Buddhism: A Major Part In Shaping The Civilization Of Ancient China

Brought to China by the first century CE, Buddhism was first founded in the 6th century BCE. The collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE encouraged the conversion to Buddhism. Following the collapse of the Han Dynasty between 220 CE and 570 CE, China faced a period of political instability and disunity. In around 570 CE, the structure and well-being of China was restored under the Tang Dynasty. When the spread of Buddhism in China occurred, many people had both positive outlooks and negative outlooks on the spread of the religion. There were several different responses regarding the spread, one was a negative response due to the foreign idea of Buddhism, they believed it would hurt Chinese society and it differed from their original religion

Buddhism was founded in India and brought over to China by the first century C.E. As Buddhism spread all over China, it had both positive and negative feelings toward it. According to some of the documents, it shows how China accepted Buddhism and tried to defend any hate that it got. While some of the other documents blamed Buddhism for problems that the country was facing. The remaining documents didn’t really show any emotions toward it. An additional document that would show Buddhism's’ appeal in China would be a the amount of people who tried Buddhism and their opinion on it.

The spread of Buddhism in China received positive and negative responses. It was greatly accepted among many Chinese people, and others believed it to be true evil. Document 2 and 3 show some of the positive responses; that Buddhism was what every person needed to follow, that Nirvana was the life goal. While documents 4 and 6 show some negative views on Buddhism, they explain the pure evil that is was. Document 1 does not show any favor for or against Buddhism, and Document 5 is not just for Buddhism, but also Confucius and Laozi.

China was affected tremendously by the spread of Buddhism from 300 to 900 C.E. Buddhism itself was spread to China around 100 C.E by Indian missionaries, and after taking hold during the Era of Division (300s-500s), it became a household religion (particularly the Mahayana and Chan variations . Buddhism’s popularity rose consistently from the late Han dynasty through it’s peak during Empress Wu’s rule in the late 600s and early 700s. But, the religion’s popularity fell sharply during Emperor Wuzong’s reign as the persecution of Buddhism grew common (CONTEXT). The spread of Buddhism affected all classes and people of China in different ways; Chinese peasants were able to worship this religion regardless of education or social position (though

In the sixth century B.C.E., the religion of Buddhism was founded in India. Seven centuries later, the religion would find itself arriving in China in the midst of the Han Dynasty. In China, there were many different views of the religion as it arrived and spread throughout the country. There were two main responses to the religion. One response was that Buddhism could stand alongside other Chinese religions and philosophies such as Confucianism, as it could do a lot of good for China; while another view was that Buddhism had no place in China, as it came from foreign people and was barbaric, stealing from the Chinese.

The people of China believed in different religions but did admire the Buddhist ideas. At first Buddhism was not popular in China but after many years of war people turned towards the calming ideas that Buddhism taught. The spread of Buddhism increased when the Han Dynasty fell and by 400 AD China’s major religion was

Gautama is the founder of the religion Buddhism that originated in India. A Buddhist, follower of Buddhism, spends their whole life trying to escape samsara and reach nirvana. The journey to nirvana for a Buddhist can only be achieved by them self. The book Siddhartha is about a boy that goes on a journey to become enlightened. The boy, Siddhartha, has to overcome a lot before he settles back at the river he once crossed and finds nirvana.

Buddhism is a major global religion with a complex history and system of beliefs. The founder of Buddhism is said to be Siddhartha Gautama, the son of an Indian warrior-king. Gautama led an extravagant life through early adulthood, reveling in the privileges of his social class. Gautama became bored with the indulgences of royal life so he wandered into the world searching for understanding. After encountering an old man, ill man, a corpse, and an ascetic, he was convinced that suffering lay at the end of all existence. He then became a monk, depriving himself of worldly possessions in the hope of comprehending the truth of the world around him. The culmination of his search came while meditating beneath a tree, where he finally understood how to be free from suffering, and ultimately, to achieve salvation. Gautama became known as the Buddha, meaning the “Enlightened One.” He spent the remainder of his life

As one of the four great ancient civilizations, China has a very long history and a gorgeous culture. We can not ignore the fact that not only religions and cultures are inseparable, but also can influence each other profoundly, Just like Buddhism and Chinese culture. “The Chinese traditional culture includes three systems of thought: Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism. The first two are Chinese culture, and Buddhism is a foreign religion from India. For over 2,000 years, Buddhism has interacted with all levels of Chinese culture such as literature, philosophy, morality, arts, architecture and religions. As a result, Buddhism has successfully integrated into the traditional Chinese culture and has become one of the three pillars.” (Xing, 308) 2010 Religious report survey data show that there are

Buddhism traveled from India through the Silk Road and Central Asia to northern China in the first century C.E. At that time the Chinese believed in Confucian values also known as the Chinese values. The conflict between these values continued through many ruling Chinese dynasties. There were inherent differences between the Buddhist beliefs and practices and traditional Confucius beliefs practiced by the Chinese. These differences are captured in the three sources which are collection of many biographies.

Buddhism is a widespread religion, not just restricted to the Chinese civilisation, but is prevalent in most Asian countries. It originated in India approximately two and a half millennia ago and henceforth, remains to dominate the East. Consequently, there are currently over 360 million followers of Buddhism and over one million American Buddhists.

Buddhism for centuries, has long been influencing the population all over the world, specifically in China . Buddhism first came to China as a result of merchant traders from India. From there it spread within the merchant community. It mainly expanded because it gave people a sense of hope and faith with the chaos they were experiencing from the collapse of the Han Dynasty. It also spread because it covered what Confucianism lacked; a more spiritual and emotional approach that appealed to many people of different classes. It is because of this that Buddhism spread and was able to influence and greatly affect China during the period of 300-900 CE. Buddhism influenced philosophy and moral teachings, kept the Chinese society peaceful and orderly, as well as affecting the overall economy. Buddhism had strong religious teachings that appealed to the lower class with the idea of afterlife and nirvana as well as an emphasis on following your own path that transformed Chinese beliefs causing a large portion of the population to convert (doc’s 1,4). Buddhism kept the Chinese society orderly by reminding all of Buddha’s life and teachings with statues and the influence it had on monks to spread charity and missionary work (doc’s 2,3,6). Buddhism also had an effect on the economy of China. As it spread from other regions, it caused more farmers and silk producers to convert and spread the religion as monks and nuns. (doc 7,5).

Siddhartha Gautama, or Buddha, is considered the founder of Buddhism. He is credited with starting Buddhism because he realized a life of balance and meditation is better than an extreme lifestyle.

Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Buddha “The enlightened one” was a spiritual leader and teacher whose life serves as the foundation of the Buddhist religion.

Approximately 350 million people in the world today are practicing Buddhist, making Buddhism the world’s fourth largest religion. However Buddhism has an influence even greater than the number of its adherents would indicate. From the time that its founder, Siddhartha Gautama, preached his first sermon 2500 years ago, Buddhism has spread from its homeland in India to China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Tibet, and abroad. Although China is the largest country in the world to be officially atheist, a large majority of its populace adheres to Buddhist traditions and is even practicing Buddhists. They are noticeably influenced by the culture. In fact, all of the countries that came under the influence of Buddhism were enriched culturally and artistically. The image of the Buddha, which means “Enlightened One,” appears