The world is not yet a tranquil place, and religion has undoubtedly been a factor in many wars and conflicts. Dialogue between religions, as a means of communication applicable to serious religious confrontations in some parts of the world, is the basic and primary means of mutual understanding and can de-escalate tension among religions.

In Chinese history, a pattern of coexistence between Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism has formed. Although they were collectively referred to as "the Three Religions" or "the Three Teachings" in Chinese history, Confucianism actually is not a religion in the Western sense. Rather, it is more of a ideological system that held a dominant position in an ancient China. (Editor's note: In this article, we still refer to them as "religions.") Whether they were developed indigenously or brought to China, the religions never had serious confrontations or conflicts with one another. Moreover, most of the central governments of each dynasty supported Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism and carried out the policy of coexistence, which realized a confluence of the three religions.

Unlike dialogue between religions, the confluence of religions is a progressive approach to religious understanding. The ideal state of the confluence of religions is to realize the consistency and integration of theory and practice among religions. However, it does not seek to mix different religions into one but strives to enable different religions to understand the similarities and resolve unnecessary antagonisms and conflicts. On this footing, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism have coexisted in China without any large-scale conflicts and no religious wars like those between Western religions. In this sense, China's historical experience could help solve many world problems today.

So, what is the attitude of Confucian culture toward the confluence of religions? And how did the three religions achieve a confluence in Chinese history?

Closeness in ethical teachings

In terms of social ethics, Confucianism emphasizes benevolence and love, while Buddhism emphasizes compassion. Therefore, it is believed that benevolence and compassion are synonymous and that the five precepts of Buddhism are equivalent to the five constant virtues of Confucianism. The confluence of Chinese religions in this regard began in ancient times.

Yan Zhitui, a Confucian scholar of the Northern and Southern dynasties (420–589), wrote in his book The Family Instructions of Master Yan, "At the entrance to the Inner (Buddhism) scriptures there are five prohibitions which correspond to the humanity, justice, propriety, wisdom, and sincerity of the Outer (Confucianism) scriptures. Humanity corresponds to the prohibition against taking life. Justice corresponds to the prohibition against stealing. Propriety corresponds to the prohibition against depravity. Wisdom corresponds to the prohibition against lust, and sincerity corresponds to the prohibition against falsehood." Comparing the Five Precepts of Buddhism with the Five Constants of Confucianism was the most common practice since the Northern and Southern dynasties, which proved that when thinking about how to realize the confluence of different religious systems, Confucianism paid much attention to the consistency and compatibility of different religions at the social and ethical levels.

During the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127), Confucianism and Buddhism were harmonized through the debates on "essence versus phenomenon" and "thought versus action." Emperor Zhenzong (968–1022), who respected all three religions and inherited Yan Zhitui's teachings, advised people to be kind and not to do evil. He believed that one can be benevolent if one does not take away a life, honest if one does not steal property, trustworthy if one does not confuse people, upright if one is not arrogant, and dignified if one does not drink excessively and drunkenly. In this way, the emperor emphasized the confluence of Confucianism and Buddhism in terms of ethical values and moral norms. At the same time, he believed that there were only superficial differences between Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and they would play the same function in educating the people and enhancing governance. Therefore, one of the ways in which Confucianism realized the harmonization of religions was based on the ethical, social, and political functions of different religions.

Complementarity in education

In the governance system, at least since the Northern and Southern dynasties, China has developed a tradition of governance in which the emperors supported all three religions at the same time. On the basis of clarifying the distinctive features and merits of each of the three religions, they organized the three into a unified and complementary structure so that each religion could do what it could.

Emperor Xiaozong (1127–1194) of the Song dynasty proposed that one should "cultivate the mind with Buddhism, improve physical well-being with Taoism, and govern the state with Confucianism," arguing that the three religions complemented each other not only in their abilities to educate the people but also in cultivating people and governing the society. This concept transcends a single-religion stance and affirms the plurality of religions, thereby limiting the possibility of religious conflict and making the three religions a force for the cultivation of the mind and the governance of society.

Reaching the same goal

In terms of ideology and theory, Confucianism believes that although different academic systems advocate different approaches, they trend toward the same goal. The Confucian classic I Ching, or Book of Change puts forward that "They all come to the same issue, though by different paths; there is one result, though there might be 100 schemes." The schemes refer to a variety of doctrines and theories, which can also include various religious systems. This way of thinking has profoundly impacted later generations of Chinese people and has served as the basis for the confluence of religions throughout Chinese history.

During the Song Dynasty (960–1279), Confucianism proposed the idea of one principle with different manifestations, similar to the idea of one result out of 100 schemes. Confucianism believed that the pursuit of fundamental truth and goodness was the same in different religions, but that the ways and means of pursuing them were different. On this footing, religions have been able to tolerate and respect one another, which naturally made it possible for different religions to harmoniously integrate.

During the Ming dynasty (1368–1644), the ideology of the unity of the three religions developed further and elicited many direct responses within Confucianism. For example, Wang Yangming (1472–1529), a great philosopher, once put forward the famous metaphor of "three chambers," in which he argued that the doctrinal system of Confucianism was like three chambers, with the content of the left one connected with Buddhism and the content of the right one connected with Taoism. This meant that Confucianism was not in opposition to Buddhism and Taoism, but they could be harmonized. He also suggested that to the sages of the three religions, though the belief systems were different, all shared the cause of the common good. The Confucian scholar Jiao Hong also argued that Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism were useful in self-cultivation, and the ways of the three religions were the same, forming an integral component of the way of the sages.

Therefore, in Chinese history, although there were theoretical debates among Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, the concept of the three religions being harmonious as one was deeply rooted in society, and the confluence of the three religions came naturally.

The author is Chen Lai, President of China Philosophy History Association, Dean of the Tsinghua Academy of Chinese Learning.

Liu Xian /Editor    Chen Yutang /Translator

Yang Xinhua /Chief Editor    Liu Xian /Coordination Editor

Liu Li /Reviewer

Zhang Weiwei /Copyeditor    Tan Yujie /Image Editor

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