User:Slocking/RELG354

=Chine Religions=

Section 3: Journey to the West
The focus of this section of the course involves Buddhism in China. A majority of the reading material is from the book "The Monkey and the Monk," which is an abridged version of [Journey to the West.] The history of Buddhism

Beginnings
The history of Buddhism developing in China is a very interesting process. This is especially because of the idea that "others are barbarians" that was so prevalent in Chinese culture.

Timeline

 * Buddhism entered China between 100BCE-300 CE
 * The first mention was in 65 CE
 * The Emperor had a dream that a bird deity flew in. This dream was believed to signify the "sage of the west" Because of this, the emperor sent people to India.


 * Merchants would come in, especially during the [Han Dynasty]

Viewpoints
There are two major viewpoints to the history of Buddhism in Chine: Cultural Context and Chinese Transformation of Buddhism

Development
There are four main developmental frameworks of Buddhism in China (I only have 3 in notes) ====Preparation:

Impact

 * Buddhism brought ideas, concepts, and products into china that had a big impact.
 * Examples:
 * Religious: Karma, Rebirth and Merit Making all penetrated Chinese religion
 * Stuff: Chairs. They weren't there previously, came from India. Sugar and Bridge Building are two other examples.