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China and Buddhism - The Way We WereBy Derek Dashwood While Indian Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, died in BC 486 his teachings did not reach into China until AD 286. As usual this journey was a long and difficult route. Their route was to go to the west and up over the lower shoulder of the vast Himalayan Mountains. This would be them down on the ridge of the high and barren Tibetan Platea. Moving eastward they would have made their way down into the Gobi Desert. As this was now the Silk Road there were occasional places for respite,food and water. Therefore the first Chinese provinces to meet Buddhist priests was China's western most province Xiinjiang. From there Buddhism spead from the ancient capital of Changan and inward to Louyand in Henan province. By the time of the Sui dynasty (581-618 BC)Buddhism became the state religion of China. Communism since it came to power has tried to blend what they can from Buddhism or Confucian beliefs, with limited success. Confucian ways work better with Communist ideals. Like the worker bee that that state wants, they are getting educated free thinkers. And for these free Buddhist thinking workers now sitting in parks in a lotus meditating position makes some thing inside authority very nervous. The exciting thing is this drama is happening real time, and we think the issue of individual freerom of expression or fear will be changing the world. It is happening while we speak, and mostly it is all so for the good. Buddhists anywhere, same as the other religions should have the right for assembly. Today many different sects are active in China. Although the Communist Party denies religion, modern China is allowing assembly of people for the purposes of religious thought and expression. Zen Buddhism is Japanese and emphasizes reaching enlightenment through contemplation. This is Chang Buddhism in China. In China the Shaolin Temple in Henan Province is the most famous monastary in China. While tens of thousands of tourists come yearly to experience the wonder of this place, active Zen or Chang warriors are also training on the site out of the view of the tourists. The Zen, or Chang Buddhism teaches that careful paying attention to live's basic truths reveal peace. Buddha discovered that our suffering is because of our want of things we do not have, thus we are miserable. Buddha became enlightened when he discovered the truth of human existence is based on suffering because of our desires. To free ourselves of suffering and the cycles of life and birth that humans must ensure, one should follow the eightfold path. The Eightfold Path: Right view, right resolve, right speech, right livelihood,right effort,right mindfulness, right concentration, and right action. How you make this something of importsance to your will be your path. Chinese antigues shop reasoning about ageless mysteries of the soul. About the author Derek Dashwood enjoys noticing positive ways we progress, the combining of science into the humanities to measure life at Chinese Antiques |
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