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Response To Buddhism In China Dbq

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Recommended: Essays on the comparison of Buddhism and Confucianism

DBQ 2004: Responses to Buddhism in China

In Tang China, Buddhism was seen by some as a peaceful and honorable religion that would improve China, while others met it with scorn, denouncing it as an evil faith that threatened traditional Chinese or Confucianism values. Some Chinese scholars and officials praised Buddhism for its focus on peace, enlightenment and the curbing of the desires in an effort to reduce suffering in the world. Zhi Dun, a scholar, author and confidant of high-ranking Chinese aristocrats and officials, firmly asserted this view in Document 2, going as far as to say that the Chinese who rigorously practice the Buddhist faith will enter Nirvana and meet the Buddha face-to-face. This suggests that many were firm believers …show more content…

In Doc. 4, Han Yu, a Confucian scholar, discussed the idea of having a procession into the palace in which the finger bone of Buddha, retrieved from India, was to be displayed to the people. He saw this as ludicrous and disgusting, recalling that The Buddha was foreign, did not mention Chinese thinkers or kings and did not honor the central Confucian concept of the hierarchy and the family. Han Yu believed that, if The Buddha were alive, he would be sent away and unable to “delude”, or trick and deceive, the Chinese people. This account is hateful, calling Buddhism an “evil”. This shows that some scholars felt threatened by the foreign ideas flowing from India and believed that Buddhism was in no way beneficial to China. It also shows, since the writer is a Confucianist, that some did not believe that the ideologies could coexist or be mutually accepted. The notion that anything foreign isn’t trustworthy or applicable to Chinese life suggests that China believed it was the center of the universe and was superior to surrounding nations. The author’s point of view must be taken into account, however; Han Yu, being a Confucian scholar, likely spent long hours examining Confucian text and was unfamiliar to ideas that contradicted those beliefs. Therefore, he might not be open to receiving new ideas. The next document, given by Tang Emperor Wu, is an edict that was sent out concerning Buddhism, likely the same one that resulted in the destruction of numerous Buddhist temples and that mandated that many monks and nuns to reenter the workforce. Using a furious tone, the account again cites the fact that Buddhism was not completely aligned with Confucianism and Chinese tradition as a reason for eliminating the faith. Wu called Buddhism a bane on society, reasoning that it weakened families and caused

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Buddhism in China DBQ A little before the Tang dynasty there was the Han dynasty where Confucianism was a staple of daily life and government. When the Han dynasty dissolved and the Tang dynasty took authority. Buddhism began to spread widely all over China. Buddhism was met with all types of responses: some saw buddhism as a threat to Confucian family values, while some saw Buddhism as a way to disregard worldly pleasures and luxuries that would only bring them harm, and lastly some mixed on the concept of Buddhism had an issue with the ascetic lifestyle led by its followers. One of the responses to Buddhism in China was that it was thought that Buddhism was a threat to Confucian family values.

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Others tried to lift Buddha to the other ideas of Chinese philosophers so they could all rule China. Examples of people who sided with Buddhism are documents 2 and 3. Document 2 talks about the advantages of converting to Buddhism. When someone of this religion dies, the will be inputted into Nirvana, a heaven

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China was then invaded by Central Asian steppe nomads. The spread of Buddhism in China between 350 CE and 900 CE transformed Chinese society by establishing order and creating unity after the instability from the collapse of the Han Dynasty, even though the people's views on it were very mixed, some positive and some negative. Both documents 1 and 3 agree with each other. Both of these documents agree that Buddhism

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Furthermore, Zhi Dun, Chinese scholar, author, and confidant of Chinese aristocrats and high officials, thoroughly believed that

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While Chinese initially accepted Buddhism and defended its policies, over the centuries others increasingly scrutinized Buddhism’s absence from past texts and used it as a scapegoat for political and social problems. When there was no empire to enforce laws, Buddhism gained popularity, but after imperial authority reemerged, Buddhism faced mounting opposition. An additional document that shows the actual numbers of converts to Buddhism during this time, preferably in a graph, would be useful in determining whether or not the worries of the authors in documents against Buddhism were grounded. For a few centuries after arriving in China, Chinese defended and supported Buddhism. Zhi Dun praised Buddhism as providing a path to nirvana, though as an upper class scholar who probably did not personally feel threatened by invading nomads, his testimony does not necessarily reflect the danger lower classes likely felt.

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Document 1 describes “The Four Noble Truths” which were preached by the Buddha. The document shows the steps necessary to obtain enlightenment which appealed to lower-class citizens. Document 1 also shows a connection between Daoism and Buddhism by referring to “the Way” which is the Daoist path to enlightenment while Nirvana is the Buddhist path to enlightenment. Document 2 shows the instability and lack of structure in China following the fall of the Han dynasty. Zhi Dun was a Buddhist and a Chinese scholar who is guiding Chinese aristocrats and high officials indicating doubt within Confucianism.

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