Buddhism

The Kamakura Daibutsu, a bronze statue of Amida

• Japanese: 仏教 (bukkyou)

History

Introduction to China

Buddhism was first introduced into China around the first century CE, as missionaries from India crossed the steppes and entered China. It was originally misunderstood as a variant on Taoism, however, giving rise in fact to the belief that Lao Tzu had traveled to India, where the Buddha became his disciple, and that Buddhism was, thus, simply the Indian form of Taoism. Still, many Central Asian regions, and their rulers, converted in the second century, and by the third century, Chinese scholar-elites were familiar with Buddhism. Towards the end of the 2nd century, Mouzi or his followers wrote the Lǐhuòlùn, a text questioning Buddhism and ultimately providing a guide for how to reconcile Buddhist belief and practice with those of Confucianism and Taoism. Buddhism began to spread in earnest in China in the third century, taking hold in elite Chinese society by the fifth century, and gaining widespread popularity among the masses by the sixth century.

Mayahana Buddhism, which allowed for a syncretic pantheon of Buddhist deities, incorporating figures from Chinese folk religions alongside numerous other Buddhas and bodhisattvas, of whom the historical Buddha was only one, took root relatively easily in China, as compared to Theravada Buddhism, which focused more strongly on the historical Buddha and his teachings. Buddhist concepts such as karma also shifted and changed, adapting for example to the Chinese focus on the family, and on ancestors, rather than on individual honor or virtue.

Taoist heads of some Chinese states persecuted Buddhism harshly, including in northern China from 446-452, and again from 574-578. However, other states were more accepting of the new religion. The rulers of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534) were among the first, and most prominent, to convert to Buddhism and advocate its spread. The so-called "Bodhisattva Emperor" Wu entered monastic life on three occasions, being ransomed back from the temples by his nonplussed courtiers. Buddhism gained significant traction in southern China at that same time. Shrines and temples began to be built, and monks and their institutions to gain wealth and power as elites, inspired by the idea of gaining spiritual merit through acts of faith and charity, began to donate land and funds to Buddhist institutions.

Buddhism gained more widespread popularity (i.e. among the masses) in the sixth century, as it began to take on new forms specifically adapted to Chinese society, and became more accessible to the masses. The emergence of Pure Land Buddhism at this time was a key element of these developments, focusing on the idea of salvation through faith, committing oneself to a spiritual and upright life, and through the aid of compassionate deities, especially Amitabha (Amida Buddha, the Buddha of the Western Paradise, i.e. the Pure Land) and Guanyin (J: Kannon), the bodhisattva of compassion. Other forms of Buddhism required its devotees to possess significant wealth (to donate to Buddhist temples), leisure time (to devote to prayer, ritual, and study of religious texts), and learning (to study the religious texts, and to perform complex rituals); by contrast, Pure Land Buddhism focused on simpler rituals, and expressions of faith.

Chan Buddhism (J: Zen) was another major form of Buddhism to develop in China, gaining a widespread following among elites in the 8th century. Like Pure Land Buddhism, it rejected religious texts, deities, and complex (Esoteric) rituals, and focused instead on the personal pursuit of enlightenment, through meditation and spiritual contemplation of essential questions and concepts. Where Pure Land Buddhism placed relatively little focus on monasticism, however, being a more popular form of religion, Chan embraced the monastic tradition; the truest devotees of Chan Buddhism became monks, and devoted themselves to meditation and spiritual pursuits within a Chan monastery.

Introduction in Japan

The main hall at Tôdai-ji

The introduction of Buddhism to Japan from Korea is traditionally said to have taken place in 552.

References

• Bonnie Smith et al. Crossroads and Cultures, vol. B, Bedford/St. Martins, 2012. pp312-314.