Zen in the East, Zen in the West -- Sincere Understanding: Sincere Understanding

Author: Zhang Zhijun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: To promote Buddhism in serving reality better in the new era, and to encourage more people to recognize and participate in Life Zen, over the past ten years, with the kind care and strong support of the China Buddhist Association and the Hebei Provincial Committee of the CPC and the Provincial People's Government, the Hebei Buddhist Association has focused on "Life Zen Summer Camp," and so on. Although we have achieved some results and received positive responses both within and outside the Buddhist community, this is merely a starting point, and there are still many things that need to be continued. Many scholars often say, "Buddhism originated in India, developed in China, and bloomed in Japan. Every time I hear this, I can't help but feel many emotions. Before the Song Dynasty, Buddhism in our country was very developed, with eight major sects in the Ming Dynasty, among which Chan Buddhism is highly Chinese in character and capable of reflecting the original intentions of the Buddha as one of the major sects. At that time, the lineage of Chan Buddhism almost covered the entire southern and northern regions of China and spread eastward to Japan and South Korea, and southward to Vietnam and other places. After the Southern Song Dynasty, Buddhism in our country began to gradually decline. In modern times, the influence of Buddhism became even smaller. Why did this happen? The reasons are multifaceted. I think one of the main reasons may be related to the practice of Buddhism in later periods of China being detached from social reality.