However hard the original mind may struggle to attain goodness, we can hardly find any examples of true goodness in this world under the sovereignty of evil. Human beings have thus been compelled to seek the source of goodness in the world transcendent of time and space. This necessity has given birth to religion.
Through religion, fallen people mired in ignorance have sought to meet God by ceaselessly striving toward the good. Even though the individuals, peoples and nations which championed a certain religion may have perished, religion itself has survived. Religion has endured through history despite the rise and fall of many nations. In the history of China, the Chao dynasty and the Warring States were followed by an era of unification in the Ch’in dynasty. This was followed by the Former Han, Hsin, Later Han, the Six Dynasties, and an era of unification in the Sui and T’ang periods.
They were followed by the Five Dynasties, Northern Sung, Southern Sung, Yuan, Ming, Ch’ing, the Republic of China and the People’s Republic of China. In its history, China has experienced many cycles of the rise and fall of dynasties and numerous transfers of political power, yet – the religions of the Far East – Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism – have continued to thrive. The history of India has witnessed the empire of Mauryas followed by the Guptas, Harsa, Calukyas, the Mughals, Maratha, the British Raj, and today’s independent India. Despite the rise and fall of many kingdoms, the religion of Hinduism has survived and prospered. |