Source 7.5: Christianity on the Silk Roads

Buddhism was not the only religion to travel the Silk Roads. So too did Christianity, although in a much less widespread and spectacular fashion. Largely derived from the Persian-based Church of the East, this Nestorian form of Christianity had established a minor presence in Central Asia and northern China during the first millennium C.E., probably introduced by Christian missionaries and merchants following the Silk Road network. The most well-known of these initiatives occurred in 635 C.E. when the Tang dynasty emperor Taizong welcomed a Persian Christian monk named Alopen and some two dozen of his associates to the Chinese capital of Chang’an (now Xian, see map). The Chinese court at this time was unusually open to a variety of foreign cultural traditions, including Buddhism, Islam, and Zoroastrianism in addition to Christianity.

Unlike Buddhism, Christianity did not establish a widespread or lasting presence in Central Asia or China. But for several centuries, a number of small Christian communities had flourished, generating a remarkable set of writings known as the “Jesus Sutras.” (A sutra is a Buddhist religious text.) Some were carved on large stone slabs, while others were written on scrolls discovered early in the twentieth century in the caves of Dunhuang in northwestern China. What has fascinated scholars about these writings is the extent to which they cast the Christian message in distinctively Chinese terms, making use particularly of Buddhist and Daoist concepts long familiar in China. For example, at the top of a large stone tablet known as the Nestorian Monument is a Christian cross arising out of a white cloud (a characteristic Daoist symbol) and a lotus flower (an enduring Buddhist image). The written texts themselves, which refer to Christianity as the “Religion of Light from the West” or the “Luminous Religion,” describe its arrival in China and outline its message within the framework of Chinese culture.

Questions to consider as you examine the source:

The Jesus Sutras, 635–1005

The Story of Jesus

The Lord . . . sent the Cool Wind to a girl named Mo Yen. It entered her womb and . . . [she] became pregnant and gave birth to a son named Jesus, whose father is the Cool Wind. . . . [T]he Messiah . . . sought out people with bad karma and directed them to turn around and create good karma by following a wholesome path. Eventually these people, whose karma was unwholesome, formed a conspiracy against him. . . .

For the sake of all living beings and to show us that a human life is as frail as a candle flame, the Messiah gave his body to these people of unwholesome karma. For the sake of the living in this world, he gave up his life. . . .

The Four Laws of Dharma

The first law is no desire. Your heart seeks one thing after another, creating a multitude of problems. . . . Desire can sap wholesome energy. . . . This cuts us off from the roots of Peace and Joy.

The second law is no action. . . . We live our lives veering this way and that: We do things for the sake of progress and material gain, neglecting what is truly important and losing sight of the Way.

The third law is no virtue. Don’t try to find pleasure by making a name for yourself through good deeds. Practice instead universal loving kindness that is directed toward everyone.

The fourth law is no truth. Don’t be concerned with facts, forget about right and wrong, sinking or rising, winning or losing. Those who have awakened to the Way, who have attained the mind of Peace and Joy, who can see all karmic conditions and who share their enlightenment with others, reflect the world like a mirror, leaving no trace of themselves.

Source: Ray Riegert and Thomas Moore (eds.), The Lost Sutras of Jesus: Unlocking the Ancient Wisdom of the Xian Monks (Berkeley, CA: Ulysses Press, 2006), 81–83, 115, 117, 119.