Responses to the Spread of Buddhism in China
Buddhism gained popularity in India and, like all popular religions, spread to other countries. Buddhism soon spread to China and was received with mixed results; Many thought this religion was the center of all of China's problems while others accepted Buddhism. Even with all this tension, there was still a small group of people that felt indifferent and wanted to compromise and let the beliefs coexist. Documents 2 and 3 are in defense of Buddhism while 4 and 6 discourage the religion. Documents 1 and 5 provide a third view. An additional document that shows how many people were in favor of Buddhism, scrutinized Buddhism and were indifferent of Buddhism would give greater insight.
Documents 2 and 3 are in favor of Buddhism. Document 2 describes Buddhism in a positive manner. Although Zhi Dun was in favor of the religion, he was really vague on who this document is targeted towards. It is known that this document was targeted towards the upper class. The document does not pertain to the lower and middle class. This document was made when Northern China was being invaded by nomadic invaders. Throughout China's history,
China shielded themselves from external influences because of the nomadic invaders. Even with this in mind, Buddhism influenced Chinese culture. Although Zhi Dun could’ve easily shunned the religion, he accepted the religion and he embraced it. Document 3 defends Buddhism because it contains counterclaims for rebuttals. The author states that comparing Buddhism to any other belief is like comparing “a white deer to a unicorn, or a swallow to a phoenix.” Simply put, comparing Buddhism to any other belief is pointless and irrelevant.
Documents 4 and 6 belittle the religion. Document 4 states that Buddhism is “no more than a cult.” Han Yu, a Confucian scholar, states that the Buddhist teachings are nothing but lies.
Vazquez 1
As a result of his high social status, his claims about Buddhism were widely agreed on.
However, like document 2, this was heard by mostly the upper class
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