Buddhist Ideas and Practices in China - Essay Example

On the other hand, the artifacts from Kushan, which were based on Pakistan Buddhist civilization, were identified in western China, during the period when China had extended their power to Central Asia, and there were cultural ties between China and Central Asia. This association offered a chance for the Chinese people to learn about the Buddhism by the mid first century, thereby making the Chinese Buddhist learn about its existence. Nevertheless, the paper will focus on the discussion of ways in which Buddhism entered China and difficulties and adaptation in the Chinese culture.

One of the ways in which Buddhism entered in to China was through a translation, which involved selection of terms for explaining the Buddhist conceptions in Chinese; thus, they applied Taoist expressions to translate. Chinese people commenced to relate Buddhism with the existence of Taoist tradition, and they later understood the teachings of Buddha. Buddhist text continues despite, a period of political disunity after the fall of Han Dynasty during the third century, which was associated by unrest caused by war.

In fact, there was increased popularity in this period, whereby the Chinese monks became aggressively concerned in the establishment of monasteries and teaching Buddhist knowledge. There were rules established with a devotion to the Buddhist, which led to construction of much temples and participation in Buddhist ceremonies public talks, thereby expanding the rulers on the earlier catalogues on Buddhist texts. Entry of Buddhism was facilitated by a Chinese monk referred to as Dao-an, in the fourth century, though he shifted from one place to another due to the political instability, he wrote and lectured about Buddhist teachings.

He also gathered copies of translated scriptures, prepared a catalogue, and invited translators such as Kumarajiva, from Kucha. Therefore, Kumarajiva applied Dao-an's disciples in translation of numerous texts and revised the Chinese translations. Moreover, his translations became popular thus contributing to the spread of Buddhism in China, and some of these translations have been used even in the present days. The political instability contributed to dispersion of Kumarajiva's disciples, and this contributed to the spread of Buddhism to other parts of China.

Difficulties and adaptations in Chinese culture There were difficulties related to the nature of the attacks on the Confucian side, which were aimed at eliminating Buddhist institutions, and reduce their strong hold in the Chinese society. There were several Confucian attacks against clergy and spread of Buddhist doctrines, where the entire Buddhist religion was attacked. In this case, there were other difficulties resulting from the Chinese society, which was switching to the Confucian populace, thereby making the Buddhist society face a lot of attack in their pursuit of remaining prevalent and the philosophy of Chinese civilization.

Nevertheless, these attacks were strong enough to hinder the spread of Buddhism in China, though these religions offered brilliant ideas and compelling rhetoric during the sparring back in forth between the philosophies. There were significant points that Confucians aimed at responding to in relation to the Buddhist philosophy and this included the attacks on the land properties and the excesses of Buddhist clergymen (Cultural China, 1). On the other hand, there were benefits for the numerous clergymen in their attempts to possess a piece of land, which was luxurious.

There was an allotment prize lands for the clergymen by the Buddhist follower, where there was an institution