Buddhism in China

Buddhism and its mythology have formed an important part of Chinese thought for nearly two thousand years.  The religion was brought to China about A.D. 65, ready-made in its Mahayanistic form, in consequence of a dream of the Emperor Ming Ti (A.D. 58-76) of the Eastern Han dynasty in or about the year 63; though some knowledge of Buddha and his doctrines existed as early as 217 B.C.  As Buddha, the chief deity of Buddhism, was a man and became a god, the religion originated, like the others, in ancestor-worship.  When a man dies, says this religion, his other self reappears in one form or another, “from a clod to a divinity.”  The way for Buddhism in China was paved by Taoism, and Buddhism reciprocally affected Taoism by helpful development of its doctrines of sanctity and immortalization.  Buddhism also, as it has been well put by Dr De Groot, [17] “contributed much to the ceremonial adornment of ancestor-worship.  Its salvation work on behalf of the dead saved its place in Confucian China; for of Confucianism itself, piety and devotion towards parents and ancestors, and the promotion of their happiness, were the core, and, consequently, their worship with sacrifices and ceremonies was always a sacred duty.”  It was thus that it was possible for the gods of Buddhism to be introduced into China and to maintain their special characters and fulfil their special functions without being absorbed into or submerged by the existing native religions.  The result was, as we have seen, in the end a partnership rather than a relation of master and servant; and I say ‘in the end’ because, contrary to popular belief, the Chinese have not been tolerant of foreign religious faiths, and at various times have persecuted Buddhism as relentlessly as they have other rivals to orthodox Confucianism.

Buddha, the Law, and the Priesthood

At the head of the Buddhist gods in China we find the triad known as Buddha, the Law, and the Church, or Priesthood, which are personified as Shih-chia Fo (Shakya), O-mi-t’o Fo (Amita), and Ju-lai Fo (Tathagata); otherwise Fo Pao, Fa Pao, and Seng Pao (the San Pao, ’Three Precious Ones’)—­that is, Buddha, the prophet who came into the world to teach the Law, Dharma, the Law Everlasting, and Samgha, its mystical body, Priesthood, or Church.  Dharma is an entity underived, containing the spiritual elements and material constituents of the universe.  From it the other two evolve:  Buddha (Shakyamuni), the creative energy, Samgha, the totality of existence and of life.  To the people these are three personal Buddhas, whom they worship without concerning themselves about their origin.  To the priests they are simply the Buddha, past, present, or future.  There are also several other of these groups or triads, ten or more, composed of different deities, or sometimes containing one or two of the triad already named.  Shakyamuni heads the list, having a place in at least six.