ABSTRACT
This Buddhist monk is usually known as 'Dao An of the Northern Zhou Dynasty', as distinguished from the eminent Dao An of the fourth century. He was a native of what is now Shaanxi Province, from a family by the name of Yao. Dao An wrote A Treatise on the Two Religions -to explain, in the form of questions and answers, the differences between Buddhism and Taoism, and submitted it to the Emperor. In the Liezi the name of a semi-legendary figure who might have existed before Zhuangzi and who was said to have authored a book by the same name. The present Liezi was probably produced during the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Interestingly, Dao An of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, though a Buddhist, did not question the usefulness of 'geyi'. Instead he explained the different meanings infused by Ruists, Taoists and Buddhists into the same terms.
