The teaching of Buddha appeal to the common masses because his compassion to all beings is 100% pure. He was totally and truly selfless because his selflessness was what he totally and truly believed for the happiness of himself and not just for the happiness of others. It is difficult for one to have the Right View about the self because of the Five Hindrances inherent in himself. Most people cannot fathom the self-interest of selflessness and how it can bring a more superior form of happiness to oneself. This is because we have the wrong views due to wrong “education” or brainwashing by the people around us. We develop “herd immunity” and become protected from truly great ideas.

Most religions preach about serving god first. Buddhism preaches about serving people first and foremost; bringing happiness to individual follower is the top priority. Buddha wants us to be happy instead of telling us to make God happy.

The body is not the real self and the self is also not inside the body. The body is like an avatar which is remotely controlled by the self. Where is the real self? Most people are oblivious about the virtual world they are in when they are in a dream. While we are so sure that we are consciously alive in this world, the Buddha tell us that we are simply in another dream; like the Matrix. We can’t really tell where the real self is when we are in the dream, but we don’t really have to know because it will make no difference. People know the usefulness of knowing but only the Awaken one know the usefulness of not knowing as well. Regardless of whether this is true, it is a very useful way of thinking which can bring us happiness. We like to “think” scientific theories are true since they can be repeatedly proven using controlled experiments. Actually, these are only true as far as the inputs and expected outputs are concerned; the “neural networks” in between are unknown but just speculations or ways of explaining the input-output relationships using Mathematical formulas or tools. Anyway, we “think” or assume they are truths so long as they serve our purposes of predicting the outputs from the given inputs. This is an example of knowing the use of not-knowing. In Quantum Physics, some theories are said to work if you are not watching but cease to work if you are watching. You may think this is crazy but it works and the results are repeatable. Who are you to say it is wrong or it is pseudoscience? Why should you doubt the teaching of Buddha if it serves your purpose of attaining happiness under any circumstances? You must control your mind to make yourself happy; otherwise, your mind will control you. Is this really so hard to understand and practice? It’s hard only if you refuse to understand; it is easy if you truly understand it, just like any examination papers.

When you have no self aka selfless, not seeing the body as the self, you will have no fear, obligations, and guilt (FOG). The most evil people have no obligations and guilt but a lot of fear; although they pretend to be fearless simply because they arm themselves to the teeth; they don’t have to arm themselves if they are truly fearless. The fact that they feel the needs to arm to the teeth revealed their immense fear which they try to hide. You are truly fearless when you have no self to protect. Why wouldn’t you be happy when you have no FOG? Why should you have guilt if you have perfected your virtue? Why should you feel obligated to save the world when the bad deeds or karma were committed by other people? You have perfect wisdom when you have no delusion. You have perfect virtue when you have no greed. You have perfect equanimity when you have no hatred. You must let go of all attachments, including clinging to the body and religious beliefs, in order to have no greed, hatred and delusion. That’s the state of Nirvana, achieved in this very life, without having to die just so you can get to the Heaven. You are an Arahant when you have perfect virtue, equanimity and wisdom. You can feel it yourself without the need for someone else to give you a grade or certification. Conversely, if you still crave for a certificate, it reveals your imperfections of still having worldly desires.

The Buddha have no self, no FOG, and live with nothing. He lived like a beggar but he was actually the greatest and most generous giver. His work was to cultivate the self and his greatest gift to the whole world is the Dharma. Living with nothing is the most concrete proof that he has no fear. Leadership by example is his greatest benevolence. Teaching the people of the whole world is his most generous gift without any expectation (in terms of behavioural compliance nor material reciprocation). Buddha don’t need us; we need the Buddha.

Some religious leaders tell people to be selfless but their selfish behaviours can’t fool most of the people. They want people to selflessly make donations, for the religion aka the “self” and not other religions or other “self”. The donations are used to build lavish buildings and support lavish lifestyle of the preachers. It is all for the glory of the religion, they said, for the religion to project its power and influence, even to topple the governments which they dislike or make regime change, or instigate the youngsters to revolt against their governments. They talk about unity of the believers but all for the purpose to fight against people of other religions or atheists. Uniting around a political or religious leader is the sign of moral bankruptcy. It is a train-wreck to perdition. The believers who blindly follow the political or religious leaders are like rats following the pied piper’s sound of flute into the river. We call that “herd immunity” because they are immune to voice of reasons. The world has no lack of intelligent people, but 20% of fools can cause 80% of the problems in the world.

HOW TO RAISE A RESILIENT KID: I AM NOT RIGHT BUT THAT’S OK

Whenever people talk about Taoism, they think of Tao Te Jing by Lao Zi. However, most people tend to misunderstand the content. Meng Zi 孟子 is considered the second best Sage of Confucianism. In Taoism, the second best Sage is Zhuang Zi 莊子. He had written much more words than Lao Zi. However, his writing is in the form of parables and very interesting to read. Chinese scholars have for 2000 years regarded his writing as the best literacy work which no one has ever surpassed. All the famous poets in the history were influenced by him. Anyone who really want to understand Taoism must first read the writing of Zhuang Zi.

The most important Chapter of Zhuang Zi is 逍遥游 or wandering freely with immense happiness. This is the reason Taoists in the history were known to wander around the country without purpose and having fun all the time. They were also known to have funny, not serious but crazy behaviours, naughty or even cunning but just for fun and not for personal gain, clever and informative. While they were wandering, seemingly without purpose, they were learning everything they came across; again, just for fun and not for personal gain. They wished to learn from the sea which absorbed all discharges from all the rivers, clean or dirty, to become gigantic. They didn’t judge anything as good or bad; just accept everything and use/apply the appropriate “tricks” at the right time and space. Nothing is considered absolutely right or wrong, useful or useless. They were known to be able to read the future and often earned their living as fortune-tellers. Because of their vast knowledge, they often helped people in need to overcome problems free-of-charge and never asked for reciprocation. Historically, many Emperors who have troubles with warlords also sought helps from Taoist masters who typically very well-versed with Arts of War, not just Sun Zi Art of War. After that, they went back to seclusion or started wandering around again. They never wanted to be career politicians.

They were playful, like children and always playing. They wished to stay young, physically and mentally, forever; the best of which is to become a baby again. Taoist masters were known to look young and have long life, some were rumoured to live a few hundred years. They didn’t really crave for long life but their way of living, always peaceful and happy, moderation in eating and other sensual pleasures, doing a lot of breathing (Chi Gong) and exercises (Kungfu), naturally led to long life. It was not what they consciously wanted nor averse to. It is natural. They didn’t see the body as the self; having no self made them have no fear, obligations and guilt (FOG). In Taoism, we say “The greatest selfishness is selflessness”.

Most people want to be right and want others to behave in the right ways. They “naturally” “think” they are right. They are neither natural nor thinking. They feel unhappy when they are wrong or not right. They also feel unhappy when they see others behaving in the wrong ways or not the right ways. They also feel unhappy when the Nature is not cooperating and the reality changes not according to what they wish to see. They have trouble accepting reality, so they always have to do something for the sake of doing something, regardless of whether it is right. Their hearts are easily moved by others and their emotions disturbed. They have no equanimity and are not calm, but yet they want to be the ones who make decisions. They have a lot of desires, the worst of which is the desire to be right. The secret to happiness and success is actually: wanting to be not-right. Seek to be imperfect instead of wanting perfection. It’s OK to be not-right, so long as you are not wrong. The only thing wrong to do is to make yourself unhappy.

Gotama Buddha was from Nepal. Amitabha was made in India. It has nothing to do with Gotama Buddha.

Amitabha is the God of Sun, according to the inventor. It is not a Buddha until the “Mahayana” sect, a separated sect from the original Buddhism, installed Him as a Buddha. Amitabha is a fictitious figure; so is Avalokiteshvara. “Eshvara” means god in India; there are many Eshvara in Hinduism and you can Google it if you are interested.

The existence of various sects is due to disagreements with the pre-existing teaching. It happened to every religion. Similarly, there are Buddhists who disagree with the original teaching of the Buddha but yet call themselves Buddhists as if they are better than the Buddha. They don’t start a new religion but only form a new sect because they need the branding without which they cannot survive. They start badmouthing all other sects as Hinayana, “hina” means inferior. It breaks one of the Five Precepts of Buddhism, and it violates the Right Speech of the Noble Eightfold Path. They denigrate others to uplift themselves. It violates the Right Livelihood for their survival.

I am not a Buddhist. I dare not call myself a Buddhist for fear of being attacked by “Buddhists” whom I disagree with. However, I have great respect for the Buddha and Buddhism. I regularly pay homage to Buddhism monasteries, of any sects, and make Dana to support the sangha, of any sects. Despite the incorrect teaching which contradict the original Buddha’s words in the Nikaya and on Asoka pillars, they have also made valuable contributions to the progress or continuous existence of Buddhism, for the benefit of the people first and foremost.

Buddha and Buddhism don’t need us; we need the Buddha and Buddhism. Everything is empty of substance, including this religion. Attachment to anything, including Buddhism, bring no benefit to us. Our suffering ceases when we let go. The words of Dharma are not the Dharma itself. The real Dharma is not the words in the Sutta. Just as the finger pointing to the moon is not the moon itself.

Find refuge in yourself with no other refuge. Find refuge in Dharma with no other refuge. May you find equanimity and happiness under any circumstances.

Boon Kuan Chung’s answer to What significance does Buddha hold in your daily life?

The central theme of Taoism is: Save lives, to maintain harmony. The question is: how to do it? People like to do something for the sake of doing something (instead of doing nothing), although they are not sure which is the right thing to do. Lao Zi taught us not to fight fire with wood or fire; use water instead, or remove the fuel for a better result. Be flexible, like water, and stop insisting on one-size-fit-all. Many people have good intentions, and they thought of doing good deeds but in the end caused more problems and worsen the situation.

Lao Zi was a teacher of Confucius. It was during the Warring States period of around 500 BC. The scholars at that time were understandably concerned about the chaotic wars between different States and tried to find ways to bring peace to the Middle Kingdom. Therefore, the objective of Taoism and Confucianism is the same. The difference is in the approach to bring peace and save lives. Confucius advocated for more government; Lao Zi advocated for less government. However, both advocacies were just philosophical or guiding principles without specific details on the steps or means of implementation. It was like the skeleton structure of a body; future generations added flesh to it, resulting in some beautiful and some ugly parts. While we should give credits to the exceptional works of Lao Zi and Confucius (for coming out with the fine skeleton structure), we must never blame the ugly parts on them because these weren’t their faults.

The lack of details were intentional. 道可道也 非恒道也 名可名也 非恒名也 At different time and space, different conditions call for different ways of doing things. Although we name it as Taoism, it is just a temporary name for ease of calling and discussion; we must never assume Tao is like this and not like that. The real Tao can never be described with words; otherwise, it will cease to be extraordinary. The biggest problem today is people try to classify a political system as Democracy or Totalitarianism, or an economic system as Capitalism or Socialism, as if one is this system if it is not that system. This is so ridiculous. 孟子曰：“杨子取为我，拔一毛而利天下，不为也。墨子兼爱，摩顶放踵利天下，为之。子莫执中，执中为近之，执中无权，犹执一也。所恶执一者，为其贼道也，举一而废百也。” When one insists on 100% compliance to an ideology, without considering the different situations on the ground, he will only cause chaos because hundred of things will go wrong simply for one goal to be achieved. Holding the middle ground between two extremes is not necessarily correct. Whenever there is clinging to rules and rituals, it has led to an extreme; like the third corner of a triangle instead of two ends of a straight line. We must always be flexible.

有无之相生也 难易之相成也 长短之相形也 高下之相盈也 音声之相和也，先后之相随 恒也 Different things in the Nature are naturally unequal but coexist harmoniously. Inequality is not necessarily a problem; unless it is malevolent manmade polarizations into opposite extremes which destabilize the social system. We must not insist on human-imposed equality; instead, diversity must be allowed in terms of political systems, economic systems, education systems, cultures, religions, languages, wealth levels, etc. We must accept the fact that they are just different instead of judging one is better than the other.

是以圣人居无为之事 行不言之教 万物作而弗始也 为而弗恃也 成功而弗居也 夫唯弗居 是以弗去 A good leader will work towards minimum intervention, reduce government and doing less as time goes, until the day when he need not speak a word anymore since the people have become self-reliant and self-regulate themselves without any helps or coercions from the government. That is the real success; one that the leader cannot claim credit because all the credits go to the people. Similarly, he will not take any blame. Politicians today don’t want to take blames but always the first to take credits. Continually need more and more government only means the problem is getting worse; like firefighting which continually need more and more firefighters.

天长 地久天地之所以能长且久者 以其不自生也 故能长生 The sky and earth have existed for so long. Why they are so long lasting is because they don’t selfishly live their own life but share with everything in the natural world. The symbiosis gave them the longevity.

是以圣人后其身而身先 外其身而身存 不以其无私邪 故能成其私 Great leader puts behind his head about where he will stand to gain something. He will then be supported and given the top leadership role. He shall not worry about his safety and he will be protected and survive. Because he is not selfish, his self-interest is fulfilled by being able to live in a peaceful country, and granted with the benefit to be at the top.

上善若水 水善利万物而不争 居众人之所恶 故几于道矣 The best quality has the characteristic of the water. Water provides benefits to all things but never compete with them for anything, and it absorbs everything that others discard. This characteristic is close to Tao.

居善地 心善渊 予善仁 言善信 正善治 事善能 动善时 夫唯不争 故无尤 A leader may learn from the water. He shall be wise in taking his position (as the servant of the people), keep his heart accommodative, generous in giving, truthful with his words, uphold righteous in his ruling to prosecute crimes, work effectively, and do the right thing at the right timing. Because he does not compete with the people, therefore no one would hate him.

圣人恒无心 以百姓之心为心 Great leader has no personal wish. The wish of the people is what he wish to realize.

民之饥也 以其上食税之多也 是以饥 百姓之不治也 以其上之有以为也 是以不治 民之轻死也 以其求生之厚也 是以轻死 夫唯无以生为者 是贤贵生 The people are hungry because the king demands heavy tax; therefore they face hunger. The society is not peaceful because the king is ambitious to implement various programs (like conquering the neighbors); therefore the society is not orderly. Many people fear death because they are too ambitious to live longer; therefore they are fearful to face the prospect of death. One who doesn’t focus too much on longevity is wise in living a meaningful life.

Confucianism put the lives of the people in the top priority. Compassion 仁 is the highest ideal of Confucianism. This compassion is first and foremost directed to the fellow humans; the peasants first, the country second, and the king last (民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻). However, it doesn’t mean Confucianism discourage compassion for animals. It simply means animals can be sacrificed, whether it is pig or dog, to sustain the lives of the people. Treating animals as equal or higher priority than human is considered ridiculous and immoral. The same applied to gods and ghosts. 人为万物之灵。

The king of Qi State asked Meng Zi 孟子 about ways to govern the country. Meng Zi said: “I hear that, for a prayer ceremony, the king saw a cow being brought to the slaughtering house. The king ordered for the cow to be spared because you empathized with the fear and trembling of the cow. You said that you disliked seeing innocent beings to be killed. When the butcher asked whether the ceremony should be cancelled, you disagreed but ordered to replace the cow with a goat. Is that true?” The king replied: “That is true.” Meng Zi said: “With a heart of compassion like this, the king will be able to properly govern the country. The peasants may think that the king is being stingy to use a cheaper goat to replace the more precious cow in the ceremony, but I know the king is showing compassion for the cow. Please forgive the peasants for misunderstanding your kind heart. You dislike seeing innocent beings to be killed. By the way, how is innocent goat compared to innocent cow?” The king laughed and replied: “I also don’t understand what was I thinking. However, it was not because of ungenerosity that I replaced the cow with a goat. It is not surprising that the peasants misjudged me of being stingy.” Meng Zi said: “That’s OK. It was a natural and true expression of a heart of compassion! Since you only saw the cow but not the goat, therefore you didn’t think too much that the goat will also feel fear and tremble when it is brought to the slaughtering house. When a true gentleman 君子 see an animal happily running about, he will have well wishes for it to continue living. When a true gentleman see an animal crying in grief, he will never eat the meat. Because of that, a true gentleman will stay far away from the kitchen.”

Confucianism does encourage compassion for animals but not at the same level as humans. When a person truly has a compassion heart, he will naturally show compassion for all beings; he will not advocate killing of innocent beings in the name of his religion or ideology. Therefore, Confucius only taught us to cultivate ourselves in terms of virtue, equanimity and wisdom, much like Buddhism. Buddhist monks can eat meat 三禁肉 on the conditions that 1) he didn’t kill the animal himself, 2) he has no reasons to believe that the animal was specifically killed to serve him, and 3) he didn’t see or hear the animal being killed.

Many people talk about compassion for animals but keep a blind eye on poverty, migrant detention, refugees, bombing of innocent people, and other sufferings of humans.

Confucianism is not a religion. It is a Philosophy about the way to live skillfully for the happiness of oneself （子曰：“古之学者为己，今之学者为人。”） and the people around him (修身齐家治国平天下). It emphasizes living in the present moment, no mourning about the past （“成事不说，遂事不谏，既往不咎。”）, and no worries about the future （君子有终身之忧，无一朝之患也）. Therefore, Confucius didn’t like to talk about gods and ghosts （子不语：怪、力、乱、神）, creation of the Heaven and Earth, or the afterlife （季路问事鬼神，子曰：“未能事人，焉能事鬼？”曰：“敢问死。”曰：“未知生，焉知死？”）.

When a true gentleman lives skillfully, he will be happy all the time （子曰: “君子坦荡荡，小人长戚戚。”） because he has no worries, fear, guilt, nor delusion （子曰：“君子道者三，我无能焉：仁者不忧，知者不惑，勇者不惧。”子贡曰：“夫子自道也。”）. A true gentleman is equanimous and energetic （子曰：“知者乐水，仁者乐山。知者动，仁者静。知者乐，仁者寿。”）.

子曰：“古之学者为己，今之学者为人。” Confucius said: “The scholars of the past generations learnt for the benefits of themselves. (They learnt for the perfection of their virtue, equanimity and wisdom which in turn brought them happiness.) Sadly, the scholars of today learn to be useful to their employers rather than themselves (i.e. true happiness from internal bliss). (They are easily moved by the seduction of sensual pleasures or external things such as money, women, colorful objects, fame, luxurious foods and drinks, and leisure lifestyle.)”

修身齐家治国平天下 Confucianism emphasizes self-cultivation through deep understanding of all knowledges (格物) and how everything in the human world rises and falls, the interconnectedness of everything and how one affects others, and one event leads to another. 淡泊以明志,宁静而致远. One must be contented with little sensual pleasure in order to allow the inherent potential to achieve maximization. One must learn to be equanimous and stay calm in order to attain the ability to make good decisions for the furthering of one’s endeavor. A well cultivated self can then decide whether or not to serve the community, the country, and the world.

“成事不说，遂事不谏，既往不咎。” Confucius said: “Let the past be in the past and stop talking about it. Let the old practice which doesn’t serve any good to current day lives stay in the history book and stop bringing it up for frivolous talk. Whatever good or bad in the past, stop clinging to the feeling and stop blaming/praising it on anybody.” Learn the lessons from past events but forgive the wrongdoers, if any, if they have ceased to pose anymore threat to us. With the problem in hand, just think about the best course of action to be taken here and now. It doesn’t matter who created the Earth or whether there was a Creator; if it is nowhere to be found today, we must never assume it has any effect at all on us. The happiness of oneself and the people must be the one and only consideration. Irrational fear of “god” is like fearing one’s shadow; like fearing a shaman. Many individuals who preach for “god fearing” are themselves not fearing god from the ways they have no qualms to commit all kinds of crimes; they don’t fear god because they have yet to meet god. We fear tiger but do not tremble until and unless we meet one face-to-face without barrier.

君子有终身之忧，无一朝之患也. A well cultivated self may continually feel unsatisfied for the one and only reason of not meeting the standard of perfection in terms of virtue, equanimity and wisdom. However, he has no fear, guilt, anger, grief or despair, therefore no unhappiness, for a single morning. 子曰：朝闻道，夕死可矣。Confucius said: “When I hear on one morning the true Dao, the ultimate knowledge about the way of becoming a true gentleman, I have decided that I am not afraid to die in the evening since I have no more clinging or attachment to this world. (I am ready to let go of everything, including my body. Without the self, I have no more fear of death and everything else, or what will happen in the future.)”

子不语：怪、力、乱、神. Confucius never talks about myth, violence or coercion, creating chaos, the existence of gods and ghosts.

季路问事鬼神，子曰：“未能事人，焉能事鬼？”曰：“敢问死。”曰：“未知生，焉知死？” When a disciple asked about ghosts and gods, Confucius answered: “We must first learn everything about how to live harmoniously with our fellow humans before we talk about coexistence with ghosts (or how to serve gods).” When the disciple asked about afterlife, Confucius answered: “We must first learn how to live skillfully in this world before we have any wish to learn about afterlife.”

子曰．“君子坦荡荡，小人长戚戚。” Confucius said: “A well cultivated self is always happy. A little man always put on a sad face.” A true gentleman has no self (i.e. selfless), therefore is not afraid to die. One who has no clinging or attachment to this world, including the body, will always be happy. Hence, self-cultivation is for the purpose of personal happiness and not about serving others or the society; although one can, at the same time, choose to also help others to attain happiness. On the contrary, one who is unhappy must not pretend he knows the path to happiness and he must not teach the wrong ways to others which will bring unhappiness instead.

子曰：“君子道者三，我无能焉：仁者不忧，知者不惑，勇者不惧。”子贡曰：“夫子自道也。” Confucius said: “The Dao of becoming a true gentleman has three attributes, but I am yet to attain any of them. True compassion means one should have no unhappiness or dissatisfaction; true wisdom means one should have no delusion nor doubt; true courage means one should have no fear.” Upon hearing this, a disciple commented: “My dear teacher. You are simply describing yourself.”

子曰：“知者乐水，仁者乐山。知者动，仁者静。知者乐，仁者寿。” Confucius said: “A well cultivated self with wisdom likes the fluidity or flexibility of water. A well cultivated self with compassion likes the unmoving nature or equanimity of mountain. A person of wisdom is energetic and likes to work. A person of compassion is equanimous and likes to stay quiet and calm. A person of wisdom is always happy. A person of compassion has long life.”

清代学者方苞注《论语》：气之温和者寿，质之慈良者寿，量之宽宏者寿，言之简默者寿，故仁者寿。A well cultivated self treats others with warm and harmonious manners; has the inherent nature of loving and has well wishes for others; has a big stomach to absorb any nonsense and forgive others; talk little and in simple manners; therefore, a person of compassion will naturally have long life.

Early Han Dynasty generally followed the non-intervention ideas of Dao De Jing (by Lao Zi) commonly regarded as the main bible of Daoism. The fourth Emperor of Han Dynasty started to give prominence to Confucianism. 外示儒术，内用老莊。The ruling class showed Confucianism appearances on the outside but the inner workings were still basically Daoism. Confucianism was used to tame the behaviours of the people to make them more civilized and obedient to the ruling class. It united the people like an enlarged family system, with the Emperor acting like parent. This was necessary because China was under attack by barbaric nomads from Mongolia. A united front was a matter of life and dead to all. However, the adoption of Confucianism also imposed the associated moral duties and responsibilities on the Emperor as a parent. It’s win-win for the people and the Emperor. The people were not stupid or blindly accepting the brainwashing attempt; they accepted the deal due to mutual benefits.

Daoism and Confucianism had both been practiced by the people for more than 500 years at the start of Han Dynasty. Both were not unfamiliar to the people. The fourth Emperor putting focused emphasis on Confucianism helped it to win public opinions. However, the ideological differences between them were quite minimum. In fact, Lao Zi was one of the teachers of Confucius. Hence, Daoism wasn’t killed but continued to be practiced by the people and also the ruling class.

Buddhism spread to China during Han Dynasty but didn’t have much influence on the people. It became more widespread after about 500 years later. It inspired a monk to make a journey to the West to bring back a boatload of Sutta. The incident inspired an author to write a long fictional story on the “Journey to the West” which is still the all-time favourite of many people today.

Buddhism integrated well with Daoism and Confucianism because they have much more similarities than differences. The main thing in common is: People First. All of them focus on the happiness of the people, and the individual followers of the ideologies. There is nothing about serving god but encouraging individual to self-cultivate to become a person with perfect virtue, equanimity and wisdom for the happiness of oneself. They are more like philosophies than religions. Unfortunately, some opportunists turned them into religions for self-interest and each subsequently broken up into multiple sectarians. Nevertheless, despite the unintended consequences, there are also positive developments. One who really wants to learn the real Buddhism/Daoism/Confucianism is recommended to study the original texts instead of following a teacher. The one and only teacher of Buddhism is the Buddha 南摩本师释迦牟尼佛; all others are just tutors or companions in the spiritual path.

Buddhism/Daoism/Confucianism have became part and parcel of Chinese language. Some of us used the related verses or ideas in our daily conversations unknowingly. This is the true meaning of culture 文化; it is like the ideologies have been dissolved 化 into the language 文. Hence, Chinese will naturally or unknowingly behave according to the ideologies. We have indeed been brainwashed (but not by CCP). However, I am happily brainwashed because feeling clean is a happy feeling. People from other countries are brainwashed by other ideologies or religions. Sadly, washing with dirty water will only make clothes more dirty.

“If your religion requires you to hate someone, you need to find another religion for your own happiness.”

If someone tells you: “You are on your own now.” How would you feel? Do you feel happy to be totally free with no attachment and no obligation to anybody? Do you feel angry to be left alone, set free, and nobody care about you? Or do you feel scared to have no one to rely on but yourself? Living alone, self reliant, is the true meaning of freedom. Freedom to succeed without freedom to fail is not freedom at all. Are you ready for that? True freedom is totally free.

The spiritual path is for the alone. This was the path taken by the Buddha and many ascetics. The question is: do you have the freedom of thought to accept the idea? You are not free if your mind is chained by invisible fetters. The first fetter is the fixed definition of freedom in your mind. If you already have a preconception of what constitutes freedom and what isn’t freedom, your mind is already fixed and chained. You don’t have the ability to listen to ideas which run counter to what you believe; those ideas can disturb your emotions and you will instantly brush them off as rubbish. If you can’t keep your equanimity, you are not free because your emotions can be controlled by others instead of yourself.

True freedom is totally free. It’s your mind which you need to liberate first. Without freedom of the mind, you can never be free.

Does personal freedom in China exist?

If you believe personal freedom is the single most important thing in the Universe, without which the society will collapse and no progress is possible, then you must also believe that China is a country with a lot of personal freedom. In the last 40 years, more than 800 million Chinese have been lifted from poverty (according to World Bank report); China is announcing zero poverty this year. More than 93% of the people are satisfied with CCP government, according to a recent report from Harvard University study. China is already the largest economy in the world in PPP term. China is the only country which doesn’t kowtow to the US in independent decision making. The EU and UK dare not defy the US; they have no freedom to make decisions independently for their countries. For fear of being punished by their master (which dictates to them what they are allowed or disallowed to do); they have to forego or delay the 5G development in their countries. Germany has to stop the Northstream 2 project which is nearing completion. With all these bullies, yet they can only shiver and obey. And the US is crying like a baby complaining about being economically bullied by China. This is so unbecoming of the world only hegemonic power.

The country with the least personal freedom is easy to identify. Poverty must be the first criterion; homeless people without food and shelters have no economic nor political powers, therefore no personal freedom. They are forever systematically oppressed; cemented at the lowest level of the society. Are the human rights of the poor and the black respected in the US?

Freedom to say bad words to political leaders is so petty. When the leaders are respected by more than 93% of the people due to their virtue and wisdom, saying bad words to the leaders is a great insult to the people. Whether you are a Christian or a Buddhist, the precepts to keep are the same: no killing, no stealing, no adultery, no intoxication, and no badmouthing. Being virtuous is for the happiness of oneself. A virtuous person will have no fear, anger, or grief therefore no suffering. He will then be able to stay equanimous under any circumstances; which will then develop wisdom in himself. Can anyone trust a person without virtue, equanimity and wisdom to make decisions for the country? (仁者不忧 知者不惑 勇者不惧)

Imagine for a while that you are a person who thinks marijuana is a necessity (like personal freedom). But then, you find that many people are happy without marijuana. Do you continue to insist that marijuana is a necessity? You may continue to take your marijuana if you like. However, you must not force others to share the same belief and insist everybody must take marijuana.

All the rumors about lack of personal freedom in China are false propaganda. If one is truly virtuous and wants to start an NGO to help people, without hidden agenda, there is no hindrances to do it; a truly virtuous person should have no fear to do the right thing. There are official complaint channels for people to criticize the CCP government and corrective actions are always taken swiftly, if the criticism is not unfounded. Even if one chooses to criticize CCP openly or through social media, he will not be arrested if he is respectful. VPN is required for Chinese to access international news because most people cannot handle the truths that there are so much negative propaganda outside the firewalls. Chinese people don’t like the disrespectful and false allegations about China; fires will be fanned so much that the CCP government will soon be forced by the people to start a war with the US. Oppression of minority is also untrue. Affirmative actions are in place to help the minority races. Places of worship are allowed; of course, illegal things are prohibited in order to uphold rule-of-law.

Every “-ism” is a “wasn’t”. Every “-ism” as commonly understood by the followers today is not the original ideology in the mind of the Sage who started it. That is why there are many sects in every religion. Of course, Taoism was originally not a religion, but was later turned into a religion due to greed, aversion and delusion. Taoism wasn’t like what it is today; Buddhism wasn’t like what it is today; and Confucianism wasn’t like what it is today.

Taoism ideas started long before Lao Zi who lived around the year of 500 BC. There was no name for the ideology which Lao Zi learnt from his teacher. Lao Zi is remembered today as the founder of Taoism because he wrote a small booklet, with no title but later known as Tao Te Ching. Some historians said the booklet was not written by Lao Zi but contributed by many authors over many years. Does it matter whether it was not really written by Lao Zi? Is it wise to reject wise words simply because the one who spoken them is no one you know or admire? The answer is clear to anyone who has a clear mind.

Let us don’t make thing complicated which is contradictory to Taoism. “Everything should be made simple, but not simpler.” — Albert Einstein. For simplicity, let us assume Lao Zi was the author of Tao Te Ching and he was the founder of Taoism. After all, the opening words of Tao Te Ching said: “Tao which is spoken by anyone will never be the correct or complete description of Tao, because the true Tao is all encompassing and has unlimited extent that it can never be fully described with words. We may give it a name, but no name can actually befit its greatness. We call it Tao just as a temporary name or a tag.” That means we must never accept or reject any words as the truths, including the words of Lao Zi. But listen we must, with no judgmental views on whether the word is right or wrong; like collecting data but not processing it immediately for any applications. This is one major difference between Taoism and other philosophies or religions which force us to accept the gospels without question, or debate to make us believe their words are right and any disagreements are wrong (as if a person who is good at debating knows the truth). Taoism is synonymous with true open-mindedness. Just keep listening, like the sea which becomes gigantic by accepting the discharges from all rivers in the world, big or small. Surely there are clean as well as dirty discharges, but that’s OK; don’t reject anything, no like or dislike, no aversion or hatred. Take the lower position because water flows from high places to low places. Don’t be arrogant even if you are the king of the great sea; there are greater thing than the sea. Keep the useless (don’t discard it) and use the useful as the need arises at different time and space. Everything is impermanent (like what the Buddha said). It is a delusion to think that there is permanent usefulness/uselessness, or there is permanent right/wrong.

A true Taoist can accept everything and learn from all ideologies/religions including Buddhism and Confucianism. The first step to become a Taoist is the wish and devotion; like a person wishing and devoted to become a follower of a religion. That wish and devotion must come from the understanding of how great that ideology/religion is, so that one is not easily swayed to denounce the ideology/religion later. Some religions forbid their believers from reading or learning about other religions due to fear of blasphemy and proselytization; the fear comes from insecurity and lack of self-confidence in their religions. In other words, the first step to become a Taoist is the wish and devotion to become extraordinary rather than ordinary person; one must unlearn the ordinary or common thinking in order to become extraordinary. Becoming a member of a Taoism temple is the last thing you should do; true Taoist wishes to become nothingness instead of having something or everything. True Taoist wishes to have no attachment to anything so that he can self-levitate himself to a higher altitude. Taoism teaches us to accept everything, like the Nature does, although It has no desire to receive anything but only provide everything (without desire to do so) to everybody. Receive naturally and provide naturally; like left hand helping right hand without much thought. See and accept reality as it is; live as a part of the reality, like a grain of salt dissolving in the great sea. The Nature is the greater self; the grain of salt is the small self. The small self is happy when the greater self is happy. The small self forget himself when he merges with the greater self.

When there is no desire, there is no greed, hatred and delusion. This is a similarity of Taoism with Buddhism and Confucianism. In fact, it is the common logical conclusion of the three philosophies. Lack of desire comes with perfect virtue, equanimity, and wisdom. There will be no more suffering; no more fear, obligation, and guilt. That is the perfect happiness and self-interest. The greatest selfishness is selflessness. Finally, when you become nothingness and have no self (truly selfless), you will be neither Taoist nor anything else.

Jedi in the Chinese history