Well, first, it’s near impossible to write a glib short article about this. Entire book series are dedicated to one philosophy, so, I’m bound to butcher it. Off we go, then!

Confucianism was the earliest philosophy, and continues to impact Chinese culture today. Ritual and right action were the key: work your hardest to do things right, and you’ll approach greatness. It took a long time to get things right. Respect your elders. The importance of ritual in Chinese society continues to draw from these roots.

Taoism on the other hand was based more on the constant changing nature of things. It was an attempt to describe the world as it was, and the position of the self within. To quote Stan Rosenthal’s translation of the Tao Te Ching: “The Tao is abstract, and therefore has no form, it is neither bright in rising, nor dark in sinking, cannot be grasped, and makes no sound.” Everything comes from Tao, and everything goes to it, with transient impermanence in between. Taoism brought the notion of living in harmony with the world, touching all aspects of Chinese life.

Buddhism (or rather, Chan Buddhism or Zen Buddhism) became strong especially in Japanese martial arts. Bushido (the warrior code) developed out of Zen. Logical constructs of the world are rejected, and the Freudian ego is relinquished, as only then can one be truly free. To a proper follower of Zen Buddhism, even death means nothing, because the self is unimportant. What’s interesting is that at that point, beauty exists, even in tragedy. A quote from Zen master Basho stated, “Barn’s burnt down. Now I can see the moon.”

It’s interesting to see how each of these philosophies, succeeding each other in turn, impacted Eastern society. You can’t separate the three, because each layer made and continues to make deep impressions on, for example, Chinese society. This is odd, considering that the philosophies themselves are at odds. For example, Taoism is in stark contrast to Confucianism. Taoism works to harmonize with the world as a whole by taking a natural view of things. Confucianism, on the other hand, works to reshape your life through hard work and persistence over a long time. Or, to banally phrase it, one goes with the flow while the other builds a waterway to try to control the flow. Buddhists would wonder why you were so concerned about dealing with the flow in the first place.

Growing up entirely in Western culture, Eastern thought is at times non-intuitive. This is unfortunate, because this thought has a lot to offer.

As I study martial arts, I find myself considering all three of these philosophies, despite their inherent inconsistencies. Confucianism teaches respect for senior students of the instructor, as well as that hard work over time will pay off. Taoism teaches me to flow with the movements, rather than fighting them, as strength versus strength is often the wrong tactic. Buddhism teaches me to not get worked up over how my training is going, to be able to enjoy the training itself, while rejecting ego (i.e., no “I’m the most ultimate bad ass fighter ever!” nonsense). Most martial arts follow these foundations. At least the good ones.