This scroll represents china’s three main religions; Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Three men are standing around a bowl full of vinegar. Each man has tasted the vinegar and has a different expression on his face. The Buddhist has a bitter expression on his face, representing that life is bitter and full of pain and suffering. A life for a Buddhist is full of attachments that lead to desires, and desires lead to suffering. The world was viewed as a setter of traps, thus a Buddhist goal was to leave this world and reach Nirvana. The Chinese Buddhist looked at the path to Nirvana as nearly impossible, being hard to reach given all of the suffering and bitterness this world has to offer. The Confucianism had a sour expression, representing that life is sour. To Confucianism, the present is out of sync with the past. They used very precise rules and rituals to try to get back in harmony with the government of the universe. Finally there is the Taoist. The Taoist had a smile on his face. To the Taoist the world was not an evil place, it was teacher of lessons. Once man learned the lessons of the world and followed them, his life would go
This scroll represents china’s three main religions; Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Three men are standing around a bowl full of vinegar. Each man has tasted the vinegar and has a different expression on his face. The Buddhist has a bitter expression on his face, representing that life is bitter and full of pain and suffering. A life for a Buddhist is full of attachments that lead to desires, and desires lead to suffering. The world was viewed as a setter of traps, thus a Buddhist goal was to leave this world and reach Nirvana. The Chinese Buddhist looked at the path to Nirvana as nearly impossible, being hard to reach given all of the suffering and bitterness this world has to offer. The Confucianism had a sour expression, representing that life is sour. To Confucianism, the present is out of sync with the past. They used very precise rules and rituals to try to get back in harmony with the government of the universe. Finally there is the Taoist. The Taoist had a smile on his face. To the Taoist the world was not an evil place, it was teacher of lessons. Once man learned the lessons of the world and followed them, his life would go