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Buddhism in China

  • Chinese Esoteric BuddhismIn the fifth century, a text called the Modengqie jing arrived in China. Zhu Lüyan translated this work containing dhāraņīs into Chinese.
  • Pure Land BuddhismIn 153 CE, an inscription in Gandhara bore the name of Amitabha Buddha, marking one of the earliest known references to this figure.
  • TiantaiIn the 6th century, a Chinese monk named Zhiyi stood on Tiantai Mountain in Zhejiang province and began to weave together centuries of Indian Buddhist…
  • Humanistic BuddhismTaixu, a Buddhist modernist activist and thinker, used the term Buddhism for Human Life in early 20th century China. The first two characters human and life…
  • Chan BuddhismIn the late fifth century, a Central Asian monk named Bodhidharma arrived in China to teach a special transmission outside scriptures.
  • Buddhist cuisineKing Ashoka issued rock edicts around 257 BCE that banned animal sacrifices across his Maurya Empire. These ancient inscriptions suggest a vegetarian…
  • DharmaguptakaThe word Dharmaguptaka combines two Sanskrit terms. Guptaka means preserver. Dharma refers to law, justice, or morality.
  • Chinese BuddhismBuddhist missionaries began bringing Buddhism to China during the Han dynasty, and the religion was present in China at the beginning of the common era.