Buddhism in China

One of the interesting facts about Buddhism is that it seems to be readily adaptable to different countries and different cultures. The adaptation process is occurring currently in the United States. One of the earliest countries to adopt, and adapt, Buddhism as a major religion was China. The intent in this paper is to look at the basic tenets of Buddhism and its development as an important Chinese religion.

The story of Buddhism begins with the story of the Buddha, Sakyamuni, a prince of an important family in India. There are many stories about the Buddha, including the story that his birth found him fully in possession of his wisdom and that his mother, Queen Maya, was aware before his birth of the importance of the role he would fulfill. Essentially, the story of Sakyamuni is the story of a prince who was protected from awareness of human suffering for all of his early life. When he become aware of human suffering, including aging and death, he left his secure life to wander through India searching for understanding and enlightenment. It took many years and the discarding of different methods, including ascetism, before the Buddha became aware of his Buddha nature. This enlightenment occurred while he was sitting under the bodhi tree and is generally represented as an awakening. The Buddha himself answered the question, "Who are you?" with the answer, "I am awake."

In looking at Buddhism historically, Buddhism emerged

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and became essentially equal to the other two religions, as de Bary et al. (1960) noted. How did this happen? What were the conditions conducive to the acceptance of the religion? What were the major obstacles? Obstacles and Congruities One of the important obstacles posed by Confucianism was in the nature of the view of the self in relationship to the community. Buddhism had its focus on the development, and enlightenment, of the individual who separated himself or herself from the world in order to awaken. For the Confucians, however, ethical behavior and, ultimately the ends of religion, were to be served by action within community that is extremely dependent upon maintaining relationships with both the living and the dead. However, at the same time, as Mote (1989) noted, the primary virtue in Confucianism is benevolence (or love and humanheartedness). This compares well with the emphasis in Buddhism on compassion, although that compassion is extended more inclusively. For Buddhists, compassion is to be extended to the whole community of being, including plants and animals. This understanding of the whole community of being is more congruent with the Tao conception of the Way. The Way is not outside of nature, nor

Category: Philosophy - B