Why is it that Taoism is not in the habit of building huge idols, while Buddhism is?

Buddhism likes to build huge statues of gods and goddesses, which was influenced by the idolatry of ancient Greece, and later counted the construction of statues of gods and goddesses as a merit. Taoism, on the other hand, emphasizes tranquility and inaction, and does not engage in the practice of building huge idols, nor does it count the construction of idols as merit. Overall, this is a phenomenon caused by the different philosophies of the two sects.

First of all, the history of Buddhism is much earlier than Taoism. Actually, the early stage of Buddhism is also not respected statues. Siddhartha Gautama was opposed to idolatry during his lifetime, so there was no tradition of carving statues of Buddha during his lifetime and for hundreds of years afterward. Instead, during the Kushan dynasty, Mahayana Buddhism began to emerge. Compared with the previous primitive and sectarian religions, Mahayana Buddhism absorbed the idolatrous traditions of ancient Greek civilization, and thus began to carve statues of Buddha on a large scale.

So from the very beginning of the introduction of Shakti into China, there was a tradition of carving statues of Buddha. In Mahayana Buddhism, the carving of Buddha statues is a kind of virtue and good deeds, and thus believers tend to rush about this behavior. Coupled with the North and South Dynasties and the Sui and Tang dynasties after this is the rapid development of China's history and the flourishing stage of Buddhism, so the formation of a large number of grottoes in this stage of Buddhism statues, many of which are large-scale statues of the Buddha, Leshan, Sichuan, the Great Buddha is a very good proof.

Secondly, the differences in religious philosophy, also caused the two religions in the construction of grottoes in different attitudes. Chinese Buddhism will be building grottoes for virtue and good deeds, so both monks and believers at home, in this regard, all do their best. Taoism, on the other hand, does not regard the construction of grottoes and statues as an important virtue and good deeds, about which there is a clear lack of religious incentives to satisfy.

Once again, from the perspective of the two religions, the main reason for the development of the two religions is that Buddhism's hierarchical division is clear, the concept of perfect, in the absorption of believers on the above very positive. Taoism, on the other hand, emphasizes tranquility and has a threshold for accepting disciples, which inevitably leads to the lack of financial resources in Taoism, which also makes Taoism in the carving of statues of the Buddha, such as large-scale religious projects, do not have the same financial support as the Shiism.

Finally, Taoism in fact there are still large-scale statues of gods, but in general, whether in the distribution or in the number, as well as artistic achievements, Taoism is significantly inferior to Buddhism. As for recent years, many local choice of modern technology casting statues, is no longer purely religious behavior, but commercial behavior, and the religious connection is now not big.