Both beliefs originated due to the unrest in each of their societies. Confucius created his philosophy because of all the war happening in China. Similarly, Buddhism was created due to the injustice of the caste system that society created. Both religions revolved around the idea of respect/equality, and this had a major impact on their societies. Buddhism believed in the idea of equality which was slowly impacting how people viewed and participated in the caste system that was created by society.
Durkheim argues that religion functions to reinforce the collective unity or social solidarity of a group. He says all societies divide the world into the sacred and the profane. His view on sacred symbols represents society's collective consciousness which is the shared norms, values beliefs and knowledge that make social life possible without such consciousness it would crumble. While participating in shared rituals binds individuals together reminding them that they are a part of a community. The individual sees religion performing a significant function allowing them to feel apart of society and seeing that religion strengthens us to face life's trials and motivates us to overcome obstacles that would otherwise overpower us.
These two ways of life originated in two different parts of the world Buddhism started in northern India and Daoism started in China One major difference between Taoism and Buddhism is the concept of karma to the Buddhist. Although they both believe in reincarnation they have different views towards it. This idea that all actions are the display of thought, the will of man, is known as karma. Karma determines the Buddhist actions and position in life. A person's karma limits the goals which can be achieved.
Document 3 shows questions that a scholar had and many more people could have had also. The questions reveal negative views that people might have had on Buddhism and argue why it is a religion full of wisdom that rejects worldly pleasures to bring joy. Both documents 2 and 3 support and encourage the spread of Buddhism in China. In document 1, we can find the four noble truths which was Buddha’s view of life and are basic beliefs of Buddhism. Buddha explains that life is sorrow and gives reasons why life is sorrow.
The Responses to the Spread of Buddhism in China After Buddhism spread to China from India, many people began converting to Buddhism because it gave them a meaning in life during the period of instability and disunity after the collapse of the Han Dynasty as shown in Document 2. The Chinese at first welcomes Buddhism, as it gave them support during political instability and disunity, but as political relations improved, the government saw Buddhism as a threat to their power and moved to get rid of it. During the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism threatened the power of the nobility and they rose up to disclaim it as shown in Document 6; however not many people were the emperor of China so this wouldn’t effective give a good representation of the responses shown by the majority of the Chinese citizens. After the collapse of the Han Dynasty, there was people who needed more than just Confucianism to give them meaning in their life, Buddhism was then spread to China through merchants and missionaries. In China, among the many classes of Chinese social structure, they show positive responses to the spread of Buddhism as seen in Documents 1,2,3, and 5.
As Buddhism spread from India to China beginning in the first century C. E., it had many different and varying responses. Many Chinese accepted Buddhism and defended its policies while others criticized Buddhism’s absence from past texts and used it as a scapegoat for political and social problems. Still others remained indifferent, wishing to meld the aspects of belief systems in China to create a unique Chinese culture. Documents 2 and 3 defend and support Buddhism in China, while documents 4 and 6 criticize it and discourage its spread. Documents 1 and 5 neither encourage nor discourage the religion’s spread, but provide a different perspective on how it should be dealt with.
Another difference was that Buddhism did not attempt to force people into converting. In the Christian religion, popes tried forcing people into converting and the religion became very unethical and corrupt. The last difference between the two religions would be that Buddhism was spread by monks
Great Britain forced China to open its gates to other countries to trade and diplomats to reside in this mysterious land. Thus, began the very happening that the Chinese feared: western influence seeping into Chinese culture. Ideas and customs of western countries began to impact the ways of thinking for the Chinese. Some vehemently believed in old Chinese customs and completely rejected anything else remotely west. Some, mostly the younger generation, believe that Westernization was not only a positive notion, but necessary for their country to survive.
He describes it “inhumane” that Gandhi would be willing to stand idly while his wife and children die instead of permitting them to eat animal food prescribed by a doctor. Apparently by eating it and staying alive, one would have committed a sin according to Gandhi. Being loyal to a close friend was not suggested by him, seeing as how it could evidently lead to making poor decisions and thus, committing a sin. Although Orwell agreed on this, he also thought that as social beings, humans must have precious people in their lives. Orwell then stresses the point that humans should not seek for perfection.
APOL104-D55 4/27/15 Critical Thinking When looking at Christian worldview the main question is, is there a God? Now when looking at Buddhism, this question does not apply. Buddhism became a tradition that is passed down from a teacher to a student that is a set of pragmatic instructions and techniques for cultivating sanity and brilliance in us and our world (Shambhala International, 1994-2015). Question of Origin The question of origin is a tough question to answer when looking at Buddhism. They do not worship a God.