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In Chinese religion today, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism have become inextricably entwined. Ancestor worship and ancient animist beliefs have also been incorporated into the religious milieu. One outstanding fact of the Buddhism, Taoist and Confucian philosophies of the Chinese is that they have never engaged in religious wars, in sharp contrast to European history. The Chinese have traditionally shown a great deal of tolerance for other religions.
Buddhism was founded by a wealthy prince, Siddhartha Gautama, partly as a reaction against Brahmanism. Disappointed with the cruelties and pointlessness of life, Siddhartha left home at the age of 29 and began searching for a solution. At age 35, while meditating under a fig tree, he attained enlightenment and became Buddha, the enlightened one. The four noble truths which form the core of Buddhism are as follows: (1) The truth of suffering, which all living beings must endure. (2) The origin of suffering, which is craving and causes one to be reborn. (3) That craving and thereby suffering can be destroyed by attaining enlightenment. (4) There are right views, right intentions, right speech, right livelihood, right action, right concentration, right effort and right ecstasy. Buddha is not a god but a human being who claims no divine powers. Man is his own master. Reincarnation is not considered desirable since all life is suffering. A Buddhist hopes to escape the endless cycle of rebirths by attaining nirvana, a state of blissful "extinction and perfection". Whether or not one will be reborn, and at what level of existence, is determined by one's karma, the total of a person's good and bad deeds in life. The Chinese, great believers in longevity, had a hard time accepting the Buddhist concept of extinction as being good. Perhaps for this reason, Buddhism in China became diluted with other philosophies such as Taoism and Confucianism. The Chinese concept of nirvana differs from the Indian concept in that extinction is rejected in favor of perfection as a goal. In Hong Kong there are many Buddhist temples and monasteries. The most famous is the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island. The Temple of 10,000 Buddhas and the Mui Fat Monastery, both in the New Territories, are also well known. In all, there are about 360 Buddhist and Taoist temples, shrines and monasteries in Hong Kong. Taoism - Taoism originated from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher, Lao Ze, who lived in the 6th century BCE. It is second only to Confucianism in its influence on Chinese culture and is seldom practiced by non-Chinese. Very little is known about Lao Ze, the "old one", and some have questioned whether or not he existed. Lao Ze (or someone else) left behind a slim volume entitled the Tao Te Ching or The Way and its Power. Using this volume, Chang Ling formally established the Taoist religion in 143 BCE. The word tao, pronounced dao, means "the way" which may be interpreted as the guiding path, the truth or the principle of the universe. One of the main concepts of Taoism is that of wuwei or doing nothing. The idea is to remain humble, non-assertive and non-interventionist. "Live and let live" is the keystone of Tao. Harmony and patience are needed, and action is obtained through inaction. Different interpretations of De, the power, have led to three distinct kinds
of Taoism in China. The first holds that the power of Tao is philosophical and
that, by reflection and intuition, one orders his life with the way of the universe
to achieve understanding. The second holds that the power of the universe is
psychic in nature and that by practicing yoga-like exercises and mediation one
can become a receptacle for Tao and radiate a healing, calming influence. The
third form holds that the power of the universe is the power of gods, magic
and sorcery. Confucianism - Without a doubt, Confucius (551 BCE to 479 BCE) is regarded as China's greatest philosopher and teacher. He emphasized devotion to parents and family, loyalty to friends, justice, peace, education, reform and humanitarianism. He preached against such evils as corruption, war, torture and excessive taxation. He was the first teacher to open his school to all students on the basis of their eagerness to learn rather than their noble birth and ability to pay tuition. The philosophy of Confucius is most easily found in the Lunyu or the Analects of Confucius. Perhaps the most famous quote from these works is the Golden Rule, "Do not do unto others what you would not have them do unto you." Although Confucius died 2500 years ago, his influence remains strong in China. It can be said that much of Confucian thought has become Chinese culture as we know it. Chinese Gods - Chinese religion is polytheistic. Every Chinese house has its kitchen or house god, and businesses have their gods, too. Some of the important local divinities are described below. Tin Hau, Queen of Heaven and Protector of Seafarers, is one of the most popular goddesses in Hong Kong. Tin Hau is a classic case of the deification of a real person. The story goes that Tin Hau dreamt that a storm would destroy all the boats in the fishing fleet of the island in Fujian Province where she lived. Running down to the beach, she stared fixedly at her father's boat, which was the only one saved. Kuan Yin, Goddess of Mercy, represents tenderness and compassion for the unhappy lot of mortals. Kuan Ti, God of War, is the god of soldiers. Prior to his deification, Kuan Ti was a great warrior who lived at the end of the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). He is worshipped not only for his might in battle but because he is the embodiment of right action, integrity and loyalty. Superstition - Superstition is perhaps the most appropriate name for Hong Kong's religious bent. Almost every Chinese believes in occult forces. She/he believes that one can control these forces by arranging furniture a certain way, by building one's home in a divined location, by constructing walls to repel bad spirits, or by consulting a holy book for auspicious dates for major life-cycle events. Gambling is a way of life for both rich and poor. Fung Shui, (or Feng Shui) pronounced fung shway, is an unwritten spiritual law that governs the most auspicious location for not only a building, but also its doors, windows and desks. Fung shui is performed by a geomancer who uses a compass-like device which has eight ancient trigrams representing nature and its elements. These elements in turn represent eight animals. Fung shui ceremonies are held as part of the dedication of a new building or a house warming. Hong Kong residents can relate tragic tales about sites that ignored the power of fung shui. Lucky Numbers include "2" (easy), "3" (living or giving birth), "6" (longevity) "8" (prosperity) and "9" (perpetuity or eternity). Combinations of numbers can also be important. For example, 163 means "live all the way" and 168 "prosperity all the way." The Hong Kong government has designated about 400 "lucky" numbers for license plates and carefully restricts their sale at regularly spaced auctions of 15 numbers at a time. In 1988, license plate number 8 sold for US $641,000. Since the auctions began in May 1973, the government has raised over US $20 million for its charity fund.
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