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Theravada buddhism essay
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In third century B.C.E the following vital occasion in the improvement of Buddhism was the meeting of a Buddhist friar and indian ruler named called Ashoka. It is the leader of substantial Mauryan domain in India, Ashoka had extended it until it secured cutting edge India. Be that as it may, he had turned out to be profoundly trubled by the carnage he brought about in this triumphs. Listening to the friar persuaded Ashoka to give himself to the quiet message of Buddhism. Ashoka raised thousand of rock columns everywhere on his Kingdom with the educating of the Buddha cut into them, the first composed proof we have of Buddhism.
For many centuries, a religion and philosophy founded in India (c.525 B.C.) by Siddhartha Gautama flourished along the Silk Road as it impacted the way of living. The transformation of the religion, Buddhism, varied in different ideas and was heavily influenced by its teachings throughout Asia. After the collapse of the Han Dynasty, principles of the Buddha offered great comfort to China and changed the views of the world (Docs 1 & 5). In other areas such as Indonesia and Pakistan, architecture was also transformed into a form of Buddhism as other cultures were mixed into structures and items (Docs 2, 4 & 7). Moreover, the teachings of the Buddha also changes to a sense of practice towards education and empowerment throughout the Asian continent
After the Roman empire fell and Rome split into the Eastern and Western empires, each empire developed differently. The differences can be clearly seen when analyzing the churches which each empire produced. In the year 1054, the Christian church branched out in the Eastern and Western empires to Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholicism, respectively. The alienation between the Eastern and Western churches was deeply rooted in political and cultural differences. As Western culture evolved, largely due to the influx of Germanic peoples in the West, the Eastern culture stayed virtually the same, sustaining a tradition of Hellenistic Christianity.
In 1054, the Great Schism had taken place. After many disagreements involving the nature of the Trinity, the relative importance of the faith and reason, and especially the use of Icons, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic church had broken their communion. Although the churches based off Christianity and monotheism, the amount of control and association the church had over everything had varied. Roman Catholic churches in Western Europe no longer had any stable control or involvement in politics, as the region became decentralized and had instead became dependent on religion as more of a form of organization during the Middle Ages. Whilst the West had become decentralized, the Byzantine Empire had started to become even more successful in control over the association of government and
The religion of Buddhism first appeared in India during the sixth century B.C.E and its teachings migrated to China by the first century C.E., gradually winning over the Chinese people following the collapse of the Han dynasty in 220 C.E. Buddhist influence continued its expansion in China for several centuries. Throughout Chinese history, China reacted to the spread of Buddhism within its empire in several ways: some valued its policies for their implications in Chinese culture, others condemned Buddhist ideals for not being original to the empire, while many remained indifferent towards Buddhism and its spread. Support for the spread of Buddhism became most evident among Chinese scholars. An anonymous scholar believed that the old Confucian philosophies of China were nothing in comparison to the greatness of Buddhism, even going as far as to compare the sages to the Buddha as swallows to a phoenix (document 3). Additionally, he admires the dedication that the Buddhist monks showed; the monks enjoyed the act of living and inaction, freeing themselves from worldly pleasure.
Like Hinduism, Buddhism has a manifold collection of sacred writings. Unlike Hindus, Buddhists are not bound to the Veda, or to the entire collection of Buddhist writings. Tables listing Buddhist scriptures help us understand the impossibility of large numbers of people mastering all the scriptures… In practice, Buddhist groups focus their attention on a few volumes, sometimes basing their central doctrines on one sutra.” (Matthews: 144)
Following the fall of the Han dynasty came the decline of practicers of the Confucian philosophy because of the downfall of the elite class and a centralized government. Buddhism, a religion with it’s roots from north India, has found its presence in China during the time when trade, along the silk roads, was crucial in all parts of Eurasia. Although the spread of Buddhism in China was greeted with devotion from new converts who supported the religion by spreading it and combining their cultures with the religion, it also was rejected by the ruling elite who opposed the spread of the religion that impacted China for the next following centuries.
To begin with, as stated before Buddhism was quite popular amongst the people of China. This is evident in the caves at Longmen, near Luoyang
The spread of Buddhism in East Asia had great success when the region became a center of learning for monks and scholars. Merchants in Central Asia came to the region for trade, and as they learned about Buddhism, they accepted this cultural adaptation. When the Chinese had their first contact with Buddhism through people from central Asia, who were already Buddhist, this religion expanded itself through the Chinese empire. As an interest was established for Buddhism in China, monastic orders were established causing political disputes between the emperor and Buddhists for the centuries to come. During the Han Dynasty, Buddhism enjoyed a great state support; however, after the collapse of the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty influences
Buddhism has influenced China significantly, Buddhism originated in India in the sixth century B.C.E. which progressively moved to China after the fall of the Han dynasty in two-hundred and twenty C.E. During the beginning of the
The introduction of Buddhism to China started off well, most openly accepted the foreign religion and it continued to thrive for centuries. Until the lack of an empire and laws plagued individuals minds. Other religions with a strong imperial structure, such as Confucianism, rose to support the growing number of negative minds. Buddhism was spread by Buddhist missionaries from India into China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). It was, at first, confined to only the higher status individuals, like aristocrats and Chinese royalty.
This constant rift deprived Muslims of a leader who could protect their rights and maintain Islam’s strong foothold in South Asia. The stagnant decay of the Mughal court
Therefore, their political control was more controlled by spiritual beliefs. The king even appointed Dhamma Mahamatras to look after the spiritual well being of the people. The two civilizations both differed in their views for keeping peace within the empire but still the ultimate goal for each was to keep
During this time Ashoka Maurya was the emperor, his family created his empire through conquering other kingdoms in brutal wars. Ashoka continued to fight wars and expand his empire until one day all of the destruction made him realize how violent he was, that his conquest killed hundreds of thousands of people. This made him convert to Buddhism and changed his empire's government based on Buddhist teachings. In document 1 it states, “His family created an empire by conquering other kingdoms in brutal wars and when Ashoka became the king he continued to fight wars and expand the empire. During his reign, Ashoka converted to Buddhism and from that point onwards he based all of his government policies on Buddhist teachings.” Because of his ideas and beliefs and Buddhism, his reign of destruction and death was over.
Another significant similarity in the spread and development of these beliefs is that both faiths would experience a split that would change history forever. In 1054, a combination of political tension, theological differences, and leadership disputes between Rome and Constantinople caused what become known as the “Great Schism”. The Great Schism created two separate churches, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Eastern Orthodox Church. These two churches remained under a state of excommunication from 1054 until 1965 when the leaders of the two churches finally agreed to meet and resume dialogue after