Taoism, Part 2

Question 1: Describe the political background of China during the early Taoist period, and describe the relationship of Taoism with Confucianism, Legalism, and Mohism.

Answer 1: The China of the early Taoist period was marked by social unrest and political insecurity. The feudal system was collapsing. Against this background, several schools of thought developed, each offering a theory about the best social structure to maintain order and human happiness, and they competed for popular support. Each had an alternate viewpoint on the role of religion and government in human lives. The Confucians advocated the return of feudalism, the Legalists believed that human nature was essentially lazy and in need of a strong and ruthless Machiavellian government, and the Mohists believed in a strong government, but one founded on the principle of human goodness and traditional religious principles. Taoists believed in as little government as possible.Ideas moved fluidly among the three groups, despite their rivalry, and Lao-tzu is traditionally believed to have been a teacher of Confucius. Confucian ideas about the goodness of human nature greatly influenced Taoism, but they split on the issue of the role of religion in human life, with Confucians believing it united people while Taoists despised its rituals and organization.

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Question 2: Describe the development of philosophical and religious Taoism.

Answer 2: Though early Taoism was explicitly antireligious, not long after the period of Lao-tzu and Chuang-zhu, Taoism began to develop a distinctly religious element very much opposed to the philosophy of the early leaders. Traditional Taoism, what we now call philosophical Taoism, continued, while other Taoist leaders began to focus on magical efforts to extend life.The philosophical camp focused on living one’s life in harmony with the Tao, and while it appealed to a few intellectuals, religious Taoism was much more accessible to the masses, becoming far more popular. Because Taoism had never been explicitly interested in the afterlife, focusing instead on enjoying the present life, so religious Taoism naturally focused on staving off death for as long as possible. In some respects the two schools were diametrically opposed; whereas philosophical Taoism stressed the spiritual transcendence of its philosophy and advocated a distrust of government, religious Taoism valued loyalty as well as the extension of physical life.

Question 3: Describe the relationship of Taoism with Buddhism.

Answer 3: Theravada Buddhism entered China with the emperor Asoka, but its influence was not great. Chinese Buddhism increased in popularity only when the missionary Bodhidharma brought Mahayana Buddhism to China, where it and Taoism mutually influenced each other.Differences between the two abound, however: unlike Buddhism, which has thousands of pages of canonical and noncanonical texts, Taoism has only one short treatise and no set rituals or doctrines.From Buddhism Taoism adopted rituals, an interest in the afterlife, and the idea of post-life judgment, as well as monasticism, which had not previously existed in Taoism. In return, Buddhism accepted the Chinese folk gods as bodhisattvas. While the two religions coexisted, gradually Taoism became associated with commoners, while Buddhism was associated with upper class intellectuals.

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