4/9/2017 HinduisminChina:Influencethatgoesbackmanymillennia

TheUtterNonsenseofSecularism

ReligionmaybeofaBook,butSpiritualityhasnothingtodowithBooks

HinduisminChina:Influencethatgoesbackmanymillennia

August5,2013(20130805T18:15:29+00:00)byDeshKapoor<http://www.patheos.com/blogs/drishtikone/author/drishtikone/>

HuShih,formerAmbassadorofChinatoUSAoncesaidIndiaconqueredand
dominatedChinaculturallyfor20centurieswithouteverhavingtosendasingle
soldieracrossherborder.InSpiritualandPhilosophicalterms,thatisverytrue.You
caneitherincludetheotherinyourselfbyConquering,orbyEmbrace.WhatHuShih
talksaboutwastheinclusionbyEmbrace.

ForaworldwhichishighonReligion,andwhichbelievesthatphilosophyiscentralto
Spiritualpursuits(whichisutternonsense,butohwell!)Buddhismisdistinctandan
intriguingproductfromIndia.

Buddhism,firstandforemost,isnotareligion.ItisaSpiritualdisciplinewhichhas
manypathsexperiencedandtaughtbyvariousEnlightenedBeings.Spiritually
relevantpathsareneitheruniquenorexclusive.BuddhaappearedontheIndianscene
manythousandsofyearsafterYogaandSpiritualdisciplineshadbeenperfectedand
taught.Hewasanincredibleandanamazingbeing.Butwhatheperfectedwasnt
unique.And,thatiswhyitismyargumentthatBuddhismasadistinctReligion
neversurvivedinIndia.Therewasnodifference.Theworkdonepriortoandafter
BuddhainSpiritualrealmhasbeensoenormousinIndia,thathisworkincredible
andamazinginitsownwaywasntabletomaintainmuchdistinction.

And,noHindusdidnotpersecuteBuddhiststoeliminatethem.Exceptforone
kingsrivalrywithhisneighbor,whohappenedtobeaBuddhist,thereisnoother
evidenceofsuchaconflict.Yes,thosewhobecamefanaticBuddhistswithout
SpiritualfoundationlikeAshoka,didgoaboutdemonstratingtheirfanaticismand
killingothersaftertakingonBuddhistwayoflife(ironical!).[AshokatheGreatwas
IndiasfirstReligiouslyfanatic
Jehadi<http://www.patheos.com/blogs/drishtikone/2011/12/ashokagreatwasindiasfirst
religiouslyfanaticjehadi/>]

TheIndianSpiritualpracticeswhichhavebeencollectivelyknownasSanatana
DharmaorbytheReligiousasHinduismhavehadalongandcrediblehistoryof
work.TheentireworldofYogawhichgoesbeyondthetoughpostureshasbeen
prevalentsincemanymillennia.NothingthathasbeendoneinSpiritualityhencehas
beenoutsideofthatwork.And,suchworkhasneverbeenthepropertyofoneperson.
IthasbeenlearntandtaughtinasystematicanddeliberatewaybyeveryTeacherto
his/herStudents.TheGuruShishyamethodologyhassurvivedmanymillennia.The
BoddhisatvasandtheBuddhistmonkshavefollowedasimilarmethodology
everywheretheywent.

China,HinduismandIndianSpirituality

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4/9/2017 HinduisminChina:Influencethatgoesbackmanymillennia

Chinaasadistinctgeographicalentity
hasbeenmentionedinHinduScriptures
sincealongtime.Chinahadbeencalled
CinainMahabharatforexample.
Interestingly,peoplefromCinacame
alongwiththeKiratas(peoplefrom
moderndayNepal)tojointheArmy
ofBhagadattaofPragjyotisaormodern
dayAssam.

Lateron,whenthePandavasgotothe
Himalayasafterthewar,theygoallthe
waynearBadrinathandcrossoverinto
thelandofCinaviathekingdom
ofKiratakingSubahu.
LiSanLong,aresidentofChedianvillage,
offersprayersatthevillageshrine,which
housesadeitythatisbelievedtobeoneofthe
goddessesthattheTamilcommunityin
Quanzhouworshippedinthe13thcentury.
(Credits:AnanthKrishnanandTheHindu)

ThisinteractionbetweenIndianandtheChinesepeoplehasgoneonforalongtime
sincethen.TheflowofSpiritualityandevenphilosophyhappenedduringtheseyears
aswell.

SomesaythattheimpactoftheconceptofYakshasandtheHanuman(intheChinese
characterSunWukong)isveryvisibleinmanyChinesefolklores.

ButinterestinglyitwasinthethelastmillenniathattheHinduswentoverinChina
andcreatedtemples,whichhavestoodalltheseyearsandstillbeingusedinsome
cases.

China's Hindu temples: A forgotten history

Inaninterestingstory<http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/behindchinashindu
templesaforgottenhistory/article4932458.ece?homepage=true>byTheHindunewspaper
correspondent,AnanthKrishnan,therearetemplesinChinawhicharestillprayedto
bythelocalresidents.Forexample,inthevillageofChedian,whereaGoddessisstill
worshippedasaformofGuanyin,thefemaleBodhisattva.Thearticlequotesalocal
resident,LiSanLong,sayingThisispossiblytheonlytempleinChinawhereweare
stillprayingtoaHinduGod.
Thistempleisnotanisolatedexample,butpossiblyapartofthelargernetworkof
templesthatwerecreatedbyIndianpossiblyTamiltradersoverathousandyears
ago.

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4/9/2017 HinduisminChina:Influencethatgoesbackmanymillennia

TheChedianshrineisjustoneofwhathistoriansbelievemayhavebeenanetworkofmore
thanadozenHindutemplesorshrines,includingtwograndbigtemples,builtinQuanzhou
andsurroundingvillagesbyacommunityofTamiltraderswholivedhereduringtheSong
(9601279)andYuan(12791368)dynasties.

Similarly,inThailand,PhraPhrom(derivativeofVaraBrahma)isalsoworshipped
asthefourfacedBuddha.Theworshippersregularlyofferincense,candles,jasmine
flowersorjasminegarlandsandyoungcoconutmilk(withwaterinthem)tothedeity.

InterminglingandMergingofBuddhistandHindutraditions

JustastheworldofSpiritualpathscomingoffoftheworkofBuddhafoldedbackinto
thelargerDharmicSpiritualpathswithinIndiaitisalsointerestingtoseethatthe
influencesandpracticesusuallyassociatedwithHinduismhavebeenmergedwiththe
largerBuddhisttraditionsandidiominChinaandthesurroundingareasinfluencedby
Chineseculture.

TounderstandhoweasilytranslationofonesdevotionandpracticesinoneSpiritual
pathtosimilarsentimentinanotherhappens,canbeseeninthisinterestingvideo
whichcomesfromSingapore.Here,aBuddhistandHindutempleexistsidebyside
andtheworshippersfromonegotoanotherwithoutanyhesitationorafeelingofloss
offaith.Itisalmostlikeacontinuationofthesameprocess.

Hinduism in Asia

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