How was Indian Buddhism introduced to China?

In Han Dynasty, Indian Buddhism was introduced into China. In India, since Asoka established Buddhism as the state religion in the third and second centuries BC, Buddhism has gained the status of ruling India's thoughts and academics. Buddhism first spread in China, mainly as a kind of belief and magic (in the old days, it referred to medicine, divination, astrology, physiognomy, alchemy and other techniques). Buddhism was accepted by intellectuals from the Jin Dynasty (265-3 16 in the Western Jin Dynasty and 3 17-420 in the Eastern Jin Dynasty). Intellectuals are particularly interested in Buddhist ideas and theories, especially some theoretical issues raised by Buddhism that are rarely studied by traditional academic circles in China. By the Southern and Northern Dynasties (420-589 AD), the influence of Buddhism was growing, covering almost the whole of China.

The spread of Buddhism to China is the spread of a foreign religion to another country with a highly developed culture. Compared with Buddhism, China people's inherent consciousness has many obvious advantages in both content and form, which determines that China people's consciousness is not "conquered" by Buddhism, but only "integrated", that is, to carry forward their own unique ideological content and supplement it to China people's ideological culture. After nearly two thousand years, Buddhism has penetrated into all fields of China society and become an important part of China traditional culture. Buddhist philosophy itself contains profound wisdom, and its insight into cosmic life, reflection on human rationality and analysis of various concepts are unique and unique. In the world view, Buddhism denies that there is a supreme "God" and thinks that things are in a causal network with no beginning and no end. In the outlook on life, Buddhism emphasizes the subjective consciousness and links its own liberation with the salvation of mankind. The interaction between Buddhism and China's classical philosophy has promoted philosophy to put forward new propositions and methods, and given people new inspiration with its unique way of thinking and life style, pushing people's spiritual life to a new realm.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the ideological system of Buddhism has evolved into more than ten sects, such as Tiantai Sect, Sanlun Sect, Faxiang Sect, Huayan Sect, Legalist Sect, Zen Sect, Pure Land Sect and Tantric Sect. Its influence on China's ideology and culture is obvious.

In literature, there is a concept of "Buddhist literature" in academic circles. There are thousands of Buddhist classics translated from Sanskrit, some of which are magnificent and elegant literary works, such as Vimalakīrti Sutra, Beijing Sutra, Huayan Sutra and Lengyan Sutra. Especially loved by scholars of all ages, and even studied as pure literary works. Buddhism has also brought new artistic conception, new style and new wording to China literature. The Goblet of Fire, Vimalakīrti Jing and Bai Yu Jing directly inspired the creation of novels in Jin and Tang Dynasties. The thoughts of Prajna and Zen Buddhism influenced Tao Yuanming (a poet in the Eastern Jin Dynasty from 365 to 427 AD) and Wang Wei (a poet in 70 1 ~ 76 1 AD). Poets of Tang Dynasty), Bai Juyi, Wang Anshi (102 1~ 1086, statesman, thinker and poet of Song Dynasty), Su Shi (1037 ~1year). Yanwu lingered in Kuizhou after his death, and the mood expressed in his later poems was obviously influenced by Buddhism. In the legends of the Tang Dynasty (short stories that rose at that time) and the scripts of the Song Dynasty (vernacular novels that rose at that time), karma, the reincarnation of people and ghosts, and the romance of the South are often talked about. Many of these things are not inherent ideas of people, but are mixed with many Indian ideas, so they present an unprecedented emotional appeal in literature.

The literature of the Tang Dynasty, influenced by India, had variations in addition to legends. Bianwen is a kind of rap literature rising in this period, which consists of verse and prose. At first, the content was Buddhist stories, but later the scope was expanded, and China historical stories and folklore were also told. In addition to Buddhist stories, a large number of different languages have been found in Dunhuang Grottoes in China, such as those of Meng Jiangnv, Han, Wu Zixu and so on. The appearance of Bianwen is closely related to the influence of India, and it is an indisputable fact that Bianwen came from India.

Language is one of the most common and direct cultural factors. Many terms that we still use widely today come from Buddhism, such as world, truth, equality, present, moment, discipline, relative, absolute and so on. Due to the introduction of new concepts, many new words are naturally input, such as connotation, truth, karma, realm, truth, Buddhism, Mahayana, Hinayana, karma and newspaper, which all reflect the basic concepts of Buddhism. Some of these words are original words in Chinese, but when they are used in Buddhist scriptures, they are given new meanings and should be regarded as new words. Some are transliteration words of foreign words, such as Buddha, Bodhisattva, Samana, Prajna, Bodhi, Paramita, Yoga, Zen, robbery and so on. In addition, there are some special Buddhist words (including phrases), such as true meaning, practice, epiphany, incarnation, disguised form, incredible, unity, mutual affinity, gestures and so on. Hit the nail on the head and so on. Some of these words have been completely integrated into Chinese, so it is difficult to see the traces of foreign words, such as reality, hope, happiness, image, digestion and arrogance. In the poems of Tang and Song literati, the use of Buddhist words and allusions has become a fashion.

It can be seen that it is impossible to draw a convincing conclusion and sum up the laws that conform to the historical reality by studying China's ancient literature, history, philosophy and art without understanding their relationship with Buddhist culture and their influence. If we want to study the history of China, especially the cultural history of China, we must also study Buddhism. In fact, from A.D. 148, when An Shigao, a Buddhist monk, came to China to translate scriptures (which marked the beginning of a new cultural movement, namely Buddhism) to A.D. 1 175, when Zhu (1 130~ 1200) was a philosopher in the Song Dynasty. 1000 years was a glorious period of Chinese culture, that is, the Sui and Tang Dynasties culture praised by Chinese and foreign scholars. During this period, Buddhism, as the mainstream of the development of China's philosophical thought, was far from the Confucian Classics in Han Dynasty (the ancient knowledge in China contained rich philosophical contents, and the study of Confucian Classics included the Book of Changes, History, Shu, Li, Yue, Spring and Autumn Period, etc.). There are no books in music, and the so-called "Six Classics" are actually only "Five Classics") can be compared with Neo-Confucianism in Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties (a philosophical trend of thought centered on discussing qi and heart, also known as "Taoism") (bǐnǐ, comparison).

Buddhism, which took root and grew up in the soil of China's feudal society, not only has a unique structure and a different sectarian system, but also presents a different atmosphere and characteristics from that of India. Some people summarize the characteristics of Buddhism in China as: harmony, integration and simplicity. The so-called harmony refers to the compromise, obedience, catering and attachment to different ideas and views other than Buddhism, which naturally includes the recognition, admiration, absorption and integration of some similar or consistent views. The so-called integration refers to the characteristics of Buddhism in China, which governs all kinds of internal classics and doctrines of various factions and unifies the style of study of various localities and factions. What China Buddhism really can't finish is that there are no Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism in India, especially Zen Buddhism, which is the mainstream of Buddhism in China after the Tang Dynasty. The long-term spread of Zen and Pure Land Sect is inseparable from the simplicity of their teachings and practice methods. Therefore, simplicity is also one of the important features that distinguish China Buddhism from Indian Buddhism.

The process of China Buddhism is the process of being absorbed and transformed by China's traditional ideology and culture. Therefore, the characteristics of Buddhism in China are, in the final analysis, restricted and determined by the national conditions of China. The formation of China's Buddhist characteristics has its social and ideological roots.

Social roots mainly include the following aspects:

1. Strict rule of autocratic centralization. From the Qin and Han Dynasties to the demise of the Qing Dynasty, China has always been an autocratic state power. The emperor and his subordinate bureaucracies are the concentrated expression of the interests of the landlord class and hold absolute political power. The feudal supreme ruler of China often advocated and fostered Buddhism for the need of maintaining his own rule, and could also restrict or even eliminate Buddhism for the same need. In other words, the feudal rulers' Buddhist policies largely determined the fate, trend, trajectory and characteristics of Buddhism in China.

2. The feudal ethical relationship based on the patriarchal clan system. "The father is the son, the monarch is the giant, and the husband is the wife" and so on, forming a set of moral norms to maintain the feudal ruling order. "Loyalty" and "filial piety" are the two highest flags in the political and moral fields of feudal society, and they are the highest standards of people's life and behavior. The huge network of ethical relations and deep-rooted moral concepts in China feudal society are not only the core force to resist the spread of Buddhism, but also the melting agent to melt Buddhist beliefs.

3. Political unity and national integration. This unity and integration directly promoted the formation of unified Buddhism.

4. Changes in the feudal ruling class and frequent peasant uprisings and peasant wars. The feudal landlord class in China had a process of evolution and development. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the gentry (a large family of generations of literati and officialdom gradually formed in the landlord class during the Eastern Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, enjoying privileges in politics, economy and other aspects) gradually declined, and the landlords among the civilians (a large family of generations of civilians in feudal society) rose day by day, which promoted the formation and spread of Buddhist sects with less aristocratic colors. There are a large number of farmers in China, and peasant uprisings are constantly breaking out and failing. Farmers are backward in culture, scattered in residence and heavy in labor. Therefore, Zen Buddhism, which is directed at the soul and has epiphany, and Pure Land Sect, which talks about Amitabha, are easy to be accepted by them and have a wide influence because of their simplicity.