DBQ-Buddhism Essay

Submitted By krish1234567789
Words: 721
Pages: 3

DBQ-Buddhism

Buddhism was gradually bought to China but not all of the Chinese residents accepted these new philosophies because it sharply contradicted with Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism. Buddhism philosophies are accepted by the lower classes, shot down by higher classes, and many middle classes compare the teachings of Buddhism to other religions that were dominant in this time period. Buddha preached about four noble truths in his first sermon, and why there are sorrows and how to react to the sorrows. This document is unbiased because it is quoting what Buddha taught to his disciples. Peasants, who are used to suffering, accept these teachings because it is in their best interest to not react. Aristocrats are not in the best interest, because Buddha’s teachings say there are no responsibilities and no hierarchy in Buddhism. However there are exceptions to aristocrats not accepting Buddhism, because during the time when China was invaded by the Central Asian Steppe Nomads, Zhi Dun, a Chinese scholar accepted Buddhism. This leads to the conclusion that Buddhism is accepted by high officials and aristocrat families when in times of low economic prosperity. Zhi writes a biased document because his writing supports Buddhism by stating that if you do not follow the teachings there is no way you can reach the desired land. Both documents share common beliefs of Buddhism. In comparison with Confucianism, a Chinese scholar from 500 C.E. is for Buddhism and calls it useful. This is bizarre because it would be thought that high ranking officials would root for Confucianism and not Buddhism; Buddhism is very different from Confucianism because the teachings of Buddha do not incorporate having families and children, where as the teachings of Confucius strongly state that family is the most important thing. This scholar however feels that there is no way to have answers to every question, and Buddha’s teachings do not have to be the attack of Confucius’s theories in all of his writings. The anonymous scholar clearly supports Buddhism and he believes that the teachings of Confucius lead to us wanting more material objects to be happy. Buddhism philosophies say inaction and simple living is the right way. There are obvious conflicts between the two philosophies, but biased document 3 persuades the reader to follow Buddhism. Zong Mi, a Buddhist Scholar says that all three philosophies make sense in their own way. Yet, Mi is defending Buddhism by saying that Buddha’s teachings shouldn’t be any less respected than the teachings of Confucius and Laozi. This Buddhist Scholar believes in equality and respect for different philosophies. Peasants accepted Buddhism while higher ranking officials were against Buddhism. Han Yu believes that Buddhism was illegal. Han Yu was an aristocrat family man. Therefore, he did not want Buddhism teachings to prevail, since Buddha’s teachings