Howdy, Stranger!

It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!

Sign In Register
Examples: Monday, today, last week, Mar 26, 3/26/04
Welcome home! Please contact lincoln@icrontic.com if you have any difficulty logging in or using the site. New registrations must be manually approved which may take several days. Can't log in? Try clearing your browser's cookies.

Taoism/Chán

zider_redzider_red Explorer
edited October 2010 in Buddhism Basics
I was reading about how Taoism influenced Buddhist thought when it was introduced to China & I was wondering how much of it was absorbed and adopted by Buddhism in the formation and development of Chán. Is it, for example, compairable to the influence Bön had on Tibetan Buddhism?

Comments

  • shenpennangwashenpennangwa
    edited October 2010
    zider_red wrote: »
    Is it, for example, compairable to the influence Bön had on Tibetan Buddhism?

    Bon has very little influence on Tibetan Buddhism.
    Bon is influenced by Indian Buddhism.
    Modern Bon looks far more like 8th century Vajrayana Buddhism than 8th century Bon.
    This is a common misunderstanding.
    The Buddhism of Tibet is a preservation and evolution of 8th-11th century Indian Vajrayana.
  • SherabDorjeSherabDorje
    edited October 2010
    I think the OP question is much too large for this forum. Maybe you should do some online research first. I'm sure a lot has been written about the subject, but it's too large a subject to go into here.

    That said, I would guess that the influence of Taoism is integral to Ch'an. Taoists believe that everything necessary to an understanding of the way of the universe is immediately present in nature. This would be reflected in the Ch'an belief of the immediate availability of enlightened mind or the connection to the primordial wisdom to those who know how to access it.

    I don't think the comparison to Bon applies. That would be apples and peaches.
  • zider_redzider_red Explorer
    edited October 2010
    ok, thanks shenpen & sherab. I'm off to do some reading, after I've cooked tea that is :D
  • shenpennangwashenpennangwa
    edited October 2010
    zider_red wrote: »
    ok, thanks shenpen & sherab. I'm off to do some reading, after I've cooked tea that is :D
    You're welcome.
    Enjoy your reading, these are very interesting topics.
Sign In or Register to comment.