Chinese Buddhism or Han Buddhism is a Chinese form of Mahayana Buddhism which has shaped Chinese culture in a wide variety of areas including art,politics,literature,philosophy,medicine and material culture. Chinese Buddhism is the largest institutionalized religion in Mainland China. Currently,there are an estimated 185 to 250 million Chinese Buddhists in the People's Republic of China. It is also a major religion in Taiwan,Singapore,and Malaysia,as well as among the Chinese Diaspora.
Tiantai or T'ien-t'ai is an East Asian Buddhist school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed in 6th-century China. The school emphasizes the Lotus Sutra's doctrine of the "One Vehicle" (Ekayāna) as well as Mādhyamaka philosophy,particularly as articulated in the works of the fourth patriarch Zhiyi. Brook Ziporyn states that Tiantai is "the earliest attempt at a thoroughgoing Sinitic reworking of the Indian Buddhist tradition." According to Paul Swanson,Tiantai Buddhism grew to become "one of the most influential Buddhist traditions in China and Japan."
Tendai,also known as the Tendai Lotus School is a Mahāyāna Buddhist tradition officially established in Japan in 806 by the Japanese monk Saichō. The Tendai school,which has been based on Mount Hiei since its inception,rose to prominence during the Heian period (794-1185). It gradually eclipsed the powerful Hossō school and competed with the rival Shingon school to become the most influential sect at the Imperial court.
Korean Buddhism is distinguished from other forms of Buddhism by its attempt to resolve what its early practitioners saw as inconsistencies within the Mahayana Buddhist traditions that they received from foreign countries. To address this,they developed a new holistic approach to Buddhism that became a distinct form,an approach characteristic of virtually all major Korean thinkers. The resulting variation is called Tongbulgyo,a form that sought to harmonize previously arising disputes among scholars.
Nüwa,also read Nügua,is the mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven.
Saichō was a Japanese Buddhist monk credited with founding the Tendai school of Buddhism based on the Chinese Tiantai school he was exposed to during his trip to Tang China beginning in 804. He founded the temple and headquarters of Tendai at Enryaku-ji on Mount Hiei near Kyoto. He is also said to have been the first to bring tea to Japan. After his death,he was awarded the posthumous title of DengyōDaishi (伝教大師).
Yi Xing,born Zhang Sui,was a Chinese astronomer,Buddhist monk,inventor,mathematician,mechanical engineer,and philosopher during the Tang dynasty. His astronomical celestial globe featured a liquid-driven escapement,the first in a long tradition of Chinese astronomical clockworks.
Shide was a Tang Dynasty Chinese Buddhist poet at the Guoqing Temple on Mount Tiantai on the East China Sea coast;roughly contemporary with Hanshan and Fenggan,but younger than both of them. As close friends the three of them formed the "Tiantai Trio". Shide lived as a lay monk,and worked most of his life in the kitchen of Guoqing Temple.
Tāizhōu,alternately known as Taichow,is a city located at the middle of the East China Sea coast of Zhejiang province. It is located 300 km (190 mi) south of Shanghai and 230 km (140 mi) southeast of Hangzhou,the provincial capital. It is bordered by Ningbo to the north,Wenzhou to the south,and Shaoxing,Jinhua,and Lishui to west. In addition to the municipality itself,the prefecture-level city of Taizhou includes 3 districts,3 county-level cities,and 3 counties. As of the 2020 census,its total population was 6,662,888 inhabitants whom 3,578,660 lived in the built-up area made of the three urban Districts and Wenling City now being largely conurbated.
Buddhism in Vietnam,as practiced by the ethnic Vietnamese,is mainly of the Mahayana tradition and is the main religion. Buddhism may have first come to Vietnam as early as the 3rd or 2nd century BCE from the Indian subcontinent or from China in the 1st or 2nd century CE. Vietnamese Buddhism has had a syncretic relationship with certain elements of Taoism,Chinese spirituality,and Vietnamese folk religion.
Mount Jiuhua located in Chizhou,Anhui Province in China is an important Buddhist site and natural scenic spot. It is one of the four famous Buddhist mountains in China,one of the first batch of 5A level scenic spots in China,one of the first batch of natural and cultural heritage sites in China,and the main scenic spot of "two mountains and one lake" tourism development strategy in Anhui Province. The planned area of the scenic spot is 120 square kilometers,and the protected area is 174 square kilometers,which is composed of 11 scenic spots.
Religion in Taiwan is characterised by a diversity of religious beliefs and practices,predominantly those pertaining to the continued preservation of the ancient Chinese culture and religion. Freedom of religion is inscribed in the constitution of the Republic of China (Taiwan),and ranks high at 9.2 on the Freedom Scale in 2018 according to the World Bank. The majority of Taiwanese people practice a combination of Buddhism and Taoism often with a Confucian worldview,which is collectively termed as Chinese folk religion.
Zhou Jichang,Japanese:Shuu Kijou) was a Chinese painter of the Song Dynasty. His artwork featured many central themes of Chinese Buddhism and Buddhist folklore.
The Guoqing Temple is a Buddhist temple on Mount Tiantai,in Taizhou,Zhejiang Province,China. Originally built in 598 CE during the Sui dynasty,and renovated during the reign of the Qing Yongzheng Emperor,the temple is located roughly 220 kilometres (140 mi) from the city of Hangzhou. It was the initial site for the creation of the Tiantai school of Mahāyāna Buddhism,founded by the Chinese Buddhist teacher Zhiyi. The temple covers an area of some 23,000 m2 (250,000 sq ft) and features 600 rooms in a total of 14 different halls,including the Grand Hall of Sakyamuni,the Hall of Five Hundred Arhats and the Hall of Monk Jigong. The exterior of the building features Chinese pagodas such as the Sui Pagoda,the Seven Buddha Pagoda,and the Memorial Pagoda of Monk Yi Xing.
Chinese Esoteric Buddhism refers to traditions of Tantra and Esoteric Buddhism that have flourished among the Chinese people. The Tantric masters Śubhakarasiṃha,Vajrabodhi and Amoghavajra,established the Esoteric Buddhist Zhenyan tradition from 716 to 720 during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang. It employed mandalas,mantras,mudras,abhiṣekas,and deity yoga. The Zhenyan tradition was transported to Japan as Shingon Buddhism by Kūkai as well as influencing Korean Buddhism. The Song dynasty (960–1279) saw a second diffusion of Esoteric texts. Esoteric Buddhist practices continued to have an influence into the late imperial period and Tibetan Buddhism was also influential during the Yuan dynasty period and beyond. In the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) through to the modern period,esoteric practices and teachings became absorbed and merged with the other Chinese Buddhist traditions to a large extent.
The Nüwa Palace,also known as Wahuang Palace and by its Chinese name Wahuanggong,is a compound of palaces and temples beside Phoenix Mountain (Fenghuangshan) in She County,Handan Prefecture,Hebei Province,China. It principally honors the Chinese goddess Nüwa,whom the ancient Chinese believed created mankind and repaired the sky in prehistoric times. As such,the location is treated as a kind of ancestral shrine of all mankind and sees increased pilgrimage on Tomb Sweeping Day. The scenic area now covers 2600 mu and was made a AAAAA tourist attraction by China's National Tourism Administration in 2015.
Tiantai Temple,also known as the Temple of Ksitigarbha (地藏寺),is the highest Buddhist temple located on Mount Jiuhua,in Qingyang County,Anhui,China. It was first built in the Tang dynasty (618–907),and went through many changes and repairs through the following dynasties. Most of the present structures in the temple were repaired or built in the late Qing dynasty (1644–1911).
In East Asian Mahayana Buddhism,the Sangharama are a class of deities who are guardians of Buddhist temples and monasteries. Equivalent to the Taoist "realm master deity" (境主),the Sangharama are a lower class of Dharmapala. The Sangharama are dedicated to protecting the monastery area and all who practice within them.
The History of Chinese Buddhism begins in the Han Dynasty,when Buddhism first began to arrive via the Silk Road networks. The early period of Chinese Buddhist history saw efforts to propagate Buddhism,establish institutions and translate Buddhist texts into Chinese. The effort was led by non-Chinese missionaries from India and Central Asia like Kumarajiva and Paramartha well as by great Chinese pilgrims and translators like Xuanzang.
