The Transformation From Ancient Buddhism To Modern Buddhism

Religion & Theology
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The Transformation from Ancient Buddhism to Modern Buddhism
Introduction
Buddhism religion is over 2,500 years old and has its roots from India. The religion started as a sway religion of the Hindu in India. Most details explaining Buddha's life and the original teachings are presented in most of the 1st Century BC Buddhist scriptures and are very important in understanding the Chinese Buddhism development. The founder of the Buddhism religion was known as Gautama Buddha who lived between 600-400 BC. After his demise, Buddha together with his followers did not leave behind any writings, but his and teachings, as well as rules for monastic life, were memorized as consequently passed down from generation to another through an oral tradition (Sharf 2002a). This continued until the first Buddhism scriptures were recorded in writings in around 2nd Century BC. The oral tradition method was not efficient and could have been corrupted. Straight away after the written scripture were made available in the second Century BC, they were brought to China.
Background Information
The Buddhism religion boasts over 376 million followers across the globe. Buddhism tradition focuses majorly on the spiritual development of an individual as the teachings strive to achieve answers by supplying a quest into the true nature of life. The religion does not worship any gods or deities. Buddhism religion is based on The Four Noble Truths. These Four Noble Truths are concerned on only the teachings of Buddha. The belief is that these four truths were presented to Buddha while he was meditating under a sacred tree called the Bodhi tree. They are, “the truth of suffering, the truth of the origin of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering and lastly the truth of the path to the ending of suffering or ‘Magga.’” Immediately Buddha composed these truths, he rose and said “I teach suffering, its origin, cessation, and path. That's all I teach” (Amstutz 1998).   His statement meant that he teaches how suffering begins, how the process ends, and finally where one goes when it ends only and nothing more that. During my research on one of the greatest religion, I have already established many things that need to be studied at in depth. My objective is restating all I have learned about this vast religion and eventually go into more profundity with it. This paper will be about one the fascinating religions to ever exist. It will discuss Buddhism’s early times and how it eventually became what it is in the modern era. I am also going to go into the relations and the changes that occurred over time in this religion and consequently what makes it great.
Origin of Buddhism: Siddhartha Gautama Buddha
Buddhism started from Siddhartha Gautama childhood experiences. He was troubled, and started to question and wonder about very many things like everyone does today. Not long before he got a revelation; and he experienced what is called today as the Four Sights. He constantly got destructions from his palace life, and he decided to know about the outside world, and thus he decided to seek an answer to the meaning of life outside his palace, and there he left. He was unsatisfied by Hinduism and Gautama vowed to sit under a tree until he knew the truth and became Enlightened at the age of 35 years. After the enlightenment, he started teaching. He taught people how they could be enlightened. He continued to contradict the Hindu religion’s belief that only royals could be holy and this was seen as a threat to the hierarchical society. He taught people no matter where they came from. Some of the Hindu followers thought that the whole idea was false and they termed him their enemy and tried to kill Gautama because his idea was to destroy their hierarchical society.
Early Buddhism in China
Early Buddhism was characterized by numerous positive aspects. Therefore, the cultural, religious, political as well as the ideological origins were able to achieve faster development. It is attributed to the higher reasonable content and returns. However, like any other early forms of religion, the effect of this has weakened with time and eventually the incessant social development is experiencing a reverse case. It is true that all things can exist forever but in a motion state where changes are inevitable.
The Ch’an and the Pure Land were schools established during early years and they dominated post- T’ang Buddhism as they survived the An-Lushan rebellion of 755 and Hui-Chang persecution which was more of scholarly oriented, in 840s. The Pure Land School was affiliated to the Ch’an, but it was a discrete school too. Ch’an-Pre land syncretism became very popular Buddhism across China in the ancient times of the end of Sung until today. There were no official monasteries of the Pure Land or even official Monks of the Pure Land Buddhism to oversee the establishment. Modern scholarly refer to monks like the T’an-uan and Shan-tao as pure land patriarchs, but there is no enough evidence to proof this argument. The question is whether there was meaning that linked “Pure Land” to self-conscious schools, traditional or movement in China. The truth is that this was a quibble terminology used over and over (Sharf 2002b). Unless people can prove it, the Ch’an-Pure Land syncretism will remain the ideal argument.
Pure Land Buddhism
Pure Land was an early Chinese Buddhists, lay or monastic who throughout their life history had aspired to rebirth in a special place they referred as “Pure Land.” It refers to a special school of Buddhism earlier popularized in China and eventually transmitted to Japan between the year 1333 and 1212 BC. It could be conceived in literal or in metaphorical terms. In modern day, it has become one the most admired forms of Buddhism. This form of Buddhism was developed from the Mahayana Buddhist Chinese tradition. This Buddhism does not see its goal as liberation into Nirvana, but rather the rebirth into a provisional "Pure Land" where Nirvana is just a step close to the target. According to early Westerners who came across the Pure Land Buddhism attested that there were some similarities between this form of Buddhism and the Christianity (Sharf 2002a). The similarities involved the idea of attaining the goal to heaven. Nevertheless, h in reality, this form of Pure Land is a lot different.
Main focus of Pure Land Buddhism is the veneration of Amitābha Buddha, which is a celestial Buddha that represents the pure perception as well as deep awareness in concerning emptiness. It is a belief showing the connection between the Pure Land and the traditional Mahayana Buddhism. Followers do hope of being reborn in his pure land, through devotion to Amitābha, which is the final step of achieving enlightenment which will lead to the next step. However, in modern era practice in some Mahayana schools, people think that all celestial Buddha posses own pure lands, and in that veneration as well as contemplation of one of the Buddha can result to the rebirth into same Buddha’s world while heading to enlightenment.
Pure Land Buddhism originated from Mount Lushan to the southeast China. The place is celebrated as a world cultural site from its contribution to the origin of one of the greatest forms of Buddhism. Several ancient spiritual and educational institutions are located there and among these centers, one is the birthplace of the renowned Pure Land Buddhism. In around 402 CE, a monk and a teacher, Hui-yuan (336-416) gathered his followers in a built believed to be a monastery building on Mount Lushan. The gathering named as White Lotus Society took an oath before an image of Amitabha Buddha and vowed to be reborn to the Western Paradise. Centuries later, the Pure Land Buddhism spread all over China.
Sukhavati is the name give to the Pure Land reborn or t of the West. The Western Paradise followers are conferred to in the Amitabha Sutra. There are three Sutras, and one of them is the principal texts of Pur...