History of Buddhism Essay Example

much and his preaching makes a favourable impression at the courts of north-east India which he visited as a wandering teacher (Buddhism: Step by Step).

The Spread of Buddhism in Asia Ashoka From the outset Buddhism was a missionary religion. The Buddha travelled over a large area spreading his teachings, and explicitly charged his disciples to do likewise with the words: “Go, monks, and wander for the good and welfare of the multitudes. ” The spread of Buddhism was given a considerable boost in the third century BC when one of the greatest figures in Indian history – Ashoka Maurya – became emperor of India around 268 BC.

After a bloody campaign on the east coast he experienced remorse and turned to Buddhism. (Keown, 108) Ashoka ruled according to Buddhist principles, and under his patronage Buddhism flourished. As well as helping to establish Buddhism within India, Ashoka also dispatched ambassadors to the courts of rulers in the Near East and Macedonia, and to South-East Asia. In India itself great universities were established such as the one at Nalanda near the site of modern-day Patna, which flourished between the seventh and twelfth centuries.

As many as ten thousand students were enrolled there at any time pursuing courses in the various branches of Buddhist learning. The history of Buddhism in the rest of Asia can be discussed in terms of north and south. In general the Mahayana form of Buddhism predominates in the north, and the Elder tradition in the south. Since only one of the twelve schools of the Elder tradition survives today, namely the school known as the Theravada, we will speak

of the two main surviving forms of Buddhism as Mahayana and Theravada. Prebish, 1994)

Sri-Lanka Beginning with the countries to the south, where Theravada Buddhism predominates, the island of Ceylon – home to the modern state of Sri Lanka – has played a crucial role in preserving and developing Buddhist culture. According to the Buddhist chronicles preserved there, Buddhism was brought to Ceylon in 250 BC by a monk named Mahinda, an envoy of the emperor Ashoka. (Keown, 71) Mahinda and his fellow monks founded a monastic community at the Mahavihara (‘Great Monastery’) in the capital, Anuradhapura.

It was in Sri Lanka some time around 80 BC that the Pali Canon was first written down, as a result of fears that the method of oral transmission would not survive due to warfare and famine. From the earliest times Buddhism and politics have been entwined in the country's history, and there has been a close reciprocal relationship between Church and State. Kings were consecrated by monks, and monks served as counsellors, interpreting Buddhist teachings for the ruler. Although monks are barred by the present-day constitution from holding political office, they retain considerable influence in public affairs.

Buddhism has undergone several periods of decline in the course of its history in Sri Lanka. In recent decades the country has been divided by a bitter ethnic feud between the majority Sinhalese population, who are Buddhists, and a minority Tamil population in the north which is mainly Hindu. Buddhism itself, however, continues to flourish, having successfully responded to the challenge of colonialism and adapted to modern democracy. South-East Asia Other important Theravada countries in South-East Asia

are Burma (now officially known as Myanmar) and Thailand (formerly Siam).

Theravada Buddhism may have been introduced to this region by one of Ashoka's missions, and it has been present among the native Mon people from the early centuries of the Christian era. South-East Asia has traditionally looked to India for its cultural inspiration, and the influence of both Buddhism and Hinduism has been strong throughout the region. From the fifth to the fifteenth centuries the dominant power in the area was the Khmer empire, in which various forms of Hinduism and Mahayana Buddhism were popular. Woodward)

Various schools of Buddhism flourished until King Anawrahta (1044-77) unified the country by conquering the southern part and gave his allegiance to the Theravada. Buddhism has flourished, and some 85 per cent of the population are now Theravada Buddhists. Theravada had long been established in parts of the neighbouring territory now known as Thailand, notably in the Mon kingdom of Haripunjaya and the kingdom of Dvaravata, and in the eleventh century missions were sent from Burma into the region.

The Thai people, who arrived in the region in the thirteenth century having been displaced from China by the Mongols, found the Theravada tradition more congenial than the elaborate Mahayana forms of Buddhism they had been familiar with in the north. The Theravada received royal patronage and before long replaced its rivals. Today it is the official religion of Thailand. The history of Buddhism in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam is not dissimilar, although as one moves further east Theravada Buddhism progressively gives way to Mahayana forms.

Much religious syncretism is found in these areas in

the form of blends of Theravada, Mahayana, and local indigenous religions. When Buddhism spreads it tends not to eradicate existing beliefs but to incorporate them, along with local gods and spirits, into its own cosmology. (Woodward) It is quite common to find Buddhists at the village level turning to the local gods for solutions to everyday problems – such as curing an illness or finding a marriage partner – and to Buddhism for answers to the larger questions about human destiny.

This pattern of overcoding indigenous beliefs is also found in north Asia where Mahayana Buddhism predominates. Mahayana Buddhism flourished throughout central Asia, and in Tibet, China, Japan, and Korea. China Buddhism spread north from India into Central Asia and reached China by the middle of the first century. At this time Buddhist monks travelled with caravans which traversed the silk route. To the pragmatic Chinese, Buddhism was both strange and fascinating. The dominant ideology in China was Confucianism, a system of socio-ethical principles. On certain matters Buddhism seemed in conflict with Confucian values.

For example, Confucianism regarded the family as the foundation of society, and the Buddhist invitation to sons and daughters to leave their families and renounce the world caused it to be seen with the same suspicion as certain cults today. The Buddhist monks, moreover, as a corporation of renunciates, seemed like a state within a state, a challenge to the power of the emperor and a threat to the seamless fabric of social life which was the Confucian ideal. Cultural differences of this kind gave rise to conflict and misunderstanding, and fuelled hostility towards the new religion [6].