Buddhism

Henry C.K. Liu hliu at mindspring.com
Sun Nov 15 14:31:50 PST 1998


To Louis Proyect:

Buddhism (Fo Jiao) first appeared in China officially in 65 A.D. Some evidence suggests that it might have been imported to China from India as early as 2 B.C. Since its introduction, Buddhism has permeated Chinese society and its economic life, despite periodic suppression by the state, including the current one. It has affected the customs of all levels of society by the time of the Tang dynasty some six centuries after its introduction. Buddhist temples, monasteries and shrines have been established in all parts of the empire. The services of sengs (Buddhist monks) have become indispensable for all social events, performing religious ceremonies for funerals and weddings, blessings for newborns, administering temples for the faithful and attending family shrines for the elite. Sengs function as preachers, teachers, scribes, artists and even doctors. Often they would become top advisors to huangdi (emperor), and many sengs would even become powerful political figures both at court and at the local level.

The name: Buddha (Fo), is a Sanskrit word meaning Enlightened One. It is the appellation conferred by the faithful on Indian Prince Siddharatha Gautama (563-483 B.C.) who came from the southern foothills of the Himalayas. Buddhism (Fo Jiao) originated at the end of fifth century B.C. on the valley of middle Ganges in India. The religious sect first rose as a plebeian reaction to claims of spiritual and social supremacy by Hindu Brahman priests who were the ruling elite of the Indian caste system. Since that time, Buddhism has spread across political, social and ethnic boundaries as one of the three great religions of the world, the other two being Christianity and Islam. Curiously, acceptance of Buddhism would remain sporadic in India, its birthplace. The incorporation of Buddha by Hinduism as the ninth incarnation (avatar) of its god, Vishnu, seriously adulterated the autonomous uniqueness of Buddhism in India. The introduction of Moslem invasion of India from the eleventh century would gradually but effectively obliterate remaining Buddhist communities there. Similarly, Christianity remains a minority religion in the Middle East, its holy place of origin. Kanishka, an ardent patron of Buddhism (Fo Jiao), was king of the Kushan empire which dominated northern India during the second century. He was also known in history as the sponsor of a Greco-Buddhist style of sculpture, labelled by historians as the Gandhara school, typified by curly-haired seated Buddha statues, which became the dominant Buddhist art form in East Asia. A gilded bronze Buddha of the Gandhara school would be on display in modern time at the Harvard Fogg Art Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. More significantly, Kanishka was instrumental in introducing Buddhism into Central Asia, whence it spread first to China, then Korea and finally Japan. The branch of Buddhism which diffused into East Asia would take on different characteristics from the early sects of Buddha's own time. It would come to be known as Mahayana (Dasheng, meaning major vehicle), the scripture of which is written in classical Sanskrit, distinguishing itself from the older Hinayana (Xiaosheng, meaning minor vehicle), the scripture of which is written in a vernacular dialect (Prakrit) known as Pali. Hinayana Buddhism, remaining closer to ancient Buddhism, would be practised widely in Southeast Asia in modern time.

The Sermon of the Turning of the Wheel of the Law, delivered by Buddha at Sarnath, around 500 B.C., elucidates the secret of a happy life by means of the Four Exalted Truths. The Four Exalted Truths are: Truth I Existence encompasses sorrow; Truth II Sorrow emanates from desire; Truth III Sorrow subsides when desire wanes; and Truth IV Desire can be alleviated by following the Gracious Eight-Spectrum Path. This Gracious Eight-Spectrum Path is comprised of: Spectrum 1 Virtuous conviction; Spectrum 2 Virtuous resolution: to renounce sensual pleasure, to harm no living creatures and ultimately to achieve salvation; Spectrum 3 Virtuous speech; Spectrum 4 Virtuous conduct; Spectrum 5 Virtuous involvement; Spectrum 6 Virtuous effort: to keep the mind free from evil and devoted to good; Spectrum 7 Virtuous contemplation and Spectrum 8 Virtuous meditation: to achieve an awareness of internal selflessness and external detachment.

Buddhist concerns are more ethical than metaphysical, focusing on human suffering which is considered as inherent in life itself. Suffering can be dispelled only by abandoning desires such as ambition, selfishness, envy and greed. "Detachment is key," the local master seng (Buddhist monk) would repeat his favorite utterance to young Wu Zhao and her sisters. Buddhists take vows against killing, stealing, falsehood, unchasteness and intoxication. They practise self-confession and try to live austere, ascetic lives with the objective of achieving nirvana, a state of blissful detachment which, when attained permanently, known as pari-nirvana, brings an end to the otherwise never-ending cycle of earth-bound rebirths through transmigration of the soul. The Four Exalted Truths of Buddhism (Fo Jiao) have helped devotees deal with the tribulations of life, The Third Exalted Truth: Sorrow subsides when desire wanes has application to modern market economy. A basic Buddhist tenet: the secret of happiness is not getting what you want, but wanting what you get.

The reasons for China's popular embrace of Buddhism (Fo Jiao) are complex. They would be subject to constant, endless re-assessment. One commonly acknowledged reason is that Buddhism, while of foreign origin, shares commonality with both Daoist and Confucian concepts that are indigenous to Chinese culture. The passive side of Buddhism is Daoist which practises contemplation and promotes self-awareness. And the active side of Buddhism is Confucian which advocates respect for authority and submission to propriety. Furthermore, Buddhism (Fo Jiao) has provided, as it evolves in China, elaborate, colorful ceremonies welcomed by one aspect of the collective Chinese character, hitherto suppressed through centuries of Confucian social restraint and Daoist self-denial.

Most of all, Buddhism fills a void left by traditional ancient Chinese religious concepts, which are centered rigidly around the trinity: 1) Heaven (Tian) - God, 2) Son of Heaven (Tianzi) - Emperor and 3) The Hundred of Surnames (Baixing) - People.

Heaven (Tian) is the abstract symbol of all things supernatural and authoritative, much like the manner in which the imperial court is referred to as the authoritative and decision-making body of the secular empire. God, a term which has no exact equivalent in the language of polytheistic Chinese culture, has its closest translation as Tiandi (King in Heaven) who is the highest god. Heaven as a realm is believed to be inhabited by a clan of gods and spirits (shen-gui), with hierarchical ranks, headed by Tiandi, similar to the Greek hierarchical community of gods headed by Zeus. The secular huangdi (emperor) is the Son of Heaven (Tianzi), and the people, known as the Hundred Surnames (Baixing), are wards of huangdi. The people do not enjoy the privilege of directly communicating with Heaven, the domain of gods headed by Tiandi. The people's duty is to pay homage to the Son of Heaven who alone possesses the privilege of communicating with and thanksgiving to Heaven. The most solemn ritual in Chinese feudal culture is the fengshan rites. It is a ritual that confers Heaven's abdication of authority on secular affairs in favor of huangdi. Thus religion in China, before the arrival of Buddhism, had merely been a spiritual sub-system of the secular world. It was a spiritual extension of the rigid hierarchy of the ancient Chinese socio-political realm. Buddhism provides a previously unavailable outlet of direct religious expression for the common people. It introduces participatory religious experience in Chinese society. Whereas, in the context of the rigid Confucian social structure, Daoism (Dao Jia) provides the Chinese people with introverted individual spiritual freedom, Buddhism provides them with extraverted collective spiritual liberation, independent of communal hierarchy. Daoism allows the individual to contemplate privately, freeing him from the mental tyranny of an all-controlling culture, while Buddhism allows the people to worship independently, freeing them from the pervasive control of a rigid secular socio-political hierarchy.

The term religion in the Chinese language is composed of two characters: zong-jiao, literally meaning ancestral-teaching. Until the spread of Buddhism (Fo Jiao), religious experience for the Chinese people had been limited to reverence towards the spirits of their departed ancestors. Buddhism has provided for the average devotee with direct access to god without requiring a denial of reverence for ancestral spirits. Until the introduction of Christianity, the Chinese would not be required by religion to deny the spirituality of their ancestors. This demand for the rejection of ancestor worship would be a key obstacle preventing Christianity from becoming a major religion in China. Incidentally, even in Christian theology, God is translated in Chinese as Shangdi, meaning the King Above. It is an celestial echo of the supreme ruler in the secular political system.
>From its beginning, Buddhism has taken on an anti-establishment posture
which it would moderate as it develops in China but would never totally abandon. Traditionally, at the early part of an emperor's reign, as soon as his rule is firmly established, he would perform the elaborate and formal fengshan rites. These Confucian rites of theocratic feudalism involve the paying of tribute by Tianzi (Son of Heaven) as huangdi (emperor), on behalf of his baixing (hundred surnames), namely the people, to Tian (Heaven) where the head god Tiandi (King in Heaven) reigns. Through the fengshan rites, the huangdi (emperor) receives tribute and accept loyalty pledges from his vassal lords on behalf of their many minions and subjects throughout the empire. Anyone beside the huangdi performing religious rites directly to Heaven would be committing forbidden acts tantamount to treasonous usurpation. Buddhism (Fo Jiao) breaks the monopolistic hold of the huangdi (emperor) on religious celebration and opens it to all for the taking. Little wonder Buddhism has spread like wild flowers. By breaking down hierarchical the religious monopoly implied by Confucian fengshan rites, Buddhism in its early history in China unwittingly contributes to the further crumbling of the foundation of a feudal hierarchy already in decline. Buddhism's populist theology bolsters the emergence of a secular structure in the form of a centrally-managed empire, replacing autonomous local authority. In this new secular structure individuals can participate more freely in social functions unrestricted by traditional local hierarchy. The Buddhist notion of nirvana runs parallel to the concept of the Mandate of Heaven (Tianming). Ironically, by claiming that a state of nirvana could be earned through religious devotion by any deserving member of society, it implies that the Mandate of Heaven can also be earned by any deserving hero. Thus Buddhism invites periodic and recurring suppression from paranoid emperors who feel obliged to adopt anti-subversive measures against Buddhism, in order to defend the imperial claim on the Mandate of Heaven from challenges by ambitious members of the aristocracy who are Buddhist devotees. While Buddhism (Fo Jiao) serves as the fountainhead of the idea of open access for all to spiritual salvation, such universal access is dependent on the grace of detachment as examplified by Buddha. This idea is akin to the detached central authority in an empire structure with the grace of a distant emperor who is less involved with the details of daily living of his subjects. It is less akin to the archaic hierarchical feudalism of autonomous local lords who control every detail of the lives of his fief. Thus Buddhism facilitates its own growth at the same time it provides the philosophical justification for the flowering of a distant centralized political order in a complex, multi-dimensional society. The development of such a benign centralized political structure, first budding in imperial China in the fifth century, gathered unstoppable momentum around the seventh century. The Buddhist concept of universal open access to nirvana has socio-political implications. It helps shift politics from being a contest among competing feudal lords refereed by an arbitrating huangdi (emperor), to the beginning of an empire-wide power struggle based on class interests. Since people are no longer dependent on their feudal lords for achieving the state of nirvana, they no longer feel inseparably bound to their lords in secular life. Gradually, merchants in the service of a particular feudal lord would find stronger common interest with other merchants in the service of competing lords than their traditional commitment to clannish feudal loyalty. Before long, the same would become true for farmers, scholars, artisans and other tradesmen. And with the tacit encouragement of expanding central power, people begin to look to the huangdi as a higher authority to champion universal justice and to protect their separate class interests. They also look to Buddhism (Fo Jiao) to enhance the moral posture of class solidarity against the Confucian demand for absolute hierarchial loyalty towards their local lords. Thus the spread of Buddhism ushers the arrival of an age of strong central imperial authority on top of traditional feudalism with local autonomy. Through the spread of Buddhism, an empire-wide standard now overshadows fragmented local autonomy on basic issues of proper human relationship, justice and social order. Simultaneously however, Buddhist insistence on a clear separation of ecclesiastical authority from secular control causes constant conflict between the central authority of the dragon throne and independent minded Buddhist fundamentalists. This conflict is exploited by freewheeling members of guizu (the aristocracy) for secular political purposes, particularly those in the south where greater physical distance from the capital has translated into greater local autonomy. The founding sovereign of the Tang dynasty adopted a policy of state preference for Daoism which provided an additional factor in the complex conflict between Buddhism and the state.

This is the first part. More later

Henry C.K. Liu



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