Rise Of Buddhism Essay

Improved Essays
Buddhism: (1 - 1750) Buddhism originated in N. India, and is traced back to Siddhartha Guatama’s search for an antidote to end suffering in the 5th century BCE. Early Buddhism was spread slowly along the trade routes by Buddhist merchants and monks. In the 3rd century CE, Ashoka, a ruler of the Mauryan Empire, converted to Buddhism. He did not forcefully convert his people, but he sent missionaries to East Asia and left edicts throughout the empire. Buddhism eventually made it’s way into places like Nepal, Japan, and Tibet before the first millenium was finished. Buddhism was so successful in the Tang Dynasty that Confucians began suppressing the Buddhists, who they saw as a threat to the Confucian state model. Even so, Buddhism spread widely in the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming empires.
Islam: (610 - 1750) After the death of Muhammad the Prophet, his father-in-law Abu Bakr became the first caliph and re-established the Muslim authority in the Arabian Peninsula. Islam continued to spread through conquests, and by the eighth century Islam forces had conquered Syria, Egypt, Tunisia and Spain. Islam was an integral political element in the Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates, and because Muslim was concentrated in cities, many people flocked to the cities for pilgrimage, education and trade, fostering a diverse Islamic population. Sunni-Shiite schism: (632 - 1750) The split occurred after Muhammad’s death over the issue of succession. Where the Shi’ites wanted the line of leadership to remain in the family, supporting Ali, Sunnis favored the idea of an elite leader, supporting the Umayyad Caliphate. Iran, Iraq, and southern Lebanon were where the Shiite minority were concentrated, but the Sunni distribution extended to include most of the Arabian peninsula, North Africa, and West of Iran. Before 1500, Persia had been a center of Sunni scholarship, but with the Safavid dynasty came the Shiite dominance. Christianity: (30 - 1750) While Christianity was founded on the belief that Jesus of Nazareth was the way into salvation, the official religious spread did not begin until after his death and alleged resurrection. After Paul the Apostle’s conversion in 35 CE, he mission work made its way to Greece, Italy, and the Middle East. In the fourth century, the emperor Constantine made Christianity the official state religion of the Byzantine Empire, which encouraged conversion in Spain, Italy, North Africa, and the Eastern Mediterranean. Mediterranean states spread Christianity to
…show more content…
However, some of his ideas caught on in the Mesopotamian and Sassanid Persian areas, where Islamic rulers tolerated the Nestorian minority. In the 7th century, Nestorian ideas were introduced to the Tang emperor and a small monastery was put up in Chang’an. The Nestorian church, called the ‘Church of the East”, expanded their ideas along the Central Asian trade routes, but was never widely popular in Rome. Nestorians found success under the tolerant Mongol Empire, but diminished alongside the fall of the Mongols.
Hinduism: (1 - 1750) Hinduism emerged as a revision of old Vedic religion with Dravidian and Buddhist elements, and gained popularity in India, becoming the prominent religion in the Gupta Empire. Early Hinduism may have spread when Brahmins entered Southeast Asia with trade. The adaptability of Hinduism encouraged a rapid spread throughout India. Under the Vijayanagara Empire, Hinduism was dispersed throughout Malaysia, the Philippines, and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Early China Dbq Analysis

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The three main religions during the ninth century C.E: Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, share similarities in that they all combine to create society as it was at this time; therefore no one religion should hold superiority over the others or be disrespected. Transitioning later into the ninth century, the Tang Emperor along with many others believed that buddhism was merely a disguise to harbor laziness; that buddhist monks and nuns depended on others to feed them and clothe them ( doc 6).Throughout the time this document was written, a series of imperial decrees was taking place. Thousands of nuns and monks were expected to pay taxes and many monasteries and temples were ruined, because of this the spread of buddhism slowed down drastically but not completely, buddhism stayed prevalent throughout China's rich…

    • 485 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Several centuries after Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Buddha, died, Buddhism made its emergence into China in the first century CE. Initially, the spread of Buddhism was responded to positively by the people of China and they adopted its ideals. However, as Buddhism continued to expand, the government, specifically of the Tang Dynasty, started to turn against Buddhists and even went as far as to blame them for problems within the state. As a result, the people felt compelled to diverge from Buddhist beliefs and became xenophobic to those who did not abandon those beliefs.…

    • 258 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Spread Of Buddhism Dbq

    • 88 Words
    • 1 Pages

    In the first century CE, as Buddhism spread from India to China, it ended with many results. The people living during this time had to deal with displeasure from the government, and the government not supporting the acceptance of their religion. The spread of Buddhism resulted in many positive and negative ways. Many people were unhappy, and others we're happy. Buddhism, however was founded in India and brought to china with a time span of 6 centuries.…

    • 88 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Evidently, religion, or spiritual life, is a binding element between the ancient civilizations of China and India. Buddhism emerged from a predominantly Hindu society in India when Ashoka seized power. He adjourned all conquer and expansion plans and instead adopted the social and ethical teachings of Buddhism. Buddhism had great appeal for many Indians at the time because it was accepting of all social classes , thus eliminating discrimination. Moreover, it stressed compassion, and freedom from earthly suffering.…

    • 371 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As Buddhism spread from India to China beginning the first century C.E., it was met with many mixed responses. Many Chinese accepted Buddhism and defended it’s policies while others scrutinized its absence from past texts for political and social problems. However, others remained neutral wishing to meld the aspects of the belief system in china to create a unique Chinese culture. Documents 4 and 6 scrutinize and discourage the spread of Buddhism throughout china while documents 2 and 3 defend and support it. Documents 1 and 5 neither encourage nor discourage the religion’s spread but provide a 3rd perspective on how it should be handled.…

    • 458 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In addition, the Chinese and the Romans absorbed foreign religions into their regions. Buddhism was introduced to China by Central Asian traders, and though it provided people with the stability that they desired, it was only practiced modestly. When Christianity began in Rome, it spread slowly until it gained support from the emperors, which boosted the spread into the rest of the region. The view of gods differed between the Chinese and the Romans. Though the Chinese believed that their emperors ruled by the Mandate of Heaven, there was no emphasis on a higher power that was thought to be revolved…

    • 685 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Buddhism originated in the Himalayas, India, from there it spread along trade routes in particular the silk road. Merchants and missionaries from India spread Buddhist beliefs along their travels. All before 600 CE Buddhism reached China, Japan, Korea, and South East Asia. 8. Confucianism began in the warring States period and was founded by Confucius.…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Buddhism roots started in 6th century BC in India. Its founder was Siddhartha Gautama. Many buddhists visit, pray and meditate at temples and shrines.…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dbq Confucianism

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Buddhism’s influence was spreading all over China, which caused many Confucian scholars to despise its growth. Also, imperial officials had a negative approach towards Buddhism as it increasingly grew throughout the empire. On the other hand, some religious scholars saw Buddhism as a way of life that would help people reach towards their goal of achieving “nirvana.” As Buddhism expanded throughout China, many Confucian scholars started to speak out against the religion, as shown in documents 3 and 4. Confucianism and Buddhism were rivaling belief systems during this era.…

    • 982 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Han Dynasty Religions

    • 1938 Words
    • 8 Pages

    If you did a good deed to help someone else out, the universe will bless you with a good deed by another person. Buddha challenged the Hindu idea that only the upper class had a chance of being holy, which jeopardized his relationship with the hierarchy of Nepal and India. Buddhism was established in China by travelers of the Silk Road into China. The religion spread quickly as China’s oldest foreign religion. Another important concept in the Han Dynasty was dreams.…

    • 1938 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Historical Comparison: The rise of Buddhism and Christianity in China Buddhism and Christianity, both originally foreign to China, rose to prominence in their own right during times of change in Chinese history. While Buddhism established a close bond to Chinese culture during the Tang Dynasty, Christianity was unable to co-inhabit as a main religion due to several factors after its initial success in the 1600s. The efforts of these vastly different religions to seamlessly assimilate into a Chinese lifestyle can be compared and contrasted, to clarify the defining successes and failures of each. The success of Buddhism can be attributed to the work of the Buddhist missionaries, its reception among Chinese gentry, and the invention of the printing…

    • 1590 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Buddhism was a religion that spread during the sixth century. Buddhism's fundamental belief was about life without suffering. This religious principle appealed to many including those in lower socioeconomic classes; however, Buddhism was not popular with some Chinese dynasty emperors. There were common reasons for Buddhism's popularity as well as its unwelcomed presence among some Chinese emperors. Buddhism was admired by many for copious reasons.…

    • 664 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Religion can be depicted as a belief in divinity and spiritual views. Buddhism dominantly revolves around life and the teachings of Gautama, likewise Christianity similarly revolves around life and the teachings of Jesus. However they differ in minor views such as: spiritual values, the concept of afterlife, and the purpose for living. Though the two religions share similar concepts, they exhibit differences that set them apart from each other.…

    • 1383 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Buddhism started in India and since everyone in India was already Hindu and weren’t going to convert the spread moved to China. While Christianity originated in Judea. In Judea Christianity was frowned upon so they moved their attempt to spread to the Roman Empire. Another difference between the spread of the two were that Christianity after a while spread violently and forcefully. The Christians would raid city’s and made everyone still alive after the city was conquered convert to Christianity convert or they were killed.…

    • 729 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Buddhism In Thailand Essay

    • 1455 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Buddhism is recognized as the nation religion of Thailand, with over 90% of the population identifying themselves as a Buddhist. Although the government never officially declared Buddhism to be the national religion, the king is required to be Buddhist. Buddhism in Thailand is modeled after the Theravada school of Buddhism and incorporates ideals from Mahayana Buddhism, Hinduism, and the old folk religion of the people. Buddhism originated in India and since then has spread all over the world, inspiring societies and cultures everywhere. Buddhism however is not a religion, The Oxford Dictionary of English defines religion as “The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.”…

    • 1455 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays