Editor's note: Following its introduction to China, Buddhism has smoothly integrated with Confucianism, and academics are currently engaged in the important task of gaining a greater understanding of its integration process into Chinese society. Professor Lai Yonghai, director of the Chinese Culture Study Center of Nanjing University, during an interview with the Chinese Social Sciences Today (CSST), shares his perspectives and insight on this issue.

Lai: Buddhism was greatly influenced Confucianism after it was introduced to China. From an academic, theoretical perspective, the core value of Confucianism is the Mind-Nature Theory. So the sinicization of Buddhism is a process of turning to the Mind-Nature Theory which is represented by Zen Buddhism.

Buddhism was initially influenced by Confucianism and it subsequently influenced Neo-Confucianism, a school of Confucian Philosophy, developed primarily during the Song and Ming dynasties (960-1644). Specifically, Confucianism made Buddhists in China take the "mind and nature" as the Buddha Principle and *Suchness. In Indian Buddhism, however, Suchness and Buddha Principle mainly refer to the abstract nature of existence.

Meanwhile, Chinese Buddhists retained the ontology of Buddhism during this sinicization process. Therefore, the Buddhists of the Sui and Tang Dynasties (581-907) used the Mind-Nature Theory to study the Buddha-nature while studying the nature of the mind through ontology. This ontological Mind-Nature Theory became the basis of Neo-Confucianism.

CCST: Why was it possible for Buddhism to integrate with Confucianism soon after it was introduced to China? What inspiration can we draw from it when talking about acculturation?

Lai: During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Buddhism had many sects. The Huayan, Tiantai and Insight Sects were far more influential than the Zen Sect, not only in terms of social background, but also in terms of their ideology and the founders' familiarity with Buddhist scriptures. However, these three sects eventually dwindled and Zen became the representative of Chinese Buddhism.

Fundamentally speaking, Zen met the needs of Chinese society by adapting itself to Confucianism. The reason behind Confucianism's popularity lies in its ability to adapt to the ancient China's societal trends and norms, such as the small-scale peasant economy and the patriarchal system. The Zen Sect has similar traits. Its ideology may not be as grand and deep as those of the other three sects, but it was acceptable to both the people and scholars alike.

Why was Confucianized Buddhism more suitable to ancient Chinese society than orthodox Buddhism? The answer lies in how we look at cultural communication and development. Chinese Buddhism became a part of Chinese culture because it fused many traditional Chinese cultural factors under existing social and historical circumstances while retaining the basic spirit of Indian Buddhism. This enabled it to gain a cultural foothold and develop quickly in China. This inspires us to the realization that any foreign idea can gain a foothold and develop only by integrating with local social and historical circumstances and culture.

CCST: How do you view the relation between Confucianism and Buddhism?

Lai: Followers of Confucianism pursue mundane activities while Indian Buddhists prefer aloofness and detachment. So it is with Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism. Both schools of Buddhism were introduced to China. However, only the former school thrived as Han Buddhism. This is a choice made by history. Moreover, Buddhism, represented by Zen, turned to the "nature of the mind" to adapt to Chinese culture and narrow the differences between the two. Only by putting our study of the history of ideas into certain historical circumstances can we find the reasons for the rise, development and fall of an idea and culture. Buddhism alone cannot explain the Han people's choice of Mahayana Buddhism. Historical Materialism is a key to analyze the relations between Confucianism and Buddhism.

CCST: What is Buddhism's importance in terms of the study and understanding of Chinese philosophy?

Lai: There is a saying that "one cannot understand Chinese philosophy if he does not understand Chinese Buddhism." There is an element of truth to this, because Chinese Buddhism is, in a sense, the stem of Chinese philosophy.

I once participated in writing and editing the History of the Development of Chinese Philosophy, compiled by Mr. Ren Jiyu. In this book series, Buddhism begins to account for a large part of the narrative from the period of the Southern and Northern dynasties (386-589). In the following Sui and Tang dynasties (581-907), it accounts for as much as three-quarters of the whole content.

In another example, Hu Shi (1891-1962), a famous philosopher, once wanted to write a general history of Chinese philosophy. But he stopped the work when writing about the Southern and Northern dynasties. When asked why he stopped writing, Hu answered that he did not know much about Chinese Buddhism and, therefore, did not dare to continue.

Many former worthies described Neo-Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties thus: "Confucianism is the outside and Buddhism is the inside;" or "Confucianism is yin and Buddhism is yang." They are quite right. Although Neo-Confucianism is a school of Confucianism, it uses Buddhism's ontological mode of thinking to construct an ideological structure. Therefore，without an understanding of Chinese Buddhism, any study of Neo-Confucianism will certainly be in vain.

* suchness ("Bhutatathata" in Sanskrit) is regarded as the absolute, ultimate source and character of all phenomena. It is the eternal, unchangeable reality. (Source: www.wisdomlib.org)

(This article was first published in Chinese and translated by Li Shen.)

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