In the Han dynasty those who supported Buddhism and looked at it positively were those who did not hold high ranking positions in the government. Documents 1, 2,
3, and 5 were all written by people who did not have positions in the government or any great influential positions and also these documents all had positive views on
Buddhism. In Buddhism there were the Four Noble Truths which eventually lead to The
Stopping of Sorrow. This Stopping of Sorrow leads to eventually being at peace and it is the whole goal of Buddhism. This idea is expressed in document 1 and in a way talks positively about Buddhism because it mentions that eventually there will be no more sorrow for one. The second document then discusses how Buddhists would eventually be rewarded with entering Nirvana. Nirvana was the extinction of desire and individual consequences which was the whole goal of Buddhism. This document give a sense of fulfillment of Buddhism and makes it seem wanted so therefore, is a positive view. The third document unlike the other takes more of a defensive on Buddhism. It is a Q&A and
Buddhism is defended when it is asked why Confucious did not mention some of the the teachings of Buddhism. The fifth document talks about Confucious, Loazi, and Buddha.
It praises all three and their religions because they adapted to the what society needed.
The religions also were good because they encouraged good deeds. Even though it talks about 3 different religions it does praise Buddhism as one of the great religions.
When Buddhism spread to China there were also very negative responses. Han
Yu, an official at the Tan imperial court, speaks about how Buddhism and Buddha did not belong in China. He says that if Buddha would have gone in front of the court he would have probably been exiled. He is not at all a supporter of Buddhism because it is not proper since it does not talk about China’s kings or all their moral beliefs. Tang
Emperor Wu also took a stance against Buddhism. He disagreed with Buddhism because as many people started to convert they stopped their work. Buddhism appealed mostly to lower classes who did the labor because Buddhism taught them to do nothings. Wu saw this as evil and a threat and therefore had negative view towards
Buddhism. Both these views were expressed in document 4 and 6 in which one can see were written by high