<P> Filial piety was emphasized in Confucianism because devotion to one's parents was often associated with one's devotion to the state . </P> <P> Early Buddhism did not have a strong tradition of filial piety . Buddhism in India involved many men leaving or abandoning their families, parents, wives, and children to become monks (Buddha himself was said to have done so). The true Buddhist had to reject all family ties, just as they had to reject social and class ties if they were to pursue Nirvana . Family was viewed as just another encumbrance of mortal life that had to be dealt with . Sorrow and grief were said to be "born of those who are dear .". Theravada Buddhism stressed individual salvation, and had little room for the interdependent society that Confucianism had created in China, which stressed the good of the community more than the good of the individual . In India, Buddhism also advocated celibacy among its monks which was unacceptable in the Confucian world view, given that it was viewed as the child's duty to continue the parental line . </P> <P> When Buddhism was introduced to China, it was redefined to support filial piety . The Mouzi Lihuolun (牟子 理 惑 論), a work defending Buddhism to the Chinese, presented arguments for Buddhist monks' seemingly poor treatment of their parents, by closely reading the works of Confucius himself . The Guiyangtu (跪 羊 图) and Vimalakirti Nirdesa Sutra are also Buddhist works portraying lay householder duties and obligations in contrast with pure monastic renunciation . </P> <P> The Mouzi Lihuolun compares the Buddhist monk to a filial son who saves his father from drowning . </P>

How did the notion of filial piety most affect other traditions in china