p. 5

had been a conscious creation of a “non-Buddhist” version of MahƗyƗna Buddhism, a deliberate effort to appropriate elements of Buddhism that had proven, or might yet prove, appealing to all classes of Chinese society. From his roots in that Ling-pao tradition, Lu Hsiu- ching had expanded “the Teaching of the Tao” so successfully that it soon became a social and cultural bridge: it blended compatible Buddhist concepts and values with more traditional Taoist beliefs and practices in such an open and fluid way that members of any level of society could participate in a comprehensive religious system.

noteworthy works such as the Tao-chiao i-shu (“Pivotal Meaning of the Taoist Teaching”) and the Pen-chi ching (“Scripture of the Genesis Point”). Though few scholars of Chinese thought or religion have ever heard of these works, both of them teach that all things contain a pure “Tao- nature” (Tao-hsing). That teaching was presumably inspired by the MahƗyƗna Buddhist concept of “Buddha-nature,” which is known to most Westerners as a key of “Zen.” Tao nature also appears in the writings of su-ma Ch’eng-chen’s.

Reincarnation also adopted

The Daoist view of the self is a holistic one which rejects the idea of a separate individualized self. As Kirkland writes, "Taoists generally assume that one’s “self” cannot be understood or fulfilled without reference to other persons, and to the broader set of realities in which all persons are naturally and properly embedded."

This is similar in some ways to the east asian buddhist view of non-self and interdependence, especially with how it is understood in relation to the holistic Huayan school view of interfusion or interconnectedness of all reality.

adapted certain Buddhist ideas, further enriching the diversity of Taoist models of and for the spiritual life. Yet, they often found that some Buddhist assumptions did not fully accord with their own. For instance, Taoists generally did not accept the idea—common in some forms of Ch’an/Zen—that the desired transformation in experiential awareness was typically a matter of a sudden event. Some interpreters lightly assume that Taoists and Buddhists have always been thinking and doing the same thing. But by the time of Ssu-ma Ch’eng-chen, at least, Taoists had pondered the full range of spiritual models long enough to decide that ideals such as “suddenness” made little sense on Taoist terms. As we will see more fully below, an exemplary elder reportedly taught Ho Chih-chang, “One cannot advance swiftly, but must take yielding restraint as the prime concern [This] is like refusing [to accept] a horse for racing away.”44 Though Taoists in later ages did sometimes appropriate terms such as wu, “achieving new experiential awareness” (a term most familiar to students of Zen in its Japanese pronunciation, satori) Taoists always integrated such terms into a Taoist perspective on life. Likewise, Taoists did not find value in the Buddhist assumption that spiritual transformation could take place merely as a change in one’s consciousness, without any real reference to one’s physical life or to the subtle processes at work in the world around us. Taoists typically believed that personal transformation must be a holistic transformation, a transformation of all their being—including what other traditions have often distinguished as mind, body, and spirit—in accord with the most subtle and sublime processes at work in the world within which we live.

Another little-known fact is that Taoists of Ssu-ma’s day flirted with Zen-like models. For one thing, some began to find a use for Confucian/Buddhist terms such as “awakening” (chüeh) and “realization” (wu), which would linger in some modern Ch’üan-chen models.67 But in time, most Taoists preferred to set their models apart from those of Ch’an Buddhists, as, for instance, by denying much value to “sudden” experiences. As the T’ien-yin-tzu says, “in cultivating reality (hsiu-chen) and developing one’s inner nature (ta-hsing), no sudden realization (wu) is possible: one must necessarily advance by progressing gradually and practicing tranquilly.”

• The Daode jing Commentary of Cheng Xuanying: Daoism, Buddhism, and the Laozi in the Tang Dynasty (Oxford Chinese Thought)

Sculptures at the Dazu Rock Carvings in Chongqing, China. These sites contain Buddhist as well as Daoist elements.

Daoist influences on Buddhist thought

The "concept matching" method of translation

The work two Buddhist monks Sengzhao and Daosheng was influenced by the Daoist Xuanxue (Dark-Mysterious Learning) philosophy.

Huiyuan

Zongmi's Inquiry into the Origin of Humanity

Daoism especially shaped the development of Chan (Zen) Buddhism, introducing elements like the concept of naturalness, distrust of scripture and text, and emphasis on embracing "this life" and living in the "every-moment".

Meditation

Buddhist meditation influenced Daoist meditation and vice versa.

The use of "guarding the one" in the East Mountain School of Chan (see: The Northern School)

Sima Chengzhen (647—735 CE) is an important intellectual figure of this period. He is especially known for blending Taoist, and Buddhist theories and forms of mental cultivation in the Taoist meditation text called the Zuowanglun. Komjathy Perplexed p. 36

The daoist Qingjing Jing mixes buddhist and daoist meditation

http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/HistoricalZen/Taoist_Influence_on_Hua-Yen_Buddhism.html

http://www.worldreligionsjourney.com/buddhism/buddhist-interpretation-of.pdf

Twofold Mystery and the Oxhead school

Another influential Daoist tradition from the Tang dynasty is the Twofold Mystery School (Chinese: 重玄, pinyin: Chóngxuán). Their philosophy was influenced by Buddhist Madhyamaka thought. A key thinker from this tradition was Cheng Xuanying (成玄英, fl. 631-655), who is known for his influential commentaries on the Daodejing and Zhuangzi.

Oxhead school was influenced by Twofold Mystery school of Daoism.

See: Coming to terms with Chinese Buddhism: The Treasure Store Treatise

Debates

Though texts such as the Hsi-sheng ching show the influence of certain Buddhist ideas, Buddhists of the Six Dynasties period were not pleased, and some composed texts intended to discredit many elements of Taoism.29 Until the late seventh century, a variety of rulers in China, and in Tibet as well, compelled representatives of the two traditions to engage in staged debates. But the individuals who represented Taoism in those imperial debates were certainly doing so not because they were antagonistic toward Buddhism, or even because they regarded Taoism as true and Buddhism as false, but rather because they were enjoined by the emperor to present such arguments. For example, the Taoist Ts’ai Huang, who participated in a debate in 638, wrote, “I have studied the principles in the VimalakƯrti [a MahƗyƗna sutra] and the [MƗdhyamika] Three Treatises to the point at which their essential instructions flow spontaneously from me... Although the texts of the Taoists differ from those of the Buddhists, the tenets are essentially the same.”30 Most later Taoists shared those sentiments, especially aristocrats and members of the later “gentry” class.

Syncretism and later developments

Hanging Temple, a syncretic temple that includes Buddhist, Daoist, and even Confucian elements.

The 'harmonious unity' idea

During the Song dynasty (960–1279) there was increased syncretism between the "three teachings" (Buddhism, Daoism, Confucianism). A popular idea among various Chinese literati was the idea the "harmonious unity of the three teachings" (三教合一 sānjiào héyī). During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the state promoted the notion that “the Three Teachings (Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism) are one”, an idea which over time became popular consensus. The founder of the Ming dynasty, T’ai-tsu, promulgated an essay on the mutuality of “the Three Teachings”—Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism—arguing that the three of them together “constituted the Way of Heaven.” Kirkland 132

There was even a "Sanyi teaching", a syncretic Ming dynasty sect founded by Lin Zhao'en.

According to Russell Kirkland

in Chinese culture, especially after the Yüan period, there were many writers who cited, with equal aplomb, from “Confucian” texts, and from “Buddhist” texts, and from “Taoist” texts, all in the same passage. Moreover, such writers often frequently asserted that all such texts were “really saying the same thing,” albeit in different terms, and that consequently “the Three Teachings’ are truly one.” Russell Kirkland - Taoism_ the enduring tradition p. xvi

According to Livia Kohn, "a typical way of joining the three teachings, was to see Confucianism as maintaining society through its emphasis on moral values, Chan Buddhism as concentrating on the cultivation of inner nature through meditation, and Daoism as encouraging bodily transformation through the enhancement of inner nature and destiny." Livia Kohn - Introducing Daoism (2008, Routledge) p. 178

The "unity of the three teachings" (Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism) is one of the major themes in Liu Yiming's (1734–1821) teachings; accordingly, he uses Buddhist and Neo-Confucian terminology, to different extents according to the individual texts he wrote (Baldrian-Hussein 2008:691). This is a major aspect of Neidan (Internal Alchemy) itself, whose masters frequently draw concepts and terms from different traditions if this serves to express their point.

The Ming also saw the rise of the Jingming school to prominence, which merged Daoism with Buddhist and Confucian teaching and focused on "purity, clarity, loyalty and filial piety". The school derided internal and external alchemy, grain avoidance and breathwork and instead focused on using mental cultivaton to return to the mind's original purity and clarity (which could become obscured by desires and emotions). Key figures of this school include Xu Xun, Liu Yu, Huang Yuanji and Xu Yi and Liu Yuanran. Some of these figures taught at the imperial capital and were awarded titles.

The Quanzhen school

Wang Chongyang and his seven disciples, depicted in Changchun Temple, Wuhan

The Quanzhen school of Daoism was founded during this period. Quanzhen was deeply influenced by Buddhism. The Song dynasty (960–1279) era saw the foundation of the Quanzhen (Complete perfection or Integrating perfection) school of Taoism during the 12th century among followers of Wang Chongyang (1113–1170), a scholar who wrote various collections of poetry and texts on living a Taoist life who taught that the "three teachings" (Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism), "when investigated, prove to be but one school". The Quanzhen school was syncretic, combining elements from Buddhism (such as monasticism) and Confucianism with past Taoist traditions.

The late Ming and early Qing dynasty saw the rise of the Longmen ("Dragon Gate" 龍門) school of Taoism, founded by Wang Kunyang (d. 1680) which reinvigorated the Quanzhen tradition. Min Yide (1758–1836) though that became the most influential figure of the Longmen lineage, as he was the main compiler of the Longmen Daozang xubian and doctrine. It was Min Yide who also made the famous text known as The Secret of the Golden Flower, along with its emphasis on internal alchemy, the central doctrinal scripture of the Longmen tradition. The Secret of the Golden Flower contains Buddhist elements.

The Wuliu School integrated Longmen Daoism with Chan Buddhism. One of its founders was a Chan monk before converting to Daoism. https://qianfengdaoismuk.weebly.com/theoretical-background-of-the-wu-liu-school.html

https://books.google.com/books?id=NdOkEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA424&dq=%22Wu+Liu%22+school+buddhist&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjxspLF7ob9AhVkEFkFHdJND50Q6AF6BAgwEAI#v=onepage&q=%22Wu%20Liu%22%20school%20buddhist&f=false

https://books.google.com/books?id=A695CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA552&dq=%22Wu+Liu%22+school+buddhist&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjxspLF7ob9AhVkEFkFHdJND50Q6AF6BAgjEAI#v=onepage&q=%22Wu%20Liu%22%20school%20buddhist&f=false

file:///C:/Users/javier.fernandez/Downloads/Pregadio,%20Fabrizio%20-%20The%20Encyclopedia%20of%20Taoism_%202-Volume%20Set%20(2013_2014,%20Taylor%20and%20Francis_Routledge)%20-%20libgen.li.pdf

Buddhist developments

Daoist practices of developing Qi were eventually adopted and modified by some Buddhist traditions, the most famous of which is Shaolin. The Buddhist Shaolin monastery developed Qigong practices like the luohan hands and eight pieces of brocade based on Daoist yangsheng and daoyin exercises. Over time, these Qigong methods became popular among Chinese Buddhists and have now spread around the world.

The Shaolin Monastery: History, Religion, and the Chinese Martial Arts By Meir Shahar

Song and Ming Buddhists which wrote works on Daoist texts

Epstein, Shari Ruei-hua (2006), “Boundaries of the Dào: Hanshan Deqing’s (1546-1623) Buddhist Commentary on the Zhuangzi,” PhD dissertation, Stanford University

Han-Shan Te-Ch'ing: A Buddhist Interpretation of Taoism By Sung-Peng Hsu

file:///C:/Users/javier.fernandez/Downloads/Meditative_Pluralism_in_Hanshan_Deqing.pdf

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6253.1975.tb00155.x

Chih-hsu Ou-i, The Buddhist I Ching, trans. Thomas Cleary (Boston: Shambhala, 1987).

commentary to the Zhuangzhi is by Caodong monk Fang Yizhi, Yaodi pao Zhuang (The Monk of Yaodi Roasts Zhuangzhi)

Lao Tzu; Takuan Soho - Tao Te Ching: Zen Teachings on the Taoist Classic

In Korea and Japan

Taoist Qi methods also influenced Rinzai Zen in Japan, particularly the methods taught by Hakuin.

The idea of the harmony or unity of the three teachings was widely promoted by Ming Buddhist masters. Baroni, Helen J. 2000. Obaku Zen: The Emergence of the Third Sect of Zen iin Tokugawa Japan 118

Ingen Ryūki (1592 – May 19, 1673) was known to draw on both Daoist and Confucian discourses, which illustrate his broad syncretic and non-sectarian approach to Chan (which was a common feature of Ming Chinese Buddhism).

Baroni, Helen J. 2000. Obaku Zen: The Emergence of the Third Sect of Zen iin Tokugawa Japan 118-121 As Helen Baroni notes, Ingen (Yin-yuan) praised master Laozi in some of his verses and kept numerous Daoist (and Confucian) texts in his  extensive personal library (which he brought over to Japan from China). Baroni, Helen J. 2000. Obaku Zen: The Emergence of the Third Sect of Zen iin Tokugawa Japan 119-120.

For Hakuin, however, the kōan was somatically interpreted based on general assumptions

regarding medicine in Ming China – informed originally by Daoist notions – rather than any

connection with Pure Land practice. (Wiley-Blackwell Guides to Buddhism) William E. Deal, Brian Ruppert - A Cultural History of Japanese Buddhism-Wiley-Blackwell (2015) p. 195

Sources

• Mollier, Christine. Buddhism and Taoism Face to Face: Scripture, Ritual, and Iconographic Exchange in Medieval China. Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2008. doi:10.1017/S0021911811000313
• Hinton, David. China Root: Taoism, Ch'an, and Original Zen. Shambhala Publications, 2020