Dharma and Dao

Tantra and Tao

Buddhism and Daoism are each profoundly influential paths of personal growth and spiritual development. Initially they can seem quite different in both their methods and goals, but look beneath the differing cultural overlays and profound similarities can be seen in their systems of thought. Perhaps this is not totally surprising as scholars have documented that Yogacara Buddhism first began to be influential in China from circa 450 AD. Hence from a very early stage, Buddhism began to influence the development of Taoist thought and practice. Although a number of academic texts exist which look to undertake a comparative analysis of these two influential philosophies, very little has been written from the point of view of a practitioner of both paths. However both Daoism and Buddhism emphasis the need for actual practice to reach true understanding; Intellect alone is not enough. Hence this article seeks to examine the relationship between Buddhist and Daoist systems of thought from the point of view of the practitioner. It reasons that Buddhism and Daoism can provide deep insight into each other across the thee domains of human experience, body, energy and spirit (heart-mind).