People in China who were against Buddhism from the start, disliked it because it was said
People in China who were against Buddhism from the start, disliked it because it was said
Many Chinese peoples originally accepted Buddhism and defended its policies (docs 2, 1, 3, 5). Between 220 C.E. and 570 C.E, after the collapse of the Han Dynasty, China experienced a period of political instability and disunity which resulted in the gradual increase in Buddhist converts. Consequently, Buddhism served as a shelter for Chinese citizens during a politically uncertain and chaotic time. Zhi Dun's argument supporting Buddhism was justified by the current political leaders’ inability to be trusted to provide security (doc 2). This led many Chinese citizens to turn to other worldly practices, especially ones that make sense of meaningless suffering and provide a reward in an afterlife.…
During the spread of Buddhism into China starting in first century C.E up to the ninth century C.E, responses to the spread of Buddhism varied. Many believed in the faith while some, Confucianists, argued that buddhism was outlandish. Considering that all the documents were written from the perspective of high class scholars, the plea from the majority of the population, the lower class, remains unclear. Documents 2 and 3 discuss the inner workings of the religion while bearing a positive outlook on Buddhism. Document 3 shines a light on both sides of the spectrum; the author makes a supportive stance by giving reasonable explanations to the common counter arguments on Buddhism during first century C.E.…
Several centuries after Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Buddha, died, Buddhism made its emergence into China in the first century CE. Initially, the spread of Buddhism was responded to positively by the people of China and they adopted its ideals. However, as Buddhism continued to expand, the government, specifically of the Tang Dynasty, started to turn against Buddhists and even went as far as to blame them for problems within the state. As a result, the people felt compelled to diverge from Buddhist beliefs and became xenophobic to those who did not abandon those beliefs.…
In the first century CE, as Buddhism spread from India to China, it ended with many results. The people living during this time had to deal with displeasure from the government, and the government not supporting the acceptance of their religion. The spread of Buddhism resulted in many positive and negative ways. Many people were unhappy, and others we're happy. Buddhism, however was founded in India and brought to china with a time span of 6 centuries.…
Buddhist temples, spiritual sermons and sacred writings spread throughout India and beyond, fortifying the “religion” as influential. Similarly, ancient China ratified Buddhism as a philosophical way of life after being introduced…
As Buddhism spread from India to China beginning the first century C.E., it was met with many mixed responses. Many Chinese accepted Buddhism and defended it’s policies while others scrutinized its absence from past texts for political and social problems. However, others remained neutral wishing to meld the aspects of the belief system in china to create a unique Chinese culture. Documents 4 and 6 scrutinize and discourage the spread of Buddhism throughout china while documents 2 and 3 defend and support it. Documents 1 and 5 neither encourage nor discourage the religion’s spread but provide a 3rd perspective on how it should be handled.…
Japanese society has been majorly influenced by China throughout history. This is visible in Japan’s religious art, technology, philosophy, and architecture. One of the largest influences of Chinese culture on Japan actually came through Korea. Buddhism was introduced to Japan in 552 by the gift of a Korean king to the Emperor. This gift consisted of a gilded bronze Buddha and sutras written in Chinese.…
Buddhism started in India and since everyone in India was already Hindu and weren’t going to convert the spread moved to China. While Christianity originated in Judea. In Judea Christianity was frowned upon so they moved their attempt to spread to the Roman Empire. Another difference between the spread of the two were that Christianity after a while spread violently and forcefully. The Christians would raid city’s and made everyone still alive after the city was conquered convert to Christianity convert or they were killed.…
Within the Tang and Song era, different sects of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism were practiced. The pure land sect of Mahayana Buddhism which provided a refuge from an age of war and turmoil was favorable among the masses. The Chan or Zen Buddhism was prominent among the elite classes due to its emphasis on meditation and appreciation of the arts. Buddhism flourished after the fall of the Han and was greatly supported by early Tang rulers. Consequently, the popularity of Buddhism led to the backlash from Confucian and Daoist.…
In addition, the Chinese and the Romans absorbed foreign religions into their regions. Buddhism was introduced to China by Central Asian traders, and though it provided people with the stability that they desired, it was only practiced modestly. When Christianity began in Rome, it spread slowly until it gained support from the emperors, which boosted the spread into the rest of the region. The view of gods differed between the Chinese and the Romans. Though the Chinese believed that their emperors ruled by the Mandate of Heaven, there was no emphasis on a higher power that was thought to be revolved…
Buddhism was a religion that spread during the sixth century. Buddhism's fundamental belief was about life without suffering. This religious principle appealed to many including those in lower socioeconomic classes; however, Buddhism was not popular with some Chinese dynasty emperors. There were common reasons for Buddhism's popularity as well as its unwelcomed presence among some Chinese emperors. Buddhism was admired by many for copious reasons.…
Buddhism was a very controversial philosophy in ancient China; many philosophers and scholars had strong views and arguments for or against Buddhism’s principles. Buddhism was founded in India and brought to China around the first century C.E. Buddhism’s influences spread throughout China slowly but gained more followers after the collapse of the Han dynasty in 220 C.E and continued to spread many centuries afterwards, during the empire’s political instability. China’s broken government and loss of unity allowed Buddhism to thrive. The philosophy promised that those who followed the ways of Buddha would rid themselves of their sorrows (doc. 1) and after death would be allowed to enter Nirvana; a state of being in which there is no suffering nor sense of desire for one's self (doc. 2).…
Buddhism originated in the Himalayas, India, from there it spread along trade routes in particular the silk road. Merchants and missionaries from India spread Buddhist beliefs along their travels. All before 600 CE Buddhism reached China, Japan, Korea, and South East Asia. 8. Confucianism began in the warring States period and was founded by Confucius.…
Although lower classed people supported and defended Buddhism in China, others with higher social status and elites took a xenophobic position on Buddhism and attempted to eradicate it by pointing out various flaws. As Buddhism spread though China people began to react differently to the new forms of teaching. People who were in lower positions of social hierarchy however, openly accepted Buddhism as a teaching and as a religion. Zhi Dun, states “He will behold the Buddha and be enlightened in his spirit, and then he will enter Nirvana.”…
A Historical Comparison: The rise of Buddhism and Christianity in China Buddhism and Christianity, both originally foreign to China, rose to prominence in their own right during times of change in Chinese history. While Buddhism established a close bond to Chinese culture during the Tang Dynasty, Christianity was unable to co-inhabit as a main religion due to several factors after its initial success in the 1600s. The efforts of these vastly different religions to seamlessly assimilate into a Chinese lifestyle can be compared and contrasted, to clarify the defining successes and failures of each. The success of Buddhism can be attributed to the work of the Buddhist missionaries, its reception among Chinese gentry, and the invention of the printing…