Differences between Chinese Buddhism and Indian Buddhism

Title: Differences between Chinese Buddhism and Indian Buddhism
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Introduction to Buddhism
Introduction
Buddhism is a religious tradition and life for many across the globe. It draws us closer to the inner world through meditation and teaching its followers on how to spiritually develop themselves. Attaining an ultimate status of awareness is essential so as to have wisdom and be kind. It doesn’t believe in paying homage to a creator god rather it is pretty straightforward and practical. It’s more or less like a chain reaction: every single act has an effect. Besides, if one lives by the teachings of Gautama (Bailey, 1990), one can acquire that state of a Buddha.
Buddhism is a guide to behave, be responsible, be honest and doing this all with a mind of peace, harmony, compassion, and sharing. Buddhism is the opposite of conservatism and does not wish to force other people into believing and relying on oneself to obtain a higher state of awareness and the capacity to truly understand the nature of things. People are the focus point instead of the traditional belief that we worship and give our lives over to a creator. People from all walks of life and with diverse religious beliefs seek inner peace, true happiness and enlightenment. This path to eternal peace is the bonding that ties many religions together. These religions require paying homage to a figure of higher power or to God like Christianity. However, it is possible to live a morally upright life and arrive at that position of inner peace even without a belief to a spiritual figure or God. Buddhism is an alternative religion for reaching that point of enlightenment without paying homage to God and reading Holy Scriptures. A Buddhist is able to live suffering free life when nirvana is reached through choosing to be a better person and following the teachings of Buddha.
Buddhism in India
It was founded in India around 500 BC by a spiritual leader Siddhartha Gautama who was later known as Buddha. He discovered suffering and that he was not happy as a wealthy man. At twenty nine, Siddhartha decided that he needed to discover how one may overcome suffering. “He deliberated on books for six years with a group of five ascetics, practicing austerities and self- mortifications; however, his practices were so astounding that soon the five ascetics were followers of Siddhartha” (Boeree 2000). When Siddhartha realized that he needed to find medium between the life of self- mortification and luxuries, the ascetics left him, assuming he had given up. Siddhartha Gautama then traveled to a village where he sat under a certain bodhi tree and made the decision to stay there until the answers to his questions came to him. Days passed as he sat there, deep concentration so as to clear his mentality of all interruptions, then in mindfulness contemplation opening him up to the reality. He then began to remember all his preceding lives, and see clearly all that was happening in the universe. It was on the full moon of May when the morning star was rising that Siddhartha eventually found the answer to his query of suffering and hence became the Buddha: “he who is awake” (Boeree 2000).
Gautama decided to teach his path to illumination when the king of gods, Brahma, convinced Buddha by suggesting to him that some of us have only a little dirt on our eyes and could awaken if we heard his story. ’ In a deer park he preached his first sermon to the group of five ascetics his first started his practices with; this sermon called “setting the wheel of the teaching in motion”’ (Boeree 2000). Buddha elucidated to them the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths; they then became his first of over 330 million followers of Buddhist philosophies. Siddhartha Gautama died at the age of eighty under a grove of sala trees. The last words he uttered were “Impermanent are all created things; Strive on with awareness.”All Buddhists (Chinese and Indian) have their faith built on three pillars: the Buddha himself, his teachings, called the dharma, and the religious community he founded, called the Sangha. Buddhist believes in Siddhartha as being the Buddha and the story of his journey to enlightenment. Although Buddha wrote no books, he taught his followers, and they taught their followers, who in turn did the same. Buddhists have considered his teachings although all his disciples cannot agree on them. It is for this reason that there is no Buddhist Bible. Most Buddhists can agree on certain teachings. They do agree that the Buddha taught that pain, suffering, and unhappiness must be expected as a natural part of life. Men expect only happiness and therefore they are disappointed when they do not receive it. To avoid this disappointment, the Buddha taught that one should expect nothing. Buddha also teaches that if one knows the cause of unhappiness, one also knows the cure. He further states that one can escape unhappiness by getting rid of all selfish desires (Bowker 2000).
The man who understands the whole truth and accepts it will understand that he should never steal or cheat or grow angry. He will not stir up trouble by repeating hurtful things. The man who understands what the Buddha taught will ”bear the burdens of those who are tired and weary,” and he will “harm no living thing” (Buddha 423b ).Once a Buddhist is able to be rid of their selfish desires, life becomes very precious to them; so precious in fact, that most Buddhist would not kill a fly but rather catch it, and release it outdoors. Buddhists also have faith in the Sangha. Sangha was founded by Buddha and is a place where Buddhists take refuge in it as the perfect life. No matter what sect of Buddhist one may be, all Buddhist share the faith in these three key parts of Buddhism (Jurhi 1990).
There are many different types of Buddhism found around the world but three of the largest groups are Theravada, or Hinayana Buddhists, Mahayana Buddhists, and the Zen Buddhists. Theravada Buddhists, Theravada meaning “the way of the elders,” believe that every man must find his own path to nirvana, inner peace. No one is to help him, not even spirits or gods. Buddha did all that one person can do for others; he showed civilization what they must do for themselves by setting an example. The Mahayana, which means “the greater vehicle,” thought that the Theravada was only part of the teachings of Buddha’s, thus given the name Hinayana: “the little vehicle.”
Mahayana Buddhists preach that men should follow the example of Buddha by doing good to others. Another belief of these Buddhists is that the Buddha is a god who aids and protects those who pray to him and call upon him. They also believe that men can call upon a number of good spirits, called Bodhisattvas, who devote themselves to helping anguishing mankind. (Buddha 423b).The Zen Buddhists have different beliefs from those of the Hinayana and Mahayana Buddhists. Zen Buddhists say little concerning spirits and gods but in fact, they say that it is impracticable to explain the teaching of Buddhism in words at all. Either you understand what enlightenment is, or you do not. The Zen believes if you don’t understand, there is nothing that can be said to make it clear to you. Besides these three different Buddhists groups, there are over sixty different Buddhists groups in Japan alone. “Since Buddhism includes such a variety of branches, it has been described as a group of religions and of ways of thinking rather than a single religion” (Buddha 424b).Although Buddhism is classified as a religion, it is actually more of a philosophy to live by. Buddhism is a way of looking inside to find that path to inner peace. A journey where the path chosen has to be discovered from a much deeper place in oneself than just read from a book. Buddhism is a very wise philosophy and a good way to choose to live life. One could find the path to enlightenment through the methods of Buddha.Religion, beliefs, and inner peace are three very controversial subjects. Religion and belief go hand and hand and both are a big part of the journey to inner peace. Buddhism, both religion and philosophy, has been around many years and continues to spread throughout the world. When looking for a morally good way to live life, Buddha’s journey to enlightenment is a great example to follow. No belief in a creator, spirits, or demons is required. To reach that point of enlightenment, Buddhism suggests finding the cause of one’s suffering by clearing the mind of all things and then one can know the cure for suffering. This way of life is much more realistic than Christianity and gives more grounds to follow. Buddhism is a philosophy one can live by.
Buddhism in China
Buddhism entered China some few centuries after the death of Buddha. It was during the era when Confucianism and Taoism were the religions of a country that competed India in historical antiquity and also in cultural pluralism. At its early stages of its entry, it did not find many followers in China. However, in the 2nd century, due to the simplicity of its approach and its similarities with Taoism, it gained firm foothold hence a sizeable following.
The arrival of Buddhist scholars form India and other parts of central Asia such a...