I've been wanting to try this experiment for awhile, but an interesting byway into Buddhism, Taoism and other Oriental religious philosophies would be through 20th century science-fiction writers. Many of those writers, especially around the 1950s, were very interested and not at all uneducated in these ideologies. You could start most explicitly with Roger Zelazny's Lord of Light (1967) and William Gibson's "All Tomorrow's Parties" (1999), as the former includes most of the Hindu pantheon (reimagined) and the latter a very Taoist assassin; but I'm convinced you can find the same influences in Robert A. Heinlein (Stranger in a Strange Land, 1961), Arthur C. Clarke (Childhood's End, 1953), et cetera. They are certainly worth a look.
Another good fiction book, though not science-fiction, is Hermann Hesse's "Siddhartha".
I am very interested, though only a little educated, in both these philosophies as well, so a number of things brought up in this thread caught my attention.
Reflection said:
but seriously get yourself a copy of the tao te ching, if you like it. it's a great piece of work.
The only edition of this I've read in full was edited by Ursula K. LeGuin, another science-fiction writer. She didn't actually translate it herself, not reading Chinese, but she composed her edition through the translations of others (along with commentary), and I think she did an admirable job.
A book I really like is "The Way of Chuang Tzu", edited by Thomas Merton. Merton, like LeGuin, didn't read Chinese and so did not translate the work, but was inspired by translations in multiple other languages. He was a Christian monk, and I really like his take on the Taoist thinker Chuang Tzu.
Reflection said:
also i made a buddhism thread a bit of a while ago but i think sam spammed it up so uh
ohp i found it here:
http://forums.khinsider.com/religion/religion/religion/religion/religion/religion...-buddhism.html
I remember that thread. I wouldn't say Sam spammed it though--he had a very serious critique of Buddhism, and he and a few others expressed it well. I think it's definitely worth reading.
Onasi said:
Buddhists believe that all life is suffering. There is a belief in reincarnation. You distance yourself from the earthly world to reach spiritual enlightenment IE Nirvana. It is a Monotheistic faith.
Taoists believe that "the way" inclines followers to become more in tune with nature and the earthly world. It is more of a philosophy for how to live your life that incorporates many Buddhist principals and aspects of ancient Chinese mythology. It is a Polytheistic faith.
These are good descriptions of Buddhism and Taoism--however, identifying either as a monotheistic or polytheistic religion is very problematic. For the sake of example, see this
Talk Page for the Wikipedia article on
God in Buddhism.
Siren said:
Essentially, a lot of the metaphysical concepts within Buddhism (spiritual karma, rebirth, etc.) are actually Hinduism wrapped within a Buddhist label. Zen (Or Ch'an) Buddhism, on the other hand, borrows a lot of concepts from Taoism.
If Buddhism and Taoism have become intertwined, Buddhism and Hinduism are even moreso, and have been since their mutual birth.
valorform24 said:
The true form of Buddhism does not believe in Buddha as a God but as a man who received enlightenment. When it spread to China, however, it was changed and they worshiped Buddha. (Also they made him fat)
I like the Indian Buddhism and their beliefs much more than the other form.
Historically there are many forms of Buddhism. This wikipedia article does a good job of at least explaining the complexity.
Buddhism - Schools and Traditions