Confucianism Vs Buddhism
The Tang and Song Dynasties of China were marked by tumultuous conflict in which two philosophies competed for dominance. The native ideology, Confucianism, attempted to flush out the foreign, burgeoning belief system called Buddhism.
Confucianism was founded by the Chinese teacher and philosopher Confucius around 500 BCE (Ebrey). After Confucius’s death, the ideology spread all across China and began to play an important role in forming Chinese character, behavior, and way of living. Its primary purpose is to achieve harmony, the most important social value (“Cultural Beliefs ...”). Its goal is to achieve structure in society by establishing basic rules that would govern the interactions between fathers and sons, spouses, ancestors, etc. …show more content…
The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha’s teachings, though they leave much left unexplained. The First Truth identifies the presence of suffering. The Second Truth, on the other hand, seeks to determine the cause of suffering — material possessions, illogical desire, and ignorance (“Basics of …”). The Third Noble Truth, the truth of the end of suffering, suggests that suffering in any life is ended when one has achieved Nirvana, the transcendent state free from suffering (“Basics of …”). The Fourth Noble Truth charts the method for attaining the end of suffering, known to Buddhists as the Noble Eightfold Path. These paths can be divided into three simple categories: good moral conduct, meditation and mental development, and wisdom or insight (“Basics of …”). With the help of Indian emperor Ashoka, who championed Buddhism and sent missionaries abroad to spread the …show more content…
The most damaging to the fortunes of Buddhism was the growing campaign of Confucian scholar-administrators to convince the Tang rulers that the large Buddhist monastic establishment posed a fundamental economic challenge to the imperial order (Stearns 263). State fears of Buddhist led to measures to limit the flow of land and resources to the monastic order and led to the destruction of thousands of Buddhist monasteries and shrines.
Were these philosophies so different that Confucianism would be threatened by the presence of Buddhism?
Confucianism and Buddhism are considered to be parallel to each other. They both are widely analogous in their teachings and ideas. They both considered education as part of life, since education is important for the enlightenment and improvement of a person. The philosophies also value, respect, and consider the elderly to be the wisest. However, the ultimate goals of these two ideologies differ greatly.
The goal of Confucianism is to have a structured society while the goal of Buddhism is to attain enlightenment and be released from the cycle of death and rebirth, thus attaining Nirvana. Confucianism concentrates on proper etiquette, reverence, love within the family, righteousness, honesty, trustworthiness, benevolence toward others, and loyalty to the state. On the other hand, Buddhism focuses on escaping suffering by dispelling one’s cravings and
Confucianism was founded by the Chinese teacher and philosopher Confucius around 500 BCE (Ebrey). After Confucius’s death, the ideology spread all across China and began to play an important role in forming Chinese character, behavior, and way of living. Its primary purpose is to achieve harmony, the most important social value (“Cultural Beliefs ...”). Its goal is to achieve structure in society by establishing basic rules that would govern the interactions between fathers and sons, spouses, ancestors, etc. …show more content…
The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha’s teachings, though they leave much left unexplained. The First Truth identifies the presence of suffering. The Second Truth, on the other hand, seeks to determine the cause of suffering — material possessions, illogical desire, and ignorance (“Basics of …”). The Third Noble Truth, the truth of the end of suffering, suggests that suffering in any life is ended when one has achieved Nirvana, the transcendent state free from suffering (“Basics of …”). The Fourth Noble Truth charts the method for attaining the end of suffering, known to Buddhists as the Noble Eightfold Path. These paths can be divided into three simple categories: good moral conduct, meditation and mental development, and wisdom or insight (“Basics of …”). With the help of Indian emperor Ashoka, who championed Buddhism and sent missionaries abroad to spread the …show more content…
The most damaging to the fortunes of Buddhism was the growing campaign of Confucian scholar-administrators to convince the Tang rulers that the large Buddhist monastic establishment posed a fundamental economic challenge to the imperial order (Stearns 263). State fears of Buddhist led to measures to limit the flow of land and resources to the monastic order and led to the destruction of thousands of Buddhist monasteries and shrines.
Were these philosophies so different that Confucianism would be threatened by the presence of Buddhism?
Confucianism and Buddhism are considered to be parallel to each other. They both are widely analogous in their teachings and ideas. They both considered education as part of life, since education is important for the enlightenment and improvement of a person. The philosophies also value, respect, and consider the elderly to be the wisest. However, the ultimate goals of these two ideologies differ greatly.
The goal of Confucianism is to have a structured society while the goal of Buddhism is to attain enlightenment and be released from the cycle of death and rebirth, thus attaining Nirvana. Confucianism concentrates on proper etiquette, reverence, love within the family, righteousness, honesty, trustworthiness, benevolence toward others, and loyalty to the state. On the other hand, Buddhism focuses on escaping suffering by dispelling one’s cravings and