How Buddhism Spread In China? | Complete History Explained by Aadesh Singh

Spread of Buddhism in China Friends, whenever we talk about Buddhism, we think of pictures of countries like Sri Lanka, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal. These are the countries where a large number of Buddhists live. But can you imagine that the largest population of Buddhists lives in China? Yes, this is the truth. Today, when there are attempts to suppress religion in mainland China, still more than 33% of the population believes in Buddhism. This figure is really shocking. Buddhism, which was once the pride of our country, is now on the verge of extinction in India. But even today, two major belief systems of Buddhism are followed in China. One of them is Zen Buddhism, you must have seen the laughing Buddha statues associated with it. Seeing these statues, people often associate it with Japan or some other country. But in fact, it is a gift of Chinese Buddhism. And today it is popular all over the world. But now the question arises that how did the ideas of Buddha come out of India and reach a large and ancient civilized country like China? Where there were already deep religious and philosophical traditions like Confucius and Daoism, how was it possible to make room for Buddhism there? That's why today we will know how Buddhism spread in China. How Buddhism spread in China? To understand this, it is necessary to first know how the ideas of Gautam Buddha became such a big religion from an ordinary philosophy. How Buddha's philosophy became a religion? Gautam Buddha attained Mahaparinirvana at the age of 80 in Kushinagar 483 B.C. That is, he died. But after his death, there was a debate among his followers as to how Buddha's teachings should be spread. This debate later led to the division of Buddha's thoughts into two different sects. The first sect was Hinayana, whose followers believed that Buddha was an ordinary human being who attained salvation through penance and meditation. They also believed that every person would have to walk on this path with his efforts to attain salvation. On the other hand, the Mahayana believed that Buddha was not just a human being, but was the incarnation of God, who came to earth to benefit humanity. According to the Mahayana, Buddha is repeatedly born in the form of the Bodhisattva so that he can guide others. The Mahayana thought began the tradition of worshiping Buddha in the form of God. They believed that Buddha's messages should be spread all over the world rather than limited only to themselves, so that humanity can benefit as much as possible. This was the time when Gautam Buddha's teachings began to take the form of religion with the followers of the Mahayana sects, and Buddha began to be worshiped as a God. From here, Buddhism began to spread not only in India, but also in other countries. Friends, now it is clear to us how the Buddhist philosophy evolved like religion. Now let's understand in detail how Buddha's thoughts came together in China. How did Buddhism spread in China? Friends, in China, the entry of Buddhism is believed to be in the mid of the first century, behind which there is a very popular anecdote. This is when in the first century, the emperor of the Han dynasty was ruling over Mingti, China. One night, the emperor had a wonderful dream. He saw a golden deity, which was shining like the sun. This dream left him with many questions. Who is this golden God? The next day, he mentioned it in his court and asked who this deity could be. A minister of the court said that this dream could be a sign of a great soul in India, Buddha. It was believed about Buddha that he had attained the height of knowledge and became a God. It is said that the minister's words had a great impact on Mingti. He immediately sent some of his messengers there to learn more about India and understand Buddha's knowledge. After a long and difficult journey of months, these messengers returned from India. Along with them, there was some important literature of Buddhism and an idol of Buddha. Emperor Mingti ordered to keep these sacred relics in a special temple near the capital. This temple later became famous as the White Horse Temple. Because it is said that the chariot carrying these relics of Buddha was pulled by white horses. But this story is not completely historical. But as history teaches us, it is necessary for any religion to make room among the common people that many myths related to that religion should be spread among the people. In the same way, through this story, the people of China tried to convey Buddha's teachings and their influences. But according to historians, there is a lot of evidence that Buddhism reached China through Silk Road. Its actual time period is believed to be the first century. But for the next 100 years, the initial spread of Buddhism has been very slow in China. The reason for this is that Gautam Buddha himself did not take his thoughts to China, nor did Buddha ever travel there. Therefore, the way his teachings were reaching China through Silk Road, they did not seem so relatable to the people there. There was also a reason here that according to both ideology and culture, Buddhism was considered foreign, which people were not ready to accept or believe. In addition, the language of Buddha's sutras and texts did not match the language of the Chinese people at all. Therefore, it was difficult to understand his teachings properly. The sutras and texts that were brought from India to China, their translators were often unable to understand and translate them correctly. The initial translation was very strange. In addition, the metaphors hidden in those teachings could not be translated. Therefore, most of the Chinese people were not interested in this strange sect and their golden deity. Because they already had a vision of Daoism and Confucius, which was enough for their guidance. Therefore, they were not even trying to understand Buddhism. Therefore, from the first century to the second century, Buddhism could not reach the common people in China. But in the beginning of the second century, the era of division began in China. And the Han Dynasty, which had been in power in China for about 400 years, its empire began to fall apart. This civil war, which began in 220 BC, lasted for the next 400 years in China, which divided China into many parts. First, it was divided into three states. And then China was divided into more than 16 smaller states. And the divided states kept fighting with each other until the unification of China again in the beginning of the 7th century. But it was during these wars, which lasted for 400 years, that Buddhism got a chance to make its place in China. One of the major reasons for these wars was that many non-Chinese people came to mainland China Some were forced to settle there. Some won in small battles and entered mainland China. So some decided to settle in China themselves. That is, a large number of people from the Han community began to settle in China. They were not very much associated with Taoism and the old Confucius philosophy. Therefore, the new Chinese belief system for them was as new as the Buddhist religion and its philosophy. Because these people were trying to change their old culture like clothes, language, name, everything, so they were more ready than the traditional Han people to listen to the words of these monks and their golden god. Because these people mostly settled in North China, so the words of Buddhism were given more importance in the kingdom there. Despite all this, the biggest problem with Buddhism was language. Because of which people in China were still not able to fully adopt Buddhism. But in the middle of the 4th century, a Buddhist monk from the desert area of western China comes to the area of North China. The name of this monk was Kumarjeevi. North China, where Buddhism was being tried to understand more, Kumarjeevi reached there and did what the previous Buddhist monks could not do. He translated the Buddhist sutras in such an impressive and beautiful way, which was according to the Chinese literature and the culture there, which did not have any complexity as before. Because of this translation of Kumarjeevi, for the first time, the real teachings of Buddhism were much easier and more understandable for the common people. That is why it is said that Buddhism reached China in the first century. But it took the people there about 400 years to understand and accept it. The full credit of this change goes to Kumarjeevi. These thoughts brought a new revolution in the social and mental environment of China at that time. This is also because by the 6th century, China was going through a period of civil war and continuous violence, which is called the period of disunity. In this period, China's traditional philosophy, especially Confucius's thoughts, were losing their relevance. Confucius's teachings, talked about the empire and social order. But at that time, 16 different states were being formed in China. In such a situation, why can't we all live together, as it was difficult to believe in Confucius's idealistic thoughts. In addition to this, Confucius's claim that humans are kind and good by nature, was not at all fitting in the period of continuous violence of 200 years. In the midst of this instability and the crisis of morality, people were in search of a new faith. Buddhism did the work of filling this empty space. Confucius's translations presented Buddha's actual teachings in a simple and accurate form. These teachings seemed the most practical and practical among the violence and instability of that time. When people realized that Buddhism shows the way to liberation from the cycle of sorrow, instability and harm, then this thought began to spread rapidly. In this way, Confucius's contribution not only made Buddhism popular in China, but also established it as a new ideology that would bring about a change in the society there. After this, when Buddhism was trying to settle its feet in China, it had to face the biggest challenge with Taoism. Taoism had already established deep roots in the Chinese society. And at that time, it was providing a new perspective to people in an unorganized and struggling life. Its basic teaching was based on a mysterious power called Dao, which was believed to be the basis of all events in the universe. According to Daoism, this power Yin and Yang are influenced by energy balance. Yin and Yang are the balance between light and darkness, good and evil, which cannot exist without each other. This thought had become a major source of tranquility for the Chinese society. Daoism believed that after death, a person becomes engrossed in Daoism and becomes extremely powerful. This is why Buddhism began to face new challenges due to Daoism. In southern China, Daoism took the form of Navdaoism, which was centered on mysticism and good study. Whereas in northern China, a different form of Daoism developed. In northern China, this tradition adopted many thoughts and traditions from Buddhism, which included ideas such as rebirth and karma chakra from living in mathas. Even the art and painting of Daoism were influenced by the style of Buddhism. But despite this, Daoism began to be considered the best in northern China. And it was said that those who started Daoism had actually gone to India from Laos. And there they were born in the form of Buddha. In this way, Buddhism mutated in China for the first time. And along with the Daoism there, it began to take the form of a new Chinese Buddhism, which is also called Zen Buddhism. In the beginning of the 7th century, the Tang dynasty arose. And with this, a new era began in China. The Tang dynasty once again established unity in China. And there came a time of stability in the country, which gave Buddhism the opportunity to strengthen its roots. However, there was still a lot left to understand the real form of Buddhism in China. Buddhism now needed to combine its truth with Chinese culture, language and philosophy, so that it could be fully integrated into China. And this work was completed by a great Buddhist monk, Shang Zhang. In 629 AD, Shang Zhang began a difficult journey from China to India. At that time, this journey was not easy. He showed courage to reach India by passing through rough roads, dangerous deserts, high mountains and foreign areas. In India, he studied at great educational centers such as Nalanda University. And he understood Buddhism deeply. About 16 years later, when he returned to China, he had many sacred objects associated with the 657 Sanskrit texts and Buddhism with him. These texts contained deep knowledge of the principles and ideas of Buddhism. But most of them had never been translated into Chinese before. After returning to China, Shang Zhang began a huge task of translating these texts. His work gave a new direction to Buddhism. At first, Buddhism was confused and incompatible in many disciplines. But Shang Zhang's translation clearly and accurately presented Buddhism to the people again. His translations made complex ideas such as karma, rebirth and liberation easy for the Chinese society. This is why the emperors of the Tang dynasty not only supported Shang Zhang's work, but also encouraged him. The capital of Tang, Chang'an, became the global center of translation of Buddhist texts. These new texts also helped Buddhism to connect with Chinese philosophical and religious ideas such as Daoism and Confucianism. During the Tang dynasty, the influence of Buddhism was not limited to thoughts only. It was also widespread in the field of art. Especially in 694 AD, when the queen of the Tang dynasty, Wu Zetian, issued a royal order to build huge statues of Buddha in the whole of China. This order gave a new dimension to Buddhist art. This order was especially influential on those sacred places where Buddhists had been meditating and praying for a long time. Among these sacred places were the Mogao caves, Langmen grottoes and Yugang grottoes. In these caves, Buddha's statues and paintings were beautifully painted. By the end of the Tang Dynasty, this style of Buddhist art was further developed. Especially in the huge statue of Lishan Buddha, which was erected on a mountain. This statue was 233 feet high and is still considered the largest Buddha statue in the world. In this way, Buddhism, which had reached China through Silk Road in the first century, was able to make its place in China after 600 years. In which, the initial translation of Kumarjeevi and the Indian journey of Xuanzang made Buddhism an integral part of the Chinese lifestyle. And in the beginning of the 20th century, it had an impact on the entire country until the end of the Qing Dynasty. But after that, when the Republic of China began in China in 1912, many efforts were made to improve Buddhism and to connect it with new modern ideas. In which the biggest effort was made to make Chinese Buddhism like a humanitarian religion instead of a religion that follows old rituals. It was believed that Buddhism would rise again in China. But in 1949, the Republic of China ended. Because the revolution had begun in China. After that, many Buddhist sages and monks went to Taiwan. Because during the Communist Revolution, violence against people who believed in Buddhism had increased. Because of this, Chinese Buddhism had to face forced suppression and destruction. Mao Zedong's government considered Buddhism to be a part of the Four Olds, and propagated it in the form of superstition. Buddhists were attacked, removed from their posts, arrested and sent to the camps. Buddhist texts were burned, temples, mathas and Buddhist arts were systematically destroyed. And Buddhist followers stopped following their religion in a public way. This period was a dark period for Buddhism. But despite this, Buddhism did not end with China. And it made its place in China again in later years. And today's reality is that the largest population in China believes in Buddhism, which is about 33.3% of China's total population, whose number is more than 4.7 billion. Conclusion In this way, it can be said that in an ancient civilization like China, people refused to connect with the way Buddhist thoughts reached. But when Buddha's teachings were interpreted in China according to the culture, language and lifestyle of the people there, then Buddha's thoughts gave a new direction to think about the whole of China. Because of which this country has not been able to forget Buddha's words despite being ruled by atheist political rulers.