365bet娱乐

* it | CHAPTER I THE HISTORY OF JAPANESE BUDDHISM 1.1. INTRODUCTION India. Buddhism is the religious philosophy which was founded by Sakyamuni Buddha in the 6th century B.C. in According to Buddhism Buddha is a person who overcomes his sufferings and attains Nirvana, the final goal of Buddhist aspiration. or In Buddhism, there are two systems. One 10 Buddhism which prospered in the time of King Asoka, the third ruler of the Maurya Kingdom in the 3rd century B.C. and spread over Ceylon and Indo-China peninsula and Java. The other is Buddhism which spread bei over Kashmir, west part of India, Khotin, Kucha in the 2nd century B.C. over Han Dynasty in the 1st century B.C. and over Korea in the 6th century A.D. During Officially, Buddhism came to Japan through diplomatic relation with a delegation from the King of Kudara (Korea) in the court of the Japanese emperor. Prince Shotoku Taishi, the regend of Emperor Suiko, was responsible for propagating Buddhism in Japan. Nara Period Buddhist studies and culture were greatly developed, coinciding with the introduction of the six Nara sects. In 794, a new capital was built at Heian, a few miles north of Nara. In that period, two new sects were founded: the Tendai by Saicho and the Singon by Kukai. In the middle of Heian Period, a new Buddhist

20 :movement arose preaching, faith in the Amitabha Buddha as the best means of Salvation. During Kamakura and Muromachi Periods, the devotional sects and two new schools of Buddhism, the Zen (Chan or Dhyana) and the Nichiren gained popularity among the people. Later, however, during Edo or Tokugawa Period, Buddhism was used to combat the influence of Christianity. The Tokugawa shoguns (= rulers) required every Japanese family to be attached to a temple, called Danka, which meant that all Japanese families during this period were at least nominally Buddhists. After Meiji Period, Budahism stood in danger of being deprived of public support and suffered from 1867 to 1872 under a policy of ruthless oppression. The Buddhist scholars investigated the doctrines of Buddhism scientifically and found new meaning in the old doctrines. Japanese Buddhism practically is Mahayana Buddhism. But in the last one century, both studies and practice were done in the field of the Theravada Buddhism also. When we study the history of Buddhist studies in Japan after Meiji Period we find that serious studies in the field of Theravada Buddhism have been done and still are being done. Many veteran Buddhist scholars in Japan have devoted their whole life for the study of Theravada Buddhism in Japan. But this fact still remains unknown to the world, because most of the studies have been done in Japanese language.