Buddhism in China

Sakyamuni, the Founder

Sakyamuni (释迦牟尼, 565 B. C. - 486 B. C.) was born 2,500 years ago. He lived in the same era as Confucius. His hometown was in Old India in the vicinity of Nepal and he had a life of 80 years. As a descendant of a royal family, he had a good education and a happy marriage.

出行, 修道 (chuxing, xiudao, practicing Buddhism) was his childhood ambition. When he was young, he had a leisurely and luxurious life, but he felt hollow in his heart and aimless in life. And gradually he grew upset with the religious authority of Brahmanism (婆罗门, Poluomen) and the Caste System (种姓制度, Zhongxingzhidu) then. Legend has it that when he was 29, he came across a very sick old man during his tour around the country, which made him understand that the misfortunes that a man suffered—old age, illness, and death were what people had to face during their lifetime. Meanwhile, he happened to meet a Buddhist monk who taught him the way to escape these misfortunes which was to cultivate himself according to religious doctrine (修行, xiuxing). Then Sakyamuni was determined to learn from well-known masters. And for six years, he had been staying among people of all walks of life, creating his philosophical views on the life of people.

During the latter part of his lifetime, he lived in the central and northern part of India, propagating his religious teachings. Because of the sense of responsibility in his teachings, he soon formed his sect of religion and had masses of believers throughout the country. At the age of 80, he died under a tree. When cremated, his bone ash, honorably titled “舍利” (sheli), were treasured by many kings as precious Buddhist relics. His religious doctrines were recorded and sorted out into three categories, i.e., “经” (jing, Sutra), “律” (lv, Discipline), and “论” (lun, Analects), which were titled “三藏” (sanzang, Threefold Canon) later. Sakyamuni himself was later respectfully addressed “如来” (rulai, the right fruit), and “佛” (fo, consciousness) was held up as “佛祖” (fozu, Buddhist patriarch).

Buddhistic Doctrine - “the Four Significance” (四谛, sidi)

Buddhist doctrine is rich and complicated. Its essence is named “四谛, which include “苦谛” (kudi), “集谛” (jidi), “灭谛” (miedi) and “道谛” (daodi). The Four Significance was rumoured to be the doctrines devised by Sakyamuni when he was under the bodhi tree (菩提树, puti shu). The Four Significance represented the Buddhist views on life.

“谛” means the “true essence.” “苦谛” tells that human life is after all full of bitterness and is not free from “谛” means the “true essence.” “苦谛” means that human life is after all full of bitterness and is not free from the torture of the lot of men—birth, old age, sickness and death (生, 老, 病, 死, sheng, lao, bing, si). “集谛” means that human desires, both physical and mental, are the cause of endless agonies and sufferings that a man experiences throughout his life. “灭谛” refers to the Buddhist expression of the “end of suffering,” as the character “灭” implies “death.” According to Buddhist doctrines, “灭” is the ultimate and the most ideal state of humans. After death, humans are free from agonies and worldly worries and he or she would have the opportunity to thoroughly remold themselves. “道谛” forbids humans end their life at will. Only if one’s words, actions and thoughts are in accordance with Buddhist doctrines can one transcend worldliness and attain holiness (超凡入圣, cao fan ru sheng) and get the right fruit (修成正果, xiu cheng zheng guo).

“四谛” are brilliant fantasy, as no one, for many years can reach that paradise although he has been a constant and firm follower of Buddhism.

Order and Degree of Buddhist State 

The Buddhist world is rigidly stratified. The highest degree is “佛,” meaning “觉悟” (juewu, consciousness, awareness). “觉悟” includes 1) self-awareness; 2) make others fully aware of; and 3) a thorough and complete awareness of Buddhist doctrine. An ordinary human does not possess the “three awareness”, but “佛” do. A Buddha is able to attain the first two stages of awareness, and normal believers can only attain the first awareness.

“菩萨” (pusa, Bodhisattva) is known for its “mercy and kindness.” He has full awareness of himself and can awaken others but has yet attained the highest and satisfactory state (最高境界, zui gao jing jie). It is said that Sakyamuni called himself “菩萨” before he attained the title “佛.”

In the eyes of ordinary Buddhist believers, “佛” is too high the status to reach, so they regarded “菩萨” as a more attainable goal, who is responsible for “relieving all living creatures of torment” (普度众生, pu du zhong sheng). In China, “观音” (Guanyin) is the most popular among the Bodhisattvas, as she has more worshippers. “文殊” (Wenshu), a Buddha always seen sitting on a lion, is the symbol of wisdom, eloquence, and bravery. In paintings, “普贤” (Puxian) is always sitting on a white elephant. He symbolizes charitable, pious deeds and satisfactory Buddhist practice. Another Bodhisattva, “地藏” (Dizang), with a tin stick (锡杖, xizhang) on his right hand and prayer beads on his left, wants to relieve all living creatures of their sufferings. These four “菩萨” are collectively called the “Four Great Bodhisattvas” (四大菩萨, sida pusa ) in China.

Ceremony and Festivals

When Buddhist believers meet each other or show respects to “佛,” they usually make salutes. Normally Buddhist monks would bow and murmur “南无阿弥陀佛” when they meet. Sometimes they would hold high their hands and make a bow putting their palms together. The most respectful etiquette in Buddhism is called “五体投地 (wuti toudi), prostrating oneself before somebody in admiration.”

Monks in China often chant “南无阿弥陀佛” (namo emituofo). “南无” reads like “namo,” meaning “salute.” When monks chant, it means their thoughts have already come over to “佛.” “南无” is usually used before different Buddha, e. g., “南无观世音菩萨.” “阿弥陀佛” (emituofo, Amitabha) is the founder of the religion of the Land of Ultimate Bliss (西方极乐世界, xifang jile shi jie). He is also called “接引佛” (Jieyinfo), whose mission is to lead the One, chanting the name of the Buddha, to the Land of Ultimate Bliss. Having close contacts with believers, “阿弥陀佛” is much loved and respected.

There are many festival celebrations about Buddhism. The most important one is called “浴佛节” (Yufojie), which celebrates the birthday of Sakyamuni. It usually falls on the 8th day of the 4th lunar month. For Tibetans and Mongolian tribes, the celebration is on April 15th. Significant activities are held to recite and chant Buddhist scriptures. On this festival, Sakyamuni’s statues are put in water with incense to cherish the memory of him.

“成道节” (Chengdaojie) is the important celebration hold in memory of Sakyamuni for being a Buddha. Legend “成道节” (Chengdaojie) is an important celebration held in memory of Sakyamuni the Buddha. Legend has it that before becoming a Buddha, Sakyamuni was devoted to practicing Buddhism for a few years and was as lean as a rake because of hunger. He was about to quit when he met a shepherdess who gave him her lunch-porridge cooked with all kinds of rice. After the meal, Sakyamuni soon felt recovered from the exhaust and had a bath in the river. Afterward, he sat under a Bodhi tree in deep thought and turned into a Buddha. That day happened to be on the 8th of the 12th lunar calendar month. Therefore, “成道节” is also called “腊八节.” On that day, people would have Laba (腊八) porridge in memory of the outstanding achievements of the Buddha.

Another important festival is called “涅槃节” (Niepanjie), which is held to commemorate Sakyamuni’s death. In China, Korea, and Japan, the day falls on the 25th of the 2nd lunar calendar month when monks gather in temples to chant Buddhist teachings and make offerings to Sakyamuni.

In Southeast Asia, people celebrate the “维莎迦节” (Weishajiajie) to celebrate the birth, enlightenment and Nirvana of Sakyamuni. In Tibet of China, a similar festival “萨噶达瓦节” (Sagedawajie) is held on the 15th of April according to the Tibetan calendar.

Four Famous Buddhist Rites

The Four Great Bodhisattvas mentioned above all have their own mountains where they would sometimes reveal themselves to ordinary people. The four mountains are referred to as the Four Buddhist Rites (道场, daochang).

“道场” is a special term in Buddhism, meaning “the place where the Buddha or Bodhisattva is likely to make its presence or power felt (显灵, xianling) and expound its teachings (说法, shuofa).” When you ask the Chinese people about what they know about Buddhism, they would often reply “如来佛祖”(the Buddha) in the West. Also, they pay great respects to the Four Great Bodhisattvas sent to the East by “如来佛祖.” Throughout the history, the mountains of “五台,” “普陀,” “蛾眉,” and “九华” are considered as the Buddhist Rites of the four Bodhisattvas.

“五台山” (Wutaishan, Mount Wutai), situated in the northeast of Shanxi Province, has five high mountains whose peaks are somewhat flat like platforms, hence the name. The earliest temple “显通寺” (xiantongsi) on this mountain was built in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 A. D.—220 A. D.).

“普陀山” (Putuoshan, Mount Putuo) is a small island of Zhoushan Archipelago (舟山群岛, Zhoushan qundao). It is recorded that a Japanese monk in the year 916 went to get a Statue of Buddha Guanyin in Mount Wutai. On his way back to Japan, by way of Mount Putuo, his ship ran on rocks because of strong wind. Believing that Buddha Guanyin had made her presence and power felt, the pious Japanese monk dared not to move further east to Japan, but stopped at Mount Putuo to build temples. Since then, Mount Putuo is believed to be the place where Buddha Guanyin is likely to expound the teaching and to save those living in misery. Mount Putuo is also called “海天佛国” (haitianfoguo, Buddhist World Beside the Sea).

“峨眉山” (Emeishan, Mount Emei), is located in the southwest of Emei County, Sichuan Province. People believe that Buddha “普贤” once lived there. It is also called “光明山” (Guangmingshan, Mount Guangming) because people can always see at noon “the colored rainbows” in the water vapor there. Monks and ordinary people used to consider it as “佛光” (foguang, lights from the Buddha). On the top of the mountain, there is a pond, where the Buddha “普贤” is believed to have bathed. Therefore, the pond is named “洗象池” (xi xiang chi).

“九华山” (Jiuhuashan, Mount Jiuhua) is located in the southwest of Qinyang County, Anhui Province. It is in essence a fault-uprising belt. It is said that 1,500 years after Sakyamuni’s death, Buddha “地藏” was born in the Korean peninsula. In the year 653 of the Tang Dynasty, he swam across the seas and arrived in Mount Jiuhua where he practiced Buddhism for more than ten years. Legend has it that “地藏” become a Buddha in the “月身殿” (yue shen dian) of Mount Jiuhua. So there are many temples today in Mount Jiuhua where people worship the Buddha.

The Precious Hall of the Great Hero and the Buddha

The Main Hall (正殿, zhengdian) in the temple usually has a solemn air. On the horizontal inscribed board (區额, Bian e) are four brightly shining characters “大雄宝殿” (da xiong bao dian, the Precious Hall of the Great Hero). Usually, three giant and towering Buddha statues are enshrined and worshipped here.

“大雄” is a respectful address to Sakyamuni and is the honored title to the supreme founder of the religion coined by old Indian Buddhists. It implies the “supreme wisdom and bravery and the ability to conquer all monsters of Sakyamuni”

The three Buddhas in the Hall represent three parts of the Buddhist world. Sakyamuni sits in the center, in charge of the whole Buddhist world. Buddha “药师” (Yaoshi) sits to the east of Sakyamuni. He is in charge of the east colored glaze world (净琉璃世界, jing liuli shijie). Buddha “阿弥陀佛” (emituofo, Amitabha) sits to the west of Sakyamuni and is in charge of the Western Paradise.

Sakyamuni is popularly called Buddha “如来” or Buddha “大佛,” since he is the founder of Buddhism. Buddha “药师” is also named “大医王佛” (Dayiwangfo, an expert with medicine), who vows to ward off people’s calamities and prolong their lives. He holds a “法轮” (falun) in his hand, commanding the good and evil retribution of the human world (善恶报应, shan e bao ying). He also decide where one would go after his death based on his lifetime practice in Buddhism. “阿弥陀佛” is also called “弥陀” (mituo). Today when monks and Buddhist believers pray and murmur “南无阿弥陀佛,” they are in fact presenting their respects to the “阿弥陀佛”. It is said that if people always murmur the name of the “阿弥陀佛”, they will be free of worldly worries and be led to the Western Paradise in the afterlife.

In the main Hall of the Precious Hall of the Great Hero, sometimes, there is just one Buddha statue. In some temples, there are five or even seven. The poses of the Buddha may also vary in different temples.

18 and 500 Arhats

In temples, people may find a group of statues in different models and poses. In some temples, there are 16 statues while in others there may be as many as 500. These statues are called “罗汉” (luohan, arhats).

“罗汉” are brilliant students of Bodhisattva and they rank higher than monks. After a certain period of practicing Buddhism, monks can be promoted to arhats. They are not so powerful as Buddha or Bodhisattva and are sent by Buddha to the human world, helping people in trouble and misery.

There are many sayings about how many arhats there should be. In temples today, there are usually 18 or 500 arhats statues. According to historical records, there are 16 at first, and two more are added in the Song Dynasty. People name the two arhats “降龙” (Xianglong, Dragon-subduer) and “伏虎” (Fuhu, Tiger-tamer).

Emperors in Chinese history had wanted to become one of the 500 arhats. Emperors in the Qing Dynasty had firm beliefs in Buddhism, so they called themselves “老佛爷” (Laofoye, Old Buddha). In a temple in Xindu County, Sichuan Province today, there are two arhats named after two emperors, i.e., Emperor Kangxi (康熙) ranking 295, and Emperor Qianlong (乾隆) ranking 360.

Buddha Guanyin—the Savior

“观音” (Guanyin) is formally called “观世音” (Guanshiyin). To avoid the name “李世民” of a famous emperor in the Tang Dynasty, “世” is then omitted. When Sakyamuni named him “观世音,” he wanted “观世音” to hear the voices of the human world. Whenever asked by people who worship him, he will come to relieve them of agony and misery. After they died, “观世音” would take them to the Western Paradise. So in the Guanyin Hall, there are usually horizontal boards inscribed with the characters “普度众生” (pu du zhong sheng, relieving all living creatures of torment), “慈航普度” (ci hang pu du, the Savior) and “救苦救难” (jiu ku jiu nan, the Benevolent), etc.

“观音” has the most worshippers among the Buddhas. His father “阿弥陀佛” (emituofo, Amitabha) and his brother Buddha “大势至” (Dashizhi) and himself are firm followers of Sakyamuni. It is believed he will make his presence and power felt in Mount Putuo in Zhejiang Province.

“观音” is more often seen in temples as a lady in a white gown. Sometimes her statues has many hands or many eyes. Originally, however, Buddha Guanyin is a male with a long beard. Whatever the images, Guanyin is believed to have many incarnations around the world, so that he could help those in need at any time.

There was a popular saying in the Northern Song Dynasty (960 A. D.—1127 A. D.) that Guanyin was the third daughter of Emperor Chu (楚王) in the Spring and Autumn Period (春秋, 770 B. C.—476 B. C.). The Emperor had three daughters, and Guanyin was the youngest named “妙善” (Miaoshan). When the emperor was deadly ill one day, nothing could cure him but his own daughters’ blood and flesh. Hearing this, the first two daughters refused to help, but “妙善” want to sacrifice herself to save her father’s life. It deeply moved the God who then made her a Buddha.

Xuanzang—Acquiring Scripture in the Western Heaven 

As described in the novel “Journey to the West” (《西游记》, xiyouji), monk Tang (唐僧, Tangseng) went through many difficulties in order to acquire Buddhist scriptures from the Western Paradise. In the Tang Dynasty, there was, in fact, an actual Buddhist named “玄奘” (Xuangzang) who did went to the birthplace of Buddhism.

“玄奘” is the religious name of a famous Tang monk. He is respectfully called “三藏法师” or “唐三藏.” He renounced his family (出家, chujia) at the age of 13 and was initiated into monkhood (受戒, shoujie) at 21. Many years later, he became a prestigious monk and traveled around China to hold lectures about Buddhist teachings. During the process, he found that the translated Buddhist scriptures (佛经, fojing) too difficult to understand. Therefore, “玄奘” was determined to go to India—the birthplace of Buddhism—to learn from the best of the Indian monks.

In the year 629 A. D., “玄裝” started traveling westward from “长安” (Chang’an). He went through the wild Gobi, the endless desert and overcame all kinds of difficulties. After he arrived in India, he spent the next five years studying and traveling in India, and discussing Buddhist theories with well-known Indian scholars.

Xuanzang’s westward journey lasted 17 years and covered a distance of about 50,000 li. After returning to Chang’an in 645 A. D., he devoted himself to the translation of the Buddhist scriptures he brought back. In 20 years he had translated 1,335 volumes of Buddhist scriptures and translated many Chinese classics into Sanskrit (梵文, fanwen). He was considered as one of the greatest translators of Buddhist scriptures in ancient China.

In the year 664 when he passed away, more than 1 million people went to his funeral and more than 30, 000 people stood as guards at the bier (守灵, shouling). Many Buddhist scriptures he acquired are still kept in “大雁塔” (Dayanta, Dayan Pagoda) in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province today.

Jianzhen (鉴真)—the Eminent Monk

Like “玄奘,” Jianzhen is another eminent monk in the Tang Dynasty. He made a great contribution to the development of Buddhism and the cultural exchange between China and foreign countries. But unlike “玄,” who went to the West to acquire the scripture, Jianzhen went east to Japan. He propagated Buddhism there and became a Master of the Law (大法师, Dafashi) in Japan.

Much influenced by his father, who had firm belief in Buddhism, Jianzhen renounced his family in Dayun Temple (大云寺, Dayunsi) in Yangzhou when he was only 14. After years of hard work, he became Master of the Law and had more than 40,000 disciples.

Invited by Japanese overseas students, Jianzhen had made several attempts to sail to Japan. Though China and Japan are close neighbors separated by only a strip of water, there were significant difficulties and many risks if one wanted to visit Japan 1,000 years ago. Jianzhen failed in his first attempt in March 743 A. D. because of huge waves at sea. He had tried three times in the two years followed without success. He made his 5th attempt in June 748 A. D. from Yangzhou, but the ship soon came across huge waves near Zhou San Archipelago, and the ship lost control and drifted along for 14 days before reaching the southwest of Hainan Island! Five years later, when Jianzhen made his last attempt to Japan, he was an old man of 65 with two blind eyes. Undaunted, he went with dozens of people out to the sea. In spite of the storms this time, he finally succeeded.

The second year after arriving in Japan, Jianzhen started to build temples in “奈良” (nailiang) and to recruit monks and priests. He was later awarded “Great Master of the Law” by the emperor of Japan. He died in 763 A. D. in the temple he built.