Please print out the following documents and group them in a meaningful way and create an outline to tackle your essay. In addition to that write out your thesis and identify a missing voice. I encourage you to fully complete this essay. Outline Document 1 : - Original teachings of Buddhism - Said by the Buddha, no bias Document 2 : - Pro Buddhism - Zhi Dun, Chinese scholar, bias upper class - time period when China was under invasion Document 3 : - Another scholar, biased - Compares Buddhism to Confucianism positively Document 4 : - Con Buddhism - Confucian scholar, biased - Criticizes Buddhism, saying it defies Confucian beliefsDocument 5 : - Buddhist Scholar, biased - Neutral perspective Document 6 : - Tang emperor, biased Documents 2 and 3 are for Buddhism Documents 4 and 6 are against Buddhism Documents 1 and 5 are neutral, where they do not enforce or criticize Buddhism. Essay Buddhism started out in India when the Buddha introduced it.
Over time, Buddhism travelled to China and it was interpreted differently. Many people adopted it as a means of salvation and peace, while others rejected it and blamed it for most China's unique culture. It all starts out with Document 1, explaining the beliefs ofBuddhism. The very popular belief system in China prior to the introduction of Buddhism was Confucianism. So, many Chinese officials looked to preserve Confucianism and enforce it. They did not want to replace a faith, centuries old, by a new culture not even developed in China.
Document 4, by a Confucian scholar, criticized Buddhism for developing from a barbarian man who was from a different nation. He supports his claim by stating that Buddhism knows nothing of the ancient Chinese kings and defies ancient Confucian beliefs. In Document 6, Tang emperor Wu also supports this claim.He mentions that Buddhism was never heard of before the Han dynasty. He puts down Buddhism by saying that it depletes China's precious resources and destroys the ancient Confucian regime. Although, there was much opposition to Buddhism, there was also support.
Buddhism was widely accepted when there were no Confucian leaders to go against it. Document 2, which was written during the time when China was invaded by foreigners, was about a Chinese scholar for Buddhism. This was a time when Confucian beliefs were not strictly forced since China had to defend itself from foreign problems.Another document, Document 3, enforces Buddhism. It is compared to Confucianism positively where the Chinese scholar says Buddhism does not defy Confucian ideas.
While there was strict opposition to Buddhism, and support for Buddhism, some people tried to integrate the two most popular belief systems at the time, Buddhism and Confucianism. In Document 5, Zong MI, a Buddhist scholar explains that Buddhism and Confucianism were both developed to enhance society, not to hurt it, and that they should both be treated with respect. In order to fully assess the response of Buddhism in China, there has to be dditional documents given.All of the documents given were from the perspectives of scholars or highly regarded people of China.
In order to fully see the popularity of Buddhism, we need a document from a peasants' point of view, showing whether the majority was pro or con Buddhism, and if they agreed with or went against the officials' views. Buddhism was met with many different views in China. It was met with acceptance and denial. Buddhism mainly went against people who were for Confucianism, and this conflict shaped much of China's history, whereas some dynasties forced Confucianism or some dynasties supported Buddhism.
