How Buddhism in China Has Managed to Spread and Survive in the Country - Admission/Application Essay Example

?Scholars sometimes claim that Buddhism was able to survive in China by “becoming invisible.” By looking at the texts we’ve read, explain what it might mean for Buddhism to become invisible. What rhetorical strategies did the authors of Buddhists texts employ to assimilate Buddhism into Chinese culture? At the same time, Buddhism did not truly become invisible. How did Chinese Buddhists work to preserve Buddhism’s uniqueness? After Buddhism came from India to China it was obvious that many part of the religion was unfamiliar to traditional Chinese belief and it would be hard for Buddhism to gain followers because of. However, many peoples think that Buddhism managed to survive and flourish in China because it turned to invisible and made itself a part of Chinese culture. The purpose of paper is to show how Buddhism took hold in China by making itself different enough from Confucianism and Daoism to stand out but by making itself invisible enough that it had an appeal to people who wanted traditional Chinese culture. It explore how Buddhism came to survive in China to come one of most important religions in country. Buddhism has had a tangled history of China but has survived and many people follow it because of this history of change and invisibility. When Buddhism first came China it was not easy, as many people found monasticism and the way that Buddhism emphasis self-fulfillment to be different from what was normal in China at the time (Adler, 2002). However, there were some parts of religion appealed to particularly the rich of China, the morality of Buddhism to the Confucians and the cultivation of inner wisdom was similar to that of Daoism (Adler, 2002). This paved the way for Buddhism to take hold in China but there was still a need for Buddhism to assimilate better to become more appealing to the lay folk and gain more converts. For Buddhism to become invisible it means to make it easy for people of China to get used to the ideals and to be able to practice religion without making changes to their existing customs and belief systems (Adler, 2002). This is a way that many religions have to alter and adapt to take hold and to become common in country. One important way of doing this is to make the important texts of the religion more accessible and appropriate for the culture. Early in history of Chinese Buddhism most of the people that did translate were the Dao meaning that many thought Buddhism was just another type of this religion. However the translations soon changed and became more influential in China. Kumarajiva is one of most famous monks for doing this for Buddhism in China (Adler, 2002). At once a captive of the Chinese army, he then became highly recognized and he began translation of the text for Chinese people, which are still thought of to be some of the best translations (Adler, 2002). He is known for his translation having high skill and clarity and are rhetorically appropriate for Chinese systems and the people. Huiyuan is also great teacher of Buddhism in China who helped to make Buddhism more Chinese and show the traditions to people of this time. He also made the famous argument that Buddhist are good subject because their belief in karma means that they have to act good and in a moral way (Adler, 2002). This also made Buddhism more appeal for Chinese, particularly the rulers who were wary of fact that Buddhism encourage refusal of society. These development help Buddhism to reach a peak in influence in China during the T’ang dynasty time. However, many feel that Buddhism too powerful and the rival religions Confucianism and Daoism became worried (Adler, 2002). This led to again need for the Buddhism to become invisible and be more in line with the practices of other religions. In fact it was so good at this that it had actually begun to influence practices of Confucianism and Daoism and still now many of the moral ideas and philosophies of rebirth and karma can be found to be shared by some people of each of these three main religions. Despite all this effort to make Buddhism more Chinese to make it appeal to people of China, Buddhism still needs to be seen as a unique and individual religion which is important in China. Despite that similarities between Confucianism and Daoism, many people in these early times were interested in Buddhism for many reasons. Firstly, the native religions did not discuss problem of suffering and death (Adler, 2002) and how important this is in dealing with life. This is appealing because it is hard to understand truly life without death, so Buddhism had an appeal for many who did not find answer to question of death in other religion. Buddhism also important and interesting to women of China. Although women are still seen as a worse incarnation than that of men it is encouraged for women to practice Buddhism on the same level as men and to have same goal (Adler, 2002). If other religion do not address this problem they are missing out on half an audience, so Buddhism managed to be here in this case unique and appealing both. This is just another way Buddhism stayed unique in China traditions. In conclusions it is obvious that Buddhism in China has not had the easiest history but has managed to spread and survive in country. At first, Buddhism had to make itself invisible by making itself more Chinese and appealing to people of the country. It also had to avoid becoming too obvious like in T’ang Dynasty when other religious people were jealous of its power and influence. This is what it means for Buddhism to be invisible. Also Buddhism had to make it important texts more appealing for those who are reading it, and there were important monks who made the texts both more Chinese and more Buddhist to make appropriate. Finally, Buddhism has to offer something unique and remain special in China for it to be still important and for followers to still need Buddhism. It did this by answering questions on death and suffering and by making itself appealing to women which is important and had not necessary been seen before in native China. Works Cited Adler, Joseph A. Chinese Religious Traditions. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2002. Print. Read More