Buddhist Influence on Chinese Religions and Popular Beliefs

Abstract

Chinese religions or Chinese traditional religions include Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism and popular beliefs derived from and related to these three. Liu Mi, a Chinese elite of the late Song and early Yuan dynasty, said in his essay Sanjiao Pingxin Lun “Buddhism is for the cultivation of mind, Daoism is for the training of the physical body and Confucianism is for the governance of the world.” This reflects the roles and functions of the three religions in China in the last two thousand years with Confucianism at the center supported by Buddhism and Daoism. Although there were conflicts and persecutions in Chinese history but harmony and integration were the mainstream as both Buddhism and Chinese thought uphold the open and tolerate attitude of mind. Thus, Ma Xisa, a specialist in Chinese popular religions said that Buddhism heavily influenced Chinese popular religions in their formations and developments.