Around A.D., Buddhism began to be introduced into China from India, and after a long period of spread and development, China Buddhism with China national characteristics was formed. Due to the differences in time, mode, region, national culture and social and historical background, China Buddhism has formed three schools, namely, China Buddhism; Tibetan Buddhism (Tibetan language department); Buddhism in Yunnan (Pali Language Department).
Buddhism in Han Dynasty: Buddhism was introduced to the Han nationality area in China, and it was sent to the western regions to retrieve 42 chapters in Yongping period of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 58-75), which was the beginning of Buddhism's introduction to China. The transmission area is centered on Chang 'an and Luoyang. The first temple built in Chinese mainland is Baima Temple, which is located at 10 km east of Luoyang. Legend has it that a white horse came with a load of scriptures, and the White Horse Temple was built to commemorate it. During the Eastern Han Dynasty, most Buddhist scriptures were translated in Baima Temple in Luoyang.
During the period of Wei, Jin and Western Jin Dynasties in China, the main spreading activity of Buddhism was still the translation of Buddhist scriptures, and Jianye was the center of spreading activities. The translation of Confucian classics and the propaganda and research on Buddhist teachings at this stage laid a preliminary foundation for the future development of Buddhism. In the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism was further developed. People from all walks of life generally believe in Buddhism, and pagodas and temples have been built everywhere. World-famous Buddhist grottoes, such as Dunhuang, Yungang, Longmen and other ancient sculptures and murals, were all projects started during this period. At this time, Kumarajiva (344-4 13), an outstanding Buddhist translator, translated 384 volumes of Buddhist scriptures with correct contents and exquisite skills, which made great contributions to the development of Buddhism. There is also Fa Xian (337-422), the most successful person who went to the West to learn from the scriptures. He traveled to more than 30 countries in South Asia, such as India and Sri Lanka, and the Buddhist scriptures and stories he retrieved provided valuable information for the development of Buddhism and the study of the history and geography of ancient countries in Central and South Asia.
Linggu Temple is a famous ancient temple in China, located in the east of Nanjing Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum. It was founded in the 13th year of Tian Jian, Liang Wudi in the Southern Dynasties (AD 5 14). This temple was built by Liang Wudi in memory of Monk Baozhi. It is said that monk Baozhi has magical power, and his predictions are often successful. Liang Wudi worships him.
Liang Wudi believes in Buddhism. During his reign of 14 years, he gave his life for the temple four times and was redeemed from the temple at the expense of the state. Liang Wudi personally lectures and writes scriptures. There were 2,860 temples and more than 82,700 monks and nuns in the Liang Dynasty.
The Tang Dynasty was the heyday of the development of Buddhism in China. Emperor Taizong was assisted by monks and soldiers in clearing up the separatist regime and quelling the riots. After he ascended the throne, he ordered to build temples and set up Buddhist scriptures offices all over the country, and trained a large number of Buddhist monks and scholars. One of the most famous monks in this period was Xuanzang (600-664). It took him 19 years to travel to Vandory to study Buddhist scriptures, translated 75 Buddhist scriptures into 1335 volumes, and wrote "Records of the Western Regions of Datang". Emperor Taizong praised Xuanzang as "the Sect of Buddhism" and "the eternal power".
The imperial court in the Northern Song Dynasty adopted a protection policy for Buddhism, and there was an endless stream of exchanges between Chinese and Indian monks. In the fifth year of Tianxi (102 1), Buddhism reached its peak in the Northern Song Dynasty, with nearly 460,000 monks and nuns and nearly 40,000 temples nationwide. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the imperial court was partial to the south of the Yangtze River, and Buddhism still maintained a certain grand occasion. In Yuan Dynasty, Mongolians advocated Tibetan Buddhism, but they also adopted protective policies for Han Buddhism.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was born as a monk. After he acceded to the throne, he called himself the "King of the Qing Dynasty" and personally talked about Buddhism and Buddhism. Use Buddhism to help him consolidate the regime in the early Ming Dynasty. The Qing emperor believed in Buddhism, and the royal family worshipped Tibetan Buddhism. Buddhism in China is still popular among the people. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, a number of famous Buddhist scholars appeared in China, such as Yang, Ouyang and Da Xu. Modern thinkers such as Kang Youwei, Tan Sitong, Zhang Taiyan and Liang Qichao were all influenced by Buddhism, and put forward new views on Buddhist thought, which developed the study of Buddhist thought to a new level.
Tibetan Buddhism, or Tibetan Buddhism, is commonly known as "Lama" religion. Lama means "guru" in Tibetan. Tibetan Buddhism began in the middle of the 7th century. When Tibetan King Songtsan Gampo married Nepalese Bhrikuti Devi and Tang Dynasty Princess Wencheng, both princesses brought Buddha statues and Buddhist scriptures. Under the influence of the two princesses, Songzan Gambo converted to Buddhism and built Jokhang Temple and Jokhang Temple. By the middle of the 8th century, Buddhism was introduced directly from India to Tibet. Tibetan Buddhism was formally formed in the second half of 10 century. /kloc-began to spread in Mongolia in the middle of 0/3rd century. In the next 300 years, various sects formed, and they generally believed in Tantric Buddhism. With the development of Buddhism in Tibet, the upper lamas gradually mastered the local political power, and finally formed a unique Tibetan Buddhism with the integration of politics and religion.
Potala Palace is the most famous Buddhist building in Tibet. It was built for Princess Wencheng when she entered Tibet in the 7th century, but it was not completed until17th century.
China's famous stupa-Three Pagodas of Chongsheng Temple. Located at the foot of Cangshan Mountain in Dali, Yunnan. It was built in 824-839. Influenced by the pagoda in the Tang Dynasty, it is square and hollow, similar to the Little Wild Goose Pagoda in Xi 'an. The main tower is 69.13m high, which is a 16-storey brick tower with dense eaves. There is a Buddhist shrine on the front of each floor. The main tower is also called Chihiro Tower. There is a small tower in the north and south of Chihiro Pagoda, which is solid and has 8 floors 10. It is a masterpiece of Dai Buddhist architecture.
Bali Buddhism (upper Buddhism) spreads among the Dai and Bulang nationalities in Yunnan Province, China, where people's traditional Buddhist beliefs are roughly the same as those in South Asian Buddhist countries (Thailand, Myanmar, etc.). ). About the middle of the 7th century, Buddhism was introduced from Myanmar to the Dai area in Yunnan, China. For centuries, it has been able to keep its Buddhism, precepts and advanced research in accordance with primitive Buddhism.