Spread Of Buddhism Dbq Essay

The introduction of Buddhism to China started off well, most openly accepted the foreign religion and it continued to thrive for centuries. Until the lack of an empire and laws plagued individuals minds. Other religions with a strong imperial structure, such as Confucianism, rose to support the growing number of negative minds. Buddhism was spread by Buddhist missionaries from India into China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). It was, at first, confined to only the higher status individuals, like aristocrats and Chinese royalty. Other religions such as Islam and Confucianism were flourishing around this time as well. Buddhism arriving in China resulted in various responses, some were positive and accepted the religion, but after a while

Most of the civilization was uninterested in the religion, as seen in Document 1. The Asian monk and scholar wrote about how they saw it as equal to other religions, yet were incurious about it. The Qin monk is trying to persuade others to convert to buddhism, so when they die they will reach Nirvana and it will ‘Free them from all fear and keep them from falling into the evil paths of existence. Buddhism first became popular, when Kumarajiva himself translated these Buddhist texts into Chinese. This made the texts available to all, and laid the foundation for the acceptance of Buddhism. (Doc.

The Anonymous Chinese Scholar defended Buddhism even with his possibly high status in society, due to his obvious literacy. (Doc. 3) He was trying to encourage religions to coexist with one another. The document suggests Buddhist’s were put under more pressure to present evidence that they’re worthy enough to coexist with Confucianism or Islam.He most likely kept his identity a secret, due to fear of persecution. This document was written in 500 CE, between the Han and Sui Dynasties, when there was no dynasty set in tact. The scholar was trying to encourage religions to coexist with one another. Zong Mi was a Buddhist scholar who was arguing for Buddhism and the equality of religions. He states ‘All three teachings lead to the creation of an orderly society’. (Doc. 5) He recognizes that all religions or philosophies (including Taoism, Buddhism and Confucianism) should be accepted together and that people who practice Buddhism don’t bring harm to anyone. Similar to document 5, document 3 supports Buddhism while acknowledging the increasing hostility towards Buddhism in the Chinese society.
Zhi Dun created this document during the times of war and political uncertainty. (Doc. 2) Most political leaders could not be trusted, due to no definite dynasty at this time, so people relied on certainty in their culture. Zhi Dun was a very trusted upperclass