How do people adhere to two different beliefs and practices as Confucianism and Taoism?

Well, If I take the phrase we heard in class, that every Chinese has a Confucianism hat, a Taoist robe and Buddhist sandals on his feet, then it is very easy to see why they can follow and respect two so different lines of thought such as the ones we are talking about.

I imagine Confucianism as a set of rules which are quite rigid but were decanted from the very human common sense. I was reading that: “Virtually every Chinese student has poured over his sayings for hours” Chinese people have those teachings embedded in their minds and Confucius laws and ways usually reflect in everything they do. The connection with Taoism is that the rules and regulations may be rigidly established but they come, as I said before, from the common sense and that very human base permits the Taoists respect the Confucianism rules but continue “going with the flow” because following the rules means avoiding problems and as a result facilitating such flow.

We can see the way the Confucianism hat makes them wise enough to properly wear the Taoist robe, which lets them have the freedom to enjoy the world, its fruits and its pleasures and also deals with all things that are transcendental. Finally, that the Buddhist sandals makes them humble enough to realize how fortunate they are to live the way they live and respect everything that is around them and recognize the values of the teaching they have received.

I said in one of the first blogs that I have been able to witness the way Buddhists go around very peacefully and dedicate themselves to their rites and philosophy. I thought that was the common trait of the followers of that particular religion. Now I can see that I was missing something. The truth is that if we want to have the complete idea why Chinese and other oriental people show such equanimity and correctness, we have to really understand that it is usually the combination of these three doctrines, Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, what produced that way of thinking, acting and reacting.

There is one phrase that really caught my attention, that “Buddhism, processed through Taoism became Zen.” And the concept that, in Taoism, good and evil are not head-on opposites but that everything is relative.

Taoism relies on relativity. Confucianism presents absolute rules. But they work perfectly together. Why? Because when intelligence, common sense and respect are used together, there is no reason why there must be frictions.