Buddhism in China

China had three basic ways of life that people followed everyday: Daoism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. They spread throughout China at different times and had different affects. As Buddhism spread throughout China, different outlooks and views were given to the religion in society. Many favored Buddhism as a great way of life, yet some thought of it as being evil and a ruiner of the country. Although there were different responses to the spread, Buddhism still flourished in China because more favored it to any other religion or way of life.

Buddhism had positive responses in China because of its teachings. In Document one, which states the four noble truths, Buddhism is the one and only way of life. Sorrow, in Buddhist tradition, is death to people through cravings and unfulfilled desires, and the only way to truly live is to get rid of these disgraceful desires and put a stop to them. Delights and passion in life would only lead to cravings, and this was sorrow itself for wanting anything, but by ending these unwanted sorrows a satisfying life would come. People flocked to these teachings because they'd rather give up everything and live a simple life rather than deal with life's hardships. People also believed that through the right life and the devotion to Buddhism they could reach Nirvana. In Document 2 written by Zhi Dun, a chinese scholar, Nirvana was "the extinction of desire and individual consciousness", and that people could reach Nirvana by serving the Buddha and following the commandments which the scriptures state. Buddhism was a way for people to have a beautiful and great afterlife and be enlightened. Buddhism gave people the hope that although their life might not have

been what they would've hoped, they had the afterlife to look forward to. Buddhism was the change that many people needed.

Of course with any spread of religion, there were those who didn't have a positive response to the spread of Buddhism. Document 6, written from the Edict of Buddhism by Tang Emperor Wu, calls Buddhism evil and a basic ruiner of the Chinese society. It states that people Buddhism spread "like a luxuriant vine until it poisoned the customs of our nation," the nation of China. Buddhism caused people to abandon their work, their families, and their lives to learn the teachings. People could go hungry for lose of food or cold from the work that one man or one woman does regularly if that man or woman should chose Buddhism as their religion. According to Emperor Wu, Buddhism should have been removed from the nation because of the "evil" it creates. The religion that's in higher favor in this case isn't really known, but in Document 4 Confucianism is the best way of life. Han Yu, a leading Confucian scholar, brings up a good point. He says that Buddhism doesn't follow the same basic principles that created the nation of China to begin with such as the way Buddha dressed and the ancient kings of China. He also states that Buddhism doesn't contain the duties that make a ruler a ruler and the relationship between father and son. Although Buddhism is a way of life, it doesn't fit to what China originally stood for therefore by incorporating the religion into society Chinese people could lose their basic parts of Chinese heritage. Yu also uses a quote from Confucius to say that although people should respect the dead, they should stay away from them. He says this to say that if Buddha came to the court now, bones and

all he would be dismissed

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