itings of Chuang-tsu. It is estimated that there are 50 million adherents, mostly in China and other parts of Asia. Taoism is a potently mystical tradition, so interpretations have been diverse and its sects are many. Taoism teaches that everyone should try to achieve two goals, happiness and immortality. The religion has many practices and ceremonies, intended to help people. They include prayer, magic, special diets, breath-control, meditation, and recitation of scriptures. Taoists also believe in astrology, fortune telling, witchcraft and communication with the spirits of the dead. Taoists worship more deities than do the followers of almost any other religion. Some deities are ancestors and others are the spirits of famous people.Taoism borrowed heavily from Buddhism. Many Taoist deities, temples and ceremonies show the influence of Buddhism. By A.D.1000, Taoism had divided into many sects. Some of the sects withdrew from daily routine to meditate and study in Monasteries. Other sects were based in temples. The temple priests passed on their position to their children. They gained a reputation as highly skilled magicians, who could predict the future, protect believers from illness, accidents and other misfortunes.Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have been the major religions in China. But Confucianism had the greatest impact on the Chinese society. It was the State religion of China from 100 B.C. to 1,900 A.D. Confucius's scriptures called "The Five Classics and Four Books" served as a foundation of the Chinese education system for centuries.Buddha taught that people should devote themselves to finding release from the suffering life. Through this release, people will gain Nirvana - "a state of perfect peace and happiness". To acheive this Nirvana people have to free themselves from wordly things. Buddha taught that Nirvana could be gained by following the middlepath between the extremes of severe self-denial and uncontrolled pass...
