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founded the “Yellow Sect”, developed and centralized foundations were assimilated in China.
chiefly in Mongolia. Because of the marked similar-
ity between the Tibetan and the Sanskrit languages, Since four of the Chinese Buddhist sects, namely the
many fundamental Mahayana sutras were preserved Dharma Nature, the Dharmalaksana of the great Ve-
in Tibet; the esoteric school was transmitted directly hicle, the Satyasiddhi, and Kosa of the Small Vehicle,
from India; the sutra and sastra on nature and form, were transmitted directly from India to China, both
and the Mahayana Vinaya (rules of conduct) survived the Mahayana and the Thervada Vinayas or rules of
the ages in perfect condition there. Although the es- conduct came along with them. Dharma in its com-
oteric Dharma was taught in Tibetan, it was benefi- pleteness can be found in the teachings of the Tien
cial to numerous devotees through translations. Japan T’ai sect and of the Hwa Yen sect. The Ch’an sect
and Korea, on the other hand, acquired their Buddhist was initiated by Bodhidharma, a scholarly monk from
system from China where, by then, it has been estab- India, who continued the line of teaching practiced by
lished for seven hundred years. It was a very powerful the Buddha himself, namely, attaining the ocean of
source that carried Buddhadharma far and wide, and enlightenment by pointing directly at the mind. That
via Japan and Korea the propagation of the teachings approach leads to the region of enlightenment with-
spread even further. Chinese Buddhism developed out detour: It is the core of Buddhism generally and
along characteristically Chinese lines and its roots are the marrow of Buddhism in China. The Pure Land
in the Chinese culture, but it has taken more then sev- sect continues to benefit numberless practitioners and
en hundred years of assimilation. Both the ÂSmall’ in that respect it is second to none. For this reason it
and the Great Vehicles reached China due to scores of will be dealt with in greater detail in the chapters that
Buddhist monks who came from India by land from follow. Although Buddhism in China may have ap-
the West and via the maritime route from the South. peared to flounder at times, it has never lost its vitality
The texts the monks brought with them were then and structure. If more people would open their minds
translated from the original Pali or Sanskrit. Several to the Buddha’s teaching, the three major traditions
heroic Chinese, namely Fa Hsien, Hsuen Tsang and I might form a partnership and together propagate the
Chin journeyed to India in search of authentic textu- enlightening practice.
al Dharma and the materials they brought when they
returned to China were meticulously translated and Stay tuned for part VI in the next issue
avidly studied. At the decline of the T’ang and the
Sui Dynasties, both Mahayana and Theravada textual

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