XPost: alt.philosophy.taoism, alt.buddha.short.fat.guy, alt.philosophy.zen   
   From: tanghuyen@gmail.com   
      
   On 9/9/2016 9:02 AM, {:-]))) wrote:   
      
   > A question arises, how are Daoism and Buddhism different?   
   >   
   > Eclectic synchronistic thought mixes, matches and blends to sum   
   > as some people sum their sums to have things all add up.   
   >   
   > What I've found to be the most interesting, personally,   
   > are the differences beyond the similarities to speak of.   
   >   
   > What makes Taoism unique, in other words.   
   >   
   > Thus, in what ways do the similarities not count?   
   >   
   > And, can I quote you and count on your response?   
   >   
   > - thanks!   
      
   JayLo my sweet and loving son, As I keep saying,   
   if somebody discovers something somewhere,   
   somebody else is going to rediscover the same   
   thing somewhere else, often in total independence   
   from the original discoverer. Buddhism and Daoism   
   arise about the same time, and are remarkably   
   similar, in that both are founded on not-doing   
   (an-abhisamskara, wu-wei), dropping and not   
   accumulating. Stoicism is quite close to them,   
   though its meditative technique is simpler. In late   
   seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, two   
   French people, Madame Guyon and her student   
   Fénelon rediscover much Daoism and Buddhism,   
   at a time and in a place where both are almost   
   unknown, and they even rediscover ancient   
   Stoicism, which has been in disuse even in Europe   
   for some centuries.   
      
   Stoicism and Buddhism are expressed originally   
   in Indo-European languages, and Daoism in   
   Chinese, but such differences are minor. The   
   Chinese know how to rethink Buddhism in   
   Chinese. The three are formed and informed by   
   their respective environment, yet such local   
   differences are also minor. Their uniqueness is   
   minor, in relation to their sameness. If I may say   
   so, the Buddha, the Daoist sages, and the Stoic   
   sages intuit the same truth, which they   
   reluctantly teach but promptly deny, often in the   
   same breath. The Stoic God withdraws into   
   himself at the end of each world-cycle, which is   
   a way of saying that all Stoic teachings are   
   ephemeral, for he no longer bothers about them   
   during his retreat.   
      
   You may quote me on the above, though nothing   
   is guaranteed. All three religions cannot be   
   pinned down to anything.   
      
   Tang Huyen   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)