Spread Of Buddhism Essay

It would have been impossible for cultures to learn about one another without trade and travel between China and the people of the Mediterranean. Central Asia provided “The Silk Road” to bring together the eastern and western parts of Afro-Eurasia. China took advantage of The Silk Road and expanded it. This enabled China to be more open to the populations and cultures of its far western regions. Also, The Silk Road allowed the spread of Buddhism from India into central Asia and China. Buddhism completely transformed the Chinese Empire and Buddhist cave monasteries formed along the route into China.
The Vedic religion known as Brahmanism attempted to explain all theological problems and to help to unify the people of South Asia although it was not the universal faith. The Gupta dynasty wrote down the Brahmanism tales and stories in Sanskrit.
Two types of Buddhism emerged in Asia. There was Mahayana Buddhism (Greater Vehicle) and Hinayana—or Theraveda—Buddhism (Lesser Vehicle). The divinity of the Bodhisattvas was not accepted by the Hinayana faith. This difference caused Mahayana Buddhism to become the universal religion and spread across East Asia.
Buddhism and Jainism continued to become more popular in cities and commercial regions which lead to the Brahmans occupying rural India.
In order to regain strength and popularity the Brahmans restructured and transformed their religion. This lead to the creation of Hinduism. Hinduism did not perform ritual animal sacrifices which was practiced by the Brahmans. Instead, Hindus pledged personal devotion to the gods called bhakti. This change in practice appealed to a wider variety of Hindus. Hinduism also adopted Buddhist and Jainist practices, identifying themselves with agricultural societies. Many Hindus acknowledged Buddha as a
God.
Eventually, the Brahmans moved south to areas not that were not aware of either Hinduism or Buddhism. Both religions used this advantage to develop schools and other educational institutions. The differences between the two religions led to debates and these debates helped develop a shared Indic culture. This lead the development of a common culture began to develop as well as shared concepts and vocabulary.
Buddhist scholar Kumarajiva, translated important Buddhist texts into Chinese and clarified terminology and philosophy for Chinese adepts. People latched on to the idea that a person could be defined by faith rather than kinship During the years that Chines imperial power was reaching a new low. Also “barbarian” rulers were legitimized by Buddhism. Buddhism was able to be adapted by a wide variety of people in China, adopting Daoist precepts the southern China.
The Han dynasty fell and influence of Daoism weakened. This made it possible for two new Daoist traditions to emerge. One community based tradition was the belief that “heavenly masters” guided those in need of salvation though virtue, confessions, and liturgical ceremonies. The ceremonies often included the use of drugs and chemicals. This was known as external alchemy. The second tradition focused more on personal expressions of religious faith. Ge Hong promoted the use of trances and meditation or “internal alchemy” to control human physiology and prolong human life. Many Buddhist monasteries formed during these years.