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In early times, when ideas usually stayed close to the point of origin, the spread of Buddhism was slow, but eventually with the increase in trade and conquest, It made perfect sense that the religion would spread from India to its neighboring countries. But what is more interesting is how it spread even farther than that, outside of Asia and all the way to the United States. Using the texts Religion and the Making of Modern East Asia and Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction, we will take a look at how the religion was able to cross cultural and geographical borders.
For many centuries, the distance between the continents of North America and Asia left the ideas that existed within each one to stay there and remain mysterious to those who were on the outside. As the world was opening up by way of imperialism and immigration in the late 1800s, there was initially a resistance to learning about these new ways of thinking. In China, Christian missionaries from the West moved in trying to promote Christianity, building schools and churches, ultimately leading to rebellion by the Boxers (DuBois, 147). The introduction of Buddhism to the United States was also met with much skepticism when the early arrival of immigrants from Asia unleashed a wide berth of xenophobia, however, in time, some Americans did begin to embrace the new (to them) ideas of Buddhism.
Having started arriving in the United States in the mid-1800s to labor on the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad, it took a couple generations of Chinese immigrants before the people of the US began to fully interact with the immigrants and appreciate the Buddhist ideas that they brought with them (Keown, 115). But it wasn’t until the end of the Second World War when servicemen who had interacted with the Japanese returned home to the US bringing with them new ideas of Zen Buddhism. This ideology appealed to Americans because of its spontaneity and simplicity (116). It became even more popular when it became the subject of the Beat movement, and then even more so when a new generation focused on the ‘mind expanding’ experience of practicing Buddhism making it especially popular amongst the ‘hippie’ crowd of the 1960s.
With the advent of the internet, the ease of being able to spread ideas and make people more interconnected has allowed Buddhism to flourish even more in the Western countries like the United States (125). Many people appreciate its more liberal approach to ethics and toleration of viewpoints which provides them with an alternative religion to practice.
References:
DuBois, Thomas David. Religion and the Making of Modern East Asia. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2011. Accessed March 26, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central.
Keown, Damien. Buddhism : A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. Accessed March 26, 2024. ProQuest Ebook Central.
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Denise Cheney posted Apr 5, 2024 5:23 PM
Discussion HIST588 Week 5 Buddhism
Buddhism spread throughout central and eastern Asia through several mechanisms and historical events. The dispersal of Buddhism both increased devotees and gave Buddhism a place in the world after it disintegrated in India.
Siddhartha Gautama (563-483 B.C.E.) grew up in a time of great religious skepticism and philosophical turmoil. The Vedas and Upanishads, ancient Sanskrit texts of Hindu religion, had come into disfavor. Various teachers called into question the priests of Hinduism, accusing them of faithlessness, moral turpitude, and greed. A Powerful group- the Charvakas, rejected the Upanishads and the Vedas, rejecting the ideas of a creator god entirely. Out of the religious turmoil, a new group based on the warrior caste arose- the Nastika (nihilist) rejecting a creator god altogether. (Durant 1935, 1963) Two breakaway religions arose almost simultaneously: Jainism, devised by Mahavira (599-527B.C.E.), believes in non-violence toward any living thing, truth and reality are complex and have multiple aspects, non-attachment to people, possessions, or property, was the correct path and Buddhism. (Durant 1935, 1963)
Traveling teachers/priests sought students to imbue with their philosophies. Buddha sought out several, learning from each and rejecting the parts of the teacher’s dharma that he disagreed with. In time, he reached a philosophy of his own, which he taught to communities and acquired followers. These were The Four Noble Truths, The Eight-Fold Way, and the Five Moral Rules. (APUS class notes, content lecture) Later, he recruited and trained monks to become missionaries. The movement of missionaries led to monasteries in the winter (rainy season) quarters; many of the seasonal monasteries became permanent communities. Missionaries were the first mechanism for spreading Buddhism. (Keown 1996)
At Buddha’s death, the original followers of Buddha also established communities around the stupas. Buddhism was restricted to India between the time of Buddha’s life and the reign of Ashoka.
Ashoka (273-232 B.C.E.) united the Mauryan empire through a brutal campaign that killed any armed force or leader who threatened his success. Later, he regretted his methods and became a Buddhist, mandating it as a state-sanctioned religion. (APUS class notes, content lecture) To further enforce this mandate, he disinterred Buddha’s remains from their stupas, divided the ashes into small units, and had them reinterred in 40000 stupas, spreading Buddhist shrines and temples from Macedonia to China. (Durant 1935, 1963) Buddhism spread more rapidly after the reign of Ashoka. China, Korea, Tibet, Cambodia, and Japan each recorded a rise in Buddhism, while at the same time, India entered a dark age from which very little was written. (Keown 1996)
King Kanishka (127C.E.), a Kushan (central Asian group like the Turks), came to power and resurrected the dormant Buddhism in northwest India. One of his courtiers, Charaka, laid the base for Mahayana Buddhism (Greater Vehicle). King Kanishka called a council to choose the creed Buddhism would take. The adopted theology lowered Buddha’s philosophy to the individual soul’s needs and raised Buddha to divinity. (Durant 1935, 1963) By the fifth century C.E., Buddhist monks traveled east to west to visit India, finding both the Mahayana Buddhist and the revival of Brahman Hinduism. (Keown 1996) The invasion of the Huns caused another multi-century upheaval in society and religion, which once again was rescued by a ruler. King Harshavardhana (590-647 C.E.) took power in northern India and restored Buddhism there, marking a high tide for Buddhism. (Durant 1935, 1963) Yet the Buddhism that dominated was not the Buddhism of Siddhartha Gautama.
One of Buddha’s disciples, Subhadda, said that now that their master was dead, they could do whatever they wanted. (Keown 1996) Within two centuries, eighteen varieties of Buddhist doctrine arose. Theravada (the doctrine of the elders) became prominent in Southern Asia, while the type which developed in southern India and Ceylon was called Hinayana (lesser vehicle). Tibet, Mongolia, China, and Japan elected Mahayana (greater vehicle)- including Yoga, the inclusion of Brahamanical deities, myths, rituals, Nirvana, and Bodhisattvas (saints) (Durant 1935, 1963).
The embrace of Brahamanic theology folded into Buddhism, and in India, at least, Buddhism faded away, and Hinduism became the primary traditional religion. (Durant 1935, 1963) Buddhism survived by dispersal from India to Cambodia, Korea, China, Japan, and, to a limited degree, North America.
Durant, Will. 1935, 1963. The Complete Story of Civilization. Vol. Volume IV. New York, New York: Simon and Schuster.
Keown, Damien. 1996. Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
APUS HIST588, class notes, content Lecture
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