Why Did the Buddha Not Choose to Be Born in China?

 

Why Did the Buddha Not Choose to Be Born in China?

Nantai

 

As we mentioned earlier, the reason Buddhism flourished in China is that the cultivation ethos in China surpassed that of India, making it the finest spiritual practice sanctuary on Earth. This naturally raises a question: if China had a better cultivation ethos than India back then, why did the Buddha choose to be born in India instead of China? There are specific reasons for this.

 

The Buddha’s birth was not a random occurrence but a deliberate choice—this is what set him apart from ordinary beings. Evidence of this lies in his decision to be born into a royal family: by doing so, when he later went out to beg for alms, no one would slander him. After all, being born a prince yet choosing to renounce the worldly life would dispel any suspicion that he turned to monasticism out of destitution.

 

The Buddha had to be born at noon, and destined to enter nirvana at midnight. This timing was intentional: it would make ordinary people believe that the Buddha’s coming into and passing from the world were entirely of his own volition, thereby deepening their faith in Buddhism.

 

Given all this, why did the Buddha opt for India over China as his birthplace? In fact, his choice was not based on nationhood, but on the thickness of the land’s crust. As a transcendent sage, the Buddha’s birth would trigger a tremendous cosmic tremor—a force that thinner crustal regions could not withstand. That is why he chose Nepal, located at the foot of the Himalayas. Back then, Nepal was part of India, and India itself was a nation steeped in spiritual practice. Although most people practiced non-Buddhist paths, the overall atmosphere for cultivation was quite favorable. These are the reasons he did not choose China.

 

However, the flourishing of Buddhism is not constrained by crustal thickness. China had a solid foundation for spiritual practice, and the advancement of science would exert a more pronounced influence on cultivation here. Thus, it was only natural that Buddhism would thrive in China. The Buddha, who could perceive the past and future, arranged all the necessary conditions for this flourishing to unfold in China—and this makes perfect sense. The fact that Buddhism later became lost in India and is now gradually being reintroduced from China back to India is further proof that the Buddha’s choice was correct. There is no doubt that Buddhism is destined to flourish in China.