Conflict and Harmony between Buddhism and Chinese Culture

Abstract

When Buddhism was first introduced to China in the Han dynasty it met with a highly developed culture and civilization centered on Confucianism which emphasized on family life and society. Therefore, Buddhism faced a great challenge in its transmission and development in China as the Chinese way of life was very different from that of Buddhist. Although there had been conflicts among the three systems of thought namely Confucianism, Daoism and Buddhism, but integration is the mainstream in the development of Chinese cultural thought as both Buddhism and Chinese thought uphold the open attitude of mind. Buddhism assimilated many Chinese elements such as ancestor worship and the emphasis on filial piety. Daoism became a religion by assimilating Buddhist monasticism, ideas and thought and rituals and Confucianism revived itself and became neo-Confucianism by assimilating many Buddhist thought and ways of thinking. Thus, Chinese culture has developed into a system by uniting the three religions into one with Confucianism at the centre supported by Daoism and Buddhism. For over two thousand years, Buddhism has interacted with all levels of Chinese culture such as literature, philosophy, morality, arts, architecture and folk religions and beliefs. As a result, Buddhism has successfully integrated into the traditional Chinese culture and has become one of the three pillars. In this paper, I will concentrate on the intellectual exchange between Buddhism and Chinese culture and outline the major issues from the historical perspective.