Chapter 3
A Short History of Buddhism in China
Buddhism was first introduced to China in 61 A.D. when the Han dynasty was powerless to control the subject and was exposed to external threats. In those days Confucian ideology and structure were collapsing and Taoism prevailed among the people. The Han government permitted the spread of Buddhism in order to comfort the people who had a seemingly homogeneous thought in Taoism. They were attracted by Buddhist novel formulas for the attainment of supernatural powers, immortality or salvation. Buddhist scriptures and ornaments were brought to China by the Indian monks who had travelled all the way through Central Asia.
With the downfall of the Han dynasty in 220 A.D., China was divided into two, one in the South and the other in the North. Northern China was governed by non-Chinese rulers who were free from the pressures of traditional Confucian ideology and encouraged their subjects to promote Buddhist practices. Southern China was governed by Chinese rulers but they also were dissatisfied with traditional Confucian ideology, so they began to take an interest in the Buddhist thought. Buddhism not only permeated to the common people but also to the government officials, and the rising popularity of the Buddhist community of monks soon gave rise to the problem between the community and the head of the state. In India, the Buddhist community were refrained from worldly affairs, while in China the emperor was considered to be supreme and everyone should be prostrated before him. When the Northern Wei absorbed all the kingdoms in north China, the emperor Wu-ti felt that the rising Buddhist community of monks had threatened the politics and economy of the state, so he carried out, in 446, the persecution of Buddhism, ordering all the temples, stupas, scriptures and paintings to be destroyed and all the monks to be executed. However, when he died, his orders were cancelled and Buddhism was ever more revived among the people. It was in the Sui dynasty that the emperor finally united north and south China in 589 and decided to utilize Buddhism as an ideology to knit the Chinese and non-Chinese of the entire country closer together. The government assisted in every way possible the building of temples, stupas, statues and in translating almost all the Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Chinese.
When the T'ang dynasty was in power in the seventh and eighth centuries, Buddhism flourished along with the government embracing the whole of China and portions of Central Asia. The Buddhist community of monks also gained materialistic wealth through the acquisition of lands. Contributions of money and foods sometimes far exceeded the needs of the monastic community living in the temples, so were used for the furtherance of the religion and commercial transactions. This prosperity was however interrupted by the persecution of the T'ang emperor in 845. Ever since, the separation of the Buddhist community and the state has been enforced, and the former has independently persued its aim of universal salvation without the patronage of the succeeding governments. The Indian type of Buddhism gradually transformed itself to the Chinese environment and became more Chinese than Indian and finally became a Chinese religion. In the course of time, the new Buddhist schools of thought such as T'ien-t'ai (Tendai), Ch'an (Zen) and Pure Land were established in order to fulfill the religious aspirations of the Chinese, and the Buddhist community in China became more closely identified with the interests of the people. It finally neglected the anti-social and anti-family element of Indian Buddhism and rather emphasized the worldly unity of all life and the universality of salvation.
Chapter 4
A Short History of Buddhism in Japan
1. INTRODUCTION OF BUDDHISM INTO JAPAN
Buddhism was first made known to the Japanese in 552 A.D. when a Korean king presented brilliant Buddhist images, scripture-scrolls, and ornaments to the Japanese Emperor. In those days, Japan was ruled by the Emperor Kimmei and his court nobles. He immediately consulted the court for a decision as to whether or not Japan should accept the foreign cult of Buddhism. The orthodox Mononobe and Nakatomi families strongly opposed this on the ground that Japan already had the traditional religion of Shinto. On the other hand, the Soga family favored Buddhism since they thought it had something to offer for the enrichment of Japanese culture. Endless disputes took place, and the Emperor finally deferred the matter to the Soga family.
2. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF BUDDHISM AS JAPANESE RELIGION
About forty years later when the Prince Regent Shotoku (574-622) succeeded to the throne after the Emperor Yomei's death, Buddhism was officially recognized as the Japanese religion. He was a great stateman and a devout Buddhist. He felt deeply that only with Buddhist teachings could he make Japan a centrally unified and culturally refined country. In order to carry out his plan, Prince Regent Shotoku issued the Seventeen-Article Constitution in 604 and stressed in it that every subject should faithfully respect the Three Treasures (Buddha, Dharma and Samgha) as the supreme and unmistakable guidance. He ordered the government to build many Buddhist temples among which the most famous one is Horyuji Temple, the world's oldest wooden structure now standing near the then capital of Nara. Besides his official work, he lectured on the Buddhist scriptures known as the Saddharma Pundarika (Hokkekyo in Japanese), Srimala (Shomangyo), and Vimalakirti (Yuimakyo). It was because of his patronage and devotion that Buddhism was firmly established on Japanese soil and became the national religion of the Japanese.
3. BUDDHISM IN THE NARA PERIOD
(710-783 A.D.)
After the death of Prince Regent Shotoku, Buddhism continued to flourish among the court nobles, monks and artisans. Buddhist temples, called Kokubunji, were built by the Emperor Shomu in every province, the headquarters of which was at Todaiji Temple in Nara. Buddhist scriptures were introduced from China and without much modification they were studied by the Japanese monks. Buddhist images and ornaments were made by the Japanese artisans, some of which can still be seen in the older temples in Japan. Buddhist temples in those days were the center of culture; they were not only used as places of worship, but also as schools, hospitals, dispensaries, orphanages, and refuges for older people. The monks were also school teachers, physicians, engineers, and developers of many construction projects. Therefore, the Japanese government encouraged and supported the Buddhist institutions and monks spiritually and materially, so that they could work with the government and the people more effectively.
As the numbers of monks increased, they were gradually classified into six Buddhist schools; namely, the Sanron, Hosso, Kegon, Ritsu, Kusha, and Jojitsu. These schools were direct importations from China and were studied at the various government-established temples. The main tenets of these schools can be summarized as follows:
(a) The Sanron School was introduced to Japan in 625 by the Korean monk, Ekwan. As its name implies [San meaning three] this school has three canonical texts; namely Nagarjuna's Madhyamika Shastra (Churon), Sata Shastra (Hyakuron), and the Aryadeva's Dvadasa-Nikqya-Shastra (Junimonron). This school teaches that only by negating the belief in existence as well as the non-existence of things can we approach the Middle Way where our spirit identifies itself with the Absolute Reality.
(b) The Hosso School was introduced to Japan in 652 by the Chinese monk, Dosho. Although the texts are numerous, the most important one is the Vijnaptimatrata-Siddhi-Shastra (Joyuishikiron). This school teaches that nothing exists but our thought. Because our thought creates the world, it is real, and therefore since the latter is a projection of thought it is only a dream.
(c) The Kegon School was introduced to Japan in 736 by Ryoben. The main text is the Avatamsaka Shastra (Kegonkyo). This school teaches that one speck of life, no matter how insignificant it may seem, is the manifestation of Buddha-nature, and has its meaning in the over-all universe.
(d) The Ritsu School was introduced to Japan in 738 by the Chinese monk, Ganjin. The main
