Jung and Chinese Religions: Buddhism and Taoism

This article introduces the close relationship between Jung and Chinese religions, compares Jung’s psychological theories to Chinese religious thoughts taking Buddhism and Taoism as examples, and draws the following three conclusions. First, although Jung never went to China, Jung’s interest and studies in Chinese religions continued throughout his life. Second, there are important similarities and differences between Jung’s unity of opposites and Buddhism’s “Middle Way,” Jung’s synchronicity and Karmic harmony, Jung’s Self and Buddhism’s Self, and Jung’s individuation and Buddhism’s meditation. Third, there are significant, close relationships between Jung’s concepts of synchronicity, Self, and his three principles of psyche and parallel concepts in Chinese Taoism.