Spread of Buddhism

Founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) in the 6th century BCE, Buddhism has spread throughout the world and influenced cultures and societies for more than two millennia. Its expansion can be summarized in three main phases:

Early Dissemination: After the Buddha’s death, his teachings were transmitted orally by his disciples. Buddhism spread across India, where it had its most significant early impact, and reached parts of Southeast Asia.

Spread across Asia: During the Mauryan Empire, Emperor Ashoka played a key role in promoting Buddhism in India and beyond. Missionaries carried Buddhist teachings along trade routes, leading to its establishment in Sri Lanka, Central Asia, Tibet, China, and Southeast Asia.

Globalization: In modern times, Buddhism has spread further into the Western world through immigration, scholarly interest, and spiritual exploration. She gained popularity for her emphasis on mindfulness, meditation, and non-violence.

Today, Buddhism is a global faith with millions of followers worldwide and continues to evolve as it encounters new cultures and societies.

The Spread of Buddhism

Introduction

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy founded in India by Siddhartha Gautama (also known as the Buddha) in 525 BC. Today, there are more than 500 million Buddhists worldwide. Buddhism is divided into three schools: one is Theravada or Theravada Buddhism in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka; the second is Mahayana Buddhism in China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan; and the third is Vajrayana Buddhism, which is found in Bhutan, Mongolia, Tibet, and some other parts of Russia.

Spread of Buddhism in India

In the fifth century BC, during economic development, several people became merchants and traders. These merchants and traders joined the teachings of Buddhism, and Buddhism became a very important part of the communities of these traders and merchants. In this way, Buddhism spread throughout the Mauryan Empire. The Mauryan Empire, which was the first empire to almost cover the entire Indian peninsula, was once the largest in Indian history. Buddhism spread throughout the Mauryan Empire through trade connections and trade routes. Buddhism also spread to various parts of Central Asia via the Silk Road.

The Mauryan Empire was at its peak during the time of Emperor Ashoka. Ashoka converted to Buddhism after the Battle of Kalinga, with many of his followers also converting to Buddhism. After the battle, there was a long period of stability in this Buddhist empire.

The power of the Mauryan Empire was great, and many ambassadors of the empire were sent to different countries to spread Buddhism. Some people have speculated that Ashoka was overcome with guilt after the Battle of Kalinga, so much so that he became a Buddhist.

Ashoka was one of the first emperors to adopt Buddhism as his faith; many other emperors also did so, such as Menander, who was a famous Bactrian king who ruled from Taxila. The Parthians also converted to Buddhism. The Kanish Emperor of the Kushan Empire also became Buddhist; this empire controlled parts of northern India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.

Buddhism also flourished in the Pala and Sena eras, and their kings also converted to Buddhism; it was controlled and spread in the present-day regions of Bihar and Bengal. So there were many other emperors who converted tod or followed the Buddha’s teachings.

Buddhism by country

A list of Buddhists by country shows that there are about 500 million Buddhists in this world, which is about 7-8% of the world’s population. Buddhism is dominant in many Southeast, East, and Central Asian countries, such as Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Korea, Vietnam, Nepal, and many others.

China has the largest population of Buddhists, which is about 50% of the total Buddhist population. About 250 million Chinese are Buddhist. They are followers of the Mahayana, the largest group of Buddhist traditions. The second largest is Theravada, which is mostly followed in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka. The third largest is Vajrayana, followed by the inhabitants of the Himalayan region and parts of Russia.

According to the Pew Research Center, the countries with the largest Buddhist population in 2010 are China with a population of approximately 250 million Buddhists, followed by Thailand with a population of 65 million followed by Japan with a population of approximately 45 million. , followed by Myanmar with a population of about 38 million people. These four countries contain 80% of the total Buddhist population, and the rest, 20%, is divided between Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Korea, India, Malaysia, and other East Asian countries.

The Spread of Buddhism in North America

During the Gold Rush of 1848, most of the Buddhists who immigrated to western North America were Chinese. Within two to three years, there were eight temples in San Francisco and the surrounding West Coast area. Around the same time, Buddhists from Japan immigrated to Hawaii. When the first Pure Land Buddhists arrived in San Francisco in 1893, they formed the Buddhist Association of North America (renamed the Buddhist Association of America (BCA)). Created to spread Buddhist teachings and beliefs, the BCA was a way for immigrants to protect their Buddhist culture and religion.

Spread of Buddhism in Europe

In Europe, Buddhism spread in a similar way. In the 19th century, they migrated to another part of Europe, but there was more influence in Europe than compared to North America because there was some influence of Buddhism in Europe because Emperor Ashoka sent some missionaries to Europe to spread the knowledge and Buddha’s teachings.

Buddhism in Southeast Asia

In the early centuries AD, people in various parts of Southeast Asia became aware of Buddhism as a result of increased contact with Indian traders who came to the region to trade. These traders not only established trading posts in Southeast Asia but also brought their religions and cultures with them. Under their influence, the local people began to practice a mixture of Hinduism and Buddhism while retaining many of their old beliefs and customs.

(i) Buddhism in Burma

As early as the time of the Indian king Ashoka, monks were sent to Thaton to spread the Buddha’s teachings. Thaton was the trading center of southern Burma. However, from the first century CE, trade between India and Burma expanded, and there was increased contact with Indian traders and their religious beliefs. Buddhism was widely accepted by the people of Thaton, as Buddhist missionaries came from Indian Buddhist centers. Thaton soon became an important center of Theravada Buddhism.

In later centuries, Vajrayana Buddhism was introduced to the people of northern Burma. They practiced it together with Hinduism and local folk beliefs. In the middle of the eleventh century, the powerful king Anawratha brought northern and southern Burma under his rule. Being a strong supporter of Theravada Buddhism, he made it the national religion. He had Buddhist scriptures, texts, and relics brought from Sri Lanka. He initiated the construction of monasteries and stupas in the capital, Pagan, a legacy continued by his successors. Paganism quickly developed into a focal point of Buddhist culture.

In the following centuries, Burma went through several periods of war and political turmoil, but Buddhism continued to prosper under the patronage of various kings and became part of the lives of ordinary people. Schools were established in monasteries in every village. Here, the monks taught the children basic Buddhist teachings as well as reading and writing.

The traditional structure of the Buddhist community suffered when Burma came under British colonial rule in the nineteenth century. However, since Burma became independent in the mid-twentieth century, Buddhism has regained its traditional place of importance in the lives of the Burmese people.

(ii) Buddhism in Thailand

Sukhothai  Buddha image Before the thirteenth century, the area now called Thailand consisted of many small, independent kingdoms. Buddhist influence was already felt in this area as a result of contacts with neighboring countries. At the end of the thirteenth century, Theravada Buddhism received the support of the Thai king Ramkham-hang. He invited Buddhist monks to teach in his capital, Sukhothai. He also established relations with Sri Lanka by sending monks there to study. In addition, he started the tradition of appointing a Sangha chief to oversee the administration of the monastic community. Under his patronage, all the people in his kingdom are said to have become Buddhists.

About half a century later, there was another pious and learned king named Luthai, who was a strong supporter of Buddhism. He joined the order for a period of time and is said to have initiated the Thai tradition of Buddhists becoming monks for a limited period of time, usually about three months.

Despite the wars in the following centuries, Buddhism continued to grow in importance and enjoyed continuous state support. The Thai order is as influential today as it was in the past. However, some reforms have been introduced since the turn of this century. Greater emphasis is placed on Buddhist education, and monks are actively involved not only in teaching religion but also in providing secular education to the laity. Many monks still teach in the primary and secondary schools that have been set up in Buddhist monasteries around the country. Many others also go on to higher studies at Buddhist colleges and universities. Over the past few decades, some monks have been sent overseas to spread the Buddha’s teachings.

(iii) Buddhism in Cambodia

By the end of the fourth century, Indian influence had spread throughout the Kingdom of Cambodia. For the next two centuries, the rulers practiced Hinduism but gave some support to Buddhist communities that mainly practiced Mahayana Buddhism.

Buddhist monks from the area were taught, and in the fifth century, some are said to have been invited to China to translate Buddhist texts from Indian languages ​​into Chinese. In the seventh century, Cambodia had a series of rulers who promoted Hinduism and suppressed Buddhism. It was not until the ninth century that Buddhism began to receive some royal patronage from the rulers.

King Jayavarman VII, who ruled from the late 12th century to the early 13th century, was a devout Buddhist. During his reign, Mahayana Buddhism became the dominant religion of the kingdom for a time. He built the new city of Angkor (called Angkor Thom), at the center of which was a temple called Bayon. In the center of the temple was a huge tower with four human faces carved on it. Around the central tower were other smaller towers, also with carved human faces. These faces depict the king as the “Buddha King”.

During the reign of Jayavarman VII, Burmese monks began teaching Theravada Buddhism to the common people. Thai invaders in the fourteenth century encouraged the spread of Theravada Buddhism. By the mid-15th century, Theravada Buddhism had gained wide acceptance in Cambodia. During the following centuries, Buddhism remained a central practice in Cambodian society. Even under French colonial rule in the mid-nineteenth century, the monarchy continued to support Buddhism, albeit to a limited extent. After Cambodia’s independence, there were efforts to improve Buddhist education and publish texts. However, the future of Buddhism in Cambodia is now uncertain due to ongoing political unrest.

(iv) Buddhism in Laos

Fa Ngoun, a descendant of the royal family of Laos, lived there in the mid-fourteenth century. He spent his earlier years in exile in Cambodia with his father. Fa Ngoun was cared for by a Cambodian monk, who later took him to the court of the Cambodian king. There, he married a princess who was a devout Buddhist. With the help of the King of Cambodia, he later returned to Laos to rule over it. At the request of his wife, Fa Ngoun, he invited Buddhist monks from Cambodia to teach in his kingdom. This is how Buddhism was brought to the people of Laos. In a later period, the Thai Buddhist tradition also influenced Buddhism in Laos. The structure of the Sangha in Laos closely followed that of Thailand. It is said that many monks also went to study in Thailand.

(v) Buddhism in Vietnam

In the first centuries, several small states existed on the territory of today’s Vietnam. Buddhism from China influenced the northern state, which was under the rule of the Chinese Empire for several centuries. The earliest monks are said to have come from China in the late 2nd century A.D. Later, monks from India and Central Asia also arrived by land and sea. People who also worshiped the original deities practiced the Pure Land School or sects of Buddhism. The Chan school of Buddhism, on the other hand, flourished in monasteries and among Buddhist scholars. Both monarchs and common people respected their monks for their literacy. Some of them became famous scholars, poets, writers, and even royal advisors.

The southern states were exposed to Indian influence in early AD. Both Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism were practiced at that time. From the fifteenth century on, these southern states were gradually assimilated by the powerful northern states, and as a result, the Chinese form of Buddhism began to influence the south as well. Eventually, when Vietnam unified as a nation, it was the Chinese form of Buddhism that was commonly practiced. At the beginning of this century, Buddhism in Vietnam underwent some modernization. National Buddhist organizations were established, and emphasis was placed on education. However, this process was hindered by a continuous period of war and practically came to a halt when the country came under communist rule.

(vi) Buddhism in Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula

Borobudur image It is said that in the late fifth century, a Buddhist monk from India landed in a kingdom in Central Java and converted its queen to Buddhism. In return, she converted her son and made Mahayana Buddhism the official religion of the kingdom. At the end of the seventh century, Yi-jing, a Buddhist pilgrim from China, visited Sumatra, which was part of the kingdom of Srivijaya. He found that Buddhism was widely accepted by the people, and Palembang, the capital of Srivijaya, was an important center of Buddhist learning. Yi-jing studied there for some time before continuing his journey to India.

By the middle of the eighth century, central Java was under the rule of the Sailendra kings, who were Buddhists. They built various Buddhist monuments in Java, the most famous of which is Borobudur. This monument was completed in the early ninth century. It consists of a series of six square terraces topped by three circular platforms. Directly above is the central stupa. On the walls of the monument are carved reliefs depicting scenes from the Buddha’s life, stories from his past lives, and Mahayana Buddhist sutras. Climbing Borobudur is said to symbolize a person’s progress from Samsara to Nirvana.

In the middle of the ninth century, Prince Sailendra became the king of Srivijaya. Under the Sailendra kings, Srivijaya grew in wealth and power. At that time, the kingdom already included Sumatra, Java, and the Malay Peninsula. During this period of prosperity, which lasted until the late 12th century, Vajrayana Buddhism, along with Hindu practices, gained wide acceptance throughout the empire.

In the late 13th century, Islam arose in Sumatra and soon spread to Java and the Malay Peninsula. As a result, Buddhism declined in popularity, and by the end of the 15th century, Islam was the dominant religion in Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula. Buddhism was not reintroduced to the region until the nineteenth century, with the arrival of Chinese, Sri Lankans, and other immigrants who were Buddhist.

The spread of Buddhism along with the Silk Road

At the beginning of the first and second centuries BCE, Buddhism was introduced to China through the Silk Road brought by missionaries of the Kushan Empire sent by King Kanishka of the Kushan Empire, who ruled parts of northern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia, which was primarily China. He supported the spread of Buddhism in Central Asia. Then there was the first translation of a Buddhist text into Chinese with the arrival of An Shigao; he established many Buddhist temples in Luoyang and translated and began to teach the ways and beliefs of the Buddha, causing a wave of conversions. People from this region began pilgrimages to India to gain better access to the original Buddhist texts and scriptures and to discover more about Buddhism.

Conclusion

The spread of Buddhism occurred during the period of Emperor Ashoka and King Kanishka when Emperor Ashoka spread the teachings and faith of the Buddha in India and other parts of Asia. Kanishka used the Silk Road to spread the teachings and beliefs of Buddhism in Central Asia, which significantly caused the spread of Buddhism’s influence in large parts of Asia. Despite being the birthplace of Buddhism, the number of people who believe in Buddhism in India is now almost negligible due to many foreign invasions. Almost all the remaining Buddhists living in India today are found mainly in the Himalayan region.

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