Spread of Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy founded in India by Siddhartha Gautama (also known as Buddha) in 525 BC. Today, there are more than 500 million Buddhists globally. 

Buddhism is divided into three schools: one is Theravada or Theravada in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka, the second one is Mahayana in China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan, and the third one is Vajrayana which is located in Bhutan, Mongolia, Tibet and some parts of Russia.

Spread of Buddhism in India

In the fifth century BC, during economic development, several people became traders and merchants. These traders and merchants became attached to the teachings of Buddhism, and Buddhism became a very important part of these traders and merchants’ communities. 

This way, Buddhism spread throughout the entire Mauryan empire. The Mauryan Empire, which was the first empire that almost covered the entire Indian peninsula, was once the greatest empire in Indian history. Buddhism spread throughout the entire Mauryan empire through commercial connections and trade routes. Buddhism also spread to different parts of Central Asia through the Silk Road. 

The Mauryan empire was at its peak at the time of the 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 under this Buddhist empire. 

The power of the Mauryan empire was large, and many ambassadors of the empire were sent to different countries to spread Buddhism. Some people speculated that Ashoka was overwhelmed by guilt after the battle of Kalinga, so much so that he became a Buddhist. 

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

Buddhism also flourished in the era of Pala and Sena, and their kings also converted to Buddhism; it was controlled and spread in the modern-day Bihar and Bengal regions. So there were lots of other emperors who converted or followed the teachings of Buddha. 

Buddhism by Country

The list of Buddhism by country shows that there are about 500 million Buddhists in this world, which is around 7-8% of the world’s population. 

Buddhism is dominant in many south-easts, east and central countries in Asia, such as Bhutan, Myanmar, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia, Sri Lanka, Korea, Vietnam, Nepal and many more. 

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

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

Spread of Buddhism in North America and Europe

During the Gold Rush in 1848, most of the Buddhists who immigrated to the western part of 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: Buddhist Association of America (BCA)). The BCA was created to spread Buddhist teachings and beliefs, and the organisation was a way for immigrants to protect their Buddhist culture and religion. 

In Europe, Buddhists spread in similar ways. In the 19th century, they emigrated to a different part of Europe, but in Europe, there was a greater influence than compared to North America as there was some influence of Buddhism in Europe, as emperor Ashoka sent some missionaries to Europe to spread the knowledge and teachings of Buddha.

Silk Road Transmission of Buddhism

At the beginning of the first and second centuries BC, Buddhism was introduced to China through the Silk Road, brought by the missionaries of the Kushan empire who was sent by King Kanishka of the Kushan empire, who ruled parts of northern India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Central Asia, which was mainly China. He encouraged the spread of Buddhism in Central Asia.

After this, the first translation of Buddhist text into Chinese occurred with the arrival of An Shigao – he established many Buddhist temples in Luoyang and translated and started teaching the ways and beliefs of Buddha, which triggered a wave of conversions. People of this region started pilgrimages to India to get better access to 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, as Emperor Ashoka spread the teachings and beliefs of Buddha in India and other parts of Asia. Kanishka used the Silk Road to spread teachings and beliefs of Buddhism in the central part of Asia, which greatly triggered the spread of the influence of Buddhism in major parts of Asia. 

Despite being the birthplace of Buddhism, due to many foreign invasions, the number of people who believe in Buddhism in India is now almost negligible. Almost all of the remaining Buddhists who are currently living in India are located mostly in the Himalayan region.