Buddhism

Buddhism Throughout history, Buddhism was a central component of the development of Chinese and Japanese societies. Although Buddhism was a defining characteristic in both societies, it did not endure the same experiences in China as it did Japan due to differences in social and political aspects. In China, Buddhism underwent a short period of popularity during the Tang dynasty and later a vast decline. In Japan, however, Buddhism seeped into their society, became very popular and remained a flourishing feature. There are many social and political implications that allowed for the rise of Buddhism in China. The first came about because of the unrest over social inequality. Buddhism was a salvation religion and was a refusal of the caste and hierarchal system (Murphey, 77). During the Sui/Tang dynasty, politically there was a great deal of turbulence in the government. Also there were not any strong leaders that emerged and controlled the society. These two factors permitted an opening in which Buddhism appealed to the people of China and became a prevalent factor of Chinese culture. Another political aspect during the Tang dynasty, which more fully opened the doors for Buddhism, was the fact buddhism, china, japan, society, murphey, japanese, chinese, because, very, fact, culture, confucianism, became, societies, social, political, dynasty, welcomed, two, strong, religion, reason, power, popularity, part, it’s, however, great, factor, during, due, decline, buddhist, both, zao