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===Origins in India===

===Origins in India===

===Introduction to China===

===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 [[Shakamuni|Buddha]] became his disciple, and that Buddhism was, thus, simply the Indian form of Taoism.<ref name=craig50>[[Albert M. Craig]], ''The Heritage of Chinese Civilization'', Third Edition, Prentice Hall (2011), 49-51.</ref> 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.

Buddhism was first introduced into China around the first century CE, as Buddhist merchants from Central Asia<ref>Conrad Schirokauer, et al, ''A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations'', Fourth Edition, Cengage Learning (2012), 87.</ref> and 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 [[Shakamuni|Buddha]] became his disciple, and that Buddhism was, thus, simply the Indian form of Taoism.<ref name=craig50>[[Albert M. Craig]], ''The Heritage of Chinese Civilization'', Third Edition, Prentice Hall (2011), 49-51.</ref> 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 [[Buddha|Buddhas]] and [[bodhisattva]]s, of whom the [[Shakamuni|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.

Mayahana Buddhism, which allowed for a syncretic pantheon of Buddhist deities, incorporating figures from Chinese folk religions alongside numerous other [[Buddha|Buddhas]] and [[bodhisattva]]s, of whom the [[Shakamuni|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.