(c) Buddhism: The origins of Buddhism are to be found in India, and entered China in the reign of Emperor Han Ming Ti in about 65 AD, which is roughly about the time that the book of Revelation in the Christian New Testament was written. Despite this early entry into China, it did not gain any mass following until the around 290 AD. Its popularity came during a time of social disorder and barbarian invasion. Buddhism's promise of personal salvation, although very much against the norms of Chinese collectivism and emphasis on family and society, attracted many during a time of great uncertainty.

Buddhism was established by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha or 'enlightened one'. Siddhartha Gautama was a prince of the Sakya kingdom on the borders of what are now India and Nepal and was a contemporary of Confucius. Although living in luxury, Siddhartha Gautama was exposed one day to the sufferings of the masses. This greatly affected the prince and he began a search to find relief for human suffering. This he found when he received a moment of enlightenment while meditating under a Bo tree.

From this moment the prince became the Buddha - the enlightened one. The Buddha taught that desires are the source of pain, and that by overcoming our desires we can overcome pain. To achieve this he advocated meditation and pursuing the Eightfold Path. The Eightfold Path is a set of rules similar to the Ten Commandments of Judaism and Christianity. The objective was to reach Nirvana - the condition of spiritual peace, where all cravings, strife, and pain have been overcome and the spirit merges with eternal harmony.

Buddhism split into two major trends quite early on in its development: Greater Vehicle (Mahayana) and Lesser Vehicle (Hinayana). Hinayana remained closer to the original Buddhism and is the variation of Buddhism practised in the countries of South East Asia. The Buddhism of China, Korea, Japan, Nepal, Tibet, and Vietnam, however, stems largely from Mahayana Buddhism which incorporated some more traditional religious practices such as the belief in repetitive prayers, heaven and deities (bodhisattvas) who would help people gain salvation. It also readily adapted to the land and people it converted. In China, it split into several schools, including Ch'an (Zen in Japan), T'ien-t'ai (Tendai in Japan), and Pure Land.

Actually�� since Song Dynasty, Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism have mixed and combined into to Chinese culture and Chinese mainstream Philosophy as well.