Buddhism and Taoism
The Lord Buddha had a sheltered up-bringing. He was protected by his wealthy family from the unhappy truths of the outside world. He was pampered with excellent food, and waited on by a harem of beautiful young women. When Buddha became a young man he escaped out of the confines of his imaginary world into reality. And the shock on his system was immeasurable. He saw the suffering of old and sick people. He saw suffering in animals being used by humans. All around, he saw bad things which he had never been shown before. The shock created in him the need to find the cause of all the suffering, and to find the solution.
He identified desire as the cause of suffering, whether that was the desire to eat meat, causing animals to suffer, or the desire for sexual gratification, or whatever. Eliminate desire and the logical outcome would be to eliminate the associated suffering, and so create contentment. Disconnecting from the universe. It was deemed that any interaction with the universe would necessarily take from it and therefore would be to the detriment of the universe. By entering a state of inner meditation, Buddha found that interaction was eliminated, desire was eliminated, and a person’s spirit could experience complete contentment – the state of Nirvana.
Taoists also pursue (or experience depending on ability) contentment. The state of happiness that Buddhists strive for is the same place for Taoists, but is known by other names. However, Buddhists and Taoists differ significantly in how to reach this contentment. A Taoist can reach contentment by accepting the Universe as it is. Where a Buddhist may see a problem, a Taoist is more likely to see perfection, and can therefore enjoy what he or she sees. Take sex, for example. A committed Buddhist is celibate. To a Buddhist, sex implies desire, and desire generates dis-contentment. In other words – if one is not having sex, but has the desire to get sex, then it follows that one is not content – not totally happy. So, having taken the decision to be celibate, if a committed Buddhist is pounced on by an utterly gorgeous sex-craving member of the opposite sex, the Buddhist must turn down the offer of sexual pleasure. Now, a Taoist can also be content during periods of abstinence, as the Taoist has also eliminated desire – when Taoists are not having sex, they accept the situation gratefully, and make good use of that time enjoying other activities. But when a Taoist is presented with a good offer of pleasurable and correct sex, it is also possible to accept the sex for what it is and enjoy the sex as well! The Taoist can be happy continually by accepting the circumstances which a Buddhist may regard as problematic. There are no problems.
This is one Taoist view of sex, but many Taoist masters or acolytes do also take the path of chastity. There are different interpretations of Tao, but in fact there is only one Tao. There is only truth. Humans are designed to interact with the Universe. Connecting with the Universe either by us influencing it or letting it influence us, is a deep spiritual experience in itself. Interacting with other humans on a spiritual level through sex is described in the practice of Tantra.
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