In the first century C.E, Buddhism came to China from India via trade. Political instability and disunity between 220 C.E and 570 C.E. are effects of the arrival of Buddhism in China because some people accepted the religion and others resisted it. Zong Mi believes that the teachings of Confucius, Laozi, and the Buddha, perform and reward good deeds and punish wicked deeds, synthesize the foundation for an orderly society (Doc 5). An anonymous Chinese scholar addresses speculation about the validity and the practices of the Buddhist religion, such as depriving themselves of certain luxuries of the world, i.e. marriage, children, and worldly wealth. This scholar claims that in order for a teaching to be acceptable it doesn’t need to be incorporated …show more content…
The fact that the Chinese people dedicated statues of the Buddha proves that they respected the Buddhist religion (Doc 7). Zong Mi was a Buddhist scholar whom the Tang imperial household favored. In his essay, “On the Nature of Man,” he advocates for the Buddhist religion by arguing that the teachings of Buddha are similar to the teachings of other well-respected sages, such as Confucius and Laozi, and that these teachings synthesize the foundation for an orderly society. This source is credible because Zong Mi has studied other religions and philosophies and after doing so he still accepts Buddhism (POV for doc 5). An anonymous Chinese scholar analyzes the major issues people had with the teachings of the Buddha, such as how Confucius never mentions the Buddha, which raises questions about the validity of Buddha, and whether the practices of Buddhism are realistic because the joys of life during the sixth century C.E. come from family and wealth and Buddhists monks practice celibacy and a simple lifestyle. This source is credible because this scholar is not a scholar of a specific religion or philosophy, rather a scholar of religion and …show more content…
The Roman officials saw the monotheistic Christians as disloyal to the emperor because of their refusal to worship anyone or anything other than their god. Despite the officials constant and the governments occasional persecution, Christianity thrived and eventually became the official religion of the Roman empire in 312 C.E. Comparatively, Emperor Wu of the Tang dynasty in China postulates the eradication of the Buddhist because he fears they will diminish his power and eventually cause the collapse of China, which is similar the the Roman officials’ fear that the Christians would propel the other Romans to disrespect the emperor which would lead to the fall of the