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Buddhism and confucianism
Relationship between buddhism and confucianism
Relationship between buddhism and confucianism
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We should celebrate the voyages of Zheng He because he overcame great odds in childhood, castrated by the Ming Dynasty, he traveled over 100,000 miles with very little technology, he managed a total of 37,500 men, managed a four hundred feet boat, he was a great leader to his soldiers, and created cultural diffusion in China. Zheng He overcame great odds in childhood was by in 1381, a ten year old boy named Ma He from Yunan Province in southern China watched his father died at the hands of the Ming Dynasty, and he was also taken into prisoner to serve the Emperor’s son, Prince Zhu Di. However before serving the emperor’s son was by being castrated and to join (forced) the thousands of eunuchs. Zheng He served the prince well and rose in the ranks of the
However, Quan kept talking about Yesu, “I will say the name of Yesu” (Alcorn, 162). The reader can notice that monks do not like to hear the name of Yesu in their temple and they do not like Christians. Also, China’s government believes that “Christians are the cause of economic problems…” (Alcorn, 99).
Buddhism was by far the religion the Mongols admired the most, and most of them converted to it. The Mongols hired many Buddhist monks to help them lead the conquest and in return the Mongols imposed severe limits on Daoism. In 1281 the Buddhist monks and the Daoist monks had a meeting to debate the merits of their religions; the Mongols sided with the Buddhists. Daoism had been getting into conflicts with Buddhism for many years, so when the Mongols stopped it, the monks were very grateful. As Buddhism was the most supported religion in Asia, it was very constructive for the Mongols legitimacy to be such a big part of it.
The Daodejing, similar to the Analects, was written during the Warring State period, a time when the Zhou kingdom disintegrated into a series of feudal states fighting for power—a time of fragmentation and chaos. The Daodejing was written for Daoist, educated men, and people interested in Daoist teachings. The Daodejing was written to inform people, therefore, it was written as if speaking to a student. Laozi, the author of the Daodejing, although has no proof of existence, is believed to be a keeper of archives in the royal court and a teacher who travelled around China. The purpose of the Daodejing is to articulate Laozi’s ideas on Daosim and inform people about his philosophy.
As Matthew Ricci journeyed to China he wrote at the beginning of his journal, “It is, therefore, by keeping such records that I hope to rescue from oblivion the story of the entrance of our Society into the vast dominion of China, whose borders have been closed for so many ages, and likewise of the first fruits of Christianity gathered by this noble race”. It is here that Ricci proclaims his intention of the vertical conversion of China or the idea that in able to convert the whole of China, he must first get close to the Chinese nobility and convert them. A few passages later he described his mission to China in
One of the ways that China ensures its control over Tibet is by controlling the Tibetan Buddhism religion. The Panchen Lama is one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism, second only to the Dalai Lama himself. The Panchen Lama’s role is to study and train to be an outstanding Buddhist monk and then to, one day, replace the Dalai Lama when he
The influence of Buddhism in China arose religious conflicts. One big similarity is the attack of outside invasions. Nomads lead several attacks on Rome and China. These attacks called for big armies, armies that the neither of them had. Therefore, the nomads overtook China and
By 300 CE, China was no longer under unified rule. The fortunes of the most prominent indigenous religious tradition, Confucianism, had fallen with the Han dynasty (202 BCE-220 CE), while those of its lesser-known native and foreign counterparts, Daoism and Buddhism, were rising steadily. These three transformations influenced the subsequent development of Chinese religious history throughout the first millennium CE and beyond. From the period of disunity (220–589 CE) onward, Chinese religion would be denned by the interactions among Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism.
Primary Source Unit Three Yan Zhitui came from a Buddhism devoted family; it was traditional in his family to turn to Buddhism and not reject it. He strongly believed that a Confucian scholar could also be a committed Buddhist and anyone who rejected Buddhism but believed in Confucius was foolish. Although Confucianism and Buddhism eventually became distinct from “each other in depth and shallowness”(blah 185); they still were essentially the same. Buddhism carried five prohibitions that were similar to the “humanity, justice, propriety, wisdom and sincerity of the Confucianism scriptures” (blah 185).
The most prominent religions, mentalities, and ways of life in China, also known as “The Three Teachings”, can easily be distinguished at first glance. Confucianism aims to create harmony in society with its followers. Daoism's goal is to release the practicer from society's chains and align one's life with the natural order of life. Zen Buddhism focuses on freeing oneself from all societal and natural structures to reach enlightenment. Despite these differences, there are aspects in each ideology that are remarkably similar.
The responses to the spread of Buddhism was dependent on what their place in society was. Most Confusion scholars and political leaders strongly sided against Buddhism, while other Chinese scholars and peasants exalted the new religion and advocated its ideals such as the philosophy of an afterlife, as it provided shelter during a politically unstable time. A third response to Buddhism came from both Buddhist and Chinese scholars, who tried to make Buddhism fit into the Chinese ideals and morals that were already in place at the time. Although Buddhism was looked down upon by most high ranking scholars as it did not fit into the traditions of China at the time, there was some who adopted the religion trying to convert others to it as well.
The spread of Buddhism changed the practices of many lives. Buddhism continues to be prevalent in China today. There was a shift but not in ways that were undoubtedly significant. Although significant for those who converted along with the aspects of Buddhism that became incorporated into Chinese culture, it was not as significant as the conversion the Natives of the Americas experienced, “They neither carry nor know anything of arms, for I showed them swords, and they took them by the blade and cut themselves through ignorance... They should be good servants and intelligent, for I observed that they quickly took in what was said to them, and I believe that they would easily be made Christians, as it appeared to me that they had no religion, our Lord being pleased, will take hence, at the time of my
In Chinese tradition, communities would join together during times of need to pray for the gods and ancestors for rain. To show their dedication to Christianity, the Christian converts “refused to participate in the rituals, [which made] their neighbours suspected that this was the reason the gods disregarded [the Chinese’] pleas for rain” (Szczepanski 1). This cause suspicion and distress to grow, with some Chinese calling that the last straw. This shows that the new people in their land was convincing the nationals of the Christian community’s superiority of the traditional Chinese belief. There was more and more tension between the Chinese and the outsiders, it was like the Americans were goading the Chinese into starting a fight.
But as soon as Nirvana is reached, sudden enlightenment will occur, where one realizes the goal, which is enlightenment itself. Therefore, enlightenment still occurs
In fact, in certain schools of Buddhism, Buddhahood came to be viewed as an extremely distant goal requiring many lifetimes of ascetic, austere effort, something definitely not within the capabilities of ordinary people. In Nichiren Buddhism, however, Buddhahood is not a static end point which one may eventually attain. That is, a person does not become a Buddha at some future point in time. The rich characteristics and qualities of Buddhahood are seen as naturally inherent in all people. Buddhist practice is about manifesting these qualities - for instance,
