After the fall of the Han Dynasty in 220 C.E., China faced a time period of political disunity, when various economic and social factors began to break down the Chinese complex bureaucracy. During this time, Buddhism, which has already reached China in the first century C.E, suddenly became popular among the Chinese people as a refuge for political and social problems after each dynastic cycle. However, after 570 C.E., when the imperial structure and social order were restored, there were mixed responses to the spread of Buddhism in China, which contain neutral, positive and negative undertones. A neutral tone can be found in Document 1 and 5, which prove that many Chinese remained indifferent in response to the impact of Buddhism on China. …show more content…
It was suggested that Buddhism should be widely accepted as one of the important aspects of the Chinese belief systems. For example, the Four Noble Truths stated in Document 1 are the basic doctrine preached by Buddha during the fifth century, revealing the secret to attain a happy life and achieve nirvana. In this life, suffering is inevitable, since “birth is sorrow, “death is sorrow” and even “every wish unfulfilled is sorrow.” Therefore, following the Fourth Noble Truths is the only way that “leads to the Stopping of Sorrow.” For this reason, Zong Mi, a leading Buddhist scholar, alluded to the Fourth Noble Truths when he said “[Confucius, Laozi and the Buddha] established their teachings according to the demands of the age and the needs of various beings”(Document 5). Zong also stressed the political and social usefulness of these philosophies, “which lead to the creation of an orderly society and for this they must be observed with respect.” Hence, Buddhism posed no threat to the existing philosophies. A positive tone can be found in Document 2 and 3, which defend and encourage the spread of Buddhism in China as the religion rescues hopeless people in times of the upheaval.
According to Zhi Dun, Buddhism presents a comforting worldview for Chinese scholars and aristocrats during the period of political disunity, which, in this case, was when northern China was invaded by central Asian steppe nomads, also known as the Mongols, circa 350 C.E. (Document 2). Meanwhile, the author of Document 3, who is an anonymous Chinese scholar, extracted the “goodness and wisdom” of Buddhism from the existent conflict between Confucianism and Buddhism to counter the scrutiny of many anti-Buddhists. By stating that “the monk practices the Way and substitutes that for worldly pleasures [which encompasses wives, children, and prosperity],” the anonymous scholar embraced Buddhism as the sacrifice of “joys of having a wife and children” in exchange for goodness and wisdom (Document 3). Document 2 and 3 are somewhat reliable, since both authors were scholars, which means they belonged to the upper class of the Chinese society and probably knew both Buddhist and Confucian philosophies. As the result, their testimonies unfortunately do not tell how the lower class felt about the spread of Buddhism. Furthermore, the author’s anonymity of Document 3 is questionable and thus, decreases the credibility of the
document. A negative tone can be found in Document 4 and 6, which discourage the spread of Buddhism in China as the religion was seen as corruption in both cases. By flagrantly saying that Buddhism is “no more that a cult of the barbarian peoples spread to China,” Han Yu, the author of Document 4, implied that Buddhism is foreign like the Mongols, which is considered as “evil.” For similar reason, the Tang Emperor Wu, who wrote an official edict of Buddhism, said that, “Buddhism wears out of the people’s strength, pilfers their wealth, causes people to abandon their lords and parents for the company of teachers, and servers man and wife with its monastic decrees” (Document 6). Historically, Emperor Wu, in desperate need of more revenues, closed many Buddhist monasteries, which controlled vast amounts of land and wealth, in the attempt to reduce the political and economic power of Buddhism in China. Hence, from an emperor’s perspective, Buddhism poses a threat to the Chinese economy, social order and political stability, since it is antithetical to Confucianism. The author of Document 4, as a Confucian scholar, he evidently favored Confucianism over Buddhism, which therefore, makes the document not reliable. Since the author of Document 6 himself is an emperor, he is the representative for all Chinese citizens, who actually witnessed the impact of Buddhism on China. Overall, the spread of Buddhism in China was met with a variety of neutral, positive and negative responses, However, only the upper/elite class was heard, which is insufficient to represent the whole Chinese society. Therefore, additional documents form the lower class (peasants, farmers…) and from Chinese women are needed in order to compare them with the elite documents above and to fully analyze the responses to the spread of Buddhism in China.
Since the introduction of Buddhism into China, it was not well received by the population as its foreign beliefs clashed with pre-existent principals of Confucianism and Taoism. On top of that, it was alienated by the Confucianism-based government in the late Han Dynasty. All in all, Buddhism was not a common nor a popular religion throughout China at first. Nevertheless, this all changed after the rise of the Tang Dynasty. There is no doubt that Buddhism and the Tang administration under Wu’s reign formed a critical symbiotic relationship with one another. Buddhism played a pivotal role in justifying Empress Wu’s rule. She enthroned herself as the monarch of China, an extraordinarily difficult achievement for a woman in a male-dominant society, by associating herself with Buddhism: proclaiming herself as the Maitreya and that she will bring an utopian era for the Chinese. (Smarr, 17 Feb. 2012) At the same time, Buddhism benefitted handsomely from government support, as monasteries are exempted from tax and that they are financially supported by the state, as seen in A Pilgrim’s Visit to the Five Terraces Mountains, which ultimately resulted in the substantial growth in attraction of Buddhist converts and Buddhism itself. Wu’s extensive support of the religion with ostentatious gifts and donations contributed to the rapid proliferation of Buddhism. Evidently, the mutually benefitting relationship between Buddhism and the state are crucial to each other’s survival during Wu’s sovereignty, but to what extent did her financial support (donations to monasteries) of Buddhism bettered the government overall?
This East Asian study will define the historical and literary elements of Chinese xenophobia, the regionalism of Chinese Taoism, and the importance of The Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution in the writings of Han Yu. Han Yu (768-824) defines the religious xenophobia that is attributed to Chinese culture during the Tang Dynasty, which reflects the policies of the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution under Emperor Wuzong. These values were generated through regional prominence of Anti-Buddhist propaganda that was defined through a predominantly Taoist and Confucian religious culture in China. Han Yu defines the overarching anti-Buddhist propaganda that diminishes the power of leaders, which perceived Buddhism as a “tribal” religion that had corrupted Chinese officials and Emperors. The Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution was a major part of religious xenophobia during the late 8th and 9th centuries that reflected an intolerance for religious diversity. In essence, an analysis of Chinese xenophobia, the regionalism of Chinese Taoism and Confucianism, and the importance of The
Wu Zhao, the first female emperor of China, rose to power during the Tang Dynasty and her active role with Buddhism fabricated a perpetual impact in the Chinese society as a whole. There is no doubt that Buddhism and the Tang administration, under Wu’s reign, formed a symbiotic relationship with one another. She is considered to be one of the most prominent advocators of the religion during the era. Her efforts to spread of Buddhism and the monetary support help Buddhism to expand throughout the people significantly, which provide the religion another source of financial income to spread even further. Regardless of Empress Wu’s intention, she has furnished the religion in numerous ways, but what did she receive in return? This proposes the question: To what extent did Empress Wu’s support of Buddhism, politically and financially, help Wu and better her empire overall?
Religion has always had an impact on an individual’s perspectives and the government, and this can clearly be seen with Buddhism and the Tang Dynasty. Before Buddhism pervaded China, the traditional religion in China was Confucianism, and the majority of individuals strictly followed the rules and principles of Confucianism. When Buddhism was introduced, every person engendered their own views on Buddhism and the influences the religion would have on the government. The Tang Dynasty generated a prosperous time in China, until the dynasty spiraled down into its demise in c. 750 (Smarr “Tang China”). Many individuals believed that the reason why the collapse of the Tang Dynasty occurred was because of Buddhism and foreign ideas. A Chinese poet, named Han Yu, believed in the concept that Buddhism was the ultimate cause for the destruction of the Tang Dynasty, and his ideas were very influential. Han Yu’s ideas promoted the riddance of Buddhism values and monasteries in China (Smarr “An Lu-shan Rebellion”). Therefore, the question that arises from such observations is was this an accurate portrayal of perspectives during the Tang dynasty and how influential was this portrayal? Although, one portrayal of the Tang Dynasty’s collapse was Emperor Xuanzong’s carelessness, Han Yu persists that the accurate portrayal of the collapse was brought about by Buddhism through monasteries and monks, and selfish values.
of acceptance of Buddhism within China, one must look at each class individually and see
In China, the citizens' inclination of Buddhism varied from that of other states. There was a plethora of mental outlooks on how Buddhism was changing the Chinese society as it expanded from India, where it was founded in the sixth century BCE. The responses are organized depending on their acceptance, rejection, or encouragement of a combination of Buddhism with other religions. These categories are illustrated by the following documents; the acceptance by documents two and five, the rejection by documents four, six, and three, and last, the encouragement by documents two, five, and three. Additional documentations that would be helpful in classifying the reactions of the Chinese people would be a testimony or statement of a Chinese woman, or group of women, and of peasants. These would be helpful as we'd be able to examine exactly how the Chinese were affected by Buddhism's grasp. We would be able to see how Buddhism affected their daily lives and what they thought about the sudden religion.
Buddhist popularity towards the Chinese grew following the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220 C.E. It’s influence has continued to expand for several centuries. Between 220 C.E. and 220 C.E. and 570 C.E., China experienced a period of political instability and disunity. During this time, many of the Chinese, specifically scholars, sought for peace in Buddhism and approved of Buddhism. On the other hand, the strict confucianists and the government fought to end Buddhism and make people go against it.
Xuanzang was a highly educated Buddhist monk from China, who in 629 C.E. made the long and treacherous journey along the Silk Road to India. His main objectives in his sixteen years away from home were fundamentally religious; he only wanted to study more complete scriptures to answer questions he had, which he deemed unsolvable in his own country. It is important to understand Xuanzang’s own position within the Chinese society and the type of situation it was in: Chinese Buddhists had many disagreements
“The whole character of Chinese popular religion flows in the direction of plethora of rituals and obligations without much discernable doctrinal underpinning” (Corduan, 2012, p.410). The Chinese popular religion has gravitated away the gods of Buddha and Daoism and captured the philosophy of luck and materialism (Corduan, 2012), while it “is less concerned with philosophical issues and
In the comparison with other class of Chinese faith , the study of Chinese Buddhism benefits. First, the International range of Buddhism allows for fruitful comparison with developments in other neighboring finish such as India and japan and the contemporary identicalness of Buddhism as a missionary. Buddhism is a way of breakthrough repose within oneself. It is a organized religion that helps us to find the happiness and contentment we seek. Buddhist develop inner peace, kindness and wisdom through their daily practice; and then share their experience with others delivery real number benefit to this humankind .They try not to injury others and to live
Buddhism is a religion from the East that has spread to many different countries all over the world. It has spread to the West, and has had a great influence and impact, especially in America. However, the Buddhism that is practiced in the United States is not exactly the same as the one that is practiced in Asian countries. If Buddhism differs between the different traditions of the Asian countries themselves, it is obvious that it will differ greatly in America as well. However, even though there are obvious differences, it is important to maintain the core values and fundamental principles the same. This research explores how the three different types of Buddhist practitioners have adopted Buddhism in America, and it describes some differences
Buddhism originated in India in the sixth century BCE and spread throughout China starting from about the first century CE. Buddhist ideologies appealed to a majority of the lower-class in china, as it served to embody a much more pleasant life, rather than the lack of opportunities for them in China’s political society. However, the social elites and government authorities saw Buddhism as a threat to their previous decrees and traditions, and may consequently result in a loss of their political power. As a result, they sought to undermine the impact of Buddhism on their societies by discrediting it’s teachings.
The development and evolution of the different sects of Japanese Buddhism such as Zen Buddhism played an important role in the development of classical Japanese culture throughout the four major periods, which was shown in the way that the Nara period, the Heian era, the Kamakura period, and the Edo period were all shaped by the ascent and decline of different Buddhist sects. It is these transitions that make Japanese history a myriad, but fascinating web of interconnecting events that manages to confuse even the most veteran historians. At first, Buddhism was only a pastime of the elite class of landowners and daimyo that held no special significance to the common peoples. It was mainly another way for the central government to gain power and influence among the many local lords that it had to contend with on a regular basis. Although it is to be noted that most of these new converts to Buddhism did not abandon their earlier religions, but instead blended it together with several aspects of Shintoism, the original indigenous religion of Japan(“Japanese Buddhism”,1). This created several amalgamations of the two religions wherever and whenever they met(“Japanese Buddhism”,1). However, as Buddhism was introduced to the general population through the process of hierarchical diffusion, it quickly branched off and evolved from its original form as different sects that shaped contemporary Japanese culture (Kasahara, 302).
Regarding religion, Chinese culture saw the emergence of Confucianism and Buddhism as the major influence. Confucianism stressed filial piety which meant respecting elders and superiors, ruling righteously, and obeying commands and orders. Confucianism was introduced by the Chinese thinker Confucius. Buddhism was brought to China, but originated in India and was founded by Siddhartha Gautama. Followers of Buddhism worshipped Buddh...
In a quote from the Dalai Lama he says, “My religion is very simply. My religion is kindness.” IN buddhism where the main goal is happiness, that quote seems to explain it all. The fact of the matter is, religion has been around since the beginning of mankind; religion gave people faith, structure, and a way of life. Without it people begin to lose their sense of direction and purpose. In today’s society there are over 4,200 religions, and they continue to aid people in their life and accommodate to their needs of self-knowledge. In comparison to Cao Dai, Eckankar and Jainism, Buddhism is a religion because of its similar beliefs, the way it's practiced, and its head figure.