Buddhism came from India, it was not indigenous it became sinicized, it came into China during the han dynasty Buddhism made its greatest impact during the unsettled 6 dynasties. Buddhism colors Chinese life. Buddhism doesn't have hierarchy. It became a major and potent political and religious force during the 4th and 9th centuries A.D. Buddhism provided people w/ very different ways of looking at the world. Because it was difficult to place much faith in civil gov'ts during these unsettled times, Buddhism reach was extended way beyond any known govt. Buddhism, which was a philosophy, came a religion. Took a long time to spread in China. Buddha, which was a real person, tries to figure out what life is all about. Buddha means the enlighten one. Buddhist philosophy was developing just as buddhism was being introduced to china. Buddha brooded over the mysteries of human life. He believed that peoples desires and attachments were the source of their suffering. Buddha reached enlightenment under tree. He concluded that life consisted of 4 noble truths. Those who progress along this path engaging in spiritual exercises that enhance concentration and insight can eventually escape the cycle of rebirth and enter nirvana. Buddhism remained a foreign import, as the Chinese were always quick to point out. As a body, bureaucrats never subscribed to it because its concepts opposed Confucianism, w/ its alien notions such as otherworldliness, lack of any appreciable sense of historicity and advocacy of celibacy. The religion was proscribed by chinese rulers on grounds of security rather than theology. Today communist china tolerates the faith but the religion has been subordinated to the state. Luoyang had over 1000 Buddhist monasteries. China still thinks buddhism is foreign . China later exported Buddhism to Korea and Japan. There is no national church for buddha in china. In W. China there is Buddhist monument.