is buddhism growing in china

Is it good to be a Buddhist in China?

As Buddhism grew in the country, it adapted to and influenced the Chinese culture and a number of schools developed. And yet, it wasn't always good to be a Buddhist in China as some found out under the persecution of various rulers. Buddhism first reached China from India roughly 2,000 years ago during the Han Dynasty.

How did Buddhism come to China?

Buddhism first reached China from India roughly 2,000 years ago during the Han Dynasty. It was probably introduced to China by Silk Road traders from the west in about the 1st century CE.

What percentage of the Chinese population is Buddhist?

Furthermore, PEW found that another 21% of the Chinese population followed Chinese folk religions that incorporated elements of Buddhism. [106] One example of the revitalization of Buddhist traditions on the Mainland is the expansion of Tiantai Buddhism. The monk Dixian was a lineage holder in Tiantai Buddhism during the early twentieth century.

Where is Buddhism practiced today?

Buddhism is practiced in many countries and cultures throughout the world. Mahayana Buddhism has played a significant role in China and it has a long and rich history. As Buddhism grew in the country, it adapted to and influenced the Chinese culture and a number of schools developed.

How popular is Buddhism in China?

approximately 244 millionChina is the country with the largest population of Buddhists, approximately 244 million or 18.2% of its total population. They are mostly followers of Chinese schools of Mahayana, making this the largest body of Buddhist traditions.

What country is Buddhism growing in?

China and Thailand are expected to remain atop the list. Burma (Myanmar) is projected to have the third-largest Buddhist population in 2050 (45 million), surpassing Japan (27 million).

Why is Buddhism so big in China?

It was brought to China by Buddhist monks from India during the latter part of the Han dynasty (ca. 150 CE) and took over a century to become assimilated into Chinese culture. One of the key forces of Buddhism's success was Daoism.

Where is Buddhism growing the fastest?

Year 2050: 10 Countries Predicted to Have the Highest Buddhist Populations in the WorldRankCountryPercentage of World's Buddhist Population in 20501China49.72Thailand12.63Japan9.24Myanmar5.66 more rows•Aug 17, 2017

How Fast Is Buddhism growing?

Buddhists made up roughly 7% of the world's population in 2015, but they are expected to decrease to roughly 5% by 2060. This is because Buddhists have relatively low fertility rates compared with other religious groups, and they are not expected to grow significantly due to conversions or religious switching.

Why did Buddhism decline in China?

Chinese Buddhism suffered extensive repression, persecution and destruction during the Cultural Revolution (from 1966 until Mao Zedong's death in 1976).

Is China destroying Buddhist temples?

RFA has verified the destruction of a second Buddhist statue revered by Tibetans since late last month in western China's Sichuan province, part of an campaign the ethnic minority says is targeting its religion and traditions.

Do Japanese follow Buddhism?

According to the Japanese Government's Agency for Cultural Affairs estimate, as of 2018, with about 84 million or about 67% of the Japanese population, Buddhism was the religion in Japan with the second most adherents, next to Shinto, though a large number of people practice elements of both.

What religion is China mostly?

China has the world's largest Buddhist population, with an estimated 185–250 million practitioners, according to Freedom House. Though Buddhism originated in India, it has a long history and tradition in China and today is the country's largest institutionalized religion.

What is the fastest growing religion in China?

Today, it is estimated that Christianity is the fastest growing religion in China, There were some four million before 1949 (three million Catholics and one million Protestants).

What's the fastest growing religion in the USA?

According to Pulitzer Center 35,000 people become Pentecostal or "Born again" every day. According to scholar Keith Smith of Georgia State University "many scholars claim that Pentecostalism is the fastest growing religious phenomenon in human history", and according to scholar Peter L.

What is the fastest growing religion in Asia?

MuslimsWhile the number of Hindus is expected to grow to nearly 1.4 billion by 2050, Muslims are projected to grow even faster and become the largest religious group in the region by mid-century. The Muslim population in Asia and the Pacific is expected to increase by almost 50% to nearly 1.5 billion in 2050.

What countries is Buddhism popular in?

Half (50%) of the world's Buddhists live in one country, China. The largest Buddhist populations outside China are in Thailand (13%), Japan (9%), Burma (Myanmar) (8%), Sri Lanka (3%), Vietnam (3%), Cambodia (3%), South Korea (2%), India (2%) and Malaysia (1%).

Is Buddhism growing in Europe?

In the latter half of the 19th century, Buddhism came to the attention of Western intellectuals and during the course of the following century the number of adherents has grown. There are now between 1 and 4 million Buddhists in Europe, the majority in Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom.

Is Buddhism growing in America?

Buddhism is growing apace in the United States, and an identifiably American Buddhism is emerging. Teaching centers and sanghas (communities of people who practice together) are spreading here as American-born leaders reframe ancient principles in contemporary Western terms.

Why is Buddhism growing in the West?

Some of the major reasons for this spread include globalization, immigration, improved literacy and education (most Westerners are first exposed to Buddhism through reading), and the breakdown of the hegemony of Christianity on Western culture.

What were the problems of Buddhism in China?

Initially, Buddhism in China faced a number of difficulties in becoming established. The concept of monasticism and the aversion to social affairs seemed to contradict the long-established norms and standards established in Chinese society. Some even declared that Buddhism was harmful to the authority of the state, that Buddhist monasteries contributed nothing to the economic prosperity of China, that Buddhism was barbaric and undeserving of Chinese cultural traditions. However, Buddhism was often associated with Taoism in its ascetic meditative tradition, and for this reason a concept-matching system was used by some early Indian translators, to adapt native Buddhist ideas onto Daoist ideas and terminology.

What was the purpose of Gentry Buddhism?

Buddhism appealed to Chinese intellectuals and elites and the development of gentry Buddhism was sought as an alternative to Confucianism and Daoism, since Buddhism's emphasis on morality and ritual appealed to Confucianists and the desire to cultivate inner wisdom appealed to Daoists. Gentry Buddhism was a medium of introduction for the beginning of Buddhism in China, it gained imperial and courtly support. By the early 5th century Buddhism was established in south China. During this time, Indian monks continued to travel along the Silk Road to teach Buddhism, and translation work was primarily done by foreign monks rather than Chinese.

What is the White Horse Temple?

White Horse Temple, traditionally held to be at the origin of Chinese Buddhism. A number of popular accounts in historical Chinese literature have led to the popularity of certain legends regarding the introduction of Buddhism into China.

How many Chinese people are there in the People's Republic?

Currently, there are about 1.3 billion Chinese living in the People's Republic. Surveys have found that around 18.2% to 20% of this population adheres to Buddhism. Furthermore, PEW found that another 21% of the Chinese population followed Chinese folk religions that incorporated elements of Buddhism.

When did Buddhism first come to China?

While the scholarly consensus is that Buddhism first came to China in the first century CE during the Han dynasty, through missionaries from India, it is not known precisely when Buddhism entered China.

Which empire did Buddhism first enter?

Buddhist expansion in Asia: Mahayana Buddhism first entered the Chinese Empire ( Han dynasty) through Silk Road during the Kushan Era. The overland and maritime "Silk Roads" were interlinked and complementary, forming what scholars have called the "great circle of Buddhism".

Who was the first Buddhist monk to practice Buddhism?

Mahāyāna Buddhism was first widely propagated in China by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema (Ch. 支婁迦讖, active c. 164–186 CE), who came from the ancient Buddhist kingdom of Gandhāra. Lokakṣema translated important Mahāyāna sūtras such as the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra, as well as rare, early Mahāyāna sūtras on topics such as samādhi, and meditation on the buddha Akṣobhya. These translations from Lokakṣema continue to give insight into the early period of Mahāyāna Buddhism. This corpus of texts often includes emphasizes ascetic practices and forest dwelling, and absorption in states of meditative concentration:

What is the difference between Buddhism and Confucianism?

Confucianism is focused on ethics and maintaining harmony and social order in society. Buddhism , on the other hand, emphasized entering the monastic life to seek a reality beyond reality. Confucian China was not terribly friendly to Buddhism. Yet, Buddhism slowly spread.

What is the laughing Buddha called?

As the first thousand years of Buddhism in China ended, the legends of the Laughing Buddha, called Budai or Pu-tai, emerged from Chinese folklore in the 10th century. This rotund character remains a favorite subject of Chinese art. Cite this Article.

How many monasteries were there in China in the 4th century?

The elite of Chinese society freely associated with the growing number of Buddhist monks and scholars. By the 4th century, there were almost 2,000 monasteries in the south. Buddhism enjoyed a significant flowering in south China under Emperor Wu of Liang, who ruled from 502 to 549.

What is the significance of Mahayana Buddhism?

Mahayana Buddhism has played a significant role in China and it has a long and rich history. As Buddhism grew in the country, it adapted to and influenced the Chinese culture and a number of schools developed.

What is Tiantai's teaching?

Tiantai emerged as a distinctive school through the teachings of Zhiyi (also spelled Chih-i, 538 to 597). Along with being a major school in its own right, Tiantai's emphasis on the Lotus Sutra influenced other schools of Buddhism.

What was the Han Dynasty?

The Han Dynasty fell in 220, beginning a period of social and political chaos. China splintered into many kingdoms and fiefdoms. The time from 385 to 581 is often called the period of Northern and Southern Dynasties, although the political reality was more complicated than that.

Which schools survived the suppression?

Of the several distinctive schools that had originated in China, only Pure Land and Ch'an survived the suppression with an appreciable number of followers. Tiantai flourished in Japan as Tendai. Huayan survives in Japan as Kegon. Huayan teachings also remain visible in Ch'an and Zen Buddhism.

How many police officers were in the Yonghe Temple?

The 2,000 police officers present at Yonghe Temple in 2017 struggled to control the crowd of temple devotees scrumming to burst past its entrance.

What is Buddhism in the People's Republic?

​This article is part of “Buddhism in the People’s Republic,” a special project focusing on the schools of Mahayana Buddhism in contemporary China. Through this project, Buddhistdoor Global’s editorial team and expert contributors aim to provide a concise, insightful, and informative overview of the history of contemporary Chinese Buddhism, and the modern practices and influences that are shaping the changing face of modern China. Return to Buddhism in the People’s Republic

How many Buddhists are there in China?

The Pew Research Center’s most recent survey of religions in China offered an estimate of about 245 million Buddhists, significantly higher than the official figure of 100 million traditionally given by the government and the Buddhist Association of China.

What is the eightfold schema used to describe the contemporary Chinese Buddhist schools?

In addition, the eightfold schema often used to describe the contemporary Chinese Buddhist schools (Pure Land, Chan, Tiantai, Huayan, Sanlun, Faxiang, Vinaya, and Esoteric) is at once too general yet also too “categorized,” for one because there are movements within these broadly defined schools that do not have formal numbers, or have themselves taken on the practices of other schools. There is a certain institutional fluidity of the schools that makes “official” pictures hard to paint, even if it is still easy to identify the doctrinal and institutional affiliations of an individual householder or monastic.

Why is the Buddhist population stable?

The global Buddhist population is expected to be fairly stable because of low fertility rates and aging populations in countries such as China, Thailand, and Japan.”. Yet this does not take into account the vast potential of a hitherto untapped population of young people in China.

What percentage of Chinese people practice Buddhism?

If we were to take the former number, it would mean that 18 per cent of the total national population practice some form of Buddhism. Another 21 per cent of Chinese people, according to Pew, believe in folk traditions that incorporate Buddhist beliefs.

What does it mean to be criticized as superstitious?

As detailed above, to be criticized as superstitious is to be associated with inauthentic expressions of religion: to be of inferior intellectual quality and substance, to be unworthy of Chinese people’s devotion and commitment, and therefore to be incapable of contributing to the progress of Chinese society.

How did Buddhism enter China?

It is widely believed that Buddhism entered China via the Silk Road under the Han Dynasty. After trade and travel was established with the Yuezhi, who by that time were forced southward toward India, Yuezhi monks began to travel with the merchant caravans; preaching their religion along the Silk Road. The Yuezhi religion believed in many deities, of which the Buddha was one, and it quickly spread throughout the region.

Why did the Nanzhao build temples?

The Nanzhao were Buddhist and constructed large Buddhist temples around Dali and on Shibaoshan Mountain to serve as centers for Buddhist teaching. Their rulers were heavily influenced by the religious teachings of traveling foreigners and incorporated such into the regional religion, further expanding it. While the Tang Dynasty turned against Buddhism, the Nanzhao and Dali Kingdom supported it. They preserved Buddhism and helped it spread, with the world famous Three Pagodas built under their rule, serving as testament to their support.

What did Buddha teach about suffering?

Buddhism as taught in the first scriptures of about the second century BC say that Buddha taught "Four Noble Truths": suffering is a part of existence; the origin of suffering is craving for sensuality, acquisition of identity, and annihilation; suffering can be ended; and following the Noble Eightfold Path is the means to accomplish this.

How long did Buddha live?

Gautama Buddha was the founder of the religion. He lived between 600 and 400 BC.

What do Chinese Buddhists believe?

Chinese Buddhists believe in a combination of Taoism and Buddhism, meaning they pray to both Buddha and Taoist gods. Just like Taoists, Chinese Buddhists also pay homage to their ancestors, with the belief that they need and want their help. A prime example of this combination of religious beliefs is the burning of joss paper by Buddhists during religious ceremonies and festivals, like the annual Qingming Festival.

Where were the first Buddhist statues built?

The earliest statues show typical Indian hand gestures and poses, however the Bezeklik Grottoes near Turpan, built after the Bingling Thousand Buddha Caves, feature Caucasian, Indian, and Mongoloid Buddhists together. Central Asians continued to spread Buddhist teachings throughout the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), during which Buddhism became very popular and powerful right until the end; when Taoist rulers turned against Buddhists and destroyed thousands of monasteries along with tens of thousands of temples.

What are the most popular places to visit in Tibet?

Tibet's popular attractions and pilgrimage sites have thousands of daily visitors. Sacred mountains and lakes in Tibet can also be considered popular Tibetan Buddhism sites. Watching monks debate scriptures at Sera Monastery is a highlight considered not-to-be-missed by many travelers.

The Silk Road

It is likely that Buddhism came to Han China by the Silk Road – either by land or sea. Some historians favour the sea hypothesis, claiming that Buddhism was first practiced in south China along the Yangtze and Huai River regions.

Before Buddhism

Before the arrival of Buddhism, Chinese religious life was characterised by three major belief systems: the cult of Five Deities, Confucianism and Daoism (or Taoism).

Early Chinese Buddhism

Buddhism did have trouble finding a footing in China at first. Monasticism and Buddhism’s focus on the self seemed in conflict with the traditions of Chinese society, so much so that Buddhism was thought harmful to state authority by many Chinese officials.

Chinese Buddhism after the Han dynasty

Following the Han period, Buddhist monks could be found advising northern non-Chinese emperors in politics and magic. In the south, they influenced the literary and philosophical circles of the upper class.

How many Buddhists are there in Thailand?

Thailand currently has the second highest number of Buddhists in the world, and is expected to continue to have the second largest Buddhist population through 2050. In 2010, demographics in the country reported a Buddhist population size of 64.42 million, which represents 93.2% of its total population size, and 13.2% of the global Buddhist population. Following the trend of a decreasing number Buddhist practitioners, Thailand is predicted to have a Buddhist population of only 61.19 million by 2050. This change means that the population of Thailand will only be 90.3% Buddhist, which is a decrease of nearly a 3%. Additionally, this number will only represent 12.6% of the global Buddhist population.

How many Buddhists will be in Myanmar by 2050?

Myanmar is one of the few countries which is expected to experience an increase in its Buddhist population. By 2050, that number will reach around 44.71 million, or 9.2% of the global Buddhist population. Internally, however, Buddhists will only make up 79.8% of the total population.

What is the population of Myanmar in 2050?

Myanmar is one of the few countries which is expected to experience an increase in its Buddhist population. By 2050, that number will reach around 44.71 million, or 9.2% of the global Buddhist population. Internally, however, Buddhists will only make up 79.8% of the total population.

How much of the world's Buddhist population is in 2050?

This number represents 9.4% of the global Buddhist population. Experts expect this to change by 2050, however, as older individuals pass away and the population is not replaced due to the low birth rates of Buddhist women in Japan.

What will the percentage of Buddhists drop in 2050?

This change means that the worldwide percentage of Buddhists, which is currently around 7%, will drop to only 5% in 2050, taking global population increase into account.

Which country has the third largest Buddhist population?

Japan. Japan currently has the third largest Buddhist population in the world, with around 45.82 million individuals practicing the religion in the country, and accounting for 36.2% of the total population.

Overview

History

Sects

Teachings

See also

Further reading

External links

The Beginning of Buddhism in China

Northern and Southern Dynasties

New Buddhist Schools

North and South Reunite

The T'ang Dynasty

• The influence of Buddhism in China reached its peak during the T'ang Dynasty (618 to 907). Buddhist arts flourished and monasteries grew rich and powerful. Factional strife came to a head in 845, however, when the emperor began a suppression of Buddhism that destroyed more than 4,000 monasteries and 40,000 temples and shrines. This suppression deal...

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