Spread Of Buddhism And Japan

1110 Words3 Pages

Spread of Buddhism in Korea and Japan
Intro
Buddhism is one of the largest religions in the world with an estimated 500 million located in all corners of the globe. Although Buddhism is practiced all around the world, the majority of Buddhists are centered in the Eastern, Southern and Central parts of Asia. It was founded in India in approximately 525 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, known to his followers as Buddha. Buddhism is divided into two main schools: the Theravada in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and the Mahayana in China, Mongolia, Korea, and Japan.
Given the diversity of the peoples of East Asia and their political systems, culture and language one might wonder what led to the expansion over such a large geographical area. Buddhism began spreading quickly to Eastern Asia as a result of expansive trade on the Silk Road and political and trade relationships between the countries in the region. Buddhism first appeared in China and then continued to make its way through Eastern Asia until it arrived on the Korean Peninsula during the Three Kingdoms period and then eventually making its way to Japan. What political and cultural influences of Korea and Japan led to the spread and widespread acceptance of Buddhism and what caused it to become the dominant force in religion and politics?
Formation of Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion that offers a spiritual path for transcending the suffering of existence. Samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth to which all beings are subject, results from the consequences incurred by an individual’s karma, the sum of good and bad actions that accumulates over many lives. Release from this endless cycle is achieved only by attaining enlightenment, the goal for which Buddhists striv...

... middle of paper ...

...n. The notion of the Buddha as the Supreme Being whose reach was not confined to the spiritual realm but all-encompassing even in politics held promise as a possible justification for privileging royal authority over that of aristocracy.
Japan
In Japan, one era that saw particularly widespread introduction and acceptance of Buddhism was the Nara period. The Nara period occurred from approximately 710 A.D. to 794 A.D.
Two particular example of a desire by citizens to see Buddhism implemented can be seen in “The Bodhisattva Gyogi” and the “Sutra of the Golden Light”.
In conclusion, it is clear that the citizens and government had the biggest impact on
Through a variety of historical and textual evidence, I have concluded that it was the actions of the political
* As a side note, I want to point out that I plan on elaborating more on the spread of Buddhism in Japan.

More about Spread Of Buddhism And Japan

Open Document