Buddhist and Confucian Attitudes toward Life: A Comparative Study

Abstract

Chinese traditional culture includes three belief systems: Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism. The first two are native Chinese traditions, while Buddhism is a foreign religion that was introduced from India and was gradually integrated into Chinese culture. All three systems of thought focus on the analysis of human life, such as its nature, its character, its value, its ideal and how to achieve this ideal. Confucianism is a philosophy of life with its emphasis on proper human behaviour, morality and the social responsibilities of man, while Taoism emphasizes what is natural and spontaneous in him. Buddhism emphasizes personal moral cultivation with an aim to becoming a perfect man. After a comparative study, we find that there are five similarities and four differences between the Buddhist and Chinese attitude towards life and there are also six Buddhist contributions to Chinese way of life.