Buddhism in Tang China, 600-1000

Source #1

Zong Mi, a leading Buddhist scholar, favored by the Tang imperial household, essay, “On the Nature of Man,” early 9th century C.E.

Confucius, Laozi, and the Buddha were perfect sages.   They established their teachings according to the demands of the age and the needs of various beings.  They differ in their approaches in that they encourage the perfection of good deeds, punish wicked ones, and reward good ones; all three teachings lead to the creation of an orderly society and for this they must be observed with respect.

Source #2

Tang Emperor Wu, "Edict on Buddhism," 845 C.E.

We have heard that the Buddha was never spoken of before the Han Dynasty; from then on the religion of idols gradually came to prominence.  So in this latter age Buddhism has transmitted its strange ways and has spread like the luxuriant vine until it has poisoned the customs of our nation.  Buddhism has spread to all the nine provinces of China; each day finds its monks and followers growing more numerous and its temples more lofty.  Buddhism wears out the people’s strength, pilfers their wealth, causes people to abandon their lords and parents for the company of teachers, and severs man and wife with its monastic decrees. In destroying law and injuring humankind indeed nothing surpasses this doctrine!

Now if even one man fails to work the fields, someone must go hungry; if one woman does not tend her silkworms, someone will go cold. At present there are an inestimable number of monks and nuns in the empire, all of them waiting for the farmers to feed them and the silkworms to clothe them while the Buddhist public temples and private chapels have reached boundless numbers, sufficient to outshine the imperial palace itself.

Having thoroughly examined all earlier reports and consulted public opinion on all sides, there no longer remains the slightest doubt in Our mind that this evil should be eradicated.