Spring Breeze Twenty Years

Chapter 598 Talking about Buddhism

Speaking of Bodhidharma, let's also talk about Buddhism.

Buddhism was introduced to China during the Yongping era of the Eastern Han Dynasty, flourishing in Luoyang, the capital of Han. The White Horse Temple was built to spread Buddhism throughout the country, and it was promoted by the emperor at the time and became the state religion. However, the Eastern Han Dynasty was not the dynasty with the deepest faith in Buddhism; the deepest faith was held by Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, during the Northern and Southern Dynasties period.

"Four hundred and eighty temples of the Southern Dynasties, how many pavilions and terraces are shrouded in mist and rain." Du Mu's poem "Spring in Jiangnan" realistically depicts the flourishing of Buddhism during the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang. Emperor Wu of Liang, Xiao Yan, was a particularly talented and sentimental poet, and his poems about Jiangnan were included in the Yuefu Poetry Collection.

Emperor Wu of Liang lived to the age of eighty-six, a miracle in an era when the average lifespan was only twenty-something. Later generations believed his longevity was due to his Buddhist faith. How devout was he? He wanted to leave the throne and become a monk, doing so four times, only to be coaxed back by his ministers. But that wasn't the end of it; he said he felt guilty leaving the temple and needed to redeem himself from the Buddha, which cost over four hundred million coins, emptying the national treasury.

His influence on Buddhism was the greatest and most successful in history. First, he extensively built temples, covering the entire country. If it weren't for the ministers' encouragement to expand the temples abroad, it was precisely because of his efforts that the people of the whole country began to worship and believe in Buddhism, allowing Buddhism to spread rapidly and reach new heights.

The second thing is the division of Buddhism into different schools.

Buddhism originally didn't have any strict rules and regulations; it was just a belief and a way of practicing. Think about it: the founder of Buddhism was a prince from ancient India. How could he possibly be so celibate as to create so many strict rules and regulations to torture himself? All he needed was the faith and worship of the masses.

Ancient India was not India, but rather present-day Nepal.

The Buddha's surname was Gautama, also known as Siddhartha Gautama. He belonged to the Shakya clan of ancient India, hence the name Shakyamuni.

Buddhists build monasteries for practice, but they still eat meat and sleep with women as usual, without any taboos. The kind of practice seen in Tibetan Buddhism is considered authentic. Among Buddhists worldwide, only those in China endure such hardship; Chinese people tend to go to extremes when they believe in something.

When Emperor Wu of Liang had nothing to do and wasn't engaged in creative work, he liked to study Buddhist scriptures. One day, he suddenly had an inspiration and wrote a paper saying that Buddhism teaches people not to kill, so how can we eat meat if we don't kill? Isn't eating meat killing? This is contradictory, but the Buddha is not wrong. The one who is wrong must be us, the followers of Buddhism. Therefore, we should abstain from meat.

Furthermore, Emperor Wu of Liang, for some reason, was not fond of women. His record shows that he did not sleep with a beautiful woman for over forty years, which he also wrote about in his thesis. Because he was the emperor, the thesis quickly spread throughout the land. After this thesis was studied by orthodox Buddhists, two schools of thought emerged: one thought it was nonsense, and the other thought it made sense.

Thus, Chinese Buddhism split into two schools. One was Chan (Zen) Buddhism, represented by Bodhidharma and Huineng, which emphasized sudden enlightenment, believing that Buddha is everywhere if one has Buddha in one's heart. It also included things like eating meat, sleeping with women, and casually smashing Buddha statues or starting fires in the temple. Originally, Buddha statues were all made of wood.

Another school is the Pure Land School, which originated with Emperor Wu of Liang and flourished during the Eastern Jin Dynasty under Huiyuan, a native of Shanxi. He preached at Donglin Temple in Jiujiang, established the White Lotus Society, and compiled a large number of precepts, believing that only through strict adherence to the precepts and rigorous practice could one realize true Buddha-nature. Huiyuan's influence was immense; he is revered as the first patriarch of the Pure Land School. Even Japanese Buddhism experienced a split because of him, with some Japanese monks venerating Donglin Temple in Jiujiang as their ancestral temple.

Thus began the monk's miserable life.

Today, Zen Buddhism is practically nonexistent. Domestic Buddhism is monopolized by Pure Land Buddhism, and the scriptures studied are all written by Huineng and his descendants, which are no longer imported. Therefore, Chinese Buddhism and foreign Buddhism have no real connection. People still worship Shakyamuni every day, but I wonder what Shakyamuni Buddha felt.

Huiyuan's influence on history extends beyond Buddhism; he pioneered ink wash landscape painting and Qigong. Indeed, Qigong didn't exist originally; it arose after Huiyuan's emergence. Moreover, this concept of Qigong was essentially a copy of Taoist theory.

Chinese Buddhism is a synthesis of the theories of Emperor Wu of Liang, Confucianism, Taoism, and Yin-Yang philosophy.

So how did Guangxiao Temple, the site of the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism, become affiliated with Pure Land Buddhism? This is a question for Zen Buddhism throughout the country, since historically, Zen Buddhism was the orthodox school.

To understand this, we need to look at several dynasties in Chinese history, especially the two dynasties ruled by ethnic minorities: the Yuan and the Qing.

Let's not go back to the distant past, but start with the Tang Dynasty. Why? Because the Sui Dynasty was too short-lived. Before the Sui Dynasty, as everyone knows, unspeakable historical problems occurred, and the Han people were reduced to "two-legged sheep," creating a historical gap.

During the Tang Dynasty, Li Yuan was a staunch opponent of Buddhism. He once decreed that only one temple could remain in each prefecture, but this order was not implemented after he was deposed, and Li Shimin came to power. As everyone knows, there was a story about eighteen monks saving the Tang emperor during Li Shimin's campaign against Wang Renzhe. Although it wasn't as miraculous as depicted in the play, this event did indeed happen.

After Li Shimin came to power, he changed the style of Li Yuan. He was grateful to Buddhism, appointed many eminent monks, and built some temples, which led to the prosperity and development of Buddhism.

Later, during the Tang Dynasty, an empress emerged who claimed to have been granted permission by Buddha. She not only built temples but also commissioned the creation of various Buddhist statues. Most of the Buddhist statues that survive today are from the Tang Dynasty. The most prominent example is Guanyin, who was transformed from a male figure before the Tang Dynasty into a beautiful and graceful woman – the meaning of which is self-evident.

However, the anti-Buddhist movement in the Tang Dynasty was a nationwide movement. Taoism and Confucianism began to constantly argue with Buddhism, exchanging insults in front of the emperor and producing many excellent articles. Puyi was the main representative of Taoism, and Han Yu was the main representative of Confucianism. Taoism has "Ten Different Ideas and Nine Mysteries", and Han Yu wrote "On the Origin of the Way", which is worth reading.

However, due to the intervention of two great emperors, Li Shimin and Wu Zetian, the suppression of Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty was unsuccessful, so it can be considered a draw. Nevertheless, several new Buddhist temples were built, a large number of eminent monks emerged, and the creation of Buddhist statues was successful, so in effect, the Tang Dynasty won this round. The Maitreya Buddha statue was also created during the Tang Dynasty.

During the Song Dynasty, commerce flourished, people believed in ghosts and gods, and Buddhism and Taoism developed in tandem. Moreover, the Song Dynasty and the Liao and Jin Dynasties fought for decades without any respite, and the government had no time to manage local religions.

The Yuan Dynasty was brutal, with countless deaths. During its rule, China was never at peace; the entire dynasty was spent in constant rebellion and suppression. Zhu Yuanzhang, who ended the Yuan Dynasty's rule, had been a monk, so you can imagine how miserable the lives of monks were back then. The Pure Land School, which adhered to strict precepts, was adept at living a life of austerity and persevered, eventually expanding its territory.

The Ming Dynasty was the opposite of the Tang Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang, who had been a monk, was bullied a lot in the temple. After infiltrating the temple, he deeply resented the temple's encroachment on land, accumulation of wealth, extravagance, and harm to female believers. Therefore, from the beginning of the Ming Dynasty to its fall, he always promoted Taoism and suppressed Buddhism, repeatedly liquidated temple assets, drove out monks, and established Taoism as the state religion.

Unfortunately, the Song Dynasty, due to the rise of Confucianism under the corrupt Emperor Gaozong (Zhao Gou), led to a situation dominated by scholar-officials. This situation reached its extreme in the Ming Dynasty, where a group of shameless literati, who were utterly useless and only knew how to scheme and enrich themselves, leech off the nation and brought down the glorious Ming Dynasty. Not only did they fawn over the Qing Dynasty, but they also slandered each and every Ming emperor in historical records. The Ming Dynasty was the most decadent era for Buddhism.

There is a Ming Dynasty novel of strange tales that we have all read, called "Journey to the West". It is a roar from Buddhists against the government, a written textbook that suppresses Taoism and promotes Buddhism.

During the Qing Dynasty, Buddhism was once again established as the state religion, and even the emperor himself became a monk; Empress Dowager Cixi even proclaimed herself "Buddha." Although the Qing Dynasty actually practiced Tantric Buddhism, a form of Zen Buddhism that did not abstain from alcohol, meat, or beautiful women, Pure Land Buddhism was promoted among the common people. The prevailing view was that observing precepts was beneficial, and a life of purity and few desires made it easier to govern. This is how the current state of Buddhism came about.

As for Guangxiao Temple, when the Qing Dynasty unified the country, they blew up the Guangzhou Imperial Examination Hall and converted Guangxiao Temple into the examination hall. Later, an Eight Banners primary school was established here. After the Republic of China was established, a judges' university was set up here, and later, the affiliated high school of Guangdong University. The Japanese used it as their headquarters, and after they fled, it became a provincial art college, turning into a cradle of artists.

After liberation, this place became the South China People's Academy of Arts. In 53, it was designated by higher authorities to be the residence of the South China Song and Dance Troupe and was converted into a large courtyard. People worked, settled down, and had babies here. The babies born here were affectionately called "little monks".

It wasn't until 1987 that this place was returned to the Buddhist Association, and the monks moved back in, restoring the temple and the sound of chanting. For a full 337 years, it served as an educational base, nurturing countless talents across several disciplines, from those who excelled in the imperial examinations to newcomers in singing and dancing.

Those who believe in Buddhism often recite scriptures.

Reciting scriptures is a good thing; it's a learning process. However, one must understand the scriptures, know their meaning, and comprehend the principles within them. It's not enough to simply recite them over and over without understanding a single word; that's what it means to worship Buddha and seek scriptures. In ancient times, great monks preached by explaining the meaning of the scriptures, detailing each word and phrase, unlike monks today who merely lead people in reading for fun, without even truly understanding the meaning themselves.

Buddha means the enlightened one, the one who knows, as opposed to not knowing. It means understanding everything, that is, having perfect clarity. Knowing is great enlightenment, that is Buddha. It does not refer to a single person or thing, but rather to a state of being.

Becoming a Buddha means understanding life, seeing things clearly, and knowing the truth. It's not about chanting scriptures and calling out Gautama's name every day.

(End of this chapter)