Buddhism was introduced into China from India and took root in China in the first century. It absorbed the achievements of the emerging theories and schools in the Western Regions and India, combined with the traditional national culture, and developed creatively, forming China Buddhism with China cultural characteristics in three systems: Han, Tibetan and Bali. It can be said that it is the ideological movement and cultural movement with the longest duration, the widest spread and the most far-reaching influence in human history.
1, the historical origin of Buddhism in China
If we divide the history of Indian Buddhism from the 4th century BC (after the extinction of Buddhism 100 years) to 12 century 15600 years on average, then China Buddhism includes the fundamental parts of Buddhism in the first and second periods, Mahayana Buddhism and Tantric Buddhism in the third period. Tibetan Buddhism spread the early Buddhist code and most of the classics in the second and third phases of translation; Pali-speaking Buddhism basically uses Pali as the original text, and some of them are translated into minority languages. It can be seen that Buddhism in three language families circulating in China now can be said to have completely inherited Buddhism in three periods in Indian history.
2. The formation and influence of Buddhism in China.
However, Buddhism in China is not only Pali Buddhism, but also Sino-Tibetan Buddhism has the characteristics of rich development combined with national cultural traditions. Its outstanding performance is the prosperity of all factions. For example, Chinese and Tibetan can list more than ten sects, large and small. Secondly, Buddhism in both Chinese and Tibetan languages still adheres to the precepts of hearing, listening and riding, and is explained by Mahayana doctrine; Believe in Mahayana, there is no dispute between Mahayana and Hinayana. Thirdly, since Buddhism was introduced into China in the 1st century A.D., most dynasties have adopted policies to protect and help the development of Buddhism, and made monks and monasteries enjoy some special treatment through laws. In principle, the life of monks is guaranteed by the state. Fourthly, most emperors in China endowed Buddhist monks with lofty political status and honor, and made them become Buddhist teachers, emperors and living buddhas. Fifth, the relationship between Buddhism and other sects in China (such as Confucianism and Taoism) can be said to be mutual penetration and mutual promotion in the process of development. This is different from the situation that Buddhism and heretics in India are always in hostility, opposition and fierce struggle. Sixth, Buddhism has penetrated into all aspects of China's national culture. Since the Jin Dynasty, China's poetry, painting, calligraphy, sculpture, stone carving, printing and architecture have all been influenced by Buddhism. Buddhism also played a great role in the development of medicine and calendar calculation; The development of music, drama and novels is also deeply influenced by Buddhist thought. Buddhism has influenced China's philosophy for thousands of years, while Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties was directly inspired by Zen, so scholars believe that Neo-Confucianism is actually a disguised form of Buddhist Zen. Seventh, the teachings of Buddhism in China have a far-reaching impact on people's daily life. We recently made a preliminary estimate and found that about 1000 idioms in common language originated from Buddhism. Eighth, Buddhism has a strong vitality in China, and spread to other countries and ethnic groups, forming a prosperous situation. It is the longest, most peaceful and most powerful ideological and cultural movement in human history. The brilliant cultural achievements it has created are obvious to all.
3. Viewing the inheritance and development of Buddhism in China from the idea of "Buddhism on earth"
In order to carry forward the Buddha's spirit of benefiting life and helping the world, the Buddhist community in China advocates the idea of "human Buddhism" centered on people. In fact, the idea of human Buddhism was not founded by later generations. In "Jia Yi Han", the Buddha said to the emperor, "I was born in the world, grew up in the world, and got it from the Buddha." In On Great Wisdom, Long Shu, the ancestor of Guanzhong School, put forward that "all pension undertakings are Buddhism and Taoism." Zuo Wu, the founder of Maitreya and Yoga School, pointed out in The Theory of Yoga and the Tripitaka that a Bodhisattva can't get wisdom without learning the "five aggregates". Especially in the Grand Solemn Sutra, it is proposed that the four manifestations of incarnation of all beings in Buddhism are all led by skills. After the brilliant idea of Mahayana Buddhism's active entry into the WTO was translated and introduced to China, it was inherited and carried forward by Buddhist masters of past dynasties, striving to organically combine Buddhist thought with fine national traditions, so that the Buddhist spirit can be embodied in people's daily physical and mental activities and social practice. Almost all the major sects established in China during the Sui and Tang Dynasties reflected this spirit and tendency, especially Zen. They hold high the seal of "Buddhism is in the world and never leaves the world", so that Buddhism can be integrated with life. Buddhism in China joined the WTO with a positive attitude and improved its position in society. Thus, human Buddhism is the original idea of primitive Buddhism, but it has been fully developed and embodied in Mahayana Buddhism in China. This ideological movement has gone through more than 1000 years. In the third 500 years after the demise of Buddhism (Sui and Tang Dynasties), it swept the whole of East Asia with a blustery trend, and produced enviable and fruitful fruits in various nationalities and countries in different languages. Especially in modern times, Master Taixu, a monk, pushed the spirit of "human Buddhism", which further clarified and sublimated human Buddhism in China and even the whole world, with far-reaching influence and richer achievements.
4. The spread and development of Buddhism in modern China.
Buddhism in China spread from the Middle East to Korea in the 4th century A.D. and to Japan in the early 6th century A.D., with frequent contacts with Southeast Asian countries including Thailand. Since modern times, especially in the past half century, China Buddhism has attracted more and more attention from the world.
Since the founding of New China, the people's government has implemented the policy of freedom of religious belief, which has made Buddhism in old China once prosperous, and made great achievements in repairing temples, protecting historical sites, rectifying the Sangha system, developing Buddhist cultural undertakings, and cultivating Sangha talents. The people's government reaffirmed the policy of freedom of religious belief and made specific provisions in the new constitution to protect freedom of religious belief and ensure the normal religious activities of religious believers. The restoration of key temples, the establishment of Buddhist colleges and various training courses, the renovation and protection of historical sites, the establishment of Buddhist ceremonies and festivals, the large-scale training of successors of Buddhist groups, and the restoration of the printing and distribution of Buddhist scriptures all show that a lot of work has been done to restore and carry forward fine traditions and remarkable achievements have been made.
However, what is more noteworthy is that we are combining the idea of "Buddhism on earth" with the new trend and new level of modern human cultural civilization, and strive to make positive contributions to China's modernization and world peace.
4. 1 We have friendly exchanges with the Buddhist circles in many countries, carried out various forms of academic exchanges on Buddhist culture, and carried out activities such as mutual visits, exchange of students, and exchange of classics and publications. At the same time, the China Institute of Buddhist Culture was established to carry out multidisciplinary and systematic research.
4.2 More and more young scholars from famous universities and research institutions have made academic research on Buddhism, published relevant works, and discussed specific problems of Buddhism, and achieved many gratifying results. Of course, quite a few works stand on the standpoint of criticizing Buddhism. However, we have noticed that: firstly, the tendency to affirm the achievements and contributions of Buddhism in the paper is increasing day by day; Second, criticism is aimed at the negative factors that deviate from the purpose of Buddhism. Therefore, it can also be said that the critics suppressed and eliminated the negative factors from the opposite side, which opened the way for the development of Buddhism in the world. In addition, many publishing houses have made long-term plans to systematically publish ancient books, and published Buddhist classics in Chinese and Tibetan languages, including ancient classics in Buddhist history, biography, medicine, literature and art, with an increasing number. This is a very gratifying phenomenon, which has strengthened our confidence in restoring China's leading position in the study of Buddhism in the world.
4.3 With the strong support of the government, a large-scale investigation and collection of ancient books and cultural relics were carried out, and efforts were made to centralize, sort out, repair and preserve them. For example, Nanjing Jinling Engraving Office has made great efforts for the Chinese woodcut edition, Sichuan Dege Engraving Institute has made great efforts for the Tibetan woodcut edition, and Beijing Buddhist Library and Cultural Relics Museum have made great efforts for Fangshan Shijing, or resumed and expanded their original business or achieved positive results. More importantly, with the support of the people's government, the Tripitaka is being compiled and published. This is an extremely huge project. Its Chinese part, with more than 20,000 volumes, is by far the most complete collection of Chinese Buddhist scriptures. In addition, the compilation and publication of various Buddhist research reference books are also worthy of attention, such as the compilation and publication of the Tibetan-Chinese Dictionary and the reprint of the Buddhist Dictionary. The completion of these works will certainly provide more convenience for the development of Buddhist studies.
In a word, since Buddhism was introduced to China from ancient India, it has been fully combined with the traditional culture of China, forming the China Buddhism with China cultural characteristics. It has deeply influenced China's culture and other fields, and spread abroad. Especially after the reform and opening up, with the strong support and help of the government and the joint efforts and active work of the national Buddhist community, the development of Buddhism in China is encouraging, with gratifying achievements and different prospects. It can be said that Buddhism in China originated in ancient India, developed in China and influenced the whole world. It will continue to nurture and grow in China, and it will confidently move towards the future, the ideal realm of human Buddhism, and the solemn China-Tibet world of peace, happiness and prosperity for all mankind.