Basic
Worldview:
104
Why Christianity?
Propositional
Religions 8 - Mysticism (Part 2)
Propositional
Religions 1 - Deism, Pantheism, and Naturalism
Propositional Religions 2 - Intro,
Hinduism, Buddhism
Propositional Religions 3 - Jainism,
Taoism
Propositional Religions 4 - Shintoism,
Confucianism
Propositional Religions 5 - Sikhism
Propositional Religions 6 - Babism
and Baha'ism, Zoroastrianism
Propositional Religions 7 - Neopaganism,
Mysticism (Syncretism)
Propositional Religions 8 - Mysticism
Propositional Religions 9 - Mysticism, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism
Introduction | Section 1
| Section 2 | Section
3
Taoism
Like other 6th century Asian contenders, Taoism is also heavily
mystical and syncretistic in origination and development.
"Taoism - 1: a Chinese mystical philosophy traditionally
founded by Lao-tzu in the 6th century B.C. that teaches
conformity to the Tao by unassertive action and simplicity
2: a religion developed from Taoist philosophy and folk
and Buddhist religion and concerned with obtaining long
life and good fortune often by magical means." - Merriam-Webster's
Online Dictionary
"Tao - 1a: the unconditional and unknowable source
and guiding principle of all reality as conceived by Taoists
b: the process of nature by which all things change and
which is to be followed for a life of harmony 2 often
not capitalized: the path of virtuous conduct as conceived
by Confucians." - Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary
"Taoism - Taoism is also characterized by a positive,
active attitude toward the occult and the metaphysical
(theories on the nature of reality), whereas the agnostic,
pragmatic Confucian tradition considers these issues of only
marginal importance, although the reality of such issues is,
by most Confucians, not denied." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - In Chinese religion, the Taoist traditionÑoften
serving as a link between the Confucian tradition and folk
traditionÑhas generally been more popular and spontaneous
than the official (Confucian) state cult and less diffuse
and shapeless than folk religion." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Both Western Sinologists and Chinese scholars
themselves have distinguishedÑsince Han times (206 BC-AD 220)Ñbetween
a Taoist philosophy of the great mystics and their
commentators (Tao-chia) and a later Taoist religion (Tao-chiao).
This theoryÑno longer considered validÑwas based on the view
that the 'ancient Taoism' of the mystics antedated
the 'later Neo-Taoist superstitions' that were misinterpretations
of the mystics' metaphorical images. The mystics, however,
should be viewed against the background of the religious practices
existing in their own times. Their ecstasies, for example,
were closely related to the trances and spirit journeys of
the early magicians and shamans (religious personages with
healing and psychic transformation powers). Not only are
the authors of the Tao-te Ching, the Chuang-tzu (book
of 'Master Chuang'), and the Lieh-tzu (book of 'Master
Lieh') not the actual and central founders of an earlier
'pure' Taoism later degraded into superstitious practices
but they can even be considered somewhat on the margin of
older Taoist traditions. Therefore, because there has
been a nearly continuous mutual influence between Taoists
of different social classesÑphilosophers, ascetics, alchemists,
and the priests of popular cultsÑthe distinction between
philosophical and religious Taoism in this article is made
simply for the sake of descriptive convenience." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - There is also a tendency among scholars today
to draw a less rigid line between what is called Taoist
and what is called Confucian. The two traditions share many
of the same ideas about man, society, the ruler, Heaven, and
the universeÑideas that were not created by either school
but that stem from a tradition prior to either Confucius or
Lao-tzu." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Viewed from this common tradition, orthodox
Confucianism limited its field of interest to the creation
of a moral and political system that fashioned society
and the Chinese empire; whereas Taoism, inside the
same world view, represented more personal and metaphysical
preoccupations." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - In the case of BuddhismÑa third tradition
that influenced ChinaÑfundamental concepts such as the
nonexistence of the individual ego and the illusory nature
of the physical world are diametrically opposed to Taoism.
In terms of overt individual and collective practices, however,
competition between these two religions for influence among
the peopleÑa competition in which Confucianism had no need
to participate because it had state patronageÑresulted
in mutual borrowings, numerous superficial similarities, and
essentially Chinese developments inside Buddhism, such
as the Ch'an (Japanese Zen) sect. In folk religion, since
Sung times (960-1279), Taoist and Buddhist elements have coexisted
without clear distinctions in the minds of the worshippers."
- Britannica.com
"Taoism - From a literary point of view, the Tao-te
Ching is distinguished for its highly compressed style.
Unlike the dialectic or anecdotal composition of other contemporary
treatises, it articulates its cryptic subject matter in
short, concise statements. More than half of these are
in rhyme, and close parallelism recurs throughout the text.
No proper name occurs anywhere. Although its historical
enigmas are apparently insoluble, there is abundant testimony
to the vast influence exercised by the book since the earliest
times and in surprisingly varied social contexts. Among the
classics of speculative Taoism, it alone holds the distinction
of having become a scripture of the esoteric Taoist movements,
which developed their own interpretations of its ambiguities
and transmitted it as a sacred text." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - What Lao-tzu calls the 'permanent Tao' in
reality is nameless. The name (ming) in ancient Chinese thought
implied an evaluation assigning an object its place in a hierarchical
universe. The Tao is outside these categories. It is something
formlessly fashioned, that existed before Heaven and Earth;...Its
name (ming) we do not know; Tao is the byname that we give
it. Were I forced to say to what class of things it belongs
I should call it Immense." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Tao is the 'imperceptible, indiscernible,'
about which nothing can be predicated but that latently
contains the forms, entities, and forces of all particular
phenomena: 'It was from the Nameless that Heaven and Earth
sprang; the Named is the mother that rears the Ten Thousand
Beings, each after its kind.' The Nameless (wu-ming) and
the Named (yu-ming), Not-Being (wu) and Being (yu), are interdependent
and 'grow out of one another.'" - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Not-Being (wu) and Tao are not identical;
wu and yu are two aspects of the permanent Tao: 'in its mode
of being Unseen, we will see its mysteries; in the
mode of the Seen, we will see its boundaries.'" - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Not-Being does not mean Nothingness but rather
the absence of perceptible qualities; in Lao-tzu's view it
is superior to Being. It is the Void (that is, empty incipience)
that harbours in itself all potentialities and without which
even Being lacks its efficacy." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Emptiness realized in the mind of the
Taoist who has freed himself from all obstructing notions
and distracting passions makes the Tao act through him without
obstacle. An essential characteristic that governs the
Tao is spontaneity (tzu-jan), the what-is-so-of-itself,
the self-so, the unconditioned. The Tao, in turn, governs
the universe: 'The ways of Heaven are conditioned by those
of the Tao, and the ways of Tao by the Self-so.'" - Britannica.com
"Taoism - The law of the Tao as natural order refers
to the continuous reversion of everything to its starting
point. Anything that develops extreme qualities will invariably
revert to the opposite qualities: 'Reversion is the movement
of the Tao' (Lao-tzu). All being issues from the Tao and
ineluctably returns to it; Undifferentiated Unity becomes
multiplicity in the movement of the Tao. Life and death
are contained in this eternal transformation from Non-Being
into Being and back to Non-Being, but the underlying primordial
unity is never lost." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - For the individual, wisdom is to conform
to the rhythm of the universe. The Taoist mystic, however,
not only adapts himself ritually and physiologically to the
alternations of nature but creates a void inside himself
that permits him to return to nature's origin. Lao-tzu, in
trance, 'wandered freely in the origin of all beings.'
Thus, in ecstasy he escaped the rhythm of life and death
by contemplating the universal return. 'Having attained perfect
emptiness, holding fast to stillness, I can watch the
return of the ever active Ten Thousand Beings.'" The number
10,000 symbolizes totality." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Chuang-tzu's image for creation was that
of the activity of the potter and the bronze caster: "to shape
and to transform" (tsao hua). These are two phases of the
same process: the imperceptible Tao shapes the universe continuously
out of primordial chaos; the perpetual transformation of
the universe by the alternations of Yin and Yang, or complementary
energies (seen as night and day or as winter and summer),
is nothing but the external aspect of the same Tao.
The shaping of the Ten Thousand Beings by the Supreme Unity
and their transformation by Yin and Yang are both simultaneous
and perpetual. Thus, the saint's ecstatic union is
a "moving together with the Tao; dispersing and concentrating,
his appearance has no consistency." United with the permanent
Tao, the saint's outer aspect becomes one of ungraspable
change. Because the gods can become perceptible only by
adapting to the mode of this changing world, their apparitions
are "transformations" (pien-hua); and the magician (hua-jen)
is believed to be one who transforms rather than one who conjures
out of nothing." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Because, in the Taoist view, all beings
and everything are fundamentally one, opposing opinions can
arise only when people lose sight of the Whole and regard
their partial truths as absolute. They are then like the
frog at the bottom of the well who takes the bit of brightness
he sees for the whole sky. The closed systemsÑi.e., the passions
and prejudices into which petty minds shut themselvesÑhide
the Tao, the 'Supreme Master' who resides inside themselves
and is superior to all distinctions." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Thus, Chuang-tzu's holy man fully recognizes
the relativity of notions like good and evil and true and
false. He is neutral and open to the extent that he offers
no active resistance to any would-be opponent, whether
it be a person or an idea. 'When you argue, there are
some things you are failing to see. In the greatest Tao nothing
is named; in the greatest disputation, nothing is said.'"
- Britannica.com
"Taoism - The person who wants to know the Tao is
told: 'Don't meditate, don't cogitate...Follow no school,
follow no way, and then you will attain the Tao'; discard
knowledge, forget distinctions, reach no-knowledge. 'Forget'
indicates that distinctions had to be known first. The original
ignorance of the child is distinguished from the no-knowledge
of the sage who can 'sit in forgetfulness.'" - Britannica.com
"Taoism - The mystic does not speak because declaring
unity, by creating the duality of the speaker and the affirmation,
destroys it. Those who speak about the Tao (like Chuang-tzu
himself) are 'wholly wrong. For he who knows does not
speak; he who speaks does not know.' Chuang-tzu was aware
of the fact that, in speaking about it, he could do no more
than hint at the way toward the all-embracing and intuitive
knowledge." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Mystic realization does away with the
distinction between the self and the world. This idea
also governs Chuang-tzu's attitude toward death. Life and
death are but one of the pairs of cyclical phases, such
as day and night or summer and winter. 'Since life and death
are each other's companions, why worry about them? All
beings are one.' Life and death are not in opposition but
merely two aspects of the same reality, arrested moments
out of the flux of the universal mutations of everything into
everything. Man is no exception; 'he goes back into the great
weaving machine: thus all beings issue from the Loom and return
to the Loom.'" - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Viewed from the single reality experienced
in ecstasy, it is just as difficult to distinguish life
from death as it is to distinguish the waking Chuang-tzu
from the dreaming butterfly. Death is natural, and men ought
neither to fear nor to desire it. Chuang-tzu's attitude thus
is one of serene acceptance." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - The Confucian saint (sheng) is viewed as
a ruler of antiquity or a great sage who taught men how to
return to the rites of antiquity. The Taoist sainthood,
however, is internal (nei sheng), although it can become manifest
in an external royalty (wai wang) that brings the world back
to the Way by means of quietism: variously called 'non-intervention'
(wu-wei), 'inner cultivation' (nei yeh), or 'art of
the heart and mind' (hsin-shu)." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Whereas worldly ambitions, riches, and
(especially) discursive knowledge scatter the person and drain
his energies, the saint 'embraces Unity' or 'holds fast to
the One' (pao i); that is, he aspires to union with the Tao
in a primordial undivided state underlying consciousness.
'Embracing Unity' also means that he maintains the balance
of Yin and Yang within himself and the union of his spiritual
(hun) and vegetative (p'o) souls, the dispersion
of which spells death; Taoists usually believed there were
three hun and seven p'o. The spiritual soul tends to wander
(in dreams), and any passion or desire can result in loss
of soul. To retain and harmonize one's souls is important
for physical life as well as for the unification of the whole
human entity. Cleansed of every distraction, the saint creates
inside himself a void that in reality is plenitude. Empty
of all impurity, he is full of the original energy (yŸan ch'i),
which is the principle of life that in the ordinary man
decays from the moment of birth on." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - The mystic insight of Chuang-tzu made
him scorn those who strove for longevity and immortality through
physiological practices. Nevertheless, physical immortality
was a Taoist goal probably long before and alongside the unfolding
of Taoist mysticism. The adept of immortality had a choice
among many methods that were all intended to restore the pure
energies possessed at birth by the infant whose perfect vital
force Lao-tzu admired. Through these methods, the adept became
an immortal (hsien) who lived 1,000 years in this world
if he so chose and, once satiated with life, 'ascended
to heaven in broad daylight.' This was the final apotheosis
of the Taoist who had transformed his body into pure Yang
energy." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Chuang-tzu's descriptions of the indescribable
Tao, as well as of those who have attained union with the
Tao, are invariably poetic. The perfect man has identified
his life rhythm so completely with the rhythm of the forces
of nature that he has become indistinguishable from them
and shares their immortality and infinity, which is above
the cycle of ordinary life and death." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - These wanderings are journeys within oneself;
they are roamings through the Infinite in ecstasy. Transcending
the ordinary distinctions of things and one with the Tao,
'the Perfect Man has no self, the Holy Man has no merit,
the Sage has no fame.' He lives inconspicuously among men,
and whatever applies to the Tao applies to him." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Yin and Yang literally mean 'dark side' and
'sunny side' of a hill. They are mentioned for the first time
in the Hsi tz'u, or 'Appended Explanations' (c. 4th century
BC), an appendix to the I Ching (Classic of Changes):
'One [time] Yin, one [time] Yang, this is the Tao.' Yin
and Yang are two complementary, interdependent principles
or phases alternating in space and time; they are emblems
evoking the harmonious interplay of all pairs of opposites
in the universe. First conceived by musicians, astronomers,
or diviners and then propagated by a school that came to be
named after them, Yin and Yang became the common stock
of all Chinese philosophy. The Taoist treatise Huai-nan-tzu
(book of "'Master Huai-nan') describes how the one 'Primordial
Breath' (yŸan ch'i) split into the light ethereal Yang breath,
which formed Heaven; and the heavier, cruder Yin breath, which
formed Earth. The diversifications and interactions of
Yin and Yang produced the Ten Thousand Beings. The warm breath
of Yang accumulated to produce fire, the essence of which
formed the sun. The cold breath of Yin accumulated to produce
water, the essence of which became the moon." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - The first mention of Buddhism in China
(AD 65) occurs in a Taoist context, at the court of a
member of the Imperial family known for his devotion to the
doctrines of Huang-Lao. The Indian religion was at first
regarded as a foreign variety of Taoism; the particular
Buddhist texts chosen to be translated during the Han
period reveal the Taoist preoccupation of the earliest
converts with rules of conduct and techniques of meditation.
Early translators employed Taoist expressions as equivalents
for Buddhist technical terms. Thus, the Buddha, in achieving
enlightenment (bodhi), was described as having 'obtained the
Tao'; the Buddhist saints (arhat) become perfected immortals
(chen-jen); and 'non-action' (wu-wei) was used to render nirvana
(the Buddhist state of bliss). A joint sacrifice to Lao-tzu
and the Buddha was performed by the Han emperor in AD 166.
During this period occurred the first reference to the notion
that Lao-tzu, after vanishing into the west, became the Buddha.
This theory enjoyed a long and varied history. It claimed
that Buddhism was a debased form of Taoism, designed by
Lao-tzu as a curb on the violent natures and vicious habits
of the 'western barbarians,' and as such was entirely unsuitable
for Chinese consumption. A variant theory even suggested that,
by imposing celibacy on Buddhist monks, Lao-tzu intended the
foreigners' extinction. In approximately AD 300, the Taoist
scholar Wang Fou composed a 'Classic of the Conversion of
the Barbarians' (Hua hu Ching), which was altered and expanded
in subsequent centuries to encompass new developments in the
continuing debate. Although there is no evidence that the
earliest Taoist organization, literature, or ceremonies were
in any way indebted to Buddhism, by the 4th century there
was a distinct Buddhist influence upon the literary form of
Taoist scriptures and the philosophical expression of the
most eminent Taoist masters." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - The process of interaction, however, was
a mutual one, Taoism participating in the widening of
thought because of the influence of a foreign religion
and Buddhism undergoing a partial 'Taoicization' as part of
its adaptation to Chinese conditions. The Buddhist
contribution is particularly noticeable in the developing
conceptions of the afterlife; Buddhist ideas of purgatory
had a most striking effect not only on Taoism but especially
on Chinese popular religion. On a more profound level
the ultimate synthesis of Taoism and Buddhism was realized
in the Ch'an (Japanese Zen) tradition (from the 7th
century on), into which the paradoxes of the ancient
Taoist mystics were integrated. Likewise, the goal
of illumination in a single lifetime, rather than at the end
of an indefinite succession of future existences, was analogous
to the religious Taoist's objective of immortality as the
culmination of his present life." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - The affinities of Taoism with other Asian
religions are numerous. If one distinguishes between universal
religions of salvation, such as Buddhism and Islam, and the
older, more culture-bound religions, such as Japanese Shinto
and Hinduism, Taoism undoubtedly belongs to the second category."
- Britannica.com
"Taoism - The fact that no record of Shinto antedates
the introduction of Chinese script makes it difficult to distinguish
between Taoist affinities and influences on Shinto features,
such as the cult of holy mountains, the representation of
the human soul as a bird, bird dances, the representation
of the world of the dead as a paradisiac country of immortality,
and the concept of the vital force (tama, in objects as well
as in man). Like Taoism, Shinto is the religion of the village
community." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - The similarity of mysticism in all religions
points to the fact that there is only one Inner Way, the experience
of which is expressed differently in the respective cultural
and religious environments. Lao-tzu's notion of 'the One,'
which is not only primordial unity but the oneness underlying
all phenomena, the point in which all contraries arereconciled,
was spoken of by such Western mystics as Plotinus, a 3rd-century-AD
Greek philosopher, and Nicholas of Cusa, a 15th-century French
philosopher." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Taoism, like all other forms of Eastern
mysticism, distinguishes itself from Western mysticism by
its conscious techniques of mind and body designed to induce
trance and to give access to mystical experience." - Britannica.com
"Taoism - Religious Taoism appropriated earlier interest
and belief in alchemy and the search for the elixir of life
and the philosopher's stone. By the 5th cent. A.D., Taoism
was a fully developed religious system with many features
adopted from Mahayana Buddhism, offering emotional religious
satisfaction to those who found the largely ethical system
of Confucianism inadequate. Taoism developed a large pantheon
(probably incorporating many local gods), monastic orders,
and lay masters. Heading the commonly worshiped deities
is the Jade Emperor. Directly under him, ruling from Mt. Tai,
is the Emperor of the Eastern Mountain, who weighs merits
and faults and assigns reward and punishment in this and future
existences. An ecclesiastical hierarchy was founded in the
8th cent., headed by the T'ien Shih [master of heaven]; he
claimed succession from Chang Tao-lin, an alchemist of the
2d cent. who was reputed to have discovered the elixir
of immortality after receiving magical power from Lao Tzu.
Throughout its history Taoism has provided the basis for many
Chinese secret societies; in the 1950s, after the establishment
of the Communist regime, Taoism was officially proscribed.
Taoism is still practiced to some degree in modern China,
as well as in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao and in communities
of Chinese who have emigrated." - The Columbia Encyclopedia,
Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Taoism - 1. In Taoism, the basic, eternal principle
of the universe that transcends reality and is the source
of being, non-being, and change. 2. In Confucianism, the
right manner of human activity and virtuous conduct seen as
stemming from universal criteria and ideals governing right,
wrong, and other categories of existence." - The American
Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition.
2000.
We apologize for the large amount of quotes. Of these quotes
the most important is one from Britannica.com, which not only
confirms the mysticism of Taoism, but the true nature of all
mystical religions and why they tend to be so syncretistic
and accepting of one another's teachings.
"Taoism - The similarity of mysticism in all religions
points to the fact that there is only one Inner Way, the experience
of which is expressed differently in the respective cultural
and religious environments." - Britannica.com
This quote encapsulates the exact purpose of this section
of our study, that all of these religions are, in fact, only
parts of a larger overarching theological system, which we
call Propositional Mysticism.
Shintoism
"Shinto - indigenous religious beliefs and practices
of Japan. The word Shinto, which literally means "the way
of kami" (kami means 'mystical,' 'superior,' or 'divine,'
generally sacred or divine power, specifically the various
gods or deities), came into use in order to distinguish
indigenous Japanese beliefs from Buddhism, which had been
introduced into Japan in the 6th century AD. Shinto has
no founder, no official sacred scriptures in the strict sense,
and no fixed dogmas, but it has preserved its guiding beliefs
throughout the ages." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - Much remains unknown about religion in
Japan during the Paleolithic and Neolithic ages. It is
unlikely, however, that the religion of these ages has any
direct connection with Shinto. Yayoi culture, which originated
in the northern area of the island of Kyushu in about the
3rd or 2nd century BC, is directly related to later Japanese
culture and hence to Shinto. Among the primary Yayoi religious
phenomena were agricultural rites and shamanism." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - Ise, or Watarai, Shinto was the first
theoretical school of anti-Buddhistic Shinto in that it attempted
to exclude Buddhist accretions and also tried to formulate
a pure Japanese version. Watarai Shinto appeared in Ise during
the 13th century as a reaction against the Shinto-Buddhist
amalgamation. Konton (chaos), or Kizen (non-being),
was the basic kami of the universe for Watarai Shinto and
was regarded as the basis of all beings, including the buddhas
and bodhisattvas. Purification, which had been practiced
since the time of ancient Shinto, was given much deeper spiritual
meanings. Shojiki (defined as uprightness or righteousness)
and prayers were emphasized as the means by which to be united
with kami." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - Yoshida Shinto, a school in Kyoto that
emerged during the 15th century, inherited various aspects
handed down from Watarai Shinto and also showed some Taoist
influence. The school's doctrines were largely the work of
Yoshida Kanetomo (1435-1511). Its fundamental kami (the source
of all things and beings in the universe) was Taigen Sonjin
(the Great Exalted One). According to its teaching, if
one is truly purified, his heart can be the kami's abode.
The ideal of inner purification was a mysterious state of
mind in which one worshiped the kami that lived in one's own
heart. Although the Watarai and Yoshida schools were thus
free of Buddhistic theories, the influence of Chinese thought
was still present." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - In 1603 the Tokugawa shogunate was founded
in Edo (Tokyo), and contact between Shinto and Confucianism
was resumed. Scholars tried to interpret Shinto from the
standpoint of Neo-Confucianism, emphasizing the unity of
Shinto and Confucian teachings. Schools emerged based
on the teachings of the Chinese philosophers Chu Hsi and Wang
Yang-ming, and Neo-Confucianism became an official subject
of study for warriors. Yoshikawa Koretaru (1616-94) and Yamazaki
Ansai (1619-82) were two representative scholars of Confucian
Shinto. They added Neo-Confucian interpretations to the traditional
theories handed down from Watarai Shinto, and each established
a new school. The T'ai Chi (Supreme Ultimate) concept of
Neo-Confucianism was regarded as identical with the first
kami of the Nihon shoki, or Nihon-gi ('Chronicles of Japan').
One of the characteristics of Yoshikawa's theories was his
emphasis on political philosophy. Imperial virtues (wisdom,
benevolence, and courage), symbolized by the Sanshu no Shinki
(Three Sacred Treasures), and national ethics, such as loyalty
and filial piety, constituted the way to rule the state. Yamazaki
Ansai further developed this tendency and advocated both mystic
pietism and ardent emperor worship." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - Fukko (Restoration, or Revival) Shinto
is one of the Kokugaku (National Learning) movements that
started toward the end of the 17th century. Advocates
of this school maintained that the norms of Shinto should
not be sought in Buddhist or Confucian interpretations but
in the beliefs and life-attitudes of their ancestors as clarified
by philological study of the Japanese classics. Motoori Norinaga
(1730-1801) represented this school. His emphasis was on
the belief in musubi (the mystical power of becoming or of
creation), which had been popular in ancient Shinto, and
on a this-worldly view of life, which anticipated the eternal
progress of the world in ever-changing mutations. These beliefs,
together with the inculcation of respect for the Imperial
line and the teaching of absolute faithÑaccording to which
all problems beyond human capability were turned over to kamiÑexercised
great influence on modern Shinto doctrines." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - During the latter part of the 19th century,
new religious movements emerged out of the social confusion
and unrest of the people. What these new movements taught
differed widely: some were based on mountain-worship groups,
which were half Buddhist and half Shinto; some placed
emphasis on purification and ascetic practices; and some
combined Confucian and Shinto teachings. New religious
movementsÑsuch as Kurozumi-kyo (in this sense kyo means 'religion,'
or 'religious body'), founded by Kurozumi Munetada (1780-1850);
Konko-kyo (Konko is the religious name of the founder of this
group and means, literally, 'golden light') by Kawate Bunjiro
(1814-83); and Tenri-kyo (tenri means 'divine reason or wisdom')
by Nakayama Miki (1798-1887)Ñwere based mostly on individual
religious experiences and aimed at healing diseases or
spiritual salvation. These sectarian Shinto groups, numbering
13 during the Meiji period (1868-1912), were stimulated and
influenced by Restoration Shinto. They can be classified as
follows:
1. Revival Shinto sects: Izumo-oyashiro-kyo (or Taisha-kyo),
Shinto-taikyo, Shinri-kyo
2. Confucian sects: Shinto Shusei-ha, Shinto Taisei-kyo
3. Purification sects: Shinshu-kyo, Misogi-kyo
4. Mountain worship sects: Jikko-kyo, Fuso-kyo, On
take-kyo (or Mitake-kyo)
5. 'Faith-healing' sects: Kurozumi-kyo, Konko-kyo,
Tenri-kyo" - Britannica.com
"Shinto - At the core of Shinto are beliefs in the
mysterious creating and harmonizing power (musubi) of kami
and in the truthful way or will (makoto) of kami. The nature
of kami cannot be fully explained in words, because kami transcends
the cognitive faculty of man. Devoted followers, however,
are able to understand kami through faith and usually recognize
various kami in polytheistic form." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - In Shinto all the deities are said to cooperate
with one another, and life lived in accordance with a kami's
will is believed to produce a mystical power that gains
the protection, cooperation, and approval of all the particular
kami." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - In ancient scriptures magokoro was interpreted
as 'bright and pure mind' or 'bright, pure, upright, and sincere
mind.' Purification, both physical and spiritual, is stressed
even in contemporary Shinto to produce such a state of mind.
The achievement of this state of mind is necessary in order
to make communion between kami and man possible and to enable
individuals to accept the blessings of kami." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - The concept of original sin is not found
in Shinto. On the contrary, man is considered to have a
primarily divine nature. In actuality, however, this sacred
nature is seldom revealed in man. Purification is considered
symbolically to remove the dust and impurities that cover
one's inner mind." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - In its view of history, Shinto adheres
to the cyclical approach, according to which there is a constant
recurrence of historical patterns. Shinto does not have
the concept of the 'last day': there is no end of the world
or of history." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - ancient native religion of Japan still
practiced in a form modified by the influence of Buddhism
and Confucianism. In its present form Shinto is characterized
less by religious doctrine or belief than by the observance
of popular festivals and traditional ceremonies and customs,
many involving pilgrimages to shrines. Shinto, a term created
to distinguish the indigenous religion from Buddhism, is the
equivalent of the Japanese kami-no-michi, 'the way of the
gods' or 'the way of those above.' The word kami, meaning
'above' or 'superior,' is the name used to designate a great
host of supernatural beings or deities." - The Columbia Encyclopedia,
Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Shinto - A Shinto shrine, unaffected by other religious
influences, is a simple unpainted wooden building, having
some object within it that is believed to be the dwelling
place of the kami. After Buddhism entered Japan in the
6th cent. A.D., it had some influence on Shinto. In many shrines
Buddhist priests serve, and worship under their direction
is more elaborate than pure Shinto." - The Columbia Encyclopedia,
Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Shinto - Confucianism is believed to have reached
Japan in the 5th century AD, and by the 7th century
it had spread among the people, together with Chinese Taoism
and yin-yang (harmony of two basic forces of nature) philosophy.
All of these stimulated the development of Shinto ethical
teachings. With the gradual centralization of political
power, Shinto began to develop as a national cult as well.
Myths of various clans were combined and reorganized into
a pan-Japanese mythology with the Imperial Household as
its centre. The kami of the Imperial Household and the tutelary
kami of powerful clans became the kami of the whole nation
and people, and offerings were made by the state every year.
Such practices were systematized supposedly around the
start of the Taika-era reforms in 645. By the beginning
of the 10th century, about 3,000 shrines throughout Japan
were receiving state offerings. As the power of the central
government declined, however, the system ceased to be effective,
and after the 13th century only a limited number of important
shrines continued to receive the Imperial offerings. Later,
after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the old system
was revived." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - Buddhism was officially introduced into
Japan in AD 552 and developed gradually. In the 8th
century there emerged tendencies to interpret Shinto from
a Buddhist viewpoint. Shinto kami were viewed as protectors
of Buddhism; hence shrines for tutelary kami were built within
the precincts of Buddhist temples. Kami were made equivalent
to deva (the Buddhist Sanskrit term for 'gods') who rank
highest in the Realm of Ignorance, according to Buddhist notions.
Thus kami, like other creatures, were said to be suffering
because they were unable to escape the endless cycle of transmigration;
help was therefore offered to kami in the form of Buddhist
discipline. Buddhist temples were even built within Shinto
shrine precincts, and Buddhist sutras (scriptures) were read
in front of kami. By the late 8th century kami were thought
to be avatars, or incarnations, of buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Bodhisattva names were given to kami, and Buddhist statues
were placed even in the inner sanctuaries of Shinto shrines.
In some cases, Buddhist priests were in charge of the management
of Shinto shrines." - Britannica.com
"Shinto - From the beginning of the Kamakura period
(1192-1333), theories of Shinto-Buddhist amalgamation were
formulated. The most important of the syncretic schools
to emerge were Ryobu (Dual Aspect) Shinto and Sanno ('King
of the Mountain,' a common name of the guardian deity of Tendai
Buddhism) Shinto. According to Ryobu ShintoÑalso called Shingon
ShintoÑthe two realms of the universe in Shingon Buddhist
teachings corresponded to the kami Amaterasu Omikami and Toyuke
(Toyouke) Okami enshrined at the Ise-daijingu (Grand Shrine
of Ise, commonly called Ise-jingu, or Ise Shrine) in Mie prefecture.
The theorists of Sanno ShintoÑalso called Tendai ShintoÑinterpreted
the Tendai belief in the central, or absolute, truth of the
universe (i.e., the fundamental buddha nature) as being equivalent
to the Shinto concept that the sun goddess Amaterasu was the
source of the universe. These two sects brought certain
esoteric Buddhist rituals into Shinto. Buddhistic Shinto
was popular for several centuries and was influential until
its extinction at the Meiji Restoration." - Britannica.com
From these quotes we can see that Shintoism is not only highly
mystical, but also highly syncretistic borrowing heavily from
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, which of course explains
its mystical qualities. It is also worthy of note that certain
aspects of Shinto's "kami" as "the source of all things and
beings in the universe," which "cannot be fully explained
in words," but manifests "in polytheistic form" bears an uncanny
resemblance to Hinduism, Buddhist, Jainist, and Taoism, which
all hold similar ideals under different names.
Confucianism
Though Confucianism may not properly be considered a religion,
it does have mystical forms.
"Confucianism - According to Han-fei-tzu (d. 233
BC), shortly after Confucius' death his followers split into
eight distinct schools, all claiming to be the legitimate
heir to the Confucian legacy. Presumably each school was associated
with or inspired by one or more of Confucius' disciples.
Yet the Confucians did not exert much influence in the 5th
century BC. Although the mystic Yen YŸan (or Yen Hui),
the faithful Tseng-tzu, the talented Tzu Kung, the erudite
Tzu-hsia, and others may have generated a great deal of enthusiasm
among the second generation of Confucius' students, it was
not at all clear at the time that the Confucian tradition
was to emerge as the most powerful one in Chinese history."
- Britannica.com
However, Confucianism is religious and mystical to the extent
to which it syncretistically borrows from other Asian religious
systems.
"Confucianism - Confucianism has often had to contend
with other religious systems, notably Taoism and Buddhism,
and has at times, especially from the 3d to the 7th cent.,
suffered marked declines. It enjoyed a renaissance in the
late T'ang dynasty (618-906), but it was not until the
Sung dynasty (960-1279) and the appearance of neo-Confucianism
that Confucianism became the dominant philosophy among educated
Chinese. Drawing on Taoist and Buddhist ideas, neo-Confucian
thinkers formulated a system of metaphysics, which had not
been a part of older Confucianism. They were particularly
influenced by Ch'an or Zen Buddhism: nevertheless they
rejected the Taoist search for immortality and Buddhist monasticism
and ethical universalism, upholding instead the hierarchical
political and social vision of the early Confucian teachings."
- The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Confucianism - The neo-Confucian eclecticism was
unified and established as an orthodoxy by Chu Hsi (1130-1200),
and his system dominated subsequent Chinese intellectual life.
His metaphysics is based on the concept of li, or principle
of form in manifold things, and the totality of these, called
the "supreme ultimate" (t'ai chi). During the Ming dynasty,
the idealist school of Wang Yang-ming (1472-1529) stressed
meditation and intuitive knowledge. The overthrow (1911-12)
of the monarchy, with which Confucianism had been closely
identified, led to the disintegration of Confucian institutions
and a decline of Confucian traditions, a process accelerated
after the Communist revolution (1949). Elements of Confucianism
survived as a part of traditional Chinese religious practice
in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macao and among Chinese emigrants
and have experienced a modest revival in China since the mid-1990s."
- The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Confucianism - Confucianism, a Western term that
has no counterpart in Chinese, is a world view, a social ethic,
a political ideology, a scholarly tradition, and a way of
life. Sometimes viewed as a philosophy and sometimes
as a religion, Confucianism may be understood as an all-encompassing
humanism that neither denies nor slights Heaven. East
Asians may profess themselves to be Shintoists, Taoists,
Buddhists, Muslims, or Christians, but, by announcing
their religious affiliations, seldom do they cease to be Confucians."
- Britannica.com
So, while Confucianism is not technically religious in and
of itself, it falls into this larger theological system of
Propositional Mysticism because it simply adopts the religious
concepts of other religions in true syncretistic fashion and
because it includes emphasis on meditation and intuitive knowledge
concerning truth.
Sikhism
As a combination of Hindu and Islamic beliefs, we have already
establishd Sikhism's syncretistic and mystical aspects to
some extent. Here, now are some additional quotes, which attest
to its mysticism and syncretism, not the least of which is
its connection to Sufism, a mystical sect of Islam.
"Sikhism - Khalsa is a concept of a 'chosen' race of
soldier-saints committed to a Spartan code of conduct (consisting
of abstinence from liquor, tobacco, and narcotics and devotion
to a life of prayer) and a crusade for dharmayudhaÑthe battle
for righteousness. The number five has always had mystic
significance in the PunjabÑ'land of the five rivers.'
'Where there are five, there am I,' wrote Gobind Singh. The
firstKhalsa were pa–j piyaresÑthe five beloved ones. The ideal
goal of all young Sikhs is to take pahul ('baptism') and thus
become Khalsa. The sahajdhari ('slow-adopter') is assumed
to be preparing himself gradually for the initiation." - Britannica.com
"Sikhism - Unity of the Godhead is emphasized in
Sikhism. Nanak used the Hindu Vedantic concept
of om, the mystic syllable, as a symbol of God. To
this he added the qualifications of singleness and creativity
and thus constructed the symbol ik ('one') om kar ('creator'),
which was later given figurative representation as. The opening
lines of his morning prayer, Japji, called the Mul Mantra
('Root Belief') of Sikhism, define God as the One, the
Truth, the Creator, immortal and omnipresent. God is also
formless (nirankar) and beyond human comprehension. Sikh scriptures
use many names, both Hindu and Muslim, for God. Nanak's
favourite names were Sat-Kartar ('True Creator') and Sat-Nam
('True Name'). Later the word Wah-Guru ('Hail Guru') was added
and is now the Sikh synonym for God." - Britannica.com
"Sikhism - The guidance of the Guru toward the attainment
of moksa ÑreleaseÑis absolutely essential. The Guru or
the SatguruÑtrue GuruÑis accorded a status only a shade
below that of God. His function is to point the way to the
realization of the truth, to explain the nature of reality,
and to give the disciple the gift of the divine word (nam-dan).
Although the line of Gurus ended with Gobind Singh and Sikhs
regard the Adi Granth as their 'living' Guru, the practice
of attaching oneself to a sant ('saint') and elevating him
to a status of a Guru has persisted and is widely practiced."
- Britannica.com
"Sikhism - Sikhism is often described as nammarga
('the way of nama') because it emphasizes the constant
repetition (jap) of the name of God and the gurbani (the divine
hymns of the Gurus). Nama cleanses the soul of sin and
conquers the source of evil, haumain ('I am')Ñthe ego.
Thus tamed, the ego becomes a weapon with which one overcomes
lust, anger, greed, attachment, and pride. Nama stills
the wandering mind and induces a super-conscious stillness
(divya dr s ti), opens the dasam duar ('10th gate'Ñthe
body has only nine natural orifices) through which enters
divine light; and thus a person attains the state of absolute
bliss." - Britannica.com
"Sikhism - religion centered in the Indian state of
Punjab, numbering worldwide some 19 million. Some 300,000
Sikhs live in Britain, and there are smaller communities in
North America, Australia, and Singapore. By the late 1990s
Sikhism was the world's fifth largest faith and had some 175,000
U.S. adherents and 225,000 in Canada. Sikhism is heterodox,
combining the teachings of Bhakti Hinduism and Islamic Sufism."
- The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.
"Sikhism - Speculation on the origin of the cosmos
is largely derived from Hindu texts. Sikhs accept the cyclic
Hindu theory of samsara Ñbirth, death, and rebirthÑand karma,
whereby the nature of one's life is determined by his actions
in a previous life. Humans are, therefore, equal to all
other creatures, except insofar as they are sentient. Human
birth is the one opportunity to escape samsara and attain
salvation." - Britannica.com
