Tang Dynasty Buddhism

However, both documents go about it completely opposite ways, yet reach the same consensus that Buddha's teaching was valued in China. Document 3 focuses on the apparent ‘shortcomings’ of Buddhism and the reasons why these ‘shortcomings’ make Buddhism a unique and different religion. This document brings up the interesting point that just because a work is not of Confucius or other sages doesn’t make the work of less value, while at the same time differentiating the works of Confucius and Buddhism. On the other hand, Document 5 includes Buddha as one of the sages whose works have transformed and created society. Document 5 brings up the point that each sage modeled their work and lessons after what was relevant at the time, so all teachings, abiet different, are all right in their own

The fall of Rome was mainly because of plagues wiping out most of the population. The fall of the Han dynasty began from decentralized rule. However, outside invasions had an effect on the fall of both classical civilizations.

After imperial structure was restored, the Chinese began to disapprove of Buddhism (docs 4, 6). Chinese government authorities increasingly saw Buddhism as a threat to their political power and moved to discredit it. Imperial Tang advisor Han Yu saw Buddhism as evil, anti-Confucian, and illegal (doc 4). Han Yu’s position and livelihood greatly depends on Confucianism remaining dominant, especially due to the civil service system, which provided him with his government job. Due to this, he is not a very reliable source on how the average citizen and even the Chinese emperor felt about Confucianism remaining dominate (doc 4, POV).

The challenges Buddhism faced as it arrived in China were mainly linguistic challenges, different philosophical context, diverse conceptions of the ideal perfect being, and the core differences in social values. In order to overcome these challenges, there were translations made, and efforts put into searching for links between Buddhist and Chinese beliefs at that time. Moreover, there were cultural differences between the North and the South, which lead to a different process of Buddhism’s arrival within China.

Everyone would want to live according to the way that he or she sees fit which would most likely put the lives of other persons in danger. It is for this reason that religion is considered an even more powerful form of society control than even the government. Religion performs a bigger role than the government in that it makes people fearful of living contrary to the religious values provided since they know that the punishment that this attracts is even bigger than perhaps what the government may do in terms of punishment. Although religions such as Islam, Hindu and Christianity are well recognized and appreciated world wide as forms of religion, there are other religions that are not as well appreciated and recognized. It is mainly because people do not feel that these religions satisfy certain aspects that are common with most religions. Mengzian Confucianism is one of these practices that are not appreciated worldwide as a religion but a close analysis of the practice shows that it qualifies

Confucianism has had a powerful influence on Chinese culture, and will likely continue to as long as the Chinese people adopt the values into their everyday lives. Although there pure Confucians may not exist in abundance, many others still practice certain aspects of this ideology. As long as humans desire to become better, more respectful people, the centuries old Confucian ideology will continue to have an influence on modern

The novel Monkey: Journey to the West is one of the greatest classics of Chinese literature. The novel follows the adventure of Tripitaka followed by the protagonist, monkey and his disciples to India in order to find ancient Buddhist scriptures. The story consists of Chinese legends, tales, and superstitions. Daoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, which are the three main religions in China, play a huge role throughout this story. In the adaptation of Monkey: Journey to the West by David Kherdian, religions are often woven in to the journey of the traveling companion in order to show the path toward self-cultivation and collective harmony.

The Chang’an, which was the capital, was a city of merchants, and entertainment such as tea houses and restaurants with foreign food. The elites of the Tang had a mixed background, understanding the customs and system of other nations. This caused the ruling elites to be more knowledgeable, flexible, and adapting, compared to other dynasties. The Tang Legal Code was a major set of rules established during this time. The Tang Code enunciated general principles of the law and listed specific offenses and punishments. It was later used as a model for other societies such as the Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese. Punishment carried depending on the status of the violator. The Tang Code was a result in Legalist thinking, but also Confucian values. Legalism was apparent though determining the appropriate punishment for a particular crime. However, Confucianism was apparent since the killing of a family member was worse than killing a stranger, resulting in a harsher crime. Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism also flourished throughout the Tang dynasty. The Tang were a mix of Confucian and Legalist rule, but most were Buddhist, resulting in many Buddhist temples. The reaction of the growth of Buddhism resulted in scholar, Han Yu criticizing its growth. Han Yu was a Confucian scholar, advocating the use of filial piety which mean rulers retain loyalty to their subjects. Later, Buddhist monasteries were closed down

Zong Mi, a leading Buddhist scholar defends Buddhism by praising it as it was established “according to the demands of the age and the needs of various beings” during a time of need. (Doc 5) Also, in Zong Mi’s defense of Buddhism he is careful not to criticize Confucianism or Daoism as to avoid angering Emperor Wu after his revival of the imperial structure, instead he calls the founder’s of these religions “perfect sages.” (Doc 5) On the other hand, the Buddha simply lays out the basic principles of how to achieve nirvana in the Buddhist tradition of “The Four Noble Truths.” These traditions come straight from the Buddha’s sacred texts, so it suggests that all followers of the Buddha would share these same beliefs. In addition, this document does not explicitly encourage the spread of Buddhism or advise against its opposing religion of Confucianism. In fact, these two documents remain pretty indifferent towards Buddhism’s spread into China, only defending it when

Unit 7 is a rather long section covering both Rome and China 's powerful and expansive empires during the time period 300 BCE - 300 CE. The Han Dynasty and Imperial Rome were very similar in their unprecedented scale and duration. Although they did operate in differing ways, for example, Rome relied on slaves to expand its workforce, while the Chinese 's economy lived off of free peasant farmers. The Chinese benefited from having an overwhelming population that would benefit the bureaucracy and supply political stability for the Hans. When it came to the Roman Empire, religion did not have the same impact that Confucianism had on the dynasties in China. The first couple of primary sources of Unit 7 detail the success and downfall of the Qin dynasty as well as the Han dynasty which followed. The later

Han Yu cited Confucius in his rage to ridicule Buddhism as “a cult of barbarian peoples” (Doc #4). Han Yu’s position in the imperial court certainly suggests his ideas were an official state standard, though one would need additional evidence from Han Yu’s emperor’s response to Han Yu’s plea in order to know how much influence actually Han Yu held over official policy. Emperor Wu also called for Buddhism’s “eradication,” as the cause for “poisoning customs.” As Emperor, it is likely that Wu’s Edict carried a lot of weight, but it is also possible Wu was jealous of Buddhist monasteries “outshining [his own] imperial palace” than by true concern for his subjects’ welfare. A census showing causes of death would allow historians to objectively evaluate whether Buddhism truly caused citizens to “go hungry,” as Emperor Wu claimed (Doc

Documents 1 and 5 do not directly show support or contempt for Buddhism, but rather give another perspective of the religion. Document 1 comes from a sermon preached by the Buddha himself. “The Four Noble Truths” shows us the basic guidelines of the religion. This information is vital because many people who just simply chose a side of the fight for or against Buddhism may not actually know what the religion represents. By reading the sermon, the Chinese citizens could form a better understanding of Buddhism. Document 5 is from the writings of Zong Mi, a Buddhist scholar. Zong Mi compares the Buddha to other sages such as Confucius and Laozi. He does this because although someone may support one sage, they could disagree with another. He says however, that all three teachings should be observed the same. An additional document that could be helpful in the analyzation of the question would perhaps be a simple account of Buddhism from a lower class citizens point of view. Although the documents all analyzed Buddhism to a great extent, they were all from Chinese scholars or emperors. A low class citizen could tell us whether or not Buddhism affects the impoverished in positive or negative

Buddhism believed followers abandon family for their teachers. Because Buddhism was centralized on a life immersed in religious teachings, teachers were the main leaders for Buddhists, meaning the emperor’s ability to rule would be demolished, as Buddhists will only look up to and serve as instructed to by their teachers, ignoring the orders of the emperor. The presence of Buddhism would also end up eradicating the form of government in China. Document #6 mentions how Buddhists were not productive to Chinese economy and relied on laborers to feed and clothe them. If Buddhists weren’t working, that implies they spent their whole lives on worship. If they focused on worship so much, it meant there would be no need for a government since their teachers are practically their rulers, and they didn’t really interact with neighboring people. Government wouldn't be needed to maintain control since daily life revolved around worship. Zong Mi believes that Buddhism led to the creation of an organized state. Zong Mi, a Buddhist, Chinese official, wrote document #5 in the early 9th century (after the fall of the Han) with an open and supportive tone, stating that Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism were all respectable practices with the same outcome (an orderly society). This piece was meant to be heard, and written for everyone, to say that these three practices should be viewed with

The last religion that has a major role in people’s everyday lives is Buddhism. Buddhist believe in the teachings of Buddha, who was originally Hindu until enlightenment. Buddhist highly believe in the 4 Noble Truths and the 8 Fold Path. There are many religious things that fall off of Buddhism like Confucius and Taoism. In Document 5 it says that’s Buddhist should be respected because they are encouraging and are at different levels of

It can be said that opposites attract as well as complement each other. Within the religions of Daoism, Confucianism, and Shinto lay harmony, respect, and ethical behavior towards nature, ancestors, oneself, and others. Although Daoism and Confucianism are native to China and Shinto to Japan, East Asian cultures integrate these religions and practices with openness and acceptance. They are the light and dark without reference to good or bad as the opposites necessitate one another. (Fisher, 2014, 201) Instead the interwoven religions of Daoism, Confucianism, and Shinto compliment each other in addition to having distinct differences.