Overview of Japanese and Chinese Religions: Shintoism, Taoism and Zen Buddhism

Taoism, Shintoism and Zen Buddhism are the main religions throughout China and Japan. I am about to talk about how they are part of the cultures of the people and what they have in common as well as how they relate to one another.

The first of the three I will talk about is Taoism which its mainly focused on the bare nature of everything. The more natural something its; the better it is. Each believer of this religion is to harmonize their body with Tao which is a force that flows through all life. Taoists believe the health is one of the most important things to life and strongly advise to maintaining one's body's health. They also believe in taking care of their Chi which is the what is to believed to be the force of nature which lies in all living things. To keep this balanced.

The Yin Yang symbol is famous amongst those of the Tao religion. It represents a balance in everything that is opposite from the other. This follows along with Taoists theme of keeping everything in harmony and at peace. For when everything is well balanced and good, then it makes for happiness and harmony.

The next of the three is Shintoism which believe in creating harmony among the Kami. The Kami can be found in spirits for they believe in good Kami and bad Kami. They also believe that anything that happens that is good or bad is caused by good and bad Kami. To make for nice Kami, people of the Shinto faith will treat the graves of their relatives with uttermost care. Shinto Shrines are known as the home of the Kami.

Another main theme to Shintoism is that of the family. They place high value on family traditions such as the father going to work and the mother staying home to cook and clean while the children go and get educated. Just like in Buddhism, with Karma, this makes for good Kami.

Like Taoism, the Shinto are very appreciative toward nature and physical awareness such as cleanliness and health. They also believe in a purification of the soul which too makes for good Kami for it is believed that our souls have Kami as well.

The third belief is Zen Buddhism, which is a mixture of the Indian Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. This religion is really hard to practice because its beliefs are often contradictory, leaving the person trying to follow it very frustrated. A lot like the Kami, and Chi, Zen can't be described in words for it's just something that someone does. Though Kami and Chi are an actual indescribable thing, Zen is an indescribable action.

The cental belief to the Zen is that the human being is the Buddha and that one can only find that Buddha through complete meditation. One mustn't look outside or have any focus on the outside, for the only way to enlightenment is through looking entirely in on the inside.

What these three religions have in common is that unlike Christianity, Islam and Judaism, they don't have a God that they pray to. Their main focuses are all on themselves and the internal happenings. Tao and Shinto are focused on the Kami and Chi which are similar in the sense that they're both sources of which that can't be defined. Chi is a lot like meditation that one will have to do when doing Zen Buddhism for it requires completely undivided concentration.

Shinto and Tao relate again by being concerned about nature and placing importance on it. Tao is what influenced Zen Buddhism and Buddhism also places importance on family tradition like Shintoism.

As far as how they represent all of their cultures it is plain and simple. Tao is infamous for their Yin-Yang sign which has even spread over here in the west. Japan has Shinto Shrines all over the place as well as shrines toward their ancestors. Zen, has the Buddha which too has been brought over here to the west. There are a lot of physical objects that portray and represent in these eastern cultures more so than those of the religions anywhere else in the world.

The reason for this is because when it comes to religions like Christianity, Judaism, and Islam, they're against shrines because they feel that they will take the focus from their God. Since these eastern religions don't have a God, they make as many shrines as they please.

Sources: Taoism http://www.religioustolerance.org/taoism.htm

BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/buddhism/subdivisions/zen_2.shtml