The Crossroads of Faith: Christianity and Buddhism in 19th-Century East Asia

The Missionary Dilemma in Late Imperial China

When I assumed the position of secretary for the Christian Literature Society in Shanghai, I confronted what seemed an impossible task—how to transform the religious landscape of a nation where hundreds of millions followed Buddhism. This challenge led me into unexpected intellectual territory. A group of missionaries encouraged me to investigate why Buddhism held such sway over Chinese society, prompting my deep dive into texts like The Guide to Buddhism. Though fascinating, it wasn’t until 1884 that I discovered the key text that would shape my understanding: The Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana.

Authored by Ashvagosha, the founder of Mahayana Buddhism, this 1st-century Indian treatise presented revolutionary ideas—countless Buddhas across time and space, universal Buddha-nature in all beings, and salvation through compassion. Its parallels with Christian theology were striking. With help from a Confucian scholar-turned-Buddhist philosopher, I completed an English translation by 1891, though it wouldn’t see publication until after D.T. Suzuki’s version emerged.

Tokyo Dialogues: Christianity’s Struggle in Japan

In 1908, I visited Professor Lloyd in Tokyo, a Cambridge graduate and former missionary whose insights into Japanese Buddhism proved transformative. At a remarkable luncheon attended by Greek Orthodox Archbishop Nicolai, Anglican bishops, and British consular officials, we debated why Christianity struggled in East Asia. The discussions revealed critical blind spots: missionaries’ neglect of local philosophies and excessive theological rigidity. Archbishop Nicolai’s approach—working among the poor rather than elites—had yielded more converts than all other denominations combined.

Professor Lloyd argued that comparative religious study, not doctrinal confrontation, could bridge divides. His passion for texts like The Wheat Among the Tares and The Creed of Half Japan mirrored my own findings. This perspective gained traction when I later lectured at a Buddhist college on Mount Koya, where monks requested a Bible for their library—an unthinkable gesture decades earlier.

The Buddhist-Christian Synthesis: Rituals and Revelations

Japan’s religious landscape offered astonishing parallels. At Horyuji Temple, murals depicted the Buddha surrounded by twelve guardian generals, reminiscent of Christ’s apostles. In Miyajima, perpetual sacred flames and baptismal rites mirrored Christian sacraments. Even The Lotus Sutra, brought from China’s Tiantai Mountain by the monk Kobo Daishi, contained passages on divine light and love echoing the Gospel of John.

These discoveries weren’t unilateral. After Mrs. E.A. Gordon published The Speaking Stones, documenting similarities between Nestorian Christian monuments and Japanese traditions, Buddhist scholars erected a replica stele at Koya-san—the resting place of Kukai, who awaited the Buddhist messiah. The gesture symbolized a thaw in interfaith tensions.

Korea’s Forgotten Bridge

Tracing Mahayana Buddhism’s path from Korea to Japan, I visited Tongdo Temple in 1913. Its murals of the “Boat of Souls” featured a trinity of Amitabha, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahasthamaprapta—a configuration intriguingly analogous to Christian iconography. The legend of an African monk healing a Silla princess and inspiring temple construction underscored Buddhism’s transcultural adaptability.

Shinto’s Hidden Parallels

Even Japan’s indigenous Shinto tradition held surprises. At the Grand Shrine of Ise in 1908, I witnessed rituals with uncanny resemblances to Hebrew practices—clapping ceremonies evoking Psalm 24’s call for purity before entering sacred spaces. Lafcadio Hearn had noted these parallels years earlier, suggesting deep-rooted spiritual convergences across Eurasia.

Literary Cross-Pollination

My 1913 translation of Journey to the West as Mission to Heaven revealed the novel’s implicit Christian ethos. The pilgrim Xuanzang’s transformation of his disciples—the arrogant Monkey, hedonistic Pig, and prideful River Monster—mirrored Christian redemption narratives. Such thematic overlaps hinted at universal spiritual archetypes.

Statesmen and Syncretism

Conversations with Japan’s leaders confirmed religion’s political dimensions. Prince Ito Hirobumi recounted drafting Japan’s constitution, where guaranteeing religious freedom prevented sectarian strife from weakening the nation. Count Okuma Shigenobu, founder of Waseda University, observed that Japanese religious attitudes historically followed imperial preferences—a insight with implications for missionary strategy.

Legacy of Interfaith Dialogue

The 1910 dinner at a Beijing Japanese bank epitomized this era’s intellectual ferment. Amidst hymns and discussions comparing Mahayana Buddhism with Christianity, journalists noted the unprecedented openness. What began as missionary frustration had evolved into mutual discovery—proof that understanding, not conversion, might be the truest path to spiritual connection.

In retrospect, these encounters reveal a profound truth: the boundaries between “Eastern” and “Western” faiths were far more permeable than 19th-century assumptions allowed. The texts, rituals, and dialogues chronicled here not only reshaped Christian missionary approaches but foreshadowed today’s global interfaith movements—a legacy as vital now as it was transformative then.