How Buddhism Integrated to the Chinese Society - Essay Example

?How Buddhism Integrated to the Chinese Society Buddhism, according to the traditional view, is a philosophy, spirituality or religion, which appeared in India in the fifth century BC. Today it has between 230 and 500 million followers ("Buddhism: What Buddhism is"). Buddhism then reached China from India more than two millenniums ago, and that was during the Han Dynasty. This arrival of Buddhism to China was not smooth, as it conflicted with Confucianism (O'Brien). However, after a couple of decades, Buddhism was fully integrated to the Chinese society, as the ethical and spiritual values of this new theology well suited the old established ethical views of the Chinese people. Buddhism succeeded to integrate to the Chinese society through its branched meditative practices, ethical practices, and theories of psychological, philosophical, and cosmological trends. In addition, Buddhism appealed to the Chinese people through its prospect of the release of frustration, the full development of human potential, with a personal relationship with an intangible and ultimate spiritual reality ("Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners"). Hence, analytically speaking, the Chinese people accepted Buddhism with its teachings, which come from Siddhartha Gautama (the "awake"), and considered the historical Buddha. The life of the Buddha is rich in legends describing miracles and divine apparitions. But only 300 years after his death it began to be known by text, along with his teachings, with the Emperor Ashoka that the promotion throughout its area and sends missions abroad (Background to Buddhism: A history of Buddhism"). One of the paths through which Buddhism reaches the Chinese people is related to the essence of the Buddha, who is not regarded as a god or even as a divine messenger. It is the symbol of a principle, a thing which cannot be achieved but we must try to sketch by definitions ("Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners"). Gradually, Buddhist beliefs, spiritualities, arts, and monasteries flourished in China, as more and more Chinese people started to believe that Buddhism had already came rich and powerful to their country (O'Brien). Furthermore, another Buddhist spiritual belief that seemed appealing to the Chinese people is the theory of reincarnation, which is central to the teachings of Buddhism. However, modern Buddhism does not believe in reincarnation in a strict sense, but uses this concept in the form of parable ("Buddhism: What Buddhism is"). This parable says that a person is sentenced to die and return to Earth on the number of times it will take until it has reached the spiritual level necessary to escape from earthly life. Each time he dies he will be reincarnated in a different shape. These suites of reincarnations symbolize what Chinese people are experiencing in their lives ("Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners"). Thus, according to the Buddhist theory of incarnation, if we drive someone brutal to satisfy our needs, we are reborn into an animal. In a spiritual work, we can kill these horrible things that we are born again and become once more, in a better form (“Background to Buddhism: A history of Buddhism"). Hence, these spiritual beliefs that are related to the theory of incarnation helped Buddhism to be integrated to the Chinese society. Moreover, for the Chinese people, what seemed appealing in Buddhism is the concept of "Dharma". It is the idea that the universe has meaning and humans have a role to play. There is only one dharma, by definition the same for everyone. Each religion is a light on the nature of Dharma, it teaches men how they should behave. A religion like Buddhism, for the Chinese, bases its teaching on the absolute. This religion teaches that the soul of the dead will live forever ("Buddhism: What Buddhism is"). It gives a specific instruction. It therefore resembles in many points of view other Chinese principles and religions derived from the Bible. What is unique about Buddhism, from the Chinese point of view is that it teaches that nothing is absolute and eternal. Everything is temporary, no rule is final. A Buddhist does not obey the commandments and dogmas ("Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners"). This makes things much more complicated to live an honest life. A Buddhist is forced to study and observe at all times, to better understand the world and himself. In that sense, the Buddhist is responsible for his actions, and this principle seemed appealing to the Chinese people. If a Chinese Buddhist made a mistake, he cannot claim that he has a law or dogma and is not responsible for the consequences. A Buddhist feels tiny in the Dharma, but he appreciates the opportunity given to him to behave as an adult ("Buddhism: What Buddhism is"). In Buddhism, uniqueness and individualism are praised and highly valued. The Buddha himself said "Do not try to be like me." Buddhism is primarily the development of each individual. Thus, beings a Buddhist is to be oneself. The most fundamental concept of Buddhism is probably "to move" ("Buddhism: What Buddhism is"). In this context, Buddhism teaches that bad things come from people who have been blocked at some stage of their development and continue to see things in a certain way. A follower of Buddhism must be perpetually challenged, learning new things, seeing things from other angles, and finally adapt. These ‘individualistic’ aspects of Buddhism helped it reach every side of the Chinese society ("Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners"). The mechanism of the teachings of Buddhism is another way how this religion integrated to the Chinese society. The emphasis put on the individual and his role in the society attracted the Chinese people to this religion. Actually, one of the lessons that can be drawn from Buddhism is that to change a person must teach him the things necessary for it to behave differently ("Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners"). This is much more complicated than merely to reproach or to show patience sterile. Among Buddhists, the pain is a sign of immaturity, of maladjustment. The pain should not be suppressed or masked by fireworks. On the contrary, it must be taken into account and studied. It will disappear when the person has changed. The pain is not considered as an obligatory passage, as prevention is the best policy ("Buddhism: What Buddhism is"). Basically, spirituality is a key concept for Buddhism, as it explains that a person who is not educated, a person who has not had a spiritual evolution, will be condemned to suffer in life. It will be the source of problems, will be subjected to any situation, and create problems for others. But unlike other religions Buddhism does not consider a case as hopeless. It provides many tips, routes, anecdotes, legends, media meditation, and symbols that can find the path of spirituality ("Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners"). Buddhists do not have a frustrated part in the head that could lead them to ask displaced or impulsive acts. The fact that Buddhist does not feel emotions does not mean that it yields systematically impulses. It is to listen attentively to all the emotions and impulses that arise in a Buddhist, but he managed to serve as his heart and his reason (Gernet). In addition, Buddhism reached the Chinese society through its religious text. Unlike the sacred texts of most religions, which contain a lot of very specific precepts, Buddhist sacred text is easy to read and understand by ordinary Chinese people. While one must have a certain level of education in order to delve deeply inside the precepts of the sacred texts of most religions, the Buddhist texts, on the contrary, are much more fun and can go further ("Buddhism: What Buddhism is"). Of course there are Buddhist texts that say things clearly, but they did not structure legislation. Buddhism provides a basic list of "things you need to learn not to do", but this list is a warning constructive and not a command. In many religions, meditation is summarized in the concept of "prayer" ("Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners"). Buddhism, on the contrary, is open to the infinite potential of the field of consciousness and the unconscious. The result is greater freedom of the individual and building stronger personality, an aspect that seemed appealing to most Chinese people (Background to Buddhism: A history of Buddhism"). Contrary to other religions, which tend to offer a "standard" that reflects the spirit of its founders, Buddhists prefer to explain that everything is good and its opposite at the same time (Background to Buddhism: A history of Buddhism"). The important point for Buddhists is to determine what is appropriate to the circumstances that arise. For example a Buddhist does not advocate pacifism or war, but he learns to be a pacifist and he learns to be a warrior. Being a pacifist will make him a formidable warrior. Being a warrior will make him a convinced pacifist ("Buddhism: What Buddhism is"). As such, Buddhism usually teaches things and their opposites. On the other hand, Buddhism also has its deviances. For example, some poorly trained followers push the notion of posting too far. They become cold people, insensitive to others. They will sometimes even kill or rape. They are psychopaths who believe find legitimacy in Buddhism ("Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners"). Another problem is that the force of discourse that everything is perishable and inevitable pain, some Buddhists eventually offer sweets, uh, no, sorry, they eventually become pessimistic. They do nothing wrong because they did nothing at all. They lose the dynamism that makes the juice of the human species. Despite these deviances, Buddhism managed to reach many aspects of the Chinese society due to the other strengths and ethics it contains. Consequently, an analytical review of Buddhism reveals that its essence lies in the four Noble truths, which are suffering; its cause; its cessation and the path leading to the cessation of suffering. In order to remove the suffering one feels in life, Buddhism believes that an individual has to go through a path of eight folds. This path consists of right conduct, right motive, right resolve, right speech, right livelihood, right attention, right effort and right meditation ("Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners"). In that sense, Buddhism can be viewed as more of a philosophy than a religion, and this same aspect helped it prevail in the Chinese society. Lastly, Buddhism believes in the transience of human soul. Actually, the three main characteristics of Buddhism, as dictated in the Buddhist tradition are : Anicca (transiency), Dukkha (sorrow) and Anatta (soul-lessness). According to the Buddhist faith, life is constantly changing and all things in life are transient ("Background to Buddhism"). Thus, Buddhists do not believe in the cycle of life and incarnation like the Hindus do. Rather, Buddhists believe that one's fate in life is determined by his own deeds. If one commits major sins, such as stealing or killing, he will be doomed in one way or another. The way that person is punished differs according to the situation. In Buddhism, "Karma is the accumulated sum of one’s good and bad deeds" That is, one's deeds in this life determines how a person will live in the next life, according to the Buddhist tradition. Therefore, one may conclude that the main beliefs and teachings of Buddhism were relatively compatible with the Chinese personality, and this helped this religion to be integrated smoothly to the Chinese society. Works Cited “Background to Buddhism: A history of Budhism." 29 Sept. 2011. "Buddhist Principles, Customs and Manners." 01 Oct. 2011. "Buddhism: What Buddhism is." 04 Jul. 2001. 30 Sept. 2011. Gernet, Jacques. “Buddhism in Chinese Society: An Economic History from the Fifth to the Tenth Centuries.” June, 1995. Paper, 441 pages, ISBN: 978-0-231-11411-0 O'Brien, Barbara. “Buddhism in China: The First Thousand Years; A Condensed History of Buddhism in China, 1-1000 CE.” 30 Sept. 2011. Read More