Depicted in one of my favorite artworks " The Vinegar Tasters", are China's Three Masters. Surprisingly, all three men were living at the same time around 500 BC. Confucius, Buddha, and Lao Tzu each contributed threads of their beliefs that have been woven together forming the tapestry of Chinese religion.
Confucius thought life was sour and that mankind was not in harmony with Heaven. He taught morality and responsibility in life, to find balance in the universe. An excerpt from "The Analets of Confucius" dated c400 BC states: Do not do unto others, what you would not want others to do to you.
Buddha finds life to bitter and full of suffering. During his search for enlightenment Buddha found the path to Nirvana. He found human suffering could end if people stopped wanting. Many devout Buddhist believe to find peace, you must transcend the "dust of the world"
A proverb of Buddha found in an ancient text dated 100 BC states: Hatreds never cease in this world, by love alone they cease.
Lao Tzu taught through his writing in the "Tao Te Ching". He believed that harmony between heaven and earth has always existed from the very beginning. He felt you could find happiness by changing the way you look at things. As stated in the Tao: Earth is a reflection of heaven, run by the same laws - not by the laws of men. The more man interfers with the balance of nature, the further harmony retreats into the distance.
Dave and I have been becoming increasingly anxious with these last few days to go. I have found some comfort in the sage words above and those that follow:
God promises a safe landing, not a calm passage. If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.
Be empty of worrying.
Think of who created thought!
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