Buddhism did not originate in India, and Shakyamuni was not an Indian either
Many people believe that Buddhism originated in present-day India, but to be precise, it should have originated in ancient India.
Ancient India used to be called Tianzhu, much larger than present-day India, including many countries such as Pakistan and Nepal. Therefore, these countries also belong to the birthplace of Buddhism, rather than referring solely to present-day India.
Buddha Shakyamuni is not an Indian, but a Nepalese. In ancient India, Nepal was called Kapila Wei Kingdom. Therefore, Shakyamuni is an authentic Nepalese and has no connection with present-day India.
In Buddhism, 'Buddha' means' Awakened One '. What Buddhism advocates is for people to transcend life and death through practice and ultimately attain liberation.
One of the attractions of Buddhism is to promote reincarnation, which can generate hope for people. Even if there is no future in this life, one can place hope in the next life through practice.
At that time, due to social unrest and the suffering of the people, Buddhism was able to provide spiritual comfort and hope to people. Therefore, it quickly spread in ancient India and ultimately formed the world's major religions, which, together with Christianity and Islam, were known as the three major religions in the world.
There are different opinions on when Buddhism was introduced to China. Some scholars believe that Buddhism was introduced to the Central Plains as early as the Qin Shi Huang period; Some believe that Buddhism was introduced to China after the opening of the Silk Road, and some Buddhists came to China.
These statements all have some truth, but currently there are many opinions that Buddhism was officially introduced to China during the Eastern Han Dynasty during the reign of Emperor Ming, which is recorded in historical records.
The Book of Later Han "records that on a night in 64 AD, Emperor Ming of Han had a dream of a tall, shining golden man flying from the west, which was very spectacular.
Emperor Ming of Han felt very strange and told his ministers about his dream, asking them to interpret it. A minister said, "People say that there is a Buddha in the West, just like His Majesty's dream. His Majesty's dream is auspicious, indicating that the Buddha is about to protect us
The words spoken by the minister indicate that people had already gained an understanding of Buddhism at that time. Upon hearing this, Emperor Ming of Han was overjoyed and immediately dispatched envoys to Tianzhu to inquire about Buddha's scriptures. Emperor Ming of Han sent envoys to the West to seek scriptures several hundred years earlier than Chen Xuanzang during the later Tang Dynasty.
A group of more than ten envoys braved the harsh cold and wind to the western sky to gather scriptures. The road to the west is far and difficult, and they have walked for a long time before reaching Tianzhu.
Just at this moment, they met the renowned Indian monks Sima Teng and Zhu Fang in Central Asia, and invited them to preach in China. Two eminent monks readily agreed and carried the Buddhist scriptures on white horses to China.
In 67 AD, the envoy and the eminent monk arrived in Luoyang together. Emperor Ming of Han was very happy and personally received him. In the following year, Emperor Ming of Han ordered the organization of a large number of laborers to build China's first Buddhist temple in Luoyang. To commemorate the White Horse Carrying Scriptures, it was named "White Horse Temple".
Photograph Moteng and Zhu Frang, the two prominent Indian monks, stayed at Baima Temple from then on and passed away in the end. Two eminent monks were preaching in the Luoyang area and worked hard for the dissemination of Buddhism for a lifetime. They were revered as the ancestors of Chinese Buddhism.
After the establishment of Baima Temple, many eminent monks came here to teach Buddhism and translate Buddhist scriptures. Baima Temple became the first Buddhist scripture translation temple in China.
In the early stages of Buddhism's dissemination in China, it had a very close relationship with the White Horse Temple, which played an extremely important role in the dissemination of Buddhism in China.
After Emperor Ming of Han introduced Buddhism, it initially became popular between the imperial palace and the nobility, but later gradually expanded from the upper class to the people. During the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, although there were partial actions to eliminate Buddhism, Buddhism still developed rapidly and later became one of the most influential religions