Effects On Buddhism
The suppression of monasteries and persecution of foreign religions were part of a reformation undertaken. The persecution lasted for twenty months—not long, but long enough to have permanent effects. Buddhism, for all its strength, never completely recovered. For centuries afterwards, it was merely a tolerated religion. The days of its greatest building, sculpture, and painting, and its most vital creative thought, were past.
In some aspects while much of traditional Buddhist teachings were later arduously restored following Emperor Wuzong's reign, some traditional schools of thought were wiped out. This included the ancient Esoteric school, which barely survived through transmission of the teachings to the Japanese monk Kūkai, later the founder of the Shingon sect.
Read more about this topic: Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution
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