EXPANSION OF BUDDHISM IN THE NORTH

MILAN SHAKYA
Chakupat, Lalitpur

EXPANSION OF BUDDHISM IN CHINA

In the third Century BC, King Asoka came to power and encouraged the spread of Buddhism.
He did not only order the setup of a special organization charged with the task of spreading
Buddhism but also built Buddhist temples and pagodas and sent many senior monks far and wide
to disseminate Buddhism. Buddhism was spread at the time mainly along three lines: Sri Lanka
to the south, Myanmar to the east and Kashmir and northern Pakistan and the southeastern part
of Afghanistan to the north. On the northern line, there was the Kusana Dynasty (50-300 CE.)
whose ruling line descended from the Yue Zhi, a people, as nomads living in the western part of
Gansu province, Northwest China, at the beginning of the 2nd Century BC and later ruled over
most of the northern subcontinent, Afghanistan, and parts of Central Asia. The support given by
the Indo-Scythian King Kaniska of the Kusana dynasty (78-120 CE.) activised the Buddhist
expansion within a vast region that extended far into the Central Asian heartland and into
Xinjiang of China.

Legend has it that Emperor Ming ti of the Eastern Han Dynasty (64 AD) had a dream one
day of a flying golden deity with light ring over the bald head. The second day, he summoned his
officials and asked them who that deity was. An official named Fu yi who as known to be a
person who know all strange things, told the emperor that there was a person known as Buddha
in the west who was very tall, had golden skin and a light ring over his bald hear. Emperor Ming
felt that he should not take it lightly and dispatched emissaries headed by Cai Yin to the western
area to seek Dharma or the law. What the soothsayer Fu yi referred to was in face Sakyamuni
Buddha.

It is said that the head of the emissaries, Cai yin met Kasyapa Matanga and his companion
Gobharana from the central Asia and invited them to Luoyang in the present day Henan
Province, China. After Matanga arrived in Luoyang, Emperor Ming treated him with great
ceremony and invited him to translate Buddhist scriptures at the White-horse temple outside the
western gate of Luyang City. He and his companion Gobharana translated a lot of Buddhist
scriptures. The first works completed was what is known as the Sutra of the Forty-two sections.

When Cai Yin met the two Central Asian monks, he also found a painted image of Sakyamuni
and he took it back to Luoyang. Emperor Ming recognized that that was the very golden flying
deity with a light ring over the bald head that appeared in his dream and he ordered a painter to
paint another copy for worshipping. This is believed to be the first Buddha's image in China.

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The first documented translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese occurs in 148 CE
with the arrival of the Parthian missionary An Shih Kao in China, probably on the heels of
the Kushan expansion into the Tarim Basin. An Shi Kao established Buddhist temples in Loyang
and organized the translation of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese, testifying to the beginning of a
wave of Central Asian Buddhist proselytism that was to last several centuries. Most of these
early translations were of Hinayana texts. Traces of Buddhist iconography can also be seen in
works of art from this period.

Mahayana Buddhism was first propagated into China by Kushan Lokaksema (Ch: 支 ,
Zhi Chen, full name 支樓迦讖 var. 支婁迦讖 Zhi Loujiachen, active ca. 164–186 CE), the first
translator of Mahayana sutras into Chinese.

Despite the fact that the Later Han Dynasty broke apart in the last half of the second century,
splitting China into northern and southern parts, the Chinese interest in Buddhism did not
diminish. Through the work of innovative figures like Dharmaraksa, a Chinese-born
Buddhist of Scythian lineage, the process of translating Buddhist texts into Chinese
continued throughout the Western Chin Dynasty (265-316 CE.) and the Eastern Chin
Dynasty (317-419 CE.). During this period, monasteries were established, monks ordained, and
sutras discussed throught the south.

Things were not so calm or prosperous in northern China. Under a number of non-Chinese
barbarian rulers, nonetheless, Buddhism found favor primarily because it was perceived to be a
"foreign" religion, just as the ruling Huns were largely foreign to China. Eager to take advantage
of the monks' knowledge of meditation and the so-called powers derived therefrom, these rulers
were sympathetic to Buddhist needs. It was fortuitous for the fledgling Buddhist community
that sometime around 310 CE. a Kuchean monk named Fo t'u teng appeared in northern
China and gained an influential position in the Later Chao Dynasty, serving as advisor for
more than two decades and largely protecting the Buddhist effort.

Fo t'o teng is known for their two chief disciples, Tao-an (312-385 CE.) and Hui-yuan (334-
416). They encouraged and transacted the translation of a wide variety of Mahayana texts,
supported a growing Buddhist Sangha that now included nuns as well as monks, and fostered an
intellectual atmosphere that was exciting. Consequently by the time of the arrival of
Kumarajiva (344-413), a great Buddhist translator from Kucha, the Chinese Sangha was
prepared for a new infusion of Buddhist ideas from India. This seems to be fostered by the
arrival of Buddhabhadra who spread the Buddhist meditation technique and Vinaya in
China. Buddhabhadra was from Kapilavastu, Nepal who went to China and spread his
Buddhist meditation techinique and translated many Buddhist texts into Chinese like
Avatamsaka and so on.

These early Buddhist translators are generally referred to as Buddho-Taoists because they
imparted their uniquely Buddhist message through a largely Taoist Vocabularly.

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By the time of the Northern Wei Dynasty (386-534 CE.), most of the Buddhist elite had fled
south, continuing their literary activity. Under the northern Wei Dynasty, the Sangha grew
prosperous. Chinese Buddhism had become highly sectarian with the appearance of series of
"classical" schools: (1) Chu-she, founded by Paramartha, (2) Sanlun, founded by Kumarajiva and
Fa hsiang, organized by Hsuan tsang; "scholastic" sects: -1) T'ien-t'ai, founded by Hui ssu and
(2) Hua yen founded by Tu shun; and popular sects: (1) Ch'an, founded by Bodhidharma and (2)
Ching tu founded by T;an luan. It was not until the Sui Dynasty (589-617 CE.) that China was
reunified and Buddhism consolidated.

The high point of Chinese Buddhism occured during the T'ang Dynasty (618-906 CE.). During
this period, monasteries grew and prospered, monks and nuns thrived, and Buddhism, was
profoundly influential in Chinese culture.

In A.D. 629, the Chinese monk Hsuan Tsang left the Tang dynasty capital and traveled west—
on foot, on horseback and by camel and elephant—to India and returned in A.D. 645 with 700
Buddhist texts from which Chinese deepened their understanding of Buddhism. Hsuan Tsang is
remembered as a great scholar for his translations from Sanskrit to Chinese but also for his
descriptions if the places he visited—the great Silk Road cities of Kashgar and Samarkand and
the great stone Buddha in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. His trip was the inspiration of the for Journey
to the West, widely regarded as one of the great novels of Chinese literature.

Yet by 845, in the midst of internal political strife, rivarly between the Buddhists and Taoists
resulted in the most severe persecution of Buddhism in Chinese history. During one year period,
virtually all temples were destroyed, monks and nuns were returned to lay life. texts were
burned, and metal objects were consifcated and melted down. Although the proscription had but
a brief duration, the results were devastating for Chinese Buddhism: the predominantly
intellectual schools of Chinese Buddhism disappeared, the economic base of the monasteries was
completely devastated and the schools of Ch'an and Ching-t'u suffered serious losses, and
Buddhism never regained its previous status in Chinese history.

During the Song Dynasty in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, the Ch’an school rose in
importance. It permeated deep into Chinese culture of that time and even influenced the Neo-
Confucian philosophers who said they despised Buddhism.

Beginning the eleventh century, there was a strong remergence of traditional Chinese
religions, and especially so with respect to Confucianism. During the Yuan Dynasty that
began aroun 1280, China was under Mongol rule, and as a result, Tibetan Buddhism became a
powerful influence in China.

Later under the Ming dynasty (1368-1643), there was a movement toward a unity in the
Buddhist Schools. By this period the preeminence of Chan had been so firmly established
that almost the entire Buddhist clergy were affiliated with either its Lin-chi or Ts'ao-tung
lineages, both of which claimed descent from Bodhidharma.

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The Manchu people (Manchu: Manju; simplified Chinese: 族; traditional Chinese: 滿族;
pinyin: Mǎnzú, Mongolian: Манж, Russian: Маньчжуры) are a Tungusic people who originated
in Manchuria (today's Northeastern China). During their rise in the seventeenth century, with the
help of Ming rebels (such as general Wu Sangui), they conquered the Ming Dynasty and founded
the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until its abolition in 1911 after the Xinhai Revolution,
which established a republican government in its place.

The Manchu ethnicity have largely been assimilated with the Han Chinese. The Manchu
language is almost extinct, now spoken only among a small number of elderly people in remote
rural areas of northeastern China and a few scholars; there are around ten thousand speakers of
Sibe (Xibo), a Manchu dialect spoken in the Ili region of Xinjiang. In recent years, however,
there has been a resurgence of interest in Manchu culture among both ethnic Manchus and Han.
The number of Chinese today with some Manchu ancestry is quite large,[4] and the adoption of
favorable policies towards ethnic minorities (such as preferential university admission and
government employment opportunities) has encouraged some people with mixed-Han and
Manchu ancestry to re-identify themselves as Manchu.

Following the revolution of 1911, in which the Manchu dynasty was toppled and the Republic of
China established, the Buddhist community lost much of its influence. Although a "Chinese
Buddhist Society" was founded in 1929 by a powerful monk-reformer named T'ai hsu, Buddhism
never regained its previous strength. Despite the formation of the Chinese Buddhist Association
under the People's Republic of China (in May 1953), the Communist government of China
effectively truncated the practice of religion in China and closed down practice of religion in
China and closed down all the major Chinese Buddhist monasteries.

Modern Chinese Buddhism

Today the most popular form of Buddhism in both mainland China and Taiwan is a mix of
the Pure Land and Chán schools. More recent surveys put the total number of Chinese
Buddhists between 660 million (50%) and over 1 billion (80%), thus making China the
country with the most Buddhist adherents in the world, followed by Japan. However, it was
difficult to estimate accurately the number of Buddhists because they did not have
congregational memberships and often did not participate in public ceremonies. Many lay people
practice Buddhism and Taoism at the same time.

Buddhism is tacitly supported by the government. The 108-metre-high statue is the world's
tallest of Guanyin Statue of Hainan was enshrined on April 24, 2005 with the participation
of 108 eminent monks from various Buddhist groups in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao and
Mainland China, and tens of thousands of pilgrims. The delegation also included monks from
the Theravada and Vajrayana traditions. China is one of the countries where owns many world's
highest Buddhist statues.

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In April 2006 China organized the World Buddhist Forum and in March 2007 the government
banned mining on Buddhist sacred mountains. In May of the same year, in Changzhou, world's
tallest pagoda was built and opened. In March 2008 the Taiwan-based Tzu Chi Foundation was
approved to open a branch in mainland China.

The central scripture of Pure Land Buddhism, the Amitabha Sutra was first brought to
China by An Shi Kao, circa 148 CE; however, the school did not become popular until
later. The Platform Sutra is the most important sutra for Chán Buddhism, and is
considered to be the only scripture written by an ethnic Han Chinese which is called a
sutra. Theravada Buddhism and Vajrayana Buddhism exist mainly among ethnic minorities in
the southwest and the north.

EXPANSION OF BUDDHISM IN KOREA

Prior to the introduction of Buddhism, Shamanism was the earliest form of religion in Korea.
Buddhism arrived from China in 372 CE. with the appearance of the monk Shun-tao, sent by the
ruler of the Ch’in Dynasty to the Koguryo court of King Sosurim (reigned 371-384), which ruled
the Northern portion of the Korean peninsula. A monastery named Ibullan was built for Shun-
tao, and he was followed by a Serindian monk known as Malananda who spread Buddhist
teaching to the Kingdom of Paekche, in the Southwestern portion of the peninsula, in 384. The
Third of the “three Kingdoms” of Korea, Silla (in Southeastern Korea) was less developed than
the other two, and Buddhism was not accepted until 527 during the reign of King Pophung.
Nevertheless, by the beginning of the sixth century, Buddhism had established its overall
position, and the practice of sending monks to China for texts and teachings was widespread. In
short order, the T’ien-t’ai, Vinaya, San-lun, Satyasiddhi, Nirvana and Hua-yen schools were
prevalent.

great scholar to emerge from the Silla Period was Won-hyo. He renounced his religious life to
better serve the people and even married a princess for a short time and had a son. He wrote
many treatises and his philosophy centered on the unity and interrelatedness of all things. He set
off to China to study Buddhism with a close friend, Ui-sang, but only made it part of the way
there. The legend is that Won-hyo awoke one night very thirsty, found a container with cool
water, drank, and returned to sleep. The next morning he saw the container from which he had
drunk was a human skull and he realized all enlightenment depended on the mind. He saw no
reason to continue to China, so he returned home. His companion, Ui-sang, continued to China
and after studying ten years, offered a poem to his master in the shape of a seal that
geometrically represents infinity. The poem contained the essence of the Avatamsaka Sutra.

Buddhism was so successful during this period that many kings converted and cities/places were
even renamed after famous places during the time of Buddha.

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The Kingdom of Silla conquered Paekche in 663 and Koguryo in 668, establishing the period of
Unified Silla (688-935 CE.), during which time Buddhism became a dominant religion in Korea.
Ch’an Buddhism, known as Son in Korea, was introduced from China by the monk Pomnang
prior to the Silla period Buddhism, and became the most predominant form of monastic
Buddhism. During the Silla period, five Buddhist schools were established, collectively
representing the “Kyo,”or scholastic Buddhist tradition in Korea: the Kyeyul (Vinaya) School,
Hwaom School, Haedong School, Popsang School, and Yolban School. Buddhism reached its
apex in Korea in the Koryo Period (918-1392) through considerable construction projects
sponsored by the government. A significant historical event of the Goryeo period is the
production of the first woodblock edition of the Tripitaka, called the Tripitaka Koreana. Two
editions were made, the first one completed from 1210 to 1231, and the second one from 1214 to
1259. The first edition was destroyed in a fire, during an attack by Mongol invaders in 1232, but
the second edition is still in existence at Haeinsa in Gyeongsang province. This edition of the
Tripitaka was of high quality, and served as the standard version of the Tripitaka in East Asia for
almost 700 years. In the eleventh century, however a great Buddhist scholar named Uich’on
traveled to China, and sought to merge the Son and Kyo traditions into a new school based on
T’ien-t’ai teachings. Uich’on was followed by Chinul (1158-1210), Who became one of the
greatest reformers of Korean Buddhism. Chinul sought to harmonize the great wisdom found in
the Kyo Sutras with the deep wisdom and insight by the Son medition practices. Chinul’s new
order became known as the Chogye Order.

During the Choson or Yi Dynansty (1392-1910) Buddhism suffered as Neo-Confucianism,

adopted from China, became normative. Within several hundred years, Buddhism was severely
suppressed, losing its state support and witnessing a reduction in the number of monasteries and
sects. Eventually the number of sects was reduced to two: a meditation sect and a textual sect. by
1623, monks were barred even from living in the capital, with this proviso remaining in effect
until 1895.

In the aftermath of the Choson Dynasty, the Japanese gradually assumed more and more control
over the Korean life. While the Japanese control over Korea ended following the Second World
War, it was not before the two major sects of Korean Buddhism officially coalesced into one
group known as the Chogye sect in 1935. Religious recovery has come slowly to Korea, but
recent estimates indicate as many as six million Buddhists practicing their faith in South Korea.

Modern Developments

The peninsula was governed by the Korean Empire until it was occupied by Japan following the
Russo-Japanese War of 1905. When the Japanese government annexed Korea in August 1910,
the Choson Dynasty officially ended.

While Buddhism was initially enhanced, allowing monks to travel freely and enter cities for the
first time in hundreds of years, the enthusiasm was quickly erased by the Temple Ordinance of
1911, which placed controlof all Buddhist activities under the Japanese governor-general. In so

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doing the entirety of the Korean Sangha as targeted for control by the Soto Zen school of
Japanese Buddhism. Monks were encouraged to marry resulting in a 1926 ordinance removing
formal rules prohibiting marriage for monastics. Eventually the Kyo and Son schools united into
the Chogye Order in 1935.

Following World War II, when Korea regained its independence, the Sangha was once again
split between those monks who remained celibate and those who did not. Nearly a decade later,
when the government supported a celibate order, violence erupted, and South Korea (in 1962)
once again identified two distinct orders: the original and celibate Chogye Order founded in
1035, and a new group known as the T’aego Order with married clergy. A nuns’ order has been
reestablished in South Korea along with a serious attempt to promote a strong and vibrant
Buddhist culture. In addition Korean groups have begun appearing throughout the Western
world, emphasizing a lay oriented form of Son practice.

Division of Korea

The peninsula was governed by the Korean Empire until it was occupied by Japan following the
Russo-Japanese War of 1905. It was divided into Russian and U.S. occupied zones in 1945,
following World War II. North Korea refused to participate in a United Nations-supervised
election held in the south in 1948. This led to the creation of separate Korean governments for
the two occupation zones.

In this way, Korea was divided in 1948, with the southern portion of the peninsula controlled by
the capitalistic democracy South Korea, formally the Republic of Korea. South Korea is a
member of the WTO and OECD, and home to such global brands as Samsung, LG Electronics,
and Hyundai.

The northern portion is controlled by the single-party communist North Korea, formally the
Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The north follows the unique ideology of Juche, a form
of Communism based on self-reliance. Led by Kim-Jong-il, Chairman of the National Defense
Commission of North Korea, North Korea has close relations with the People's Republic of
China and Russia.

Both North and South Korea claim sovereignty over the entire peninsula, and are officially still
at war with each other, although both were accepted as members of the UN in 1991.

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EXPANSION OF BUDDHISM IN JAPAN

Japan’s indigenous religious tradition is Shinto, generally referred to as the “way of the gods
(kami).” Into this environment, Buddhism was introduced in 538 CE. from Korea, when
emissaries were sent bearing Buddha-images and scriptures. Within half a century, the regent,
Prince Shotoku, declared Buddhism to be the state religion. Some sources even compare Shotoku
to the Indian king Asoka. As such, close ties between the Buddhist Sangha and secular power
were established.
In the Nara Period of Japanese history (710-784 CE.), an extensive program of temple
construction was promoted by Emperor Shomu. Shomu’s daughter Shotoku continued efforts
favorable to Buddhism. During this period, six academic traditions of Buddhism were imported
from China, essentially without modification: (1) Jojitsu, (2) Kusha, (3) Sanron, (4) Hosso, (5)
Ritsu, and (6) Kegon. Study and exegesis of Buddhist texts on Buddhist philosophical matters.
By 794 CE., when the capital was moved to Hein (modern day Kyoto), Buddhism was ready
to blossom in Japan. Consequently, the Heian Period (794-1185 CE.) may be well considered the
high point in Japanese Buddhist history. Two more important Buddhist schools were imported
from China: (1) Tendai, introduced by Saicho (also called Dengyo Daishi) in 805 and (2)
Shingon, introduced by Kukai (also called Kobo Daishi) in 816 CE. Saicho set up a training
temple on Mount Hiei, utilizing a twelve-year training period for those monks who came to study
and meditate with him. His temple prospered, housing as many as thirty thousand monks. Kukai,
on the other hand, established the headquarters of Shingon on Mount Koya, about fifty miles
from the capital. Emphasizing the arts and drawing on his personal brilliance, disciples flocked
to study with Kukai. Combining his writing and systematizing of Buddhist doctrine with a keen
aesthetic sense, Kukai became a court favorite. At one point, Mount Koya was home to almost a
thousand temples, and Shingon became even more popular than Tendai. Nonetheless, by the end
of the Heian Period, both schools became decadent. By the middle of the eleventh century, it was
felt that a period of decline of the Dharma (known as mappo) had befallen Japan.
In the next period of Japanese history, known as the Kamakura Period (1192-1338 CE.), a
rule was conducted by military Shoguns and a warrior class known as Samurai. A number of
new schools of Buddhism arose in this period, perhaps in response to a shift in power from the
capital to the provinces. Local temples were supported, and both power and culture began to
suffuse to the peasant class for the first time. The first new school to appear was the Pure Land
School (Jodo Shu), begun by Honen (1133-1212 CE.). Moved by the notion of mappo, Honon
argued that recitation of the name of Amida would ensure followers of rebirth in the Western
Paradise following their death. Honen’s disciple Shinran (1173-1263 CE.) carried this notion one
step further by suggesting that one could not earn their into the Western Paradise, but rather it
was Amida’s vow to save all beings that produced the desired result. Shinran’s innovation was
thus referred to as Jodo Shinshu or the “True Pure Land” school. Around the same time, a
fisherman’s son known as Nichiren (1222-1282 CE.) founded a new school named after him. Its
basic premise was that the truth of Buddhism was to be found in the Lotus-sutra, with all other
forms of Buddhism being interpretive one. For Nichiren, salvation was to be obtained by reciting
the name of the Lotus-sutra in the following invocation: Namo Myoho Renge Kyo (“Homage to
the Scripture on the Lotus of the Good Teaching”) while staring intently at a diagram known as

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the Daimoku. His program was fiercely nationalistic, intending to deliver the Japanese people
from social and political chaos and ruin. Two major schools of Zen were also introduced during
the Kamakura Period. Upon returning (1191 CE.) from a trip to China, Eisai (1141-1215 CE.)
begain Rinzai Zen in which the primary mode of attaining enlightenment (satori) was the use of
seemingly nonsensical sayings known as koans, aimed at moving the mind beyond
conceptualization to a direct perception of reality. Rinzai was especially successful among the
samurai. More popular with the masses was Soto Zen, begun by Dogen (1200-1253 CE.) upon
his return from China in 1227 CE. In the Soto form of Zen, one practises zazen, or sitting
meditation, with the intention of “just sitting” (known as shikantaza), of manifesting the notion
that one already is a Buddha. Because of its simplicity, it was sometimes called “Farmer’s Zen.”
In any case, the Kamakura Period also witnessed a general development of the arts, and
particularly the tea ceremony, Noh theater productions, and Haiku poetry.
The Ashikaga Period (1333-1573 CE.) divided the country among the feudal lords, leading to
continual turmoil and eventually civil war. Only the Zen monasteries remained peaceful places in
this period. The rest of Japanese Buddhism was singularly militant. Buddhist militancy was
extinguished by the Shogun Nobunaga who destroyed the temples on Mount Hiei in 1571, later
decimating the Shingon center at Negoro and the Jodo Shinsho complex in Osaka.
In 1603 Iyeyasu Tokugawa established a military dictatorship that lasted until 1867. This era,
known as the Tokugawa Period, marked a period when Japan completely isolated itself from the
outside world. Altough there was little religious liberty, various Buddhist schools kept their
traditions alive with scholarship and similar efforts. Encouraged by Shinto nationalism, the Meiji
Restoration began in 1868, lasting upto the Second World War. In the time since 1945, nearly
two hundred new sects have arisen in Buddhism, generally referred to as “new religions” (shinko
shukyo).

Recent Developments

Following Japan’s defeat in World War II, religious life changed dramatically. State Shinto,
which had been hostile to Japanese Buddhism, was no longer in control. The American
occupation provided Japan with a renewed contact with Western culture. The aftermath of the
war offered more than just a new secular role for the government, providing an influx of Western
political, economic and intellectual ideas. Formerly Buddhist Soto and Rinzai schools, for
example, became Komazawa and Hanazono Universities, respectively.

Most significantly, new religions (shinko shukyo) began to appear and flourish. The most
significant of these is Soka Gakkai, or the “Society of Creation of Values,” founded by
Tsunesabaro Makiguchi in 1938. Based on the teaching of Nichiren, it has promoted a seried of
profoundly this-worldly goals and personal well being. More than just a religion, it has
developed a political party known as the Komeito, as well as an international organization
known as Soka Gakkai International, with centers in most of the cities of the Western world.
Soka Gakkai is rivaled by another movement, known as Rissho Kosei-kai, which is also based on
the efficacious teaching of the Lotus-sutra. Founded in 1938 by Niwano Nikkyo and Nagamuna
Myoko, it tries to actualize what the school calls the “seeing self” - identical to the Buddha-

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nature present in all beings - through societal relationships. Each of these groups has afforded a
more equal role to women, offering a more enlightened approach to Buddhism in the modern
world.

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