Buddhism And Confucianism Essay

China has been the home to various religions. At different times different dynasties endorsed certain religions while repressing others. While Buddhism flourished during the Sui and Tang dynasty, it faced opposition from the government during the Song dynasty. Confucianism lost government endorsement during the Sui and Tang but gained momentum during the Song as Neo-Confucianism. Yuan dynasty promoted Islam and Tibet Buddhism but ignored Confucianism. Different rulers sponsored and protected different religions but Confucianism and some form of Buddhism have always been alive in Chinese society from 600 to 1450.

In document 3, the anonymous Chinese scholar says that Confucianism, alone, does not contain every answer. This supports the thesis because it means that shunning another religion and being close-minded does not give you wisdom; coexisting is possible. In document 3, the Chinese scholar said this right before imperial structure was restored 570 C.E. with the Sui dynasty, so some might have been demanding for Buddhism to explain itself and its usefulness before it was thrown out. In document 5, Zong Mi, the Buddhist scholar, writes about how all 3 teachings (Daosim, Confucianism, and Buddhism) promote goodness and therefore should be respected. This supports the thesis about coexisting because each way of life is accorded to the demands of each person so one way of life does not fit for every single person. Obviously, the reason that Zong Mi, the Buddhist scholar, wrote this in the early ninth century was because it was around that time that Neo-Confucianism arose which is a mixture of Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. An additional document that would be interesting could be the schedule of a Neo-Confucian to understand how easy it is to practice all 3 and not have either contradict each other. This could further explain the thesis because many have practiced it like this and it could show them practicing the Confucian social norms at home,

The response to the spread of Buddhism in China differed according to one’s social position.

According to Han Yu, the Buddha was a barbarian and the things he said were not inclusive of Confucian philosophies and beliefs (Doc 4). It is evident that Han Yu responded negatively to Buddhism as he viewed the Buddha as a barbarian and highly discredited the religion. Han Yu continued by stating that a relic bone of the Buddha admitted into the palace was foul and unlucky. He ended by referring to Buddhism as an evil and wanted to eradicate it as soon as possible (Doc 4). An extreme hatred and pessimistic response is seen as Han Yu continuously downgrades the Buddha and wanted to entirely eliminate Buddhism from the country for future generations. This hatred most likely came from the fact that Han Yu was a biased Confucian leader during 819 C.E., which was during the Tang Dynasty when imperial authority already returned. According to Tang Emperor Wu, Buddhism was like a vine poisoning the entire country of China (Doc 6). First of all, an opposing view can be seen as Emperor Wu called Buddhism a “poison.” Tang Emperor Wu continues by stating that Buddhism caused the people to leave their duties and responsibilities behind, affecting the people of China. Monks and nuns were also living off of the people. He also commented that Buddhism should be eradicated as it was an evil (Doc 6). This further emphasizes the negative reaction that the Emperor had towards Buddhism as he believed it ruined the wellbeing of the people who left their jobs of being farmers and tending to silkworms. Emperor Wu did rule during the Tang Dynasty, which was when Confucian exams were brought back and Confucianism was implemented once again into China, hence why he was completely in opposition to Buddhism. In addition, it was uncertain to whether people were actually being negatively affected by those who may have

(4, 6, 7) Particularly during its largest period of influence (The Era of Division), they largely welcomed Buddhism, as it offered a type of refuge from the turmoil and war of that time period (ADD EV). Buddhism was very flexible, and as Zong Mi pointed out, was fairly flexible to the needs of the individual worshipper (Document 6). It disregarded previous social structures, and accepted people regardless of social status or education, as displayed in the records of Buddhist teachings transcribed by disciples (Document 4). Though, documents such as this one aren’t fully credible, as the events written about are transcribed by loyal, and heavily biased, disciples (SOURCE). But, around the 840s, the government’s view on Buddhism began to shift. Many confucian administrators claimed that the lack of taxes on the religion caused an economic deficit, feeding state fears and leading to restrictions, and later the open persecution of the religion by Emperor Wuzong (Doc 7). Monasteries either heavily taxed or destroyed, monks/nuns were forced to renounce their religion, and previously Buddhist lands were parceled out to landlords. (ADD EV). So despite the inclusiveness and flexibility of the religion with peasants, the ultimate persecution of worshippers affected buddhist members of the Chinese peasant class

This week’s reading Introducing Chinese Religion written by Mario Poceski mentions how influential Confucianism is in China and how it became the central of Chinese religion, education, and politics. In the book, Poceski mentions that Confucianism had imbedded into Chinese people’s society thoroughly. This teaching is familiar to me because of my educational background. In Taiwan, we were asked to learn about poems and ideologies created by Confucius. In other words, we had been exposed to his words and mindsets since we were young.

The term “Confucianism” is often regarded as a complex mechanism of social, political, moral as well as religious beliefs that have considerable influence especially upon the civilizations belonging to the East Asian countries such as China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, North Korea, South Korea along with Singapore and Vietnam. With reference to the observation made by Reid (1999), it can be viewed that a clear depiction about different principles and beliefs exists within the sphere of “Confucianism”. Therefore, the major purpose of this report is to briefly review of T. R. Reid’s book “Confucius Lives Next Door: What Leaving In The East Teaches Us About Living In the West” through concisely unfolding the experience of

Confucianism is a time enduring philosophy that has stood up to invading clans, war, resentment, enforcement and infringement of new philosophies, and eventually, revival. For almost 80 years, up until the late 1970’s, Confucianism and its ideas and values have been all but wiped away from China. Though effort was made to remove Confucianism for good from China by the Communist leader Mao Zedong in 1949, the ideas and values were so deeply embedded into peoples mind and the culture that even suppression could not keep it out of the culture and practices. The main factor that has brought Confucianism back into the limelight in China and other East Asian countries is the recent

In this essay, two world religions will be compared to see how similar and/or how different they are; these two religions are Confucianism and Buddhism. Confucianism speaks about the wise thoughts that Confucius came across throughout his life. Buddhism speaks about how to acquire great knowledge throughout life. Confucianism was founded by a Chinese man, but Buddhism was founded by an Indian man. These quick comparisons show how the religions differ, but more detailed comparisons will be seen throughout the essay.

Confucianism and Daoism are two influential schools of thoughts that have existed in ancient China around the 6th century BCE. The former, led by the politician and philosopher Confucius, proposed that humans live in society according to a set of predefined rules and that they transform society through political action. Whereas the latter, led by the philosopher Lao-Tzu, promoted the idea of inaction; people should go with the flow instead of taking action to control their lives and dominate their surroundings. Although, at first glance Daoism and Confucianism seem to be two opposing philosophies, a more in depth analysis of two of their key ideas –filial piety and education—reveals that they do share some similarities.

The main thought of Humanistic Buddhism is on people themselves, which is an evolvement that adapted Buddhism to the society. The Buddhist revolution movement was triggered by certain conditions. After thousands of year’s development, many shortcomings appeared so the tradition cannot adapt the modern society. Furthermore, people’s increasing respect and promotion of science made Buddhism in China attacked by the government and intelligentsia.

The effect of Buddhism in China was one of the most profound changes China ever had, as it affected their economy. This time, economy brought about religion; Buddhism came into China through international trade. As South Asian countries came into China, they spread their religion which at that time was majorly Buddhism. To gain favor from the foreign traders, the emperors showed frivolities towards them. “Tang emperors spent huge sums of money on Buddhism” (Dubois, 2011, p. 34). They constructed Buddhist monasteries, excluded monks from taxes and lavished them with other benefits. In one sentence, the emperors at that time, sought to seek the face of Buddhist he monks at the expense of the economy. On a lighter note however, the spread of Buddhism increased the economy of China as it created revenue in trade. “Up till the twentieth century, Tang dynasty was the most cosmopolitan period of China’s history. Politically, emperors had conflicts of interest and so alternatively chose Buddhism or Daoism in succession” (Dubois, p. 34).

Furthermore, the Marxist revolutionary government of Communist China dealt with Confucianism negatively. “In the early 20th century, both before and after the fall of the Qing dynasty, Confucianism was harshly criticized by the New Culture Movement. (Adler 6)” The assumption of this movement was that “virtually everything about China’s traditional culture was holding it back from becoming a modern nation-state.” In fact, Confucianism was high on the list of culprits in this “blanket rejection” of traditional China. “The New Culture Movement criticized Confucianism for its age and gender-based hierarchies, which had become quite rigid during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Communist thinkers also joined this anti-Confucian trend, so by the time of the Communist victory in 1949 Confucianism in mainland China seemed virtually dead. (Adler 7)” “After the Communists took power their anti-Confucian rhetoric only increased. In addition to their professed opposition to social hierarchies, they viewed Confucianism as a feudal ideology. (Adler 8)”

“It is often said that, aside from the impact of Marxism on twentieth-century China, the only other time when the Chinese looked beyond their own borders for intellectual sustenance was during the period when Buddhism was absorbed from India” (LaFleur 23). Why did this religion appeal to the Chinese when they disregarded so many other external influences? After all, being tied to the rest of the world by the Silk Road meant they were constantly inundated with novel concepts from far and wide. The answer must lie in how Buddhism interacted with the other faiths already established in the country, namely Confucianism and Daoism (sometimes spelled Taoism). While at first glance it may appear that Confucian China would be the last place

Most ancient philosophical ideas developed in the ancient Chinese empires are believed to have their roots from Confucius. Confucianism was a simple way of life propagated by Confucius around the fifth and sixth century BC. Often perceived as a religion and other times as philosophy, it is conceivably best unspoken as a comprehensive humanism that neither slights nor denies heaven. The Chinese populaces have devotedly observed Confucianism for nearly two millennia. It has become an implicit part of their culture. However, there seem to be a cod division among its proponents holding contrasting perspectives and understanding with respect to it. The central focus of this presentation is to address the questions whether Confucianism is a religion or a philosophy or it encompasses both.