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Buddhism and Daoism

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Buddhism and Daoism
Idara Johnson

Buddhism and Daoism are both religions of the Chinese people. These are two of many religions of the massive world we live in. each of them are distinctive, but greatly influenced the lives of their followers and the society in which the belief systems are practiced. Buddhists follow the Four Noble Truths and the Taoists follow the Four Major Taoist Principles.
Buddhism and Taoism both have four “laws” they use as a guide for their time on earth; The Four Noble Truths for Buddhism and the Four Major Taoist Principles for Taoism. The Four Noble Truths state: There is suffering in the world (Dukkah), the cause of suffering is desire and attachments (Tanha), to eliminate suffering you must dispose of these desires and attachments, and follow the eightfold path. The Four Major Taoist Principles states: Dao or Tao which is “The Way”, a believer’s goal is to become one with Dao. Wu Wei which is “Let nature take its course” and “Go with the flow”, and lastly, man is unhappy because he lives by man-made laws, customs, and traditions that are contrary to the ways of nature. The founder of Buddhism is Buddha and the founder of Taoism is Lao-Tzu. Buddha (originally Siddhartha Gautama) was raised in luxury, but he watched people who weren’t as fortunate as him suffer. He wondered why people suffer because, unlike them, he was not experiencing any form of suffering. To answer his question, he gave up his luxurious life and searched for a solution by meditating until finally he came up with the Four Noble Truths and became the enlightened one. Lao-Tzu, on the other hand, was focused more on nature and the balance of things (yin and yang). He believed living by nature was the real guide to life, no man should tell you how to live. In Buddhism you would suffer if you desired things, but in Daoism

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