Brief Introduction to Buddhism in China

Abstract

This article provides a brief history of the origin, development, decline of Buddhism in China and various schools of Chinese Buddhism and esoteric teachers that flourished in its long history. According to European historians, Mauryan emperor Asoka, the Great sent royal monk Massim Sthavira to Nepal, Bhutan and China to spread Buddhism around 265 BCE during Han Dynasty. Han Dynasty in China was deeply Confucian, and Confucianism is focused on maintaining harmony and social order in the world. Buddhism, on the other hand, emphasized entering the monastic life to seek reality. In fact Buddhism found an alliance in China's other indigenous religion like Taoism. Taoist and Buddhist meditation practices and philosophies were similar in many respects, and some Chinese took an interest in Buddhism from a Taoist perspective. However, Chinese Buddhism refers collectively to the various schools of Buddhism that have flourished in Inner China since ancient times after introduction from its original source, India. Many of these schools integrated the ideas of Confucianism, Taoism and other indigenous philosophical systems initially a foreign religion came to be a natural part of Chinese civilization, albeit with a unique character. Buddhism flourished during the beginning of the Tang Dynasty. The Kaiyuan's Three Great Enlightened Masters, Subhakarasimha, Vajrabodhi, and Amoghavajra, established Esoteric Buddhism in China from AD 716 to 720 during this period. Buddhist arts flourished, and monasteries grew rich and powerful during this period. Buddhism has played an enormous role in shaping the mindset of the Chinese people, affecting their aesthetics, politics, literature, philosophy and medicine.