Thebuddhisminchina.info

Buddhism entered China, perhaps as early as the first century B.C., from India via the Silk Road trade route and Central Asia, where goods were traded between China and the Roman Empire and cultures from China merged with those of India, Central Asia and Iran. Artifacts from Kushan–a Greek-influenced, Pakistan-based, Buddhist civilization–have been found in western China. Read more »

Buddhism in China

By staff reporter ZHANG XUEYING

ON the morning of March 11, 2009, numerous pilgrims swarmed into a silent hutong near the famous Houhai scenic spot in Beijing. The Guanghua Temple is located here, where Buddhists congregate on the 1st and 15th of each month of the lunar calendar. On these special days, temples hold religious rites for pilgrims. March 11th (the 15th day of the second moon) was the Buddhist day of nirvana. “We didn’t anticipate that so many people would come. We have prepared twice as much vegetarian food as before, but that still can’t meet demand,” commented a temple chef.

Four days later was the birthday of Guanyin, the Goddess of Mercy. During this festival, the number of tourists to Mount Putuo – a Buddhist mecca in Zhejiang Province – increased by 20 percent compared to the same period last year. Figures from the local tourism administration show that in the first two months of this year tourist revenue brought in by pilgrims grew by 45 percent over the same period last year. Read more »

Buddhism, founded in the late 6th century B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama (the “Buddha”), is an important religion in most of the countries of Asia. Buddhism has assumed many different forms, but in each case there has been an attempt to draw from the life experiences of the Buddha, his teachings, and the “spirit” or “essence” of his teachings (called dhamma or dharma) as models for the religious life. However, not until the writing of the Buddha Charita (life of the Buddha) by Ashvaghosa in the 1st or 2nd century A.D. do we have a comprehensive account of his life. The Buddha was born in North India (ca. 563 B.C.) at a place called Lumbini near the Himalayan foothills, and he began teaching around Benares (at Sarnath). His era in general was one of spiritual, intellectual, and social ferment. This was the age when the Hindu ideal of renunciation of family and social life by holy persons seeking Truth first became widespread, and when the Upanishads were written. Both can be seen as moves away from the centrality of the Vedic fire sacrifice. Read more »

Buddhism first came to China during the late first and second centuries AD as a direct result of Han expansion and the establishment of the Silk Road. Buddhist missionaries and other followers of the faith came to China from India, travelling various routes along the Silk Road disseminating their faith as well as a variety of goods from the West. Read more »