I think that these are myths. China actually had very little religion,
either Tao or Buddhism or Confucianism
are ways of life, philosophies, not religions. China particularly has a
materialistic culture, nothing to do with India
or Thailand or Japan.
And actually Shintoism made Japan quite dangerous in the past, with the
belief in the divinity of the emperor descendant of the sun goddess
Amaterasu.
According to my experience few people know their philosophies well or
practise meditation in China ( or Japan) even if we westeners tend to
think they are a lot more. Probably similarly people think that
Italians are highly religious because the Pope resides there, but this
is not the case (I am italian).
According to my experience China is certainly not less violent than
Europe, actually more.
Japan is a different story but it is a matter of education not of
religion.
Massimo
C Ruiz wrote:
Again because of the strong emphasis of Oriental religions on
non-violence and the practice of self-reflection and meditational
techniques,even t
oday, the rates of crime and violence in China and japan are way
below the rates
in the USA and most of Europe.
