Daoism and Zen Buddhism

Similarities:

Emphasis on: distrust and distancing from bureaucracy, closeness to nature, simplicity, individual intuition, sparing of words, awakening to reality beyond words, brief and paradoxical statements, embodied action

Differences:

Zen emphasizes bodhisattva ideal, community of sentient beings (cosmic sangha), compassion, lineage of Zen masters, Zen temples, system of religious rituals

Daoism emphasizes the wandering Daoist who acts alone, no large social or institutional program, no elaborate religious ritual, the flow of the Dao in which one can be butcher or woodworker, optimistic indifference 

ZEN BUDDHISM 450-550 CE: Bodhidharma, founder of Chan (Zen) Buddhism

       1. Chan/Zen Buddhism: Historical Background

              * Chinese Philosophical Schools

              * Legend of Bodhidharma

       2. Zen as the Meditation School

       3. Bodhidharma's Zen Buddhist Thought

              * Encouter with Emperor Wu - "Nothing holy whatsoever, there is only vast emptiness"

              * Transmitting the Dharma Seal - Four disciples and "attaining the marrow"