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By Jayaram V
This article provides a brief history of the origin, development
and decline of Buddhism in China and various schools of Chinese Buddhism that
flourished in its long history till recent times.
Buddhism entered China a few centuries after the passing away of the
Buddha, at a time when Confucianism and Taoism were the predominant religions in
a country that was as a big as a continent and rivaled India in historical antiquity
and cultural pluralism. In the early phases of its entry, Buddhism did not find
many adherents in China. But by the 2nd Century AD, aided to some extent by the
simplicity of its approach and some similarities with Taoism, it managed to gain
a firm foothold and acquired a sizeable following.
The arrival of many new Buddhist scholars from the Indian subcontinent and central
Asia, like An Shih-Kao, a Parthinian monk, and Lokakshema, a Kushana monk from Central
Asia gave an impetus to the new religion that had many attractive features besides
an inbuilt organizational approach to the study and pursuit of religion. During
the same period many Buddhist texts were translated from Pali and Sanskrit into
Chinese.
The collapse of Han dynasty around 220 AD, was followed by a period of
confusion which continued to trouble Chinese society for the next 350 years. During
this period Confucianism and Taoism gradually yielded place to Buddhism. The
new Mongolian rulers of China from the Northern Wei dynasty and some rulers in the
south like Emperor Wu found in Buddhism a great opportunity to demolish the old
order and establish a new one. As a result by 6th Century AD, China was teaming
with millions of Buddhist monks and thousands of monasteries.
During this turbulent period in China, two major developments took place in Buddhism.
One group consisting mostly of the sophisticated gentry dwelled on the philosophical
and mystical aspects of Buddhism, while the other group dominated by rural folk
followed Buddhism in their own superstitious and simple ways imparting to it in
the process a peculiar Chinese Character.
During this period many Buddhist scholars came to China from the east and worked
selflessly to make Buddhism a mass religion. Notable among them were scholars like
Dharmaraksha (3rd Century AD) Kumarajiva (4th Century AD), who got a number
of Buddhist texts translated into Chinese. By this time China produced its own eminent
Buddhist scholars with extraordinary vision like Seng-Chao, Tao-Sheng and Fa-hsien
who also contributed richly to the growth of Buddhism China through their translations.
Between the 6th Century AD and 10th Century AD China was ruled by Sui and T'ang
dynasties who were also patrons of Buddhism. During this period Buddhism reached
its glorious heights in China. At the same time the process of degeneration also
began. Many Buddhist monasteries turned to serious business and indulged in farming,
trade and money lending for their own benefit neglecting the spiritual side of their
responsibilities. Strangely, in a very uncharacteristic way, the Buddhist monasteries
cultivated the farm lands, ran mills and oil presses using slave labor and low ranking
monks and hoarded vast amounts of precious stones and metals. They also indulged
in pawn brokering and money lending.
Many new schools of Buddhism also emerged in China during this period. Each school
derived its authority from some ancient Buddhist text or doctrine. Some of these
schools spread to countries like Korea and Japan and contributed to the emergence
of Buddhism as the predominant religion.
The fall of Buddhism began during the reign of a Chinese Emperor Wu-Tsung (841-847).
Probably noticing the greed that characterized many monasteries, he ordered for
the general destruction of all Buddhist establishments and return of all Buddhist
monks and nuns to lay life. This shook the foundations of Buddhism though it did
not destroy it. Emperor Wu dismantled the greedy monasteries probably to fill his
own coffers, but not Buddhism. However his actions definitely reversed the fortunes
of Buddhism in China and sowed the seeds of its decline .
From 11th Century onwards, China witnessed the reemergence of Confucianism and
revival of people's interest in their traditional religions. By their own excesses
and neglect of their primary duties, the Buddhist monasteries became the contributory
factors to the declining popularity of Buddhism. During the same period the Buddhism
faced tremendous challenges from the increasing popularity of Brahmanism and the
aggressive policies of the Islamic rulers of the Indian subcontinent.
These new developments in the land of the Buddha had a direct impact on the fortunes
of Buddhism in China since for a very long period the monks from the subcontinent
provided a recurring source of inspiration and information to their brethren in
China. This decline contributed greatly to the slackening of standards in the recruitment
of monks and the emergence of some decadent schools of Buddhism. These schools
deviated from the original rules prescribed by the Buddha for monastic discipline
among the brethren and emphasized the need for exploring the lighter side
of life in the practice of Buddhism instead of sorrow and suffering. One prominent
example was the emergence of Pu-Tai, or the Laughing Buddha. He was but a decadent
version of the exalted and highly revered Maitreyi Buddha.
The Yuan dynasty that came to power in 1280 adopted Lamaism as their state religion.
It was the Tibetan version of Buddhism which gained ascendance in the mountainous
country following the emergence of Vajrayana Buddhism in eastern India. During this
period some secret schools of Buddhism also emerged in China. They believed in the
future advent of Maitreya and the emergence of new world order. These schools practiced
martial arts like Kungfu and sometimes indulged in the petty politics of the local
warlords.
Although Buddhism lost most of its dynamism and vibrancy by the 20th century,
it continued to flourish in China till the advent of the Communism. As is well known,
the emergence of communism sounded the death knell of Buddhism. The Communist
government of China did succeed officially in putting an end to the practice of
religion by abolishing all forms of public worship and closing down all the monasteries.
The excesses of cultural revolution put an end to whatever hopes the followers
of Buddhism had about its revival. Today Buddhism in China is a relic of the past,
an ancient monument that has been ravaged and vandalized by the clash of classes
and ideological notions. It is really difficult to say how long it would take for
the cycle of Dhamma to regain its supremacy and whether it would ever happen at
all.
Chinese Schools of Buddhism
The principal schools of Buddhism which flourished in China were:
1. The Vinaya School (Lu-tsung)
2. The Realistic School (Chu-she)
3. The Three Treatises School (San-lun)
4.The Idealist School (Fa-hsiang)
5. The Mantra or Tantric School (Mi-tsung or Chen-yen)
6. The Avatamsaka or Flower Adornment School (Hua-yen)
7. The T'ien-t'ai or White Lotus School (Fa-hua)
8. The Pure Land School (Ching t'u)
9. The Dhyana School (Ch'an)
1. The Vinaya School (Lu-tsung): As the name suggests, this school concentrated
upon the monastic discipline (Vinaya) of the Buddhist monks and adhered strictly
to do's and don'ts prescribed for them in the Vinaya Pitaka. This school was said
to have been founded by Tao-hsuan in the 7th Century AD.
2. The Realistic School (Chu-she): This school derived its inspiration
from the Abhidhamma Kosha of Vasubhandu (316-396), a Peshawar based Indian monk
who was originally a Sarvasthivadin and was faithful to the original teachings of
the Buddha. In course of time it became a part of the latter day Idealist school.
3. The Three Treatises School (San-lun): This school followed the teachings
of the Madhyamika sutras of the famous south Indian Buddhist monk, Nagarjuna
who is remembered by history for his Sunyavada or the theory of Absolute emptiness.
His approach to the notions of reality was akin to the Upanishadic idea of
non-self and the doctrines of the Advaita or non dualistic schools of Hinduism.
His ideas were brought to China by Kumarajiva (549-623) through the
translation of the Sutras, which were later expounded in the form of commentaries
by Chih-Tsang (549-623). Chih-Tsnag argued in one of his works that it would
be possible to understand metaphysical truths only through negation of things in
view of the limitations of the mind to understand transcendental reality. This school
also derived its inspiration from the Shata Shastra (The treaties of Hundred
Scriptures) of Aryadeva. With the emergence of the Idealistic school, this school
suffered a decline. It was later revived in the 7th Century AD by an Indian monk
called Suryaprbhasa.
4.The Idealist School (Fa-hsiang): This school was founded on the ideals
of Yogachara school of Vasubhandu as expounded in his Vimsatika- Karika or the Book
of Twenty Verses. The school became popular because of Hsuan-Tsang (596-664) who
traveled to India in the 7th Century AD to collect original Buddhist texts and bring
them back to China. Hsuan Tsang was an adventurous monk who combined in himself
the traits of a monk as well as inveterate traveler. Undaunted by the task ahead
of him and driven by his goal to see the land of the Buddha, Hsuan-Tsang travelled
to India by a circuitous route via the Silk Road through the perilious terrain of
the north western frontires, and reached the University of Nalanda in eastern India
after a great hardship. He spent considerable time there in the study of the Yogachara
philosophy under the guidance of a teacher called Silabhadra. From there he went
to the court of the famous Indian king by name Harshavardhana, who was a powerful
but generous ruler of his times and ruled parts of northern and eastern India. He
developed a great liking for the Chinese monk and insisted him to stay in his court
for several years. Hsuan-Tsang complied with the king's request and stayed in his
court for a few years before resuming his journey. He returned to to China after
many hardships, and managed to carry with him a huge collection of about 650 Buddhist
texts and some Buddha relics. He spent the rest of his life in the translation of
the texts and in spreading the teachings of Vasubhandu. Despite of the fact that
the translations he arranged were not superior in quality, Hsuan-Tsang earned a
place for himself in the history of China by his unique contribution to the development
of Chinese Buddhism. Through his familiarity with the teachings of Vasubhandu, he
made the Idealist School one of the most popular schools of Buddhism in ancient
China.
5. The Mantra or Tantric School (Mi-tsung or Chen-yen): This is the Chinese
version of Tantric Buddhism. It flourished in China for less tha a hundred
years, starting with the arrival of Subhakarasimha(637-735) from India during the
reign of T'ang dynasty. Subhakarasimha translated the Mahavairochana Sutra which
expounded the Tantric teachings. Two other monks who played a key role in the growth
of Tantric Buddhism in China were Vajrabodhi (670-741) introduced the concept of
Mandalas to the Chinese, while Amoghavajra said to have initiated three T'ang emperors
into Tantricism. the Tantric school of Buddhism believed in magic, incantations,
drawing of mandalas, casting of spells and elaborate and often secret rituals. The
school was later replaced by Lamaism, which was a more popular version of Tantricism.
6. The Avatamsaka or Flower Adornment School (Hua-yen): This school flourished
in China for about 200 years, starting from the 7th Century AD and attracted the
attention of the famous Empress Wu (690-705). It was based upon the teachings of
the Buddha as contained in the Avatamsaka Sutra. The followers of this school believed
that the sutra contained the most complex teachings of the Buddha, not comprehensible
to ordinary followers. The Avatamsaka school expounded a cosmic view of the universe
containing the two principal aspects of the reality, namely li and shih, an
approach which is in some ways resembles the concept of Purusha (spiritual)
and Prakriti (physical) of Hinduism, adopted later on by the Tantric schools. It
also believed that in each and every aspect the cosmic reality reflected the same
relationships and balance of forces, signifying the ultimate truth of one in all
and all in one. The school was founded by Tu-shun, whose commentary of Avatamsaka,
known as Ha-chieh Kuan, (Contemplating the Dharmadhatu) provided the necessary background
for the emergence of this school in the Buddhist world. He was followed by four
patriarchs, Chihyen(602-668), Fa-tsang (exact period unknown), Chiangling(738-838)
and Tsung-mi(780-841).
7. The T'ien-t'ai or White Lotus School (Fa-hua): Like the Avatamsaka
school, the White Lotus School also was based upon the highest teachings of the
Buddha, but compared to the former, provided a more a elaborate view of the cosmic
reality. It was founded by a Chinese monk by name Chih-i (538-597) who lived in
Chekiang province of China, and formed his doctrines on the basis of the Saddharma-pundarika
sutra, an ancient Buddhist text, which he believed to be the vehicle of all
other truths. According to this school, Truth operated from three levels or aspects.
At one extreme was the void or emptiness, the unknown or the non self, about which
nothing much could be speculated except talking in terms of negation and denial.
At the other extreme was temporariness that was in reality nothingness but would
manifest itself temporarily or momentarily because of the activity of the senses,
as some kind of an illusion or as an image on the film screen. The third level is
a middle state, 'middle' for our understanding, but not necessarily middle, 'different'
for our understanding but not necessarily different, because it unites
the two and presents them together as the one Highest Truth. These three levels
of truth are also not separate or different from each other. They are the aspects
of the same reality, that is universal as well as ubiquitous. The school advocated
the practice of concentration and insight (chih and kuan) to understand the transience
of things and attain the Buddha Mind in which the above mentioned three aspects
of Truth reside in perfect harmony. Chih-i said to have become very popular during
his life time and caught the attention of the emperor who donated the revenues of
a district for the maintenance of his monastery. The While Lotus School was introduced
into Japan in the 9th century AD and became popular as Tendai.
8. The Pure Land School (Ching t'u): This school was founded by Hui-yuan
(334-416), who was originally a Taoist. It was based upon the teachings of the Mahayana
school and the belief in the Bodhisattvas, the highest beings, who were next to
the Buddha in the order and just a step away from salvation, but would postpone
their own salvation for the sake of others. This school worshipped Amitabha and
sought his grace for deliverance from this world under the notion that salvation
could not be gained on ones own efforts (jiriki) but with the help of the other
power (tariki), the grace of Amitabha. The school practiced devotional forms of
worship and regular chanting of O-mi-to-fo (the Chinese rendering of Amitabha) as
the means to salvation. It followed the teachings contained in the Smaller and Larger
Sukhavati-vyuha sutras. The school was subsequently introduced into Korea and Japan
where it flourished under three different names.
9. The Dhyana School (Ch'an): This was the most popular of the Chinese
schools of Buddhism, which became popular in Japan and later in the west as Zen
Buddhism. Chan was a "way of seeing into the nature of ones own being." (D.T.Suzuki).
Though it was introduced into China by an Indian monk by name Bodhidharma, around
520 AD, Chan was essentially a product of Chinese character, which unlike the Indian,
evolved out of the practical and down to earth philosophy of life. Chan rejected
book learning as the basis of enlightenment, set aside all notions and theories
of suffering and salvation, and relied upon day to day events, simple thinking and
ordinary living as the means to enlightenment. Enlightenment descended upon one
as a sudden shift in awareness, not because of elaborate study of the Buddhist sutras,
exposition of the philosophies, nor worship of the images of the Buddha but
from a sudden shift in the paradigm, from an instantaneous chasm in the process
of thought, from a kind of Eureka experience, characterized by a sudden opening
of the mind and removal of a veil, after years of silent waiting and steady preparation.
The Chan school discouraged the intellectual kind of pursuit of religion as it believed
that any scholarly approach would tend to stiffen the mind and prevent it from experiencing
the sudden flowering of Chan.
Although the Chan masters did not encourage preoccupation with scriptural studies,
they encouraged the initiates to study the basic Chan scriptures like the
Lankavatarasutra, the Vimalakritinirdesa, the Vajracchedika Sutras and
some additional Chan texts as a a part of their preparation for the subsequent stages
of observing into the nature of things. By denigrating the scriptural knowledge,
the Chan masters therefore were not promoting illiteracy, but were preparing the
students to free themselves from opinionated intellectuality and scholarly affectations
to emerge into a world of notionless observations.
The word 'chan' is a corrupt form of the Sanskrit word, 'dhyana' meaning concentrated
meditation or contemplation. Dhyana was an essential aspect of Chan Buddhism aimed
to develop inner stillness and accumulation of chi energy among the practitioners.
But what Chan encouraged, more than the mechanical aspects of meditation, was the
development of an unfettered and detached mind, that would not cling to anything
and would not rest anywhere and would flow with the flow of life, gathering nothing
and gaining nothing. Chan Buddhism did not place too much emphasis on meditation,
unlike the Zen Buddhism of Japan, but on finding the Buddha mind in the most mundane
tasks and conversations of day to day life. In short, Chan made living a deeply
religious act aimed to break the encrusted layers of thought.
Chan Buddhism underwent a schism during the 7th century resulting in the formation
of two rival school, a southern school led by Hui-neng and a northern school led
by Shenhsiu. While the northern school disappeared over a period of time, the Southern
school underwent further sub-divisions resulting in the formation of five Houses
and seven sub sects of which two survived. One was Lin-chi (Jap. Rinzai) and Tsao-tung(Jap.Soto).
Chan Buddhism influenced Chinese way of life profoundly. The Chan art became
famous in ancient China for its spontaneity and simplicity of expression. But with
the decline of Buddhism in China, Chan also gradually retreated into remote monasteries
and gradually lost its appeal.
Suggested Further Reading
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