Summary and Comments on "Laozhuang and Buddhism" by Miki Miki Mori - A stimulating book that provides insight into the relationship between the reception of Buddhism and Laozhuang in China!
I would like to introduce "Lao Zhuang and Buddhism" by Miki Saburo Mori, published by Kodansha in 2003.
Let's take a quick look at the book.
Chinese Buddhism has a history of 2,000 years since its introduction from the West. How did the Chinese people accept this foreign thought? Starting from the understanding of the fundamental principle of Buddhism, "emptiness," through Lao Zhuang's thought of "nothingness," to the birth of the two major Chinese schools of Buddhism, "Zen," the way of self-reliance, and "Pure Land," the way of other-reliance. While tracing the history of Chinese knowledge with a focus on Laozhuang's thought, the dynamic exchange between Indian and Chinese thought is explored in depth and with clarity.
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Let me say this at the outset.
'This book is a tremendously interesting classic! It's one of those books that is so stimulating that it sparks your brain!"
Well, I am here for this book. This book is definitely one of the best books on China that I have ever read on this blog. I would say that this book ranks at the top not only in China but also in all books related to Buddhism. It is such an interesting book.
The main theme of this book is how Buddhism, which came from India, was accepted and transformed in China, and this is extremely exciting.
Here is one of the passages that impressed me the most.
Nevertheless, through this historical process, we can see that the Indian view of life and the Chinese view of life are completely opposite. For the Indians, the theory of reincarnation was an object of fear: "Even if you die, you will have to repeat your painful life. The Chinese, on the other hand, took it as gospel that "even if you die once, you can live again. In this, we can discover a stark contrast between the Indian philosophy, which sees life as essentially painful, and the Chinese philosophy, which sees life as something to be enjoyed.
Kodansha, MIKUSABURO MORI, Laozhuang and Buddhism, p. 133
The book reveals that the differences between Indian and Chinese views of life and religion had a tremendous impact on the acceptance of Buddhism.
Indians considered samsara to be suffering. That is why Buddha aimed to break the circle of samsara.
However, when this teaching came to China, it was changed drastically to "If there is an afterlife, you can live a happy life in the next life, what a wonderful teaching! This is what was said a little while ago in the following passage.
The theory that the karma of the previous life is the cause of the next life's fruit is inextricably linked to the two previous theories, and has brought tremendous gospel to the Chinese people. The reason is that the homework that had been left unresolved by Confucianism was now resolved in one fell swoop.
Let's take the example of Kanggyo. He had good karma, but ended his life in misfortune. If life were limited to this life, this contradiction would never disappear. This was also the reason for Shiba Qian's despair. However, the Buddhist theory of the reward of the three generations provides an excellent solution to this problem. The misfortunes of Gyanhui in this life, even if he does not remember them, are the manifestation of his evil karma in the previous life. However, since he has done good deeds in this life, he must surely be rewarded with blessed fruits in the next life. Here, morality and happiness are in perfect harmony, and there is no room for irrational destiny to creep in.
The gospel brought by this Buddhism deeply captured the hearts of the Six Dynasties. Therefore, many intellectuals of this period believed that Buddhism was a teaching that preached the reward of the three generations.
Kodansha, MIKUSABURO MORI, Laozhuang and Buddhism, p. 129-130
Yan Hui, mentioned above, was a famous disciple of Confucius. Confucianism teaches that the way to live a good life is to respect propriety and accumulate good deeds, but this most virtuous man ended up leading a life of misfortune. The question arises, "If a person is unhappy even after doing good deeds, why should he accumulate good deeds? It was at this time that the theory of reincarnation became known to the Chinese people with the arrival of Buddhism. And the result is as we have seen in the above two quotations.
Originally in India.The problem that should have been cut off was samsara.but once in China.The direction has changed 180 degrees to salvation itself.The first time I went to the conference, I was very interested in the results of the conference. This was very interesting. Of course, this does not apply to all Indians and Chinese, but it was a very provocative point. I can't go into more detail here, but this book will tell the story in more detail, so you will learn about it in a very easy-to-understand way.
Other interesting topics in the book, such as an overview of Lao Zhuang thought, the relationship between Chinese Buddhism and politics, and the development of Zen Buddhism and Pure Land Buddhism, just keep coming up.
Oh no, it's interesting! It sparked my brain. It is not often that you come across a book that sparks your brain so much. I highly recommend this book.
Why not pick one up?
The above is "MIKUSABURO MORI, Laozhuang and Buddhism - An exciting book to learn about the relationship between Laozhuang and the reception of Buddhism in China! This was "Laozhuang and Buddhism" by MIKUSABURO MORI.
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