What influence does Buddhism have on China culture?

The influence of Buddhism on China culture is not as good as most people think. Limited to religion, but outside religion, such as literature, thought, art, etc. , and have a significant impact. We will discuss it later:

(A) the impact on the ideological circle

China's philosophy sprouted in the Zhou Dynasty and flourished in the Warring States Period. During the Warring States Period, hundred schools of thought contended and expressed his opinions, which made China's philosophy extremely prosperous. Only Confucius was old in the Han Dynasty, and later he regarded Confucianism as a statue because Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty rejected a hundred schools of thought. As a result, Taoism gradually declined. In the Wei, Jin and Six Dynasties, Buddhism prevailed in the world, and Taoism gradually revived, resulting in conflicts and exclusion and integration due to exclusive contact. Later, those who talked about Laozi and Zhuangzi took more meanings from Buddhist scriptures, and those who talked about Buddhism also quoted Laozi and Zhuangzi.

As for Confucianism, emperors and famous Confucianism all turned to Buddhism, which led to the defenders of Buddhism at that time. However, due to the transcendence of Buddhist thought and the beauty of translated literature, the first-class Confucianism at that time studied Buddhism, and the general thinkers in the Tang Dynasty took Buddhism as the basis for reconciling and even leading Confucianism and Taoism.

At the end of the Tang Dynasty and the beginning of the Song Dynasty, only Zen flourished and manipulated the ideological circles at that time. Because Zen advocates that there should be no words and no foreign teachers, it aims to study the fundamental principles of life, so that people can study on their own, and only by inventing-seeing nature can we discuss learning. At that time, the academic circles were greatly influenced by Zen, such as Xi and Cheng. For example, Zhou Mingmen asked people to study' What did Confucius and Yan Hui enjoy? Cheng also ordered his disciples to observe' the weather before the joys and sorrows', and advocated reading the scriptures for half a day and sitting quietly for half a day, all of which were studied by Zen Buddhism' Where did you come from and where did you die? Or' what kind of person was I before my parents gave birth to me? Your thoughts.

As for Lu Xiangshan in the Song Dynasty, he went on to say,' The universe is my heart, and my heart is the universe.' Wang Yangming, the founder of Ming Dynasty, also used Zen as the basis of his advocacy of "conscience". In a word, Zhou Cheng's Neo-Confucianism, Lu Xiangshan's and Wang Yangming's Neo-Confucianism are all influenced by Zen. It can be said that they established a set of academic thoughts and theories based on Buddhism, which is the famous Neo-Confucianism in the history of China's philosophy. Anyone who studies the history of China's philosophy must feel the same way.

(B) the impact on the literary world

The core era of Buddhist scripture translation is from the end of Han Dynasty to the prosperous Tang Dynasty. Among the Buddhist Tripitaka, 56,000 volumes of classics are the products of this time. After the Song and Yuan Dynasties, although there were occasional translations, they were insignificant.

From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the idle Tang Dynasty, there were many masters in China, who translated more than 100 people. Among them, Tirosh and Xuanzang were the most outstanding ones who made the greatest contribution to China literature. Roche was a master in the old translation era, and Xuanzang was a hero in the new translation era. Although Ling's translated volumes are rich in Luo Shi, the translated volumes are wider than Xuanzang's, and they are equally famous and evenly matched. Most of the old versions are literal translations, so Roche's version is full of natural language interest in the western regions, which not only opens a new world for China's ideological circle, but also has a great influence on China literature. As for The Times, it turned to free translation. Its vivid and interesting writing style, novel format, innovative writing and exquisite structure make China literature deteriorate. Here are three points:

(1) expanded the content of Putonghua.

China: Since the Han Dynasty, literati only emphasized the past and dared not create anything. Although they have new ideas, they also use ancient words, which makes all academic research dull. In the early translation of Buddhist scriptures, in addition to transliteration of inherent nouns, similar people also attacked the ancient times, and in the later period, they were deeply studied, feeling that old words and new meanings were difficult to match. If the old words are still used, they will be distorted or the words will not be satisfactory, so they will devote themselves to the creation of new words, which will invisibly promote the expansion of Putonghua content. Although the current Buddhist dictionary can't find all the new terms in Buddhist scriptures, it is amazing enough to see them.

As for the Japanese Buddhist Dictionary, more than 35,000 languages collected are all new words created by translators in the Han, Jin, Sui and Tang Dynasties. How do these new words join the China language system and become new components and contents of Putonghua?

(2) Changes in grammar and style

As long as you read Buddhist scriptures, you will find that their styles are different from ordinary books. Most notably, there are no words such as "Zhi", "Hu", "Zhe", "Ye", "Yi", "Yan" and "Zai" in Buddhist scriptures. There are many inverted grammars in Buddhist scriptures, but there are also many adjectives and words with the same case. Especially an article, prose and poetry are intertwined, whether poetic or not. After the Tang Dynasty, China's style of writing was almost as smooth as a portrait, which washed away the dust of the Six Dynasties and was influenced by the translation of Buddhist scriptures.

In a word, the Buddhist scriptures are novel and beautiful in structure, with foreign accents and foreign accents, which makes people full of praise and has a sense of harmony and freshness. It can be said that it was a revolutionary new style of vernacular Chinese at that time. The creation of this new style made Roche and his followers make great contributions. Although the translation of Buddhist scriptures flourished in the Tang Dynasty, there were no more translators than Luo Shi if they studied literature.

(3) the development of literary interest

Modern pure literature in China, such as novels, songs and even literary creation, is closely related to the translation of Buddhist scriptures, because China Buddhism has been monopolized by Mahayana School several times since Rush, but Mahayana flourished after the disappearance of Buddhism. First of all, his advocates should promote A?vagho?a and read the Biography of Bodhisattva Rushavaghoa, knowing that he is actually a great writer and musician, and his works and the cause of popularizing Buddhism are based on what he has learned. Therefore, his book "Ode to Buddha" can be said to be: a Long song with more than 30,000 words; Although the translation does not emphasize phonology, it is similar to Yuefu ancient group, such as peacocks flying southeast. His Mahayana solemnity is simply a novel of "Scholars" style. Although its material is taken from the Four Ahans, it is embellished with its wonderful writing style, which fascinates readers.

After A?vagho?a, most Mahayana classics were taught exquisitely, such as Hua Yan, Nirvana, Prajna and other literary classics, and then translated and read in wonderful national languages. Even if you don't believe in Buddhism, you are obsessed with its words and expressions. Therefore, China literati like to read Buddhist scriptures to help the beauty of articles, and even their imagination is unexpected. For example, China's literary masterpieces, such as Biography of Water and A Dream of Red Mansions, were all influenced by Hua Yan and Nirvana, that is, Long song also indirectly absorbed the brushwork of "praising Buddha's own initiative" in the zaju, Zhuben and Tanci after the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Poems picked up by Hanshan in the Tang Dynasty, Su Dongpo's "Su Wen Xin Shi" is the earliest, and the quotations of Song and others are all imitations of Zen. In addition, there are Yuan Lu by Gui and The Journey to the West. , but also literary works.

(C) the impact on the art world

The influence of Buddhism on China's art can be explained by four points:

(1) The building is magnificent.

Although China's ancient architecture is not as practical as western architecture, it strives for exquisiteness, such as the display and layout of the front and rear houses and the wonderful decoration on the left and right, which are not comparable to western architecture. In particular, the buildings of general Buddhist temples are exquisite in structure, magnificent in momentum and solemn in style, all imitating the state of primitive Indian Buddhism. As for the pagodas all over Chinese mainland, they can better represent the indomitable spirit of Buddhism and give people a sacred and lofty feeling.

(2) Realistic sculpture

Although there were sculptures in ancient China, statues and castings began with the introduction of Buddhism. The statues of famous workers in the Tang Dynasty and the Buddha statues carved with wood or stone are really epoch-making artistic creations. For example, the stone buddhas in Longmen, Luoyang and Yungang, Datong, and the Buddha statues and murals in Dunhuang Grottoes are not only lifelike in shape, but also lifelike in characters, which are really priceless in China art world.

(3) Xiao Miao's portrait

Due to the prosperity of Buddhism in Sui and Tang Dynasties, China's traditional Chinese painting gained great enlightenment, because famous artists at that time painted Buddha statues, trying to be realistic, and painted the story figures in Buddhist scriptures on the walls for solemn embellishment. Such as the bright murals and the Yungang Stone Buddha, are well-known and shine brilliantly for the art of China. Although we have never seen the artistic creation of Buddhist temples in Chinese mainland, we have only glimpsed a little from books and pictures, although we are also longing for it.

(4) Bai Fan is very touching.

China's ancient music is very good, but after Buddhism was introduced into China, new tunes were added, which made the old tunes go a step further and made special development, such as' Fish Mountain Bai Fan' and' Temple Bell', all of which copied the excellent Sanskrit sounds in Buddhist scriptures. As for the middle-grade bells and drums in Buddhist temples, all monks live with * * * * rites and music, which makes people feel pale and vulgar. Poets in China like to smell the morning bells and drums of Buddhist temples. They sing wonderful poems and songs. Even in modern Yuefu, they often rhyme in Buddhist ode, which shows that Buddhist music is touching.

Fourthly, the influence of Buddhism on China customs.

Buddhism was introduced into China, which had a direct and indirect influence on China's literary thought. He never participated in political activities, but it had a subtle influence on social customs. The most important thing is to improve the outlook on life and expand filial piety.

(A) the improvement of outlook on life

In ancient China, people died like lights, and Confucius also said,' If you don't know life, how can you know death'. When Buddhism was introduced into China, people realized that they had a reason to live, a reason to die and the right to give themselves a few lives. As the saying goes,' there is no door to misfortune and happiness, and only people recruit themselves'. Unfortunately, it is often caused by people's thoughts. Therefore,' good thoughts go to heaven and evil thoughts go to hell'. Because Buddhism believes that in daily life, all actions, words and thoughts can form a special inertia and become a potential force, which can lead to future results, that is, the karma that dominates life and the universe.

Because there are good and evil human causes, there are also good, ugly and bitter causes. The Buddha said,' Don't forget what you have done. If you encounter karma, there will be retribution.' And he said,' If you want to know the karma of past lives, the recipient of this life is; If you want to know the afterlife, the author of this life is. Since all the opportunities in life are created by ourselves, why lament the hardship of the environment or be proud of the beauty of the opportunities? However, if we can grasp the present, understand the past without remonstrating, know that those who come can be pursued, repent and be good, we can naturally overcome hardships and create happiness. Therefore, the Buddhist theory of "three generations of causal samsara" actually has the function of warning and encouragement, which enables people to repent and accumulate blessings under the causal law, protect their health, and the deceased to seek help and help the spirit. Even the imperial power of the country is expensive. Every time you blame yourself for the misfortune of the country, it is regarded as an infighting, and then you reflect on yourself: fighting the epidemic. Thus, the Buddhist law of cause and effect is deeply rooted in people's hearts, which not only affects China people's outlook on life, but also can cure diseases before they occur and supplement the deficiency of politics and religion.

(B) the expansion of filial piety

The ancients in China lived in the world and even managed their families, countries and the world, all of which were based on filial piety. With the introduction of Buddhism, the content of China's filial piety has been expanded and enriched. Because Confucianism stresses filial piety, it is nothing more than' born with courtesy, died with courtesy, and sacrificed with courtesy'. Or in addition to serving the left and right, it is warm in winter and cool in summer, and the morning light is dizzy, but also to inherit the legacy of our ancestors and complete their career. For example, Confucius said,' Those who are filial are good at following others' aspirations, and those who are good at following others' things are also good.'

When Buddhism expresses filial piety, it is not only to serve and support, but also to inherit its ambition and develop its industry. More importantly, make them stop evil deeds and do good deeds, so as to save lives from death and get pleasure from suffering. Therefore, Goodall said:' People who have no filial piety are not considered as human beings; Filial piety can't live and die, so it's not enough to be filial. "He also said:' Born and raised and buried, filial piety; Lu Yi, Liu Fang, filial piety; Give birth to its true faith, die of its spirit, and people are filial. "

The Buddha said that the Sanskrit scripture said,' Every man is my father and every woman is my mother, and I live and die from it. All six sentient beings are my parents.' You know, Buddhism's filial piety has a deep meaning and a wide range. It is not only the third time to honor parents, let parents believe it, stop evil deeds and good deeds, and finally get rid of life and death and get happiness from suffering; Even for the six sentient beings, we should be filial. However, based on the principle of "respect others, and everyone will always respect them", the promotion of Buddhist filial piety can indeed make the society full of filial piety and goodwill, and the kindness and future happiness of the people can also be expected. So I said: Buddhist filial piety not only magnifies and enriches the content of China's filial piety, but also inhibits vulgarity, which contributes to the development of morality.

To sum up, we should know that Buddhism is the product of a cultural and ideological revolution in history. After Buddhism was introduced into China, it had a profound and tremendous impact on China culture. If Confucian culture is the whole of China traditional culture, then Buddhism should be the core of China culture. If China's traditional culture is based on Confucianism, it is undeniable that the introduction of Buddhism made China's standard culture deteriorate first and become one of the standard cultures. Therefore, to study China culture, we must first study Buddhism; To revive Chinese culture, we must first revive Buddhism and spread Chinese culture to the world. We must first carry forward Buddhism.