ABSTRACT
No one could pinpoint when the unification of the three doctrines of Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism actually started, but by the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 C.E.) Chinese worshipers appeared to follow the basic paradigm of “Buddha-Daoist messianism.” Ritual guidebooks, curing rites, exorcism, burial procedures, monastic life, historiography and concepts of sacred texts were intermingled with terminologies from all three doctrines. Statuettes of Confucius and Lao Zi, as well as Gautama Buddha and other Daoist or Buddhist deities, were regularly seen sharing the same shrines and enjoying the same worshippers. This chapter analyzes the common grounds on which the unity of the three doctrines stands. For example, all three doctrines believed that humans were innately good and had the ability to live a harmonious life together; Confucianism and Daoism, and eventually Zen Buddhism all shared the optimism that this life in this world was worth living; and most importantly, the three doctrines saw the world from the same perspective that everything – the cosmos and human society – was connected and relationships governed society. From then on, complete with metaphysics, epistemology, life wisdoms and a vision of enlightenment, this three-legged belief system bears evidence of the extraordinary strengths of China’s relationalism to endure and assimilate.
