Buddhism And Buddhism : Buddhism Vs. Chinese Religion

China was affected tremendously by the spread of Buddhism from 300 to 900 C.E. Buddhism itself was spread to China around 100 C.E by Indian missionaries, and after taking hold during the Era of Division (300s-500s), it became a household religion (particularly the Mahayana and Chan variations . Buddhism’s popularity rose consistently from the late Han dynasty through it’s peak during Empress Wu’s rule in the late 600s and early 700s. But, the religion’s popularity fell sharply during Emperor Wuzong’s reign as the persecution of Buddhism grew common (CONTEXT). The spread of Buddhism affected all classes and people of China in different ways; Chinese peasants were able to worship this religion regardless of education or social position (though

Religion is one of the oldest and most sacred traditions of the human species. Religion started off as a basic belief in an afterlife, and then further developed into tribal religions, which evolved into ancestral worship, then to polytheism, and lastly into monotheism. Monotheism in the form of Christianity is the largest religion of the modern world, and it has similar beliefs to other world religions such as Buddhism. Christianity and Buddhism are similar because both religions teach about the equality of people and that making good choices reflects the positive teachings of that religion. They are also similar in how they formed, as both broke off from another religion that was exclusive, and both became popular and spread easily

When Buddhism first spread into China, it was met with mixed responses. Many people either accepted it and converted to Buddhism or respected the new religion while maintaining their own beliefs. However, many people openly proclaimed their hate towards Buddhism.

According to our text, Huston Smith believed that all religions were essentially the same, whereas Stephen Prothero believes that they are all fundamentally different. These two differing opinions can be looked at further by comparing two of the world religions: Christianity and Buddhism. I believe that all religions are a mixture of both; religions are essentially the same and are also fundamentally different. Christianity and Buddhism both have similar aspects within them, and they have different aspects as well. In order to make sense of the world, one needs to have knowledge of religion and the implications it has on society (Prothero).

DBQ: Buddhism in China After the fall of the Han dynasty, many Chinese people converted to Buddhism. They seeked a simpler way of life among all of the chaos and political instability going on at the time. This led to a drop in productivity in China, as many Buddhists spent their time meditating. The rise in Buddhism among the lower class led to a hate for the religion by the upper-class. While some people saw Buddhism as a new form of thinking in China’s evolving social landscape, many others saw it as a threat to the traditional Chinese way of life, as they were reluctant to change.

We can define rituals as repeated actions that provides us with meaning and significance. Symbols are a small unit of a ritual. Both rituals and symbols play an active role in religion. According to Clifford Geertz, religion can be defined as “a system of symbols which acts to establish powerful, pervasive and long lasting moods and motivations in both men and women by formulating conceptions of general order of existence”. Every religion has some assembly of rituals and/or symbols that help form and shape its practices. However, do some religions have more rituals and symbols than others? When comparing Buddhism to my own religion, Christianity, Buddhism appears to have more rituals and symbols that shape their religion.

The people of China believed in different religions but did admire the Buddhist ideas. At first Buddhism was not popular in China but after many years of war people turned towards the calming ideas that Buddhism taught. The spread of Buddhism increased when the Han Dynasty fell and by 400 AD China’s major religion was

These gods and goddesses are made up of ancestors who have come and gone. These are the ones who are worshipped and prayed to on a daily basis. All human bodies are made up of two beings, Hun and Po. After death if Hun and Po do not separate the spirit lingers on earth. As long as this person was taken good care of and did not die of old age the spirit will become Shen. Shen is a power that protects and brings benefits to the living. If the person dies tragically or prematurely or is not given a suitable burial the spirit may become Gui. Gui is a vengeful and malicious ghost who brings disaster upon people. The Chinese people strive to have a good relationship with both, in hopes to gain goodness and keep away bad, this is done additionally to the praising and honoring of the ancestors before them. Buddhists on the other hand, believe there is no one ruler over the world, but that the universe is a god in itself and that it should be worshipped, rather than any one personal god.

different beliefs. China may pray to both the Buddha and Taoist gods and use meditation to reach

The religion of Confucianism begins, of course, with Confucius whose Chinese name was Kong Qui and who lived from 551 B.C. to 479 B.C. Surprisingly Confucius was merely a low level government worker. He did not exactly view himself as the founder of a school of thought. Regardless, Confucianism is the most influential belief system in Chinese culture. It provides the rules which govern the social behavior of the individual. The basic teachings of Confucius are grounded in the Five Constant Virtues: humanity, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness. Confucius went on to define five basic human relations and

Buddhism is a religion that is practiced by millions of people across the world. It is a religion that heavily focuses on a variety of traditions, beliefs, and spiritual practices that are based on the teachings of the Buddha, also known as Siddhartha Gautama. Periodically viewed as a philosophy or a religion, the teaching of Confucius also known as Confucianism, is concerned with primarily ethnical principles; the way of life. Buddhism and Confucianism are both spiritual beliefs that sought ways to end peoples suffering across the world. For those that practice the Buddhist faith or that of Confucius can see many of the similarities and differences that both these practices share. To understand the similarities and differences one needs to be exposed to the pathways of Confucianism and Buddhism.

The origins and founders of these two religions are quite similar, which will be explained in this paragraph. Confucianism was founded by a man named Confucius; which is how the

One can argue that religion has existed since the existence of humanity. All people had something that they worshiped or revered. Every community believed in the existence of supernatural being of beings that they strived to please so that they would lead a comfortable life (Hinds, 2007). For example, the early civilizations of Mesopotamia were farmers, they worshiped gods and prayed so that their crops prospered and yield abundantly. The Greek and Roman came up soon after Mesopotamians and continued the worship of gods. They invented rituals that they used to please their gods. After the Greeks and Romans, a wave of philosophy hit the people. The emergence of philosophers such Plato attempted to reform their governments. Many were convicted of the attempts to reform their government as they questioned their leaders, who said they were guided by the gods that they worshiped. Socrates, for example, was killed for failing to recognize the religion practiced in Athens (Smith & Woodruff, 2000). Jesus was also crucified for attempting to spread Christianity and the belief in one God and not the many that Romans worshiped. Buddha, who ruled over Nepal, denounced his throne in search of truth.

The most predominant religion in China is Buddhism. Buddhism started in China just after the first century. It was widely spread and became the biggest religion in China. Now there are more than 13 thousand Budda temples that are open to the public. There are almost 1 billion people who are Buddhist in the world. Buddhism is China’s oldest religion. 80% of Chinese people are Buddhist. Buddhism has changed and adapted to most cultures, it encountered after it began in the north of India. Mayhona Buddhism is a type of Buddhism in China. Many Buddhists are vegetarian, but the Budda did not prohibit eating meat. Buddhists believers enjoy going meditation. When they meditate you become relaxed.

Lotus is a type of flower with powerful image and a spiritual symbol that consists of many different meanings in different religions due to various myths and legends. The three religions that share similar meaning of the lotus flower are Hinduism, Buddhism, and Egyptology. They considered the lotus a sacred flower. Hinduism and Buddhism have more in common to one another than to Egyptology. In the Asian religions and cultures, Buddhism and Hinduism, lotus is the perfection that defines the soul to embrace the beauty of life. The differences and similarities between the three religions are as follow: