\[ **BT: [[religion]] | [[religion--China]]** ] --- # Buddhism ## history of Buddhism ### Buddhism in Central Asia and China [[Buddhism was introduced to China during the Three Kingdoms period (220–265 CE).]][^1] [[The ‘three teachings’ (三教, sānjiào) refers to Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism collectively; that is, the three great religions of China.]][^2] --- ## beliefs, practices, and institutions of Buddhism [[In Buddhism, emptiness is wholeness.]][^3] [[In Buddhism, insects exist within a kind of purgatory; it is difficult to obtain karma when you're a bug.]][^4] - see also [[insects]] [[Buddhism views all sexual activity (whether same-sex or different-sex) as a manifestation of human greed.]][^5] ### traditional beliefs and doctrines #### views of the nature of reality; e.g., the impermanence of all existence, the absence of self, the underlying state of suffering and its causes [[In Buddhism, emptiness is wholeness.]][^6] ### practices and institutions #### universal or prevalent ethical and religious practices ##### teaching ###### teaching Buddhism in China [[The Jade Buddha Zen Temple conducts regular Buddhist and Buddhist training classes, as well as meditation projects like scripture-copying, Buddhist practice, and meditation.]][^7] #### regional variations in practices ##### Chinese beaded bracelets 手串 ###### e.g. Yonghe Temple’s beaded bracelets > Among the many treasures that this temple houses, one of the most cherished by visitors and devotees alike are the bead bracelets, commonly known as “手串” (shǒuchuàn). These bracelets are not merely decorative items but are imbued with deep religious and cultural meanings, making them a coveted possession for many.[^8] - see: [[Yonghe Temple (Beijing)#Yonghegong’s beaded bracelets]] #### specific places of worship ##### Buddhist temples in China - [[Hongluo Temple (Beijing)]] - [[Beijing#Longquan Temple|Longquan Temple (Beijing)]] - [[Hangzhou#Yongfu Temple|Yongfu Temple (Hangzhou)]] - [[Yonghe Temple (Beijing)]] - [[Yufo Temple (Shanghai)]] - [[Chengdu#Wenshu monastery|Wenshu monastery (Chengdu)]] --- ### the religious and cultural role of Buddhist art #### religious expression in the arts > [[In classical Chinese painting, the use of white space is highly important; the white space defines the forms depicted within it.|‘In classical Chinese painting the white space defines what forms emerge, and in Buddhism emptiness is wholeness. The perfect man’s mind, according to Zhuangzi, is empty as a mirror, and according to the Daoist aesthetics of Chinese painting, each stroke of the brush is *yin* (blackness, woman) upon *yang* (light, whiteness, man). All the empty space reacts to one brushstroke upon the page. Each additional stroke makes the space adjust itself into a new composition, in much the way each great poem makes all of literary history readjust itself, as T S. Eliot wrote. To make a Chinese poem in English we must allow silence to seep in around the edges, to define the words the way the sky’s negative space in a painting defines the mountains.’ ]][^9] [^1]: Asia for Educators, ‘[[Asia for Educators, ‘China—Timeline of Historical Periods’, n.d.|CHINA—Timeline of Historical Periods]]’, Columbia University, n.d., accessed 2 April 2026, [https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/china_timeline.htm](https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/china_timeline.htm). [^2]: Peter O. Staub et al., ‘[[Staub et al., ‘Incense and Ritual Plant Use in Southwest China’, 2011|Incense and Ritual Plant Use in Southwest China: A Case Study among the Bai in Shaxi]]’, *Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine*, vol. 7, no. 1 (2011), p. 2, https://doi.org/10.1186/1746-4269-7-43; ‘Three Teachings’, Wikipedia, last edited 2 January 2026, 12:31 (UTC), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_teachings. [^3]: Asia for Educators, ‘[[Asia for Educators, ‘China—Timeline of Historical Periods’, n.d.|CHINA—Timeline of Historical Periods]]’. [^4]: garbuge \[pseud.], ‘[[garbuge, ‘oh another fun buddhism thing’, 2025|oh another fun buddhism thing, bugs are in a kind of purgatory …]]’, *on the hills where elfs roam free* (Tumblr blog), 10 February 2025, 1:35 AM, <https://www.tumblr.com/garbuge/775014549710569472/oh-another-fun-buddhism-thing-bugs-are-in-a-kind>. [^5]: Thomas William Whyke, ‘[[Whyke, ‘Male Homosexuality and Foxes in Ji Yun’s Zhiguai’, 2020|Male Homosexuality and Foxes in Ji Yun’s Zhiguai Collection Tales of the Thatched Cottage]]’, *Fudan Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences*, vol. 13 (January 2020), p. 358, <https://doi.org/10.1007/s40647-019-00276-0>. [^6]: Tony Barnstone, ‘Preface’, in *[[Barnstone and Ping, The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry, 2005|The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry: From Ancient to Contemporary, the Full 3000-Year Tradition]]*, eds. Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping (Anchor Books, 2005), p. xliv. Internet Archive, [https://archive.org/details/anchorbookofchin00barn](https://archive.org/details/anchorbookofchin00barn). [^7]: 玉佛寺新媒体中心 \[Jade Buddha Temple New Media Center], ‘[[Jade Buddha Temple New Media Centre, ‘Brief Introduction of Monasteries’, 2018]]’, *Yufo Temple*, 18 October 2018, https://www.yufotemple.com/en/view/847. [^8]: Aliceyin \[pseud.], ‘The Art and Significance of Bead Bracelets from Yonghe Temple’, 5 June 2024, *YinYin Shop*, https://yinyinhome.com/the-art-and-significance-of-bead-bracelets-from-yonghe-temple/. [^9]: Tony Barnstone and Chou Ping, eds., *[[Barnstone and Ping, The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry, 2005|The Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry: From Ancient to Contemporary, the Full 3000-Year Tradition]]* (Anchor Books, 2005), p. xliv. Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/anchorbookofchin00barn.