Spread of Buddhism

While in today's world Buddhism is a popular and well respected religion, its past has had some hiccups though out its existence. Buddhism was founded in India, brought to China and expanded for several centuries. In China, some scholars agreed to the spread of Buddhism. There were also people who disagreed with the expansion of Buddhism in China like Tang Emperor Wu and a Confucian advisor. Lastly, two individuals neither agreed nor disagreed with the spread of Buddhism.

In China some scholars agreed to the spread of Buddhism. Zhi Dun, a Chinese scholar and author, lays out the rules of Buddhism to achieve Nirvana. He believed in serving the Buddha; follow the commandments, and being able to recite the Buddhist Scripture. He said believers need to make a vow to be reborn without forgetting his honest intention, and when the time comes he will be enlightened in his spirit. Since he said this when the central Asian steppe nomads were invading northern China, people started to convert to Buddhism because he was thought to be a wiser and that he knew what he was talking about.( Document 2)It would help to have a document from a person who didn't serve the Buddha that deals with the religion so that historians could better use information to understand what will happen to the people who didn't believe. Like Zhi Dun, Zong Mi was a scholar; he thought that Confucius, Laozi, and the Buddha were perfect sages. They encouraged good deeds, punished the wicked ones and rewarded good ones. All three teachings lead to "orderly societies and they must be observed with respect." Because Zong Mi didn't want Buddhism to be discriminated by the emperor so he tolerated the fact that all religions are equal. (Document 5) Both Zhi Dun and Zong Mi understood the teachings and results of believing in Buddhism.