Buddhism in China:

The Foreign Religion That Won Chinese Hearts

by Keith Carey

According to a Chinese myth, the Han emperor Ming had a dream in which he saw a “golden man” whom one of his counselors told him was the “foreign god” Buddha. Ming sent to India for Buddhist monks. After the monks arrived, Ming established China’s first Buddhist monastery.

No one can tell for sure when Buddhism made its debut into China. It was probably in the first century AD when the Han Dynasty and Confucianism were in decline. It came from India, after spreading throughout Central Asia, a region that is now Muslim. Buddhism may have also come to China from the sea routes.

The Buddhist missionaries who came from India were undoubtedly a determined bunch. Despite many setbacks and frustrations, they translated their scriptures for the Chinese. Sometimes the verses were garbled or conflicted with one another, so the monks had to make many revisions. The Chinese faithful graciously considered the Buddhist scriptures to be of divine origin nevertheless. Part of the reason there was so much confusion in Buddhist theology was that, by the time this religion made its way into China, there were already two well–entrenched forms: Theravada and Mahayana.

Why Buddhism expanded in China
Buddhism had to compete with well–established home-grown religions, yet, given time, it flourished and expanded throughout the Middle Kingdom. This “foreign” religion offered things that the Chinese had never experienced. Life after death? Paradise and purgatory? These were new and exciting concepts. For the ordinary Chinese, Buddhism offered egalitarian moral principles, promises of healing and protection from hostile forces, and a simple form of devotion. Some found the monasteries to be a good place to go if they didn’t want to pay taxes, submit to forced labor, or fight in the military. And the devotional rituals provided a degree of psychological comfort. For the Chinese intellectuals and cultural elite, Buddhism offered metaphysics. There was the challenge of attaining a different state of consciousness through meditation.

As the Han Dynasty declined, along with state–supported Taoism, Buddhism had its chance to expand in China. The northern part of the Chinese Empire was overrun by other nations. The new rulers encouraged “foreign” Buddhism over Confucianism and Taoism, both of which had the potential to be used by Chinese nationalists to unify their people.

Forces hostile to Buddhism
Though Buddhist influence waxed and waned throughout China’s long history, it seemed often to compete with the more indigenized and well entrenched Taoism and Confucianism. The non–Chinese origin of Buddhism made some wonder how the Chinese people could try to adopt a foreign “barbarian” religion. There were many foreign elements in Buddhism which had to change before this religion could be accepted by China’s cultural elite. How could Buddhist monks forsake their families and their obligations to their ancestors by living the life of a monk or nun? To the Chinese, everyone had a primary obligation to have sons and honor his or her parents. To go into the monastery and devote their lives to Buddhism was unacceptable. Furthermore, the monastic life, which required devotees to beg for their daily food was considered to be parasitical.

The idea that the “monk does not bow before the king” was acceptable in India, but certainly not in China. To the small Chinese cultural elite, this was considered to be both a sacrilege and subversive. At that time, the Chinese expected religion to be practical and secular. Confucian thought emphasized stability, a hierarchical order, harmony in human relations, and a willingness to conform to the social order. By contrast, the Buddhist monastic tradition allowed people to leave their families to seek spiritual enlightenment. And Buddhism is primarily metaphysical and other–world oriented.

Buddhism entered China at a time when the established order was weakened. By the time China had become powerful again, Buddhism was a spiritual force that would not be driven away easily by Taoist and Confucian thinkers.

Buddhism today
For hundreds of years, Buddhism has flourished in China. It is now a Chinese religion as well as a world religion. It has faced tough obstacles during the communist era, especially during the Cultural Revolution of 1966–76 when many Buddhist monasteries and temples were closed or destroyed by Red Guard thugs. There are about 68 million people in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) who consider themselves to be Buddhist, according to Compton’s Living Encyclopedia, 1995.

Spotlight on China is a Lutheran publication which says that Buddhism is growing in China. Their March 2000 issue states, “In all of the larger cities the growing wealth and influence of the Buddhist community can be seen in the impressive rooflines of new temple complexes that are serving ever larger numbers of adherents. Well–dressed monks and nuns can be seen regularly on the streets, and their chanting of the Buddhist sutras can be heard filling the halls of formerly neglected monasteries. The young and educated, the poor and illiterate, the rich and powerful, all find their way into the courtyards of Buddhist temples across China, to light incense, to say a prayer and bow before the statues of a variety of freshly–painted buddhas and boddhisativas (i.e., Buddhist saints).”

It goes on to say that Buddhism has managed to become acceptable to the Chinese government. “Brilliant reds and golds, deep blues and blacks bring life to Buddhist icons, images and symbols, and communicate a powerful congruence with popular traditions and customs. It is primarily for this reason that it is not forbidden for Communist Party cadres to frequent Buddhist temples, while personal visits to Christian places of worship can and do bring swift official reprimand.”

This is not to say that the PRC government sanctions all forms of Buddhism. The PRC government is highly suspicious of the Tibetan form, mainly because of its political ties to the man Tibetans consider to be their god–king, the Dalai Lama. In late 1997, the PRC government closed down a Tibetan monastery that had been in operation for 800 years. The reason? The clergy there refused to denounce the Dalai Lama. Similar things have happened in other parts of Tibet since China took over in 1950.

The PRC government does not seem to object to Tibetan Buddhist practices. They have even put forth the Panchen Lama as the upcoming leader of Tibetan Buddhism. This youth is loyal to the PRC government. They object only to the political ties with the Dalai Lama. There seems to be no way that the PRC government can stop the Tibetans from revering the Dalai Lama.

Buddhism is alive and well in China. Though this religion has some good moral teachings, it keeps people from seeking the true God–king, Jesus Christ. We need to pray that the Holy Spirit will draw all Buddhist peoples of China and Tibet to Him.

Pray that the Buddhist peoples will have a hunger for the eternal blessings of Jesus. Pray that the Holy Spirit will open their spiritual eyes so that they can see Jesus. Pray that the Evangelicals in China will make an all out effort to reach their Buddhist neighbors for the King of Kings.