Peculiarities of Buddhism transformation in China and Tibet

The article studies the main trends of transformation of Buddhist philosophical and soterio-logical teachings in China and Tibet in a comparative context. The soteriological priorities of the Buddhist schools of China and Tibet, their influence on the formation of Chinese and Tibetans’ philosophical worldview are shown. We have analyzed the concept of instantaneous path to salvation, which has become a priority in Chinese Buddhism, and the concept of gradual path to salvation, which dominates in Tibetan Buddhism. The distinction between the philosophical reflection of Buddhism in China and Tibet has been revealed. It is concluded that the development of Buddhist philosophical thought was greatly influenced by the natural philosophical traditions of ancient China, while the philosophy of Tibetan Buddhism was greatly influenced by the epistemological research of Indian Prasangika-Madhyamaka.