Buddhism

Although Buddhism originated from India, it dominated a role in Chinese culture in many aspects. One main idea that is popular among Chinese culture is "Samsara" or "cycle rebirth". People believe that one does not enter afterlife after death; instead, one is either reborn in to society as a different form (animal or insect) or goes to hell or "heaven". This idea is similar to Zhuang Zi's reaction to his wife's death, arguing that death is a form of transformation. In Buddhism, a person's rebirth in to a certain form is determined by a person's "karma". This means that if a person was uncorrupted and acted kindly, there is a higher chance that one will reborn in to a more pleasant state such as an "asura" (demi-god).

The idea of "Samsara" became popular among Chinese society. In hopes for borning in to a better state, it is common among society to believe that if one acts kindly, he/she will born in to a better life. Following this trend, people felt that part of the process is to present incense and participate in buddhist rituals. The intentions that people practices these rituals is because they are asking the buddhas for something in return (good fortune, good health, protection). Though society may believe that they are following, or at least trying to follow the ways of buddhism, their mind set and intentions are contradictory to buddhism.

The reason that people practices certain ways of buddhism is because of the "Samsara". Through acts of kindness, people are hoping for positive deeds in return, specifically, a better life. However, buddhism emphasizes the idea of giving and treating everyone equally and not asking for anything in return (no-self). The common reason among Chinese society practices and follows buddhism is because people want good "karma" and a good "after life". Furthermore, the common belief is contradictory to buddhism since the religion never stated that whether or not a person will be reborn in to society (on Earth) with a better or worse life. In fact, the highest virtue of buddhism is to free one from "Samsara" and enter "Nirvana".