After China entered the Han Dynasty, as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty opened up the Silk Road, Buddhism was gradually introduced to China from Central Asia. Later it was introduced to North Korea and Japan from China.

Buddhism originated in India. After China entered the Han Dynasty, as Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty opened up the Silk Road, Buddhism was gradually introduced into China from Central Asia. Later it was introduced to North Korea and Japan from China. Because Japan has no translation of Buddhist scriptures, its Buddhist culture completely comes from ancient China. This article will briefly introduce how the early Japanese Buddhism was influenced and developed by the export of Chinese culture.

The Great Buddha of Kamakura in Japan

The birth of Chinese Buddhism

The earliest record of the introduction of Buddhism to China appears in "Three Kingdoms·Book of Wei": Western Han The first year of Yuanshou of Emperor Ai (2 BC), The great Yueshi envoy Yi Cun dictated the "Buddha Sutra" to his disciple Jing Lu. The record of China's active pursuit of Buddhist scriptures is in the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty: Biography of the Western Regions": "The emperor then sent his envoy Tianzhu to inquire about Buddhism and Taoism."

Since then, Buddhism has blossomed all over the land of China. For this reason, the Han Dynasty officials have successively built large temples (such as Luoyang White Horse Temple ). During the late Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period, the construction of temples became popular among the people (for example, the Chongxuan Temple in Hudu is also today's Jing'an Temple in Shanghai).

Shanghai Jing'an Temple

With the beginning of the troubled times in the late Han Dynasty and the unification of China in the Sui Dynasty, hundreds of years of war made the people at the bottom miserable. Buddhist principles such as reincarnation and good and evil karma were increasingly accepted by the general public, so Chinese Buddhism also ushered in a period of great development. At the same time, the displaced people began to migrate. It was also during this period that Buddhism began to be introduced to Japan from the people through the Korean Peninsula.

The early stage of the introduction of Buddhism to Japan (Han and Tang Dynasties in China)

There is a Japanese Buddhist classic called "Rui Yue Yao Ji" which records that after the Han Dynasty royal family came to Japan in 299 AD, they promoted Buddhism in Omi Kingdom (today Shiga Prefecture ). Later, because of his contribution to the country in teaching Buddhism, he was named Mitsu Hyakue by the Emperor. However, this classic was written after the founding of the Nichiren sect in Japan, so the credibility of such an event is not high. But what can be seen from this record is that the exposure of Japanese people to Buddhism actually started long ago.

So, when did Japan come into contact with Buddhism at the national level? This issue is actually very clearly recorded in ancient Chinese books: "Book of Sui·Biography of the Kingdom of Japan": "Respecting Buddhism, seeking Buddhist scriptures in Baekje, then there are texts." The meaning of this passage is that at the national level, Japanese Buddhism was introduced from the ancient Baekje Kingdom, and the specific time is recorded in the " Japanese book" "Book of Chronicles" Volume 19: "In October of the 13th year of Emperor Qinmei's reign, King Seongmyeong of Baekje sent the Ji family in the west to present a gold and bronze statue of the Buddha."

Soon thereafter, a decades-long power struggle began between the Soga clan and the Monobe clan, the two most powerful officials in the Japanese court. Among them, the use of Buddhism also started a battle between worshiping Buddhism and suppressing Buddhism. Although the final result ended with the victory of the Soga clan who worshiped Buddhism, Buddhism was not completely accepted by the Japanese people. This is because the main folk belief in Japan at that time was Shintoism, and there was an obvious ideological conflict between Shintoism and Buddhist thought. This phenomenon did not fundamentally change until Prince Shotoku sent envoys to the Sui Dynasty.

"Book of Sui·Biography of the Kingdom of Japan" records: "I heard that the Emperor Haixi Bodhisattva revived Buddhism, so he sent dozens of pilgrims and ascetics to study Buddhism." Such records show that the reason why Shi Shi came to Sui Dynasty was largely due to the prosperity of Chinese Buddhism in the Sui Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty, when ancient Chinese civilization and national power were at their peak, the spread of Buddhism also ushered in its most glorious period. Especially during the Zhenguan period of Emperor Taizong , Xuanzhang's return from India to learn Buddhist scriptures shocked the entire East Asian world.

Xuanzang Buddhist scripture collection site: Nalanda, India (now Bihar, India)

Since then, the number of monks engaged in translating Buddhist scriptures and spreading Buddhism has also increased. After the news reached Japan, Japan used the whole country to send envoys to the Tang Dynasty to study Buddhism.

And these envoys to the Tang Dynasty included a large number of monks.This is because on the one hand, monks can copy a large number of translated Buddhist scriptures and bring them back to Japan. On the other hand, it is related to the Japanese court nobles’ understanding of Buddhism. In Japan at that time, everyone from the court nobles to the common people believed that Tang Dynasty was synonymous with the most advanced culture in the known world. While monks were studying Buddhism in the Tang Dynasty, they could also introduce a large amount of advanced culture, which would not only improve Japan's backwardness in all aspects at that time, but even help maintain its rule.

For this reason, not only many envoys sent to the Tang Dynasty spared no effort to learn the Buddhist culture of the Tang Dynasty during the Tang Dynasty. Moreover, the Tang Dynasty also gave a large number of Buddhist scriptures and Japan at this stage. There are two main forms of this kind of gift:

1. Japan’s request for a gift, and Tang Dynasty’s response to the gift. The most famous among them should be the monk Xuan Fang who was sent to the Tang Dynasty. According to the records in "The Later Chronicles of Japan", this monk brought back a large number of Buddhist scriptures and statues in the 22nd year of Kaiyuan.
2. The Japanese court nobles requested monks from the Tang Dynasty to travel to Japan to preach. A large number of the invited monks themselves brought a large number of Buddhist classics with them. The most familiar representative monk is probably Jianzhen. These classics were later left in Japan.

As a result, many of the envoys to the Tang Dynasty who returned from their studies founded their own sects, such as Kukai in "The Legend of the Demon Cat".

"Cat Demon" movie screenshot

Kukai was born in of today's Kagawa Prefecture. He studied Confucianism in his early years, and was later influenced by Buddhism among the nobles. Together with another Japanese monk

Saicheng, he was sent to the Tang Dynasty as an envoy. He visited eminent monks from all over China, and then received the Pregnancy Collection Sutra and Diamond Sutra initiation at Qinglong Temple in Chang'an. He also learned Sanskrit and Chinese calligraphy. Before returning to China, the Tang Dynasty gave him more than 200 scriptures and 80 relics. After returning to China, he built an altar in Kaohsiung Mountain Temple to practice Dharma and spread Tantric Buddhism. Later, Koyasan Kongoji Temple and Heiandong Temple were built, creating the Japanese Shingon sect.

However, the export of Buddhist culture to Japan during the Sui and Tang Dynasties ended after the Anshi Rebellion . The next output will start from the Song Dynasty.

The middle and late period of the introduction of Japanese Buddhism (Song Dynasty, China)

In the early Northern Song Dynasty , China had just experienced many years of war. Although the Buddhist exchanges between China and Japan at this time were mainly Japanese monks entering the Song Dynasty, their purpose was no longer to seek Buddhist scriptures, but to practice Buddhism and visit famous Buddhist mountains in China. For example, Enran, a monk from Todaiji Temple in Japan, entered the Song Dynasty in the eighth year of Taiping and Xingguo's reign (983). In the autumn of that year, he studied Tiantai sect at Kaiyuan Temple in Taizhou. He also went to Guoqing Temple in Tiantai Mountain to visit, and then went to Kaifeng to visit Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty. Emperor Taizong summoned Nian Ran, gave him purple clothes, and kept him in the Xingguo Temple in Taiping.

Todaiji Temple in Japan

There are even Japanese monks who passed away in the Northern Song Dynasty. The most famous among them is Cheng Xun, a monk from Dayun Temple in Japan. In the fifth year of Xining (1072), he entered the Song Dynasty and visited Mount Wutai, and after obtaining many scriptures, he visited Song Shenzong. Shenzong gave him purple clothes. Afterwards, Cheng Xun stayed in the Song Dynasty for the ninth year, and passed away in Kaibao Temple in Bianjing in the fourth year of Yuanfeng (1081).

Of course, there are also many sects and sects. Especially Zen.

The Japanese monks who entered the Song Dynasty mainly studied Zen Buddhism in the Song Dynasty, so that Zen Buddhism developed rapidly in Japan. The founder is Rongxi, a Japanese monk. He visited the Song Dynasty twice. The first time he visited Tiantai Mountain and Yuwang Mountain, and brought back many scriptures and Buddhist scriptures. When he entered the Song Dynasty for the second time, he began to study Zen Buddhism. After returning to Japan, he built Shofukuji Temple in Hakata, Kyushu Island, and soon built Kenninji Temple in Kyoto, and Jufukuji Temple in Kamakura. Since then, many of his disciples have visited the Song Dynasty many times to obtain various Buddhist scriptures.

Summary: The "localization" of Buddhism in Japan

Before Buddhism was introduced to Japan, the main belief of the Japanese came from Shintoism. After the introduction of Buddhism, in order to "localize" Buddhism, Japanese monks and court nobles began to preach the unity of God and Buddhism. During the Heian period, wars began to become frequent. The "reincarnation of life and death" in Buddhism began to transform into curing diseases and demons in this life and praying for health.During the Kamakura period, Jodo Shinshu began to advocate that monks should be the same as secular people, and monks could eat meat and marry wives. In the end, monk soldiers appeared to protect the temple land.

Such "localization" is actually far from traditional Chinese Buddhism. As time went by, Japan formed a unique Buddhist culture. In the long process of historical development, Buddhism, which has gradually been integrated with local culture, still plays an immeasurable role in Japanese society.

Kinkakuji Temple in Japan

References

Research on the Study Abroad Monks among the Envoys Sent to the Tang Dynasty

Research on the Eastward Spread of Buddhism to Japan in the Sui and Tang Dynasties

html Buddhism in the 16th Century Internal and external opportunities for introduction to Japan

An exploration of the localization process of Japanese Buddhism

On the characteristics of ancient Japanese Buddhism

A comparative study of Japanese monks who came to China during the Tang and Song Dynasties

The way in which Buddhist classics of the Tang Dynasty were spread to Japan