why did many chinese people convert to buddhism

There are many reasons why Buddhism became popular in China. Buddhism united the Chinese people

into a community of believers. This unification helped the Chinese overcome a period of war and unrest during the Warring States period.

Full Answer

Why is Buddhism so successful in China?

One of the key forces of Buddhism’s success was Daoism. To help the Chinese comprehend Buddhist concepts, Buddhists borrowed ideas from Daoism via the Chinese language.

How did Buddhism and Daoism influence each other?

To help the Chinese comprehend Buddhist concepts, Buddhists borrowed ideas from Daoism via the Chinese language. Both Buddhism and Daoism benefited from this exchange. Daoists expanded their ideas about the cosmos and ways to structure their monastic orders.

What did Buddhism bring to China?

Tea, which had been used mostly by Buddhists, became China's national drink, and Buddhists introduced the Chinese to the wearing of cotton. Buddhism's great temples influenced Chinese architecture – a counter to Confucianism's condemnation of complex buildings as an extravagance.

How did the translation of Indian Buddhist scriptures into Chinese influence Buddhism?

The translation of a large body of Indian Buddhist scriptures into Chinese and the inclusion of these translations together with Taoist and Confucian works composed in China into a printed canon had far-reaching implications for the dissemination of Buddhism throughout the East Asian cultural sphere, including Korea, Japan and Vietnam.

How did the Chinese change Buddhism?

Adopting the Buddhist way of paying homage through art, Taoist art began being created and China developed its architectural culture. Buddhism also changed in China. Buddhist schools were established and ideas from Confucianism and Taoism both became integrated into Buddhism.

How did China adopt Buddhism?

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.

When did Buddhism become popular in China?

Developments during the Tang dynasty (618–907) The golden age of Buddhism in China occurred during the Tang dynasty. Although the Tang emperors were usually Daoists themselves, they favoured Buddhism, which had become extremely popular.

Why did Buddhism become popular?

Buddhism appealed to people of lower castes because it emphasized individuals' path to enlightenment and salvation, which could be attained in this life.

Who took Buddhism to China?

The life and adventures of a Chinese monk who made a 17-year journey to bring Buddhist teachings from India to China. Xuanzang subsequently became a main character in the great Chinese epic Journey to the West.

How did Buddhism make its way into China quizlet?

Buddhism came to China from India. Xuan Zang helped make Buddhism widely known in China by bringing back Buddhist scriptures from India. Buddhism spread during the Tang dynasty and became a major part of Chinese life. Buddhist monks came to teach in China and Chinese pilgrims went to India to study.

What is one of the factors that helped Buddhism spread through China?

The Silk Road, where much of the trading that China participated in took place, had become one of the key factors of how Buddhism spread to China. Foreign merchants, refugees, envoys and hostages40 that passed through the Silk Road helped spread Buddhism by word of mouth.

How is Buddhism's spread into China an example of diffusion?

Buddhism is a good example of religion cultural diffusion. It reached China, due to cultural diffusion as it was favoured by the merchants along the silk roads, and therefore, was able to extend into China. Buddhism would be met with its patrons, as well harsh critics.

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.

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.

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.

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:

Which dynasty was the most anti-Buddhist?

Opposition to Buddhism accumulated over time during the Tang dynasty, cumulating in the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution under Emperor Tang Wuzong .

Why did I convert to Buddhism?

Speaking for myself, I converted because I knew that I needed a spiritual practice, specifically one that included meditation, and Buddhism offered the most powerful and coherent alternative.

Why would anyone prefer Buddhism to the religion they were born into and raised in?

Any conversion usually is because the person sees the flaws in their own tradition and sees the virtues of the one they adopt. i.e people convert to other religions from buddhism too.

Why is it easy to give statements about paganism and about abrahamic religions from an Islamic?

It’s easy to give statements about paganism and about abrahamic religions from an islamic perspective, because the Quran and the Hadiths do speak about it.

What is Buddhism's rational religion?

Buddhism is a rational religion which does not require faith in a deity. Buddha likened himself to a physician. He says there is sorrow in life. Sorrow has a cause: craving. Craving can be mitigated by the eight-fold path.

What brought you to Buddhist practice?

And Karma brought you to Buddhist practice. I wouldn’t call it luck, but you got lucky.

Is there worshipping in Buddhism?

They are also so very wrong that I worship idols. There's no worshipping in real Buddhism. They don't have any idea of what they are talking about. To them Buddhists go to temple and worship idols n the Muslims call them Satan. Whatever…

Is it common to convert to Buddhism?

Formal conversion to buddhism is not a common thing in most western countries but in countries where offical religious affiliation makes a difference a person may do it i.e. formally convert away from another religion.

Why do people turn to Buddhism?

So people turn to Buddhism primarily because they are looking for some solution to problems that they face and they are hopeful that Buddhism will be able to offer some way to deal with life. This is the case whether Buddhism is something quite foreign to their society or it might be a traditional system of your people.

What is so wonderful about Buddhism?

And regardless of what draws us to find some way of dealing with life through Buddhism, what is so wonderful about the Buddha ’s teachings that everybody likes is that it actually offers us methods to follow that are intended to help us to overcome problems. It’s a living tradition with two and a half thousand years of experience, and there are still people who practice it and gain results. And so it’s just a matter of actually following these methods; it’s all laid out. And not just one method, but many, many different types of methods that Buddha taught upon the realization that everybody’s an individual and different people find different methods more useful. This is something that people find very wonderful, because within the whole variety of Buddhist methods, like having a very large menu at a restaurant, we can usually find something that suits us; and if we try one thing and it doesn’t suit us, there are many other things that are available. And the fact that we live in the Information Age means that a larger and larger number of these methods are available to us, no matter where we live.

How does Buddhism help with pain?

There are various methods that Buddhism teaches with breathing meditation that help us to deal in a much better way with pain, and these have also been tested and then promoted in various hospitals. These methods do not require a whole Buddhist envelope within which to carry it. You don’t need the Buddhist teachings to be explained in any sort of detail to people in order for them to follow these methods. These are universally available methods that anybody can adopt within any belief system. But because they derive from the Buddhist teachings, then people become a little bit interested in, well, what are these Buddhist teachings about in more detail. We saw the same type of phenomenon with people who practice martial arts. The martial arts developed in Buddhist societies, and so many people who have practiced them have taken interest in what were the Buddhist backgrounds of these teachings.

What is Buddhism filled with?

They have problems in life and they’re looking for some magical, exotic solution to them, and Buddhism – particularly in the Tibetan/Mongolian/Kalmyk version of it – is filled with all sorts of exotic things: all these various deities with all their faces and arms and legs, all these mantras, and so on.

Is Buddhism scientifically oriented?

But, of course, there are many people who are not terribly rationally oriented, who are not very scientifically oriented in their approach to life, so different aspects of Buddhism have appealed to them. One aspect I’ve already hinted at when I referred to inspiration from great spiritual masters: With more and more great spiritual masters travelling around the world, and their teachings being available in books and audio and video recordings on the Internet, people who are more devotionally oriented have been greatly inspired. When many people have been disappointed in the various leaders that they have heard about or encountered, whether in the economic sphere, political sphere, or whatever – and so they’re a bit disappointed – they look to these Buddhist masters with great hope, that here they will find somebody that is more pure.

What Inspired Ashoka Convert to Buddhism?

Sometime after the bloody war with Kalinga was over, Ashoka made his historic conversion to Buddhism. Essentially, there are two interpretations concerning how it took place, although they are not necessarily exclusive nor in opposition to each other. Ashoka never directly stated how or why he converted in any inscriptions, but a number of his so-called rock and pillar edicts and inscriptions seem to indicate that the conversion was somewhat gradual. The inscriptions, which were usually written in the Prakrit language using some different scripts, exhort the readers to follow Buddhist practices by abstaining from meat consumption, being charitable, and by generally following Buddhist theology. In what is known today as “Minor Rock Edict #1,” Ashoka seems to indicate that he only became a pious Buddhist after a period of familiarity with the religion:

What was the significance of the conversion of Ashoka to Buddhism?

The conversion of the Mauryan Indian King Ashoka (ruled 272-231 BC) to Buddhism is rightfully viewed as a significant turning point in world history. Ashoka promoted the fairly new philosophy of Buddhism throughout his realm and allowed it to flourish, which eventually led to its dissemination throughout east Asia. Among the most visible ways in which the king promoted Buddhism was by erecting numerous pillar and rock edicts that detailed his version of Buddhist theology and by constructing numerous Buddhist monasteries, known as sutpas. Throughout India, they were used to house religious texts and relics.

How did Ashoka Come to Power?

After Bindusara died, his sons fought each other in a four-year civil war for control of the empire. Susuma was the rightful heir, but Ashoka wanted to rule, and he held the capital city of Pataliputra, which proved to be decisive. From Pataliputra, Ashoka controlled the empire’s resources and armies, which allowed him to defeat and kill all of the other claimants to the throne.

Why was Ashoka important?

The reason for Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism has always been a source of interest and debate for scholars , Buddhists, and laypeople alike since he seemed to make such an abrupt turn in morality once he converted.

Who was Ashoka's father?

After Chandragupta died, his son and Ashoka’s father, Bindusara, came to the throne in 297 BC. He was known by the Greek historians as “Amitrochates” and ruled until 272 BC. If Bindusara taught Ashoka one thing, it was how to be a ruthless conqueror. Bindusara exterminated the kings and nobles of sixteen cities and subjugated India from the Indian to the Pacific oceans, establishing what would be the boundaries of the Mauryan Empire for nearly 100 years.

Was Ashoka's conversion to Buddhism legitimate?

The answer to that question can be found in the primary source material. All sources indicate that Ashoka’s conversion to Buddhism was legitimate, but the edicts and other inscriptions the king commissioned seem to suggest that it was part of a gradual process that was influenced by the older Indic religions but was ultimately the result of guilt over the lives he took early in his life.

Did Ashoka use violence?

The numbers would be incredibly high by even modern standards, but modern scholars have stated that archaeological evidence seems to corroborate the claims. Violence was a tool that Ashoka used his entire life to get what he wanted, but after the war with Kalinga, he finally contemplated the extent of human suffering that he had caused.

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