9. The "three teachings" are Taoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. From
its very inception, the Complete Reality school of Taoism has taught that
these three philosophies share a common essence. This was accepted by
Buddhists, especially the Chan contemplatives, but Confucians were averse
to recognize any affinity with Buddhism even as they absorbed Chan
methodology into their own studies. Wilhelm translates this passage, "This
is the common goal of all religions," and in his introduction he notes that
Taoist organizations included not only Confucians, Taoists, and Buddhists
but also Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
10. Jung used the concepts of introversion and extroversion to describe
what he thought were characteristic attitudes of Eastern and Western
mentalities. He absorbed himself in his own fantasy world, and he imagined
that the Chinese Taoists did the same thing. Since our text says, however,
that "the light is neither inside nor outside the self," it can hardly be
supposed that turning the light around is the same thing as introversion in
the Jungian sense.
1.
The Chan Taoist meditative exercise of turning the light around does not
make one oblivious of the external world, nor does it by any means
involve concern with images or fantasies that may occur to the mind.
11. Quiet sitting was commonly practiced by Buddhists, Taoists, and neo-
Confucians. The Book of Balance and Harmony, a compendium of all three
