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p The Chinese are the among the cultures to whose lives and philosophies are greatly influenced by their religion – Confucianism , Taoism and Buddhism . These three school of thoughts basically deal as to how the Chinese live in harmony , not only among themselves but with nature as well . Among the three schools of thought , Buddhism is the only one which did not originate in China . Hence , it differs with Confucianism and Taoism in as much as it deals with the human being alone and his suffering . theless , although it is different from Confucianism and [banner_entry_middle]

br Taoism , it is admittedly not in conflict with these two but rather it reinforces the concepts and tenets of the two schools of thought

Buddhism primarily believes in reincarnation (nirvana ) and affirms the fact that life is suffering ‘ and that desire and craving ‘ are the causes of suffering . In to attain happiness , one has to overcome his cravings and desires , hatred and complaints . Although Buddhism was not originally from China , it has theless gained widespread popularity over the centuries

At the start , Buddhism and the Chinese native religions vastly varied Buddhism reinforced reincarnation while the native Chinese believed in single life only . Secondly , Buddhism insists that in to achieve the state of Nirvana , one has to give up or leave society and enter the celibate and homeless life of a monk or nun while the Chinese placed great emphasis on the family and its continuance of descendants Furthermore , Buddhism does not believe in the existence of the soul compared to the native Chinese who believe in earthly and heavenly souls and lastly , while Buddhism reiterates the independence of the monastic community , native Chinese religions insist that all institutions whether religious or secular are under the government . Eventually though Buddhism adjusted to Chinese society and vice versa . Hence , the Chinese came to believe in reincarnation and believed that their deceased relatives became ancestors

Because Buddhism propagated the belief of reincarnation and the Chinese came to believe in it , it was able to bring together the development of a series of ideas regarding heaven and eternal happiness and that they could be reborn into different levels . Hence , modern Chinese society used Buddhist temples as the centrepiece of worship and study . It also made Buddhists the key players in funerals by taking over the burial and remembrance of the deceased . Wealthy and affluent Chinese make sure to have Buddhist monks during funerals because their presence more or less became an assurance of a good rebirth . Moreover , a deceased ‘s name place in a spirit plaque inside the temple meant that he or she is part of the daily Buddhist prayer

Gleaning from the history of Buddhism , the religion took different paths . Originally , it was an individualistic religion wherein one is responsible for his own progress in the path to nirvana . Thus , it entails that the believer has to enter the monastery and become a monk with the aim of abandoning their desires . This is done by not doing any… [banner_entry_footer]