Original text: —— Translation: The World of India and the Mundane Realm Are Originally One - Han Buddhism and Folk Customs

Author: Li Lin (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-07-01
Features: The history of the spread of Indian Buddhism in China is both the history of its integration with Chinese culture and the history of its "Sinicization." "Sinicization of Buddhism" refers to the absorption, rejection, and transformation of Buddhist culture by traditional Chinese culture, as well as the simultaneous changes and transformations Buddhism underwent due to the influence of Chinese culture. In many chapters of this book, we can see: the influence of Chan Buddhism on folk customs, as well as the transformations Buddhism itself underwent due to the "counter-influence" of Chinese folk culture—often undergoing a radical transformation during the Song Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, Chinese Chan Buddhism no longer, like in the Tang Dynasty, insisted on upholding a certain order of meaning to guide the faith of the entire society. Instead, it merely passively adapted to the existing social order, serving as a supplement to Confucian governance and Taoist self-cultivation. This supplement, stripped of a saving spirit and left with mere form, was merely an attempt to find a fleeting solace between ambiguous reality and illusory ideals.