Using History to Defend Buddhism's Place in the Socio-Political Order

Abstract

This article investigates the historical arguments found in the Da Song sengshilüe, an important work on the history of Buddhism in China by the vinaya monk Zanning. Throughout a life that spanned the turmoil of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period as well as the imperial consolidation of the early Song, Zanning proved adept at developing close relationships with important political figures and prominent literati. He was widely praised for his literary skills, and he established a reputation as an erudite scholar of both Buddhist and Confucian learning. His fame attracted the attention of Emperor Taizong, and in the late tenth century, Zanning was ordered to write a text on the history of Buddhism in China, which he called the Da Song sengshilüe. In this work, Zanning described the institutional relationships that developed between Buddhism and the state as well as the manner in which these changed over time. His historical analysis revealed that Buddhism needed to maintain a relationship with the government and that this relationship should ideally be one of mutual assistance and support. In addition, Zanning used the Da Song sengshilüe to advance a polemical argument on the proper stance that the state should adopt towards Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism. Based on an historical analysis of the causes underlying the vicissitudes in the political fortunes of the Three Teachings, he contended that Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism should be treated equally, and that the holders of political power should refrain from establishing policies advocating either favoritism or persecution towards them.