Buddhism Dbq Essay

1226 Words5 Pages

Buddhism, being founded by Buddha, spread through many trade routes religious missionaries sent by Ashoka. Through these Missionaries, Buddhism was able to reach many places, with one of these places being China. When Buddhism first arrived to China, it was met with mixed reactions which soon define Buddhism rough transition and diffusion into Chinese custom. Buddhism's advancement into China was a direct result of Buddhist monks emphasizing the spiritual benefits of Buddhism. In response to this; Buddhism was accepted by some while Confucian scholars and other high officials rejected it because they believed it was detrimental to China. The Dissemination of Buddhism into China was a direct result of Buddhist Monks and Missionaries …show more content…

Some reactions were positive while others were negative. When Buddhism was first on the uprise in China, Confucian scholars quickly rejected because they saw Buddhism as being detrimental to the Chinese society since they saw some Buddhist practices as being evil and contravenes some of their Confucian principles as seen in Han Yu's ‘Memorial on Buddhism" (Doc 4). The Confucian Scholars saw Buddha as being "a being a man of the barbarians [basically a barbarian] who did not speak Chinese and who wore clothes of a different fashion". Also, with the Confucian Scholar's perception of Buddhism, they believed that some of the Buddhist practices like the mutilation of flesh being offered to the Buddha must not be allowed to stand. Confucian scholars also didn't appreciate how Buddhist teachings didn't mention anything about China's ancient kings and they also don't like the Buddha's way of dressing since it was against China's laws. So Han Yu's whole point of writing this text was to create a somewhat anti-Buddhist atmosphere in China that would call for the expungement of Buddhism altogether. Along with the Confucian Scholars denouncement and rejection of Buddhism, the Tang emperor Wuzong had a strong aversion to Buddhism being in China (Doc 6). This document, which came directly from Emperor Wuzong himself, shows how Buddhism wasn't wanted. Emperor Wuzong goes on to say that Buddhism wears people's strength and wealth. He also states that it is destroying Chinese law. Emperor Wuzong didn't want Buddhism at all, he believed it was poisonous to China's customs and detrimental to Chinese Tang law. Wuzong believed it was “an evil that needed to be eradicated”. The way Wuzong accomplished this was by openly prosecuting Buddhism by destroying Buddhist monasteries and reducing the influence of Chinese Buddhism in favor of Confucian ideology. Both Confucian scholars