The case of buddhism:
-From India to Japan
- Begins from nepal and spread to southern asia and slowly to Japan
-All religions change when they came into a new culture.
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Four nobel truths:
- Misery
- Miser arises within us from desire
- Desire can be eliminated
- By following the proper path
The idea that there’s misery in life. (im always miserable)
2. We wish to be comfortable.. Example : the prof desires to be comfortable
The prof can choose not to desire. He can eliminate the desire
The eight fold path:
GOOD
- Views
- Aspiration
- Speech
- Conduct
- Livelihood
- Effort
- Mindfulness
- Meditational attainment
Buddhism in india
- Spreads through north india
- Becomes ashoka religion
- He becomes buddhist after conquering to india
- He sends missionary to other country
- Division Theravada and mahayana buddhism
- Buddhism spreads to china via central asian trade routes
- Arrives in china around the beginning of the common era.
Buddhism in china
- Early is oriented towards magic
E.g myth that laozi have been reborn in india as the buddha
During HAN period:
- Monks used by rulers as counselors and for their magical skills
- Buddhism becomes a part of the intellectual life of the chinese elite
- Translation of buddhist sutra into chinese
When the sui reunite china, buddhism flourishes as a stat religion.
People who comes to china during this period when buddhism is flourishing would get influence by the power of the buddhism.
The emperor who were usually daoist but they supported buddhism.
Government extends control to monasteries and ordination.
- Scholars and monks travel to india return with text and teaching to china.
- The golden age in china comes to close when wuzong beings persecution of temples and shrines. Monks and nuns are forced to return to laity.
Buddhism in korea:
Flourish but after that it gets persecuted.
From korea to japan.
Buddhism in Japan:
Officially arrive at 538 and 552
Immigrants who are from the continet have already practice buddhism.
What happen in jaapnese. Originally called “kami” of the foreign lands.
The best definition is that kami are forces beyond human understanding.
E.g mount fuji can be kami
People can be kami as well.
Buddhism may be rejected by others. Thinking they are plagues.
Kami of foreign land but not kami of our land.
Politics and religion combined
Matsuri= religious rites (now festivals)
Matsuri - got (goto=thing) meant “politics” now use seiji
Emperor was a high priest, sun king and a rice king
Buddhism intrudes, many uncomfortable.
Early buddhism:
Becomes a technique of the government
Prayer for the success of the state, emperor
Emperor combines power of buddhism and shinto in self.
Things that came with buddhism:
- Mounment architecture
- Medicine
- Caldentrical sciences
- Organised philosphical system
- Writings
Buddhism is a religion of books thus it brings in writing thus during the nara period.. Writing was extremely popular.
The great buddha of nara
By building this buddha, the shomu emperor was proclaiming his right to rule as he is a descendant of amaterasu and creator of vairochana.
Its a religion for the upper classes in nara.
Some scholars such as kukai.
Not a religion of the common people.
Alot of statues in nara are medicine buddha are popular in nara.
Kamakura buddhism
3 main group: zen,pure land and nichiren
Zen popular with samurai: meditation, concentration = good preparation for killling people
Nichiren and pure land provides easy path to enlightenment
Call on the power of others: the lotus sutra, amida buddha
Other power leads to enlightenment
Anyone can follow
Becomes main forms of japanese buddhism even until the present
Understanding the spread if buddhism spread:
Look at tales e.g Konjaku monogatari-shu
Translate to ima ha mukashi(time is now the past)
Almost all end with “ so the tale has been told and so the tale has been handed down”
If your a learning person, you bet on a learning monk.
Written down before 1150
Its forgotten but was popularise from the 18th century onwards
Influential on 20th century artist such as akutagawa kurosawa
5 volumes of tales in india
5 volumes about china
21 volumes about japan
A few tales involving korea
This is the world in japan’s 12th century geography is the buddhist geography.
History is buddhist history
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