Spread of Buddhism

Buddhism spread from India to China during the Han Dynasty, and since has been practiced in China for over two millennia. From the Han Dynasty to the Wei, Jin, Southern, and Northern Dynasties, and then Sui and Tang dynasties, Indian Buddhism gradually spread and evolved on Chinese soil, assimilated into the Chinese culture over time, and eventually took hold as Chinese Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism, the dominant form of Chinese Buddhism, peaked in the prosperous and booming Sui and Tang dynasties, which shifted the center of Buddhism from India to China and propelled the spread of Buddhism further to Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Singapore.

With an aim to introduce Buddhism to China, Faxian, Xuanzang, and other Buddhist monks made pilgrimages to India and beyond in seek of Buddhist scriptures and doctrines. The scriptures and books translated by Kumarajiva, a Buddhist monk from the Kingdom of Kucha (present-day Kuqa County, Xinjiang), significantly facilitated the spread of Buddhism and shaped the doctrines of Chinese Buddhism. Large-scale translation of Buddhist scriptures into the Chinese language further boosted the assimilation of Buddhism into Chinese culture. Jianzhen, an eminent Buddhist monk in the Tang Dynasty, was invited by Japan to visit and sailed there to preach about Buddhist scriptures and doctrines. He promoted friendship and cultural exchange between China and Japan and propagated Buddhism in East Asia. Japanese Buddhist monk Kukai once studied in Chang'an (present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi Province) and brought many Chinese Buddhist scriptures and classic calligraphy works back to Japan, promoting Buddhism there.

The spread of Buddhism remains living proof of the omni-directional nature of philosophical and cultural dissemination. After its arrival in China, Buddhism exerted a huge impact on traditional Chinese culture and gradually became a world religion.

佛教傳播

印度的佛教在兩漢之際傳入中國，至今已有2000多年的歷史。從兩漢經(jīng)魏晉南北朝，再到隋唐，佛教逐步在中華大地上傳播發(fā)展，并逐漸被中華文化吸收借鑒，成為中國本土化的佛教，即中國佛教。中國佛教以大乘佛教在中國的輝煌實踐為標(biāo)志，并與隋唐盛世交相輝映，使世界佛教的中心轉(zhuǎn)移到了中國，進(jìn)而影響到日本、韓國、越南、新加坡等國家。

為了將佛教傳入中國，法顯、玄奘等高僧歷盡艱難，前往印度等地取經(jīng)求法。龜茲（今新疆庫車）高僧鳩摩羅什所譯的經(jīng)籍，有力推動了佛教傳播和中國佛教思想發(fā)展。大規(guī)模的佛經(jīng)漢譯促使佛教進(jìn)一步融入中國本土文化。唐代高僧鑒真受邀東渡日本，講經(jīng)誦法，推動了中日兩國的友誼和文化交流，促進(jìn)了佛教在東亞地區(qū)的傳播。日本僧人空海也曾來到長安（今陜西西安）求學(xué)，帶回大量中國佛教和書法經(jīng)典，推進(jìn)了日本佛教的發(fā)展。

佛教的傳播體現(xiàn)了思想文化傳播的雙向特性，在這個過程中，佛教深深影響了中國傳統(tǒng)文化，并逐漸發(fā)展成為世界性的宗教。