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  • Essay / The Comparison Between Chinese Religions: Taoism and Buddhism

    Taoism and Buddhism are the two main religious beliefs that influence past works of art and shape the concept of life after death and diyu. As mentioned above, the concept of life and death first appears during the Chun Qiu Zhan Guo period with the notion of Huang Quan. Later, Taoism was officially introduced to China during the Han dynasty. The Taoist believes that the dao is invisible but circumscribes everything. In another sense, the dao is beyond the realm of human understanding and requires lifelong pursuit. Adherents believe that Heaven and Earth are timeless, while human life is momentary. They view death as a natural progression toward returning to the eternal world. As Taoism does not believe in an immaterial soul and treats death as a transformation of life, this suggests that Taoism does not have a distinct concept of diyu. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay In comparison, Buddhism depicts a graphic illustration of the formulation of diyu. Buddhists uphold the doctrine of karma and rebirth, meaning that every living being reaps the fruits of their actions and is therefore fully responsible for their encounters and judgments in life. Buddhism states that diyu is an ever-recurring pattern that reflects the karma of life. Diyu is an endless region, each of which serves a particular purpose in punishing evildoers. Furthermore, some Buddhists believe that Chinese Buddhism is the integration of Taoism and Buddhism, in which the Buddha will enlighten his disciples through the teachings and encourage them to pay respect to their ancestors. With this in mind, it gradually influences Chinese people's perception and artwork of diyu as well as their concept of the afterlife. In most artworks, the diyu is painted as a dark underground palace with various types of punishments. Buddhist advice on reincarnation leads to repeated drawings and descriptions of karmic retribution, of which people's souls will eventually be reborn into a new purposeful life in the ten realms of being. The illustration of the teachings of karma in works of art continually inspires people to perform good deeds to avoid bad karma in the afterlife. The diyu's frightening sights are used to give people an idea of ​​what the underworld is like and to convince them to adopt the necessary rituals to protect themselves from suffering in their afterlife. Further on, the representation in Diyu Bian Xiang on the walls of the temple tells of the passage of spirits as well as various courses in diyu. The levels of diyu that reign by Tai Shan Wang describe the different punishments people suffer after death, for example, people's tongues will be pulled out and withdrawn in ba she chuan sai diyu, to punish those who offend others with their words. Images of brutal retribution thus construct the diyu as a place of obscure power and extensive hierarchy, as well as an inescapable atmosphere of punishment of the dead. By incorporating beliefs from Taoism and Buddhism, they help shape and develop the popular concept of the afterlife. and diyu in China. Taoists believe that Taishan Fujun is the governor of the underworld with excellent power and responsible for the yin and yang worlds. In this sense, yin represents diyu, while yang refers to the earthly place. We can see that the diyu framework appeared in the Han Dynasty. With the influence of the causal concept of Buddhism, the perception of diyu becomes clearer. Yan Luo Wang.