Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism has shaped
Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas
including art, politics, literature, philosophy,
medicine, and material culture.
The translation of a large body of Indian
Buddhist scriptures into Chinese and the inclusion
of these translations together with works
composed in China into a printed canon had
far-reaching implications for the dissemination
of Buddhism throughout the Chinese cultural
sphere, including Korea, Japan, Taiwan and
Vietnam. Chinese Buddhism is also marked by
the interaction between Indian religions,
Chinese religion, and Taoism.
== History ==
=== Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) ===
==== Earliest historical arrivals ====
Various legends tell of the presence of Buddhism
in Chinese soil in very ancient times. Nonetheless,
the scholarly consensus is that Buddhism first
came to China in the first century CE during
the Han dynasty, through missionaries from
India.
Generations of scholars have debated whether
Buddhist missionaries first reached Han China
via the maritime or overland routes of the
Silk Road. The maritime route hypothesis,
favored by Liang Qichao and Paul Pelliot,
proposed that Buddhism was originally practiced
in southern China, the Yangtze River and Huai
River region, where prince Ying of Chu (present
day Jiangsu) was jointly worshipping the Yellow
Emperor, Laozi, and Buddha in 65 CE. The overland
route hypothesis, favored by Tang Yongtong,
proposed that Buddhism disseminated through
Central Asia – in particular, the Kushan
Empire, which was often known in ancient Chinese
sources as Da Yuezhi ("Great Yuezhi"), after
the founding tribe. According to this hypothesis,
Buddhism was first practiced in China in the
Western Regions and the Han capital Luoyang
(present day Henan), where Emperor Ming of
Han established the White Horse Temple in
68 CE.
In 2004, Rong Xinjiang, a history professor
at Peking University, reexamined the overland
and maritime hypotheses through a multi-disciplinary
review of recent discoveries and research,
including the Gandhāran Buddhist Texts, and
concluded:
The view that Buddhism was transmitted to
China by the sea route comparatively lacks
convincing and supporting materials, and some
arguments are not sufficiently rigorous. Based
on the existing historical texts and the archaeological
iconographic materials discovered since the
1980s, particularly the first-century Buddhist
manuscripts recently found in Afghanistan,
the commentator believes that the most plausible
theory is that Buddhism reached China from
the Greater Yuezhi of northwest India and
took the land route to reach Han China. After
entering into China, Buddhism blended with
early Daoism and Chinese traditional esoteric
arts and its iconography received blind worship.
==== Traditional accounts ====
A number of popular accounts in historical
Chinese literature have led to the popularity
of certain legends regarding the introduction
of Buddhism into China. According to the most
popular one, Emperor Ming of Han (28–75
CE) precipitated the introduction of Buddhist
teachings into China. The (early 3rd to early
5th century) Mouzi Lihuolun first records
this legend:
In olden days Emperor Ming saw in a dream
a god whose body had the brilliance of the
sun and who flew before his palace; and he
rejoiced exceedingly at this. The next day
he asked his officials: "What god is this?"
the scholar Fu Yi said: "Your subject has
heard it said that in India there is somebody
who has attained the Dao and who is called
Buddha; he flies in the air, his body had
the brilliance of the sun; this must be that
god."
The emperor then sent an envoy to Tianzhu
(Southern India) to inquire about the teachings
of the Buddha. Buddhist scriptures were said
to have been returned to China on the backs
of white horses, after which White Horse Temple
was named. Two Indian monks also returned
with them, named Dharmaratna and Kaśyapa
Mātaṅga.
An 8th-century Chinese fresco at Mogao Caves
near Dunhuang in Gansu portrays Emperor Wu
of Han (r. 141–87 BCE) worshiping statues
of a golden man; "golden men brought in 121
BCE by a great Han general in his campaigns
against the nomads". However, neither the
Shiji nor Book of Han histories of Emperor
Wu mentions a golden Buddhist statue (compare
Emperor Ming above).
==== The first translations ====
The first documented translation of Buddhist
scriptures from various Indian languages into
Chinese occurs in 148 CE with the arrival
of the Parthian prince-turned-monk An Shigao
(Ch. 安世高). He worked to establish Buddhist
temples in Luoyang and organized the translation
of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, testifying
to the beginning of a wave of Central Asian
Buddhist proselytism that was to last several
centuries. An Shigao translated Buddhist texts
on basic doctrines, meditation, and abhidharma.
An Xuan (Ch. 安玄), a Parthian layman who
worked alongside An Shigao, also translated
an early Mahāyāna Buddhist text on the bodhisattva
path.
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:
Paul Harrison has worked on some of the texts
that are arguably the earliest versions we
have of the Mahāyāna sūtras, those translated
into Chinese in the last half of the second
century CE by the Indo-Scythian translator
Lokakṣema. Harrison points to the enthusiasm
in the Lokakṣema sūtra corpus for the extra
ascetic practices, for dwelling in the forest,
and above all for states of meditative absorption
(samādhi). Meditation and meditative states
seem to have occupied a central place in early
Mahāyāna, certainly because of their spiritual
efficacy but also because they may have given
access to fresh revelations and inspiration.
==== Early Buddhist schools ====
During the early period of Chinese Buddhism,
the Indian early Buddhist schools recognized
as important, and whose texts were studied,
were the Dharmaguptakas, Mahīśāsakas, Kāśyapīyas,
Sarvāstivādins, and the Mahāsāṃghikas.The
Dharmaguptakas made more efforts than any
other sect to spread Buddhism outside India,
to areas such as Afghanistan, Central Asia,
and China, and they had great success in doing
so. Therefore, most countries which adopted
Buddhism from China, also adopted the Dharmaguptaka
vinaya and ordination lineage for bhikṣus
and bhikṣuṇīs. According to A.K. Warder,
in some ways in those East Asian countries,
the Dharmaguptaka sect can be considered to
have survived to the present. Warder further
writes that the Dharmaguptakas can be credited
with effectively establishing Chinese Buddhism
during the early period:
It was the Dharmaguptakas who were the first
Buddhists to establish themselves in Central
Asia. They appear to have carried out a vast
circling movement along the trade routes from
Aparānta north-west into Iran and at the
same time into Oḍḍiyāna (the Suvastu
valley, north of Gandhāra, which became one
of their main centres). After establishing
themselves as far west as Parthia they followed
the "silk route", the east-west axis of Asia,
eastwards across Central Asia and on into
China, where they effectively established
Buddhism in the second and third centuries
A.D. The Mahīśāsakas and Kāśyapīyas
appear to have followed them across Asia into
China. [...] For the earlier period of Chinese
Buddhism it was the Dharmaguptakas who constituted
the main and most influential school, and
even later their Vinaya remained the basis
of the discipline there.
=== Six Dynasties (220–589) ===
==== Early translation methods ====
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 Daoism 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.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.
==== The arrival of Kumārajīva (334–413
CE) ====
When the famous monk Kumārajīva was captured
during the Chinese conquest of the Buddhist
kingdom of Kucha, he was imprisoned for many
years. When he was released in AD 401, he
immediately took a high place in Chinese Buddhism
and was appraised as a great master from the
West. He was especially valued by Emperor
Yao Xing of the state of Later Qin, who gave
him an honorific title and treated him like
a god. Kumārajīva revolutionized Chinese
Buddhism with his high quality translations
(from AD 402–413), which are still praised
for their flowing smoothness, clarity of meaning,
subtlety, and literary skill. Due to the efforts
of Kumārajīva, Buddhism in China became
not only recognized for its practice methods,
but also as high philosophy and religion.
The arrival of Kumārajīva also set a standard
for Chinese translations of Buddhist texts,
effectively doing away with previous concept-matching
systems.
The translations of Kumārajīva have often
remained more popular than those of other
translators. Among the most well-known are
his translations of the Diamond Sutra, the
Amitabha Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Vimalakīrti
Nirdeśa Sūtra, the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā,
and the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā
Sūtra.
==== A completed Sūtra Piṭaka ====
Around the time of Kumārajīva, the four
major Sanskrit āgamas were also translated
into Chinese. Each of the āgamas was translated
independently by a different Indian monk.
These āgamas comprise the only other complete
surviving Sūtra Piṭaka, which is generally
comparable to the Pali Sutta Pitaka of Theravada
Buddhism. The teachings of the Sūtra Piṭaka
are usually considered to be one of the earliest
teachings on Buddhism and a core text of the
Early Buddhist Schools in China. It is noteworthy
that before the modern period, these āgama
were seldom if ever used by Buddhist communities,
due to their Hīnayāna attribution, as Chinese
Buddhism was already avowedly Mahāyāna in
persuasion.
==== Early Chinese Buddhist traditions ====
Due to the wide proliferation of Buddhist
texts available in Chinese and the large number
of foreign monks who came to teach Buddhism
in China, much like new branches growing from
a main tree trunk, various specific focus
traditions emerged. Among the most influential
of these was the practice of Pure Land Buddhism
established by Hui Yuan, which focused on
Amitābha Buddha and his western pure land
of Sukhāvatī. Other early traditions were
the Tiantai, Huayan and the Vinaya school.
Such schools were based upon the primacy of
the Lotus Sūtra, the Avataṃsaka Sūtra,
and the Dharmaguptaka Vinaya, respectively,
along with supplementary sūtras and commentaries.
The Tiantai founder Zhiyi wrote several works
that became important and widely read meditation
manuals in China such as the "Concise samatha-vipasyana",
and the "Great samatha-vipasyana."
=== Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589)
and Sui Dynasty (589–618 CE) ===
==== Chán: pointing directly to the mind
====
In the 5th century, the Chán (Zen) teachings
began in China, traditionally attributed to
the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, a legendary
figure. The school heavily utilized the principles
found in the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra, a sūtra
utilizing the teachings of Yogācāra and
those of Tathāgatagarbha, and which teaches
the One Vehicle (Skt. Ekayāna) to buddhahood.
In the early years, the teachings of Chán
were therefore referred to as the "One Vehicle
School." The earliest masters of the Chán
school were called "Laṅkāvatāra Masters",
for their mastery of practice according to
the principles of the Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra.
The principal teachings of Chán were later
often known for the use of so-called encounter
stories and koans, and the teaching methods
used in them. Nan Huai-Chin identifies the
Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra and the Diamond Sūtra
(Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra)
as the principle texts of the Chán school,
and summarizes the principles succinctly:
The Zen teaching was a separate transmission
outside the scriptural teachings that did
not posit any written texts as sacred. Zen
pointed directly to the human mind to enable
people to see their real nature and become
buddhas.
=== Tang Dynasty (618–907 CE) ===
==== Xuanzang's journey to the west ====
During the early Tang dynasty, between 629
and 645, the monk Xuanzang journeyed to India
and visited over one hundred kingdoms, and
wrote extensive and detailed reports of his
findings, which have subsequently become important
for the study of India during this period.
During his travels he visited holy sites,
learned the lore of his faith, and studied
with many famous Buddhist masters, especially
at the famous center of Buddhist learning
at Nālanda University. When he returned,
he brought with him some 657 Sanskrit texts.
Xuanzang also returned with relics, statues,
and Buddhist paraphernalia loaded onto twenty-two
horses. With the emperor's support, he set
up a large translation bureau in Chang'an
(present-day Xi'an), drawing students and
collaborators from all over East Asia. He
is credited with the translation of some 1,330
fascicles of scriptures into Chinese. His
strongest personal interest in Buddhism was
in the field of Yogācāra, or "Consciousness-only".
The force of his own study, translation and
commentary of the texts of these traditions
initiated the development of the Faxiang school
in East Asia. Although the school itself did
not thrive for a long time, its theories regarding
perception, consciousness, karma, rebirth,
etc. found their way into the doctrines of
other more successful schools. Xuanzang's
closest and most eminent student was Kuiji
who became recognized as the first patriarch
of the Faxiang school. Xuanzang's logic, as
described by Kuiji, was often misunderstood
by scholars of Chinese Buddhism because they
lack the necessary background in Indian logic.
Another important disciple was the Korean
monk Woncheuk.
Xuanzang's translations were especially important
for the transmission of Indian texts related
to the Yogācāra school. He translated central
Yogācāra texts such as the Saṃdhinirmocana
Sūtra and the Yogācārabhūmi Śāstra,
as well as important texts such as the Mahāprajñāpāramitā
Sūtra and the Bhaiṣajyaguruvaidūryaprabharāja
Sūtra (Medicine Buddha Sūtra). He is credited
with writing or compiling the Cheng Weishi
Lun (Vijñaptimātratāsiddhi Śāstra) as
composed from multiple commentaries on Vasubandhu's
Triṃśikā-vijñaptimātratā. His translation
of the Heart Sūtra became and remains the
standard in all East Asian Buddhist sects.
The proliferation of these texts expanded
the Chinese Buddhist canon significantly with
high quality translations of some of the most
important Indian Buddhist texts.
==== Caves, art, and technology ====
The popularization of Buddhism in this period
is evident in the many scripture-filled caves
and structures surviving from this period.
The Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in Gansu province,
the Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang in Henan
and the Yungang Grottoes near Datong in Shanxi
are the most renowned examples from the Northern,
Sui and Tang Dynasties. The Leshan Giant Buddha,
carved out of a hillside in the 8th century
during the Tang Dynasty and looking down on
the confluence of three rivers, is still the
largest stone Buddha statue in the world.
Monks and pious laymen spread Buddhist concepts
through story-telling and preaching from sutra
texts. These oral presentations were written
down as bianwen (transformation stories) which
influenced the writing of fiction by their
new ways of telling stories combining prose
and poetry. Popular legends in this style
included Mulian Rescues His Mother, in which
a monk descends into hell in a show of filial
piety.
Making duplications of Buddhist texts was
considered to bring meritorious karma. Printing
from individually carved wooden blocks and
from clay or metal movable type proved much
more efficient than hand copying and eventually
eclipsed it. The Diamond Sūtra (Vajracchedikā
Prajñāpāramitā Sūtra) of 868 CE, a Buddhist
scripture discovered in 1907 inside the Mogao
Caves, is the first dated example of block
printing.
==== Arrival of Esoteric Buddhism ====
The Kaiyuan's Three Great Enlightened Masters,
Śubhakarasiṃha, Vajrabodhi, and Amoghavajra,
established Esoteric Buddhism in China from
AD 716 to 720 during the reign of emperor
Xuanzong. They came to Daxing Shansi (大兴善寺,
Great Propagating Goodness Temple), which
was the predecessor of Temple of the Great
Enlightener Mahavairocana. Daxing Shansi was
established in the ancient capital Chang'an,
today's Xi'an, and became one of the four
great centers of scripture translation supported
by the imperial court. They had translated
many Buddhist scriptures, sutra and tantra,
from Sanskrit to Chinese. They had also assimilated
the prevailing teachings of China: Daoism
and Confucianism, with Buddhism, and had further
evolved the practice of the Esoteric school.
They brought to the Chinese a mysterious,
dynamic, and magical teaching, which included
mantra formula and detailed rituals to protect
a person or an empire, to affect a person's
fate after death, and, particularly popular,
to bring rain in times of drought. It is not
surprising, then, that all three masters were
well received by the emperor Tang Xuanzong,
and their teachings were quickly taken up
at the Tang court and among the elite. Mantrayana
altars were installed in temples in the capital,
and by the time of emperor Tang Daizong (r.
762–779) its influence among the upper classes
outstripped that of Daoism. However, relations
between Amoghavajra and Daizong were especially
good. In life the emperor favored Amoghavajra
with titles and gifts, and when the master
died in 774, he honored his memory with a
stupa, or funeral monument. The Esoteric Buddhist
lineage of China (and almost all of Buddhism
in China at the time) was nearly wiped out
by the Emperor Tang Wuzong, leading to the
Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution. Historically,
the Hanmi Chinese Esoteric School of Buddhism
was also thought to have been lost when Emperor
Tang Wuzong banned the teaching. Huiguo, the
last known disciple of Amoghavajra, left China
with Kukai traveling to Japan to establish
the Japanese Esoteric school of Buddhism,
later known as Shingon.
A disciple of Amoghavajra, Huisu, secretly
continued the lineage in China and has been
passed on through one master per generation.
In 1989 the 48th Maha-Acharya Master Huiling
of the Chinese Esoteric School passed the
teaching to the 49th Lineage Bearer Master
Yu Tian Jian who revived the school.
The Esoteric Buddhist lineages transmitted
to Japan under the auspices of the monks Kūkai
and Saicho, later formulated the teachings
transmitted to them to create the Shingon
sect and the Tendai sect.
==== Tang state repression of 845 ====
There were several components that led to
opposition of Buddhism. One factor is the
foreign origins of Buddhism, unlike Daoism
and Confucianism. Han Yu wrote, "Buddha was
a man of the barbarians who did not speak
the language of China and wore clothes of
a different fashion. His sayings did not concern
the ways of our ancient kings, nor did his
manner of dress conform to their laws. He
understood neither the duties that bind sovereign
and subject, nor the affections of father
and son."
Other components included the Buddhists' withdrawal
from society, since the Chinese believed that
Chinese people should be involved with family
life. Wealth, tax-exemption status and power
of the Buddhist temples and monasteries also
annoyed many critics.
As mentioned earlier, persecution came during
the reign of Emperor Wuzong in the Tang Dynasty.
Wuzong was said to hate the sight of Buddhist
monks, who he thought were tax-evaders. In
845, he ordered the destruction of 4,600 Buddhist
monasteries and 40,000 temples. More than
400,000 Buddhist monks and nuns then became
peasants liable to the Two Taxes (grain and
cloth). Wuzong cited that Buddhism was an
alien religion, which is the reason he also
persecuted the Christians in China. David
Graeber argues that Buddhist institutions
had accumulated so much precious metals which
the government needed to secure the money
supply. Ancient Chinese Buddhism never fully
recovered from the persecution.
=== Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period
(907–960/979) ===
The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
(simplified Chinese: 五代十国; traditional
Chinese: 五代十國; pinyin: Wǔdài Shíguó)
was an era of political upheaval in China,
between the fall of the Tang Dynasty and the
founding of the Song Dynasty. During this
period, five dynasties quickly succeeded one
another in the north, and more than 12 independent
states were established, mainly in the south.
However, only ten are traditionally listed,
hence the era's name, "Ten Kingdoms". Some
historians, such as Bo Yang, count eleven,
including Yan and Qi, but not Northern Han,
viewing it as simply a continuation of Later
Han. This era also led to the founding of
the Liao Dynasty.
After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, China
was without effective central control during
the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period.
China was divided into several autonomous
regions. Support for Buddhism was limited
to a few areas. The Hua-yen and T'ien-t'ai
schools suffered from the changing circumstances,
since they had depended on imperial support.
The collapse of T'ang society also deprived
the aristocratic classes of wealth and influence,
which meant a further drawback for Buddhism.
Shenxiu's Northern Chán School and Henshui's
Southern Chán School didn't survive the changing
circumstances. Nevertheless, Chán emerged
as the dominant stream within Chinese Buddhism,
but with various schools developing various
emphasises in their teachings, due to the
regional orientation of the period. The Fayan
school, named after Fa-yen Wen-i (885–958)
became the dominant school in the southern
kingdoms of Nan-T'ang (Jiangxi, Chiang-hsi)
and Wuyue (Che-chiang).
=== Song Dynasty (960–1279) ===
The Song Dynasty is divided into two distinct
periods: the Northern Song and Southern Song.
During the Northern Song (Chinese: 北宋,
960–1127), the Song capital was in the northern
city of Bianjing (now Kaifeng) and the dynasty
controlled most of inner China. The Southern
Song (Chinese: 南宋, 1127–1279) refers
to the period after the Song lost control
of northern China to the Jin dynasty. During
this time, the Song court retreated south
of the Yangtze River and established their
capital at Lin'an (now Hangzhou). Although
the Song Dynasty had lost control of the traditional
birthplace of Chinese civilization along the
Yellow River, the Song economy was not in
ruins, as the Southern Song Empire contained
60 percent of China's population and a majority
of the most productive agricultural land.During
the Song Dynasty, Chán (禪) was used by
the government to strengthen its control over
the country, and Chán grew to become the
largest sect in Chinese Buddhism. An ideal
picture of the Chán of the Tang period was
produced, which served the legacy of this
newly acquired status.In the early Song Dynasty
"Chán-Pure Land syncretism became a dominant
movement."
Buddhist ideology began to merge with Confucianism
and Daoism, due in part to the use of existing
Chinese philosophical terms in the translation
of Buddhist scriptures. Various Confucian
scholars of the Song dynasty, including Zhu
Xi (wg: Chu Hsi), sought to redefine Confucianism
as Neo-Confucianism.
During the Song Dynasty, in 1021 CE, it is
recorded that there were 458,855 Buddhist
monks and nuns actively living in monasteries.
The total number of monks was 397,615, while
the total number of nuns was recorded as 61,240.
=== Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368) ===
During the Yuan Dynasty, the Mongol emperors
made Esoteric Buddhism an official religion
of China, and Tibetan lamas were given patronage
at the court. A common perception was that
this patronage of lamas caused corrupt forms
of tantra to become widespread. When the Mongol
Yuan Dynasty was overthrown and the Ming Dynasty
was established, the Tibetan lamas were expelled
from the court, and this form of Buddhism
was denounced as not being an orthodox path.
=== Ming dynasty (1368–1644) ===
According to Weinstein, by the Ming Dynasty,
the Chan school was so firmly established
that all monks were affiliated with either
the Linji school or the Caodong school.During
the Ming Dynasty, Hanshan Deqing was one of
the great reformers of Chinese Buddhism. Like
many of his contemporaries, he advocated the
dual practice of the Chán and Pure Land methods,
and advocated the use of the nianfo ("Mindfulness
of the Buddha") technique to purify the mind
for the attainment of self-realization. He
also directed practitioners in the use of
mantras as well as scripture reading. He was
also renowned as a lecturer and commentator,
and admired for his strict adherence to the
precepts.According to Jiang Wu, for Chan masters
in this period such as Hanshan Deqing, training
through self-cultivation was encouraged, and
clichéd or formulaic instructions were despised.
Eminent monks who practiced meditation and
asceticism without proper Dharma transmission
were acclaimed for having acquiring "wisdom
without a teacher."
=== Qing dynasty (1644–1911) ===
The Qing court endorsed the Gelukpa School
of Tibetan Buddhism. Early in the Taiping
rebellion, the Taiping rebels targeted Buddhism.
In the Battle of Nanjing (1853), the Taiping
army butchered thousands of monks in Nanjing.
But from the middle of the Taiping rebellion,
Taiping leaders took a more moderate approach,
demanding that monks should have licences.Around
1900, Buddhists from other Asian countries
showed a growing interest in Chinese Buddhism.
Anagarika Dharmapala visited Shanghai in 1893,
intending "to make a tour of China, to arouse
the Chinese Buddhists to send missionaries
to India to restore Buddhism there, and then
to start a propaganda throughout the whole
world", but eventually limiting his stay to
Shanghai. Japanese Buddhist missionaries were
active in China in the beginning of the 20th
century.
=== Republic of China (established 1912) ===
The modernisation of China led to the end
of the Chinese Empire, and the installation
of the Republic of China, which lasted on
the mainland until the Communist Revolution
and the installation of the People's Republic
of China in 1949 which also led to the ROC
government's exodus to Taiwan.
Under influence of the western culture, attempts
were being made to revitalize Chinese Buddhism.
Most notable were the Humanistic Buddhism
of Taixu, and the revival of Chinese Chán
by Hsu Yun. Hsu Yun is generally regarded
as one of the most influential Buddhist teachers
of the 19th and 20th centuries. Other influential
teachers in the early 20th century included
Pure land Buddhist Yin Guang (印光) and
artist Hong Yi. Layman Zhao Puchu worked much
on the revival.
Until 1949, monasteries were built in the
Southeast Asian countries, for example by
monks of Guanghua Monastery, to spread Chinese
Buddhism. Presently, Guanghua Monastery has
seven branches in the Malay Peninsula and
Indonesia. Several Chinese Buddhist teachers
left mainland China during the Communist Revolution,
and settled in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Master Hsing Yun (1927–present) is the founder
of Fo Guang Shan monastery and lay organization
the Buddha's Light International Association.
Born in Jiangsu Province in mainland China,
he entered the Sangha at the age of 12, and
came to Taiwan in 1949. He founded Fo Guang
Shan monastery in 1967, and the Buddha's Light
International Association in 1992. These are
among the largest monastic and lay Buddhist
organizations in Taiwan from the late 20th
to early 21st centuries. He advocates Humanistic
Buddhism, which the broad modern Chinese Buddhist
progressive attitude towards the religion.
Master Sheng Yen (1930–2009) was the founder
of the Dharma Drum Mountain, a Buddhist organization
based in Taiwan. During his time in Taiwan,
Sheng Yen was well known as one of the progressive
Buddhist teachers who sought to teach Buddhism
in a modern and Western-influenced world.
Master Wei Chueh was born in 1928 in Sichuan,
mainland China, and ordained in Taiwan. In
1982, he founded Lin Quan Temple in Taipei
County and became known for his teaching on
Ch'an practices by offering many lectures
and seven-day Ch'an retreats.
=== People's Republic of China (established
1949) ===
==== Chinese Buddhist Association ====
Unlike Catholicism and other branches of Christianity,
there was no organization in China that embraced
all monastics in China, nor even all monastics
within the same sect. Traditionally each monastery
was autonomous, with authority resting on
each respective abbot. In 1953, the Chinese
Buddhist Association was established at a
meeting with 121 delegates in Beijing. The
meeting also elected a chairman, 4 honorary
chairmen, 7 vice-chairmen, a secretary general,
3 deputy secretaries-general, 18 members of
a standing committee, and 93 directors. The
4 elected honorary chairmen were the Dalai
Lama, the Panchen Lama, the Grand Lama of
Inner Mongolia, and Venerable Master Hsu Yun.
==== Reform and opening up – Second Buddhist
Revival ====
Since the reform and opening up period in
the 1970s, a new revival of Chinese Buddhism
has been taking place. Ancient Buddhist temples
are being restored and new Buddhist temples
are being built.
Chinese Buddhist temples, administrated by
local governments, have become increasingly
commercialized by sales of tickets, incense,
or other religious items; soliciting donations;
and even the listing of temples on the stock
market and local governments obtain large
incomes. In October 2012, the State Administration
for Religious Affairs announced a crackdown
on religious profiteering. Many sites have
done enough repairs and have already cancelled
ticket fares and are receiving voluntary donation
instead.The 108-metre-high Guan Yin of the
South Sea of Sanya statue was enshrined on
April 24, 2005 with the participation of 108
eminent monks from various Buddhist groups
from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and
Taiwan, and tens of thousands of pilgrims.
The delegation also included monks from the
Theravada and Tibetan Buddhist traditions.
China is one of the countries with the most
of the world's highest statues, many of which
are Buddhist statues.
In April 2006 China organized the World Buddhist
Forum, an event now held every two years,
and in March 2007 the government banned mining
on Buddhist sacred mountains. In May of the
same year, in Changzhou, the world's tallest
pagoda was built and opened. In March 2008
the Taiwan-based organizations Tzu Chi Foundation
and Fo Guang Shan were approved to open a
branch in mainland China.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.
=== Chinese Buddhism in Southeast Asia ===
Chinese Buddhism is mainly practiced by ethnic
Han-Chinese in Southeast Asia.
=== Chinese Buddhism in the West ===
The first Chinese master to teach Westerners
in North America was Hsuan Hua, who taught
Chán and other traditions of Chinese Buddhism
in San Francisco during the early 1960s. He
went on to found the City Of Ten Thousand
Buddhas, a monastery and retreat center located
on a 237-acre (959,000 m²) property near
Ukiah, California. Chuang Yen Monastery and
Hsi Lai Temple are also large centers.
Sheng Yen also founded dharma centers in the
USA.
== Sects ==
=== Esoteric Buddhism ===
In China and countries with large Chinese
populations such as Taiwan, Malaysia, and
Singapore, Esoteric Buddhism is most commonly
referred to as the Chinese term Mìzōng (密宗),
or "Esoteric School." Traditions of Chinese
Esoteric Buddhism are most commonly referred
to as referred as Tángmì (唐密), "Tang
Dynasty Esoterica," or Hànchuán Mìzōng
(漢傳密宗), "Han Transmission Esoteric
School" (Hànmì 漢密 for short), or Dōngmì
(東密), "Eastern Esoterica," separating
itself from Tibetan and Newar traditions.
These schools more or less share the same
doctrines as Shingon, and in some cases, Chinese
monks have traveled to Japan to train and
to be given esoteric transmission at Mount
Koya and Mount Hiei.
=== Unrecognised sects ===
There are many sects and organisations proclaiming
a Buddhist identity and pursuit (fo or fu:
"awakening", "enlightenment") that are not
recognised as legitimate Buddhism by the Chinese
Buddhist Association and the government of
the People's Republic of China. This group
includes:
Guanyin Buddhism [Awakening Teaching] (观音佛教
Guānyīn Fójiào) or Guanyin Church (观音会
Guānyīn Huì)
True Awakening Tradition (真佛宗 Zhēnfó
Zōng)
== Teachings ==
=== Basic concepts ===
Chinese Buddhism incorporates elements of
traditional Buddhism and Taoism.
Common practices include
worship of Buddhas and bodhisattvas
through offerings of incense, flowers, food,
etc.
offerings to Devas who reside in the heavenly
realm
paying respect to dead ancestors during Qingming
and Hungry Ghost festival
performance of religious ceremonies to help
souls of the deceased find peace (超渡)
forming affinities with other people, through
gifts and acts of service (緣份)
vegetarianism: monastics are required to be
vegetarian, devout laity are also often vegetarian
compassion towards all living beings through
activities such as "life release"Common beliefs
include
existence of gods, ghosts and hell realm
reincarnation (超生), or more technically,
rebirth, according to one's karma
karmic retribution (報應), ethically cause
and effect
=== Incense burning ===
During the Zhou dynasty, Chinese believed
that smoke resulting from burning wood act
as a bridge between the human world and the
spirits. When Buddhism reached China, this
wood evolved into sandalwood incense which
were originally burned by Indian Buddhists
so they could concentrate better.The philosophy
behind incense burning is to sacrifice oneself
for the benefit of others, the true spirit
of Buddhism.
It can be seen that incense burning as it
is known today is a merger between Chinese
culture and Buddhist culture.
=== Laypeople in Chinese Buddhism ===
In Chinese Buddhism, lay practitioners have
traditionally played an important role, and
lay practice of Buddhism has had similar tendencies
to those of monastic Buddhism in China. Many
historical biographies of lay Buddhists are
available, which give a clear picture of their
practices and role in Chinese Buddhism. In
addition to these numerous biographies, there
are accounts from Jesuit missionaries such
as Matteo Ricci which provide extensive and
revealing accounts to the degree Buddhism
penetrated elite and popular culture in China.Traditional
practices such as meditation, mantra recitation,
mindfulness of Amitābha Buddha, asceticism,
and vegetarianism were all integrated into
the belief systems of ordinary people. It
is known from accounts in the Ming Dynasty
that lay practitioners often engaged in practices
from both the Pure Land and Chán traditions,
as well as the study of the Buddhist sūtras.
The Heart Sūtra and the Diamond Sūtra were
the most popular, followed by the Lotus Sūtra
and the Avataṃsaka Sūtra.Laypeople were
also commonly devoted to the practice of mantras,
and the Mahā Karuṇā Dhāraṇī and the
Cundī Dhāraṇī were very popular. Robert
Gimello has also observed that in Chinese
Buddhist communities, the esoteric practices
of Cundī enjoyed popularity among both the
populace and the elite.Mahāyāna figures
such as Avalokiteśvara Bodhisattva, Kṣitigarbha
Bodhisattva, Amitābha Buddha, and the Medicine
Buddha, were all widely known and revered.
Beliefs in karma and rebirth were held at
all levels of Chinese society, and pilgrimages
to well-known monasteries and the four holy
mountains of China were undertaken by monastics
and lay practitioners alike.
=== Festivals ===
These are the holy days that Chinese Buddhists
celebrate by visiting temples to make offerings
of prayers, incense, fruits, flowers
and donations. On such days they observe the
moral precepts very strictly as well as a
full day's vegetarian diet, a practice
originally from China.
The dates given are based on the Chinese calendar
system so that 8.4 means the Eighth day of
the fourth month in Chinese calendar and so
on.
8.12 — Enlightenment Day of Śākyamuni
Buddha
1.1 — Birthday of Maitreya Buddha
9.1 — Birthday of Śakra, Lord of the Devas
8.2 — Renunciation Day of Śākyamuni Buddha
15.2 — Mahāparinirvāṇa Day of Śākyamuni
Buddha
19.2 — Birthday of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara
(Guan Yin)
21.2 — Birthday of Bodhisattva Samantabhadra
4.4 — Birthday of Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī
8.4 — Birthday of Śākyamuni Buddha
15.4 — Vesak Day
13.5 — Birthday of Bodhisattva Sangharama
(Qie Lan)
3.6 — Birthday of Skanda (Wei Tuo)
19.6 — Enlightenment Day of Bodhisattva
Avalokiteśvara
13.7 — Birthday of Bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta
15.7 — Ullambana Festival Ghost Festival
24.7 — Birthday of Bodhisattva Nagarjuna
30.7 — Birthday of Bodhisattva Kṣitigarbha
22.8 — Birthday of Dīpaṃkara Buddha (an
ancient buddha)
19.9 — Renunciation Day of Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara
30.9 — Birthday of Bhaiṣajyaguru Buddha
(Medicine Buddha)
5.10 — Anniversary of the death of Bodhidharma
17.11 — Birthday of Amitābha Buddha
== See also ==
== Notes ==
== References ==
=== Citations ===
=== Sources ===
== Further reading ==
=== History ===
Nan Huai-Chin (1998), Basic Buddhism: Exploring
Buddhism and Zen, Translated by J.C. Cleary,
Red Wheel Weiser
Nan Huai-Chin (1995), The Story of Chinese
Zen, Translated by Thomas Cleary, Charles
E. Tuttle Company
Tansen Sen (2003), Buddhism, Diplomacy, and
Trade: The realignment of Sino-Indian Relations,
600–1400, Association for Asian Studies
& University of Hawai'i Press
Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans. (1999).
Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History,
Chapter 1: A General Survey. In: Pacific World
Journal, Third Series, Number 1, 91–103.
Archived from the original
Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans. (2001).
Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History,
Chapter 2: The Earliest Period; Chapter 3:
Hui-yuan of Mt.Lu; and Chapter 4: The Translation
of Texts-Spurious Scriptures. In: Pacific
World Journal, Third Series, Number 3, 241–275.
Archived from the original
Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans. (2002).
Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History,
Chapter Five: The Early Pure Land Faith: Southern
China, and Chapter Six: The Early Pure Land
Faith: Northern China. In: Pacific World Journal,
Third Series, Number 4, 259–279. Archived
from the original
Shinko Mochizuki, Leo M. Pruden, Trans. (2000).
Pure Land Buddhism in China: A Doctrinal History,
Chapter 7: T'an-luan. In: Pacific World Journal,
Third Series, Number 2, 149–165. Archived
from the original
=== First Buddhist revival ===
Pittman, Don Alvin (2001), Toward a Modern
Chinese Buddhism: Taixu's Reforms, University
of Hawaii Press
Daoru, Wei (n.d.), Buddhism in China and Modern
Society: An Introduction Centering Around
the Teachings of Taixu and Yinshun (PDF),
archived from the original (PDF) on April
2, 2013
Lancashire, Douglas (n.d.), Buddhism in Modern
China (PDF)
=== Contemporary Chinese Buddhism ===
Chau, Adam Yuet (2010), Religion in Contemporary
China: Revitalization and Innovation, Taylor
& Francis
Miller, James (2006), Chinese Religions in
Contemporary Societies, ABC-CLIO
Baumer, Christoph (2011), China's Holy Mountain:
An Illustrated Journey into the Heart of Buddhism,
London: I.B.Tauris, ISBN 978-1-84885-700-1
Master Sheng Yen (2007), Orthodox Chinese
Buddhism, Translated by Douglas Gildow and
Otto Chang, North Atlantic Books
Munro, Robin; Mickey Spiegel (1994). Detained
in China and Tibet: A Directory of Political
and Religious Prisoners. Human Rights Watch.
ISBN 1564321053.List first published in: "Appendix:
Sects and Societies Recently or Currently
Active in the PRC". Chinese Sociology & Anthropology.
21 (4): 103–104. 1989. doi:10.2753/CSA0009-46252104102.
== External links ==
China Buddhist Association
Chinese Esoteric Buddhist School
Timeline of China Buddhism
About Buddhism in China: A Selected Bibliography
Chinese Buddhism
the Confucian Impact on Chan Buddhism
Buddhist Studies net
Wisdom embodied: Chinese Buddhist and Daoist
sculpture in the Metropolitan Museum of Art,
a collection catalog from The Metropolitan
Museum of Art Libraries (fully available online
as PDF)
如是我闻佛教网- 佛教百科_佛教电视台_佛教视频_佛教印经结缘
