Young Writers Society

Buddhism was founded in India in the sixth century and was eventually brought to China by the first century. Overtime, Buddhism gradually converted the people following the collapse of the Han dynasty. During this time of instability, Buddhism was accepted, however, as China’s political structure regained its power, many started to reject its teachings. Some Chinese accepted Buddhism and tried to defend its policies, while many others scrutinized Buddhism’s absence from past texts and used it as a scapegoat for political and social problems. They saw it as an outsider, an uncivilized belief and felt as if the Buddhist monks were a threat to the Chinese way of life. China’s political developments may have influenced their responses since the initial response of acceptance slowly gave way to criticism and eventual eradication when the imperial structure was eventually restored. As a result, not everyone believed in the idea of Buddhism and either accepted, tolerated, or rejected Buddhism.

Even though there were many who scrutinized Buddhism, there were more people who accepted Buddhism and tried to defend its policies. For example, an Anonymous Chinese scholar, “The Disposition of Error,” counters the scrutiny of anti-Buddhists with logic. Like one may ask, “If Buddhism is the greatest and most venerable of ways, why did the great sages of the past and Confucius not practice it?” he replies by stating, “All written works need not necessarily be the words of Confucius. To compare the sages to the Buddha would be like comparing a white deer to a unicorn, or a swallow to a phoenix” (Document 3). Now there are those who accepted Buddhism because of its acceptable path to enlightenment. Buddhism believes that human life is one of suffering, and that meditation, spiritual and physical labor. They believe in the “Four Noble Truths” which “The First Noble Truth is the Noble Truth of Sorrow…. The Second Noble Truth is the Noble Truth of the Arising of Sorrow… The Third Noble Truth is the Noble Truth of the Stopping of Sorrow…. The Fourth Noble Truth is the Noble Truth of the Way that Leads to the Stopping of Sorrow” (Document 1). Zhi Dun, Chinese scholar, author, and confidant of Chinese aristocrats and high officials during the period, speaks of the many joys of joining the Buddhist religion. He states whoever accepts Buddhism, “when his soul passes away, be miraculously transported thither. He will behold the Buddha and be enlightened in his spirit, and then he will enter Nirvana” (Document 2). However, there were those who either discouraged or accepted Buddhism. It was condoned by those who did not care and would not be affected by its power. Like Zong Mi, a leading Buddhist scholar, either discouraged Buddhism but didn’t accept it. He just liked to inform others about the different religions. According to his essay, “On the Nature of Man,” he compliments all religions. He states, “Confucius, Laozi and the Buddha were perfect sages. They established their teachings according to the demands of the age and the needs of various beings. They differ in their approaches in that they encourage the perfection of good deeds, punish wicked ones, and reward good ones; all three teachings lead to the creation of an orderly society” (Document 5).

As Buddhism is growing rapidly, the amount of people who discourage the religion increases with it. Now people following the Confucian philosophy may see this as a threat to society because it would conflict with the state’s ideology as some people may abandon their role in society for religion. Confucian philosophy focuses on the importance of personal ethics, morality, and the country overall. However, Buddhism focuses on the religion aspect, showing how religion comes first before everything. With Buddhism increasing, they were scared of the idea of losing their power. This idea led to more people scrutinizing Buddhism. Based on Tang Emperor Wu, he criticizes Buddhism stating that it does society more damage than good. He says “Buddhism wears out the people’s strength, pilfers their wealth, causes people to abandon their lords and parents for the company of teachers, and severs man and wife with its monastic decrees. In destroying law and injuring humankind indeed nothing surpasses this doctrine!” (Document 6) Meaning that even if one man or woman fails to work their role, someone has to pay for it. One person who was against Buddhism was Han Yu, leading Confucian scholar and official at the Tang imperial court. He ridicules Buddhism as “ no more than a cult of the barbarian peoples.” He argues that, “Buddha was a man of the barbarians who did not speak Chinese and who wore clothes of a different fashion. The Buddha’s sayings contain nothing about our ancient kings and the Buddha’s manner of dress did not conform to our laws” (Document 4). Han Yu’s position in the imperial court surely makes his ideas a standard in the state, however the lower class might not share the same opinions.

In conclusion, the spread of Buddhism brought out many different responses. Yes, there were people who were against it, people who accepted Buddhism, however, there were some in the civilization that just did not support, nor reject Buddhism but simply tolerated it. Conflicts such as this cause China’s ideals to become the main reasons for their initial responses of acceptance to buddhism, slowly giving way to criticism and eventual eradication when the imperial structure was eventually restored.