Hua-hu ching Chin., lit. “Classic [Treatise] on the Conversion of Barbarians “; Taoist work, dating from ca. 300 C.E., in which the missionary activities of Lao-tzu “in the West of China” (i.e., India) are described. The Hua-hu ching claims that the Buddha was a pupil of Lao-tzu and Buddhism therefore a variant of Taoism.
The Hua-hu ching figures prominently in the early controversies between Taoists and Buddhists, the Taoists citing it as proof of their superiority over the followers of Buddhism and demanding that Taoism be accorded the status of an official religion. The Buddhists countered by moving the Buddha’s date of birth back to the 11 th century B.C.E.: Lao-tzu could not possibly have converted a person that lived several centuries before him.
Source: The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Books on Hua-hu ching
External links