Buddha Sakyamuni was born in ancient India in the 6th century BC. He lived about the same time as Confucius. Sakyamuni established Buddhism. When was Buddhism introduced to China?
About two hundred years after the passing away of Sakyamuni, in the Qin and Western Han dynasties. Buddhism had already been brought to various countries in Central Asia and the Xinjiang area of today. There were many small countries along the Silk Road in Xinjiang at that time, and they had contacts with the Han Dynasty through business, diplomacy and even wars. Buddhism was introduced to China along the Silk Road. The earliest record we can see now is that in 2 BC, the king of Dayuezhi sent a diplomat, Yi Cun, who was a Buddhist, to Chang’an, the capital of China at that time. He taught Buddhist knowledge to a Chinese official named Jing Lu. Buddhism was also introduced to China via the southern route, which was through Southeast Asia.
When Buddhism was first introduced into China, it was only accepted by a small number of people, and not by the upper class of the society. It was in the early Eastern Han Dynasty when Buddhism became widely accepted by the elite class. Liu Ying, Prince of Chu, adopted the Buddhist beliefs and installed Buddha statues in his palace for worship. His brother, Liu Zhuang, the then Emperor Mingdi of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was said to have had a dream one night of a man with a golden body rising up in the sky. After waking up, he asked his ministers who that deity could be. Someone told him that must be Buddha to the west of China. Hence, Emperor Mingdi dispatched envoys to the west to study Buddhism, and brought back Buddha statues. We are not sure of the authenticity of this story, but there were historical records of Emperor Mingdi encouraging his younger brother Liu Ying to convert to Buddhism. Under the influence of Liu Ying, during his time, which N\as the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period, Buddhism was popular in the region of Chu (Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province today).
According to the historical records. Liu Zhuang, Emperor Mingdi of the Han Dynasty, dispatched officials to Dayuezhi, a country on the Silk Road. The officials brought back Buddhist scriptures and statues, along with two Buddhist monks, Kasyapa Matanga and Dharmaratna. A temple was built for the two monks in Luoyang. Because these monks came to Luoyang on white horses, hence the temple was named the White Horse Temple, which was said to be the earliest Buddhist temple in China. From then on, Buddhism developed in China, and more and more temples were built. During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, more than 1, 000 temples were built in the city in Luoyang. In the same period, in the capital city of Jiankang (Nanjing, Jiangsu Province today), there were more than 700 temples in the region ruled by the Southern Liang Dynasty. Bigger temples and taller pagodas were built. The pagoda in the Yongning Temple in Luoyang was said to be more than 130 meters in height. In the Tang Dynasty, the land owed by the famous Shaplin Temple exceeded 14, 000 mu of land (around 933, 880 square metres), and more than 5, 000 rooms.
One had to leave behind worldly life and receive tonsure to join the monastic life. Such practices were against the traditional Chinese values of filial piety. That was why the earliest Buddhist monks in China all came from Central Asia and India. The Chinese believers were the so- called lay Buddhists, and they practiced at home. It was not until the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period the 3rd century) when some Chinese natives took up monkhood. The first was said to be Zhu Shixing. After that, more and more Chinese natives became monks. Some chose to become monks not because of their beliefs, but because they were poor and could not survive any longer. They chose to become monks in temples, so that they could avoid military service and hard labour. In the final years of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386–534), there were more than 2 million monks nationwide, with the total population in the country being 35 million. Many emperors and nobles also took up Buddhism. For example, Xiao Yan (465–549), or Emperor Wudi of Liang Dynasty, received tonsure four times and lived in a temple. He refused to return to the palace, leaving his country without a ruler. The imperial court had to donate trillions in money to the temple before he decided to return to the secular world and be the emperor.
There were Buddhist temples and monks, which then demanded Buddhist scriptures. The earliest Buddhist sutras in China were believed to have been verbally translated by Yi Cun, and they could no longer be found. The extant Chinese translation of Buddhist sutras is the Sutra of Forty-two Chapters translated by foreign monks. After the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220), the translation of Buddhist sutras and the quests to the Western Regions and India for more Buddhist sutras were the important t for the Chinese monks. Zhu Shixing and Faxian were among the Buddhist monks in the quest to the west. The most famous one would be Xuanzang (circa 602–664), a monk in the Tang Dynasty He set out from Chang’an for India in 629. He overcame tremendous difficulties and, after 17 years, with more than 20, 000 kilometres on the road, he was able to obtain more than 600 sets of scriptures. After he returned to China, he spent more than 20 years translating them into Chinese. Xuanzang’s efforts had had a far-reaching impact on Buddhism in China. Its significance has gone beyond the scope of Buddhism, and has become a major event in the history of cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries. The Journey to the West was a novel based on his trip to India.
Cultural Notes
Cutting off One’s Hair Is Not in Accordance with Filial Piety
The Confucians believe that a person’s body (including hair) is a gift from his parents. When it is injured, it is not a filial act.
Lay Buddhists
Buddhists can choose to practice in a temple as a monk, or at home. Those who choose not to take up monkhood and practice at home are called lay Buddhists.