Buddhism - Buddhism in Chinese History (Arthur

Buddhism - Buddhism in Chinese History (Arthur F. Wright)

What were the political, social and cultural conditions that permitted the spread of Buddhism in the Chinese World? On page 17-19, the author indicates that there were social and political changes occurring in China that opened the door to the spread of Buddhism. For example (17), in A.D. 27-ca. 97, Imperial Confucianism, "which seemed to serve so well the needs of the monarchy and the elite," carried with it "several weaknesses which ultimately proved fatal." One weakness was the fact that "analogical reasoning" had been pushed so far it attracted the "criticism of skeptics and naturalists and thus brought the whole highly articulated structure into doubt."

Meantime, the author explains that while Imperial Confucianism was under attack (Wang Ch'ung had initiated this "process of erosion" of Imperial Confucianism), so too was Han dynasty Confucianism, which gave citizens of China during that period the idea that perhaps there was a better way of searching for the spiritual life. Han Confucianism (17) fell into a period where haggling over the interpretation of "authoritative texts" severely eroded "its capacity for self-renewal and its ability to deal with new problems," either practical problems or intellectual problems.

The problems that Han Confucianism was failing to come to grips with were problems resulting from "changing social and political conditions," which were not being dealt with very effectively by the Han institutional order. So, since this Confucian thought was "so completely interwoven" with the Han order, when that order began to disintegrate, "Confucianism was utterly discredited."

And then, in the 2nd Century A.D., when new social and political dynamics emerged, they produced "widening fissures" in Han society. One of those emerging political realities was the fact that the Han Confucianism, in theory and in ceremony, had created a "cosmic pivot" (18) of the emperor, but in fact, the author explains, the emperor had become a "puppet" of rival parties, and a "pitiful pawn in a rapacious struggle for power." The emperor was up against older well-established gentry families who had become "politically entrenched" and now owned and controlled "vast areas and thousands of tenants and slaves." These families tended to "monopolize" political offices and "manipulated" the system of government; the empire was ripe for change (i.e., Buddhism), because it was "being pulled apart by competing centers of power." And the little guy, the peasant, was being taxed heavily, repressed, and was ready "for dissident uprisings."

On page 58, readers learn that while "upper class Chinese" had experienced "unsatisfying experiments with neo-Taoism," their conversion to Buddhism (in 317 A.D.) "seemed to explain the ills of a stricken society and to offer hope for the future." Peoples of any society in just about any period of time are always seeking answers to what is wrong in society, and it appears that is what Buddhism did for the upper class.

Also, "among the masses, both alien and Chinese, Buddhism found a wide following." That fact is partly due to the policies of Buddhist monks, in the north of China. Buddhist clergy "not only offered the consolation of a simple faith, but, as favored instruments of government often brought..." grain for relief of starvation, medicine, "and other practical benefits which in an earlier day might have been provided by local officials or rural gentry."

And so, when the great monasteries "became entrepreneurs," they gave to the peasants (at first) "relatively infertile highlands" (59), but later, they gave "holdings in the lowlands...and helped develop "water mills, oil presses, and local manufactures."

Imagine the change in China when the newly emerging religion, Buddhism, actually helped increase the wealth of communities by "establishing pawnshops, holding auctions, and sponsoring temple fairs."

In many ways, "the Buddhist faith in North China cut across class lines and helped to unite a divided society." In fact, the main feast of the year, held on a Buddhist holiday, "was an occasion of community fellowship in which social frictions were forgotten."

How did Buddhism become adapted to the Chinese environment? On page 22, the author points out that though the "breakdown of Han" was underway, the rift between rich and poor, powerful and peasant, was not yet of sufficient magnitude to open the door to Buddhism. However, in the 3rd Century A.D., "...there began in earnest the long process of adapting Buddhism to Chinese culture, preparing it for a wider and fuller acceptance among Chinese of all classes" (34). This gradual acceptance of Buddhism (in 191 a Buddhist temple was built in northern Kaingsu which helped the poor) was happening because Buddhism "taught a universal ethic and a doctrine of salvation outside the family." And juxtaposed with that, Chinese thinkers had long concentrated their focus on "formulas for the good society," not on "the pursuit of other-worldly goals."

Another contrast in concepts - Chinese Confucianism vs. The newly arriving Buddhism - is explained on page 47: the author says the old Chinese naturalistic notion of li, or "order," or "empirical data of experience" was quite different from (and mundane next to) the Buddhist transcendental "absolute principle." And Chinese Buddhists (48) felt that they perceived two paths to truth and liberation. One was "gradualism" - the slow accumulation of knowledge and wisdom. And Subitism, according to the author, "meant the one as opposed to the multiple, totality "as opposed to particulars." What did these two paths mean for the Chinese Buddhists? It created an intellectual tension and controversy, but it also gave scholars and spiritual leaders something to debate, a reason to question the old beliefs of ancient China.