The history of Buddhism spans from the 5th century BCE to the present; which arose in the eastern part of Ancient India, in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha (now in Bihar, India), and is based on the teachings of Siddhrtha Gautama. This makes it one of the oldest religions practiced today. The religion evolved as it spread from the northeastern region of the Indian subcontinent through Central, East, and Southeast Asia. At one time or another, it influenced most of the Asian continent. The history of Buddhism is also characterized by the development of numerous movements, schisms, and schools, among them the Theravda, Mahyna and Vajrayna traditions, with contrasting periods of expansion and retreat.

Siddhrtha Gautama was the historical founder of Buddhism. He was born a Kshatriya warrior prince in Lumbini, Shakya Republic, which was part of the Kosala realm of ancient India.[1] He is also known as the Shakyamuni (literally: "The sage of the Shakya clan").

After an early life of luxury under the protection of his father, uddhodhana, the ruler of Kapilavasthu which later became incorporated into the state of Magadha, Siddhartha entered into contact with the realities of the world and concluded that life was inescapably bound up with suffering and sorrow. Siddhartha renounced his meaningless life of luxury to become an ascetic. He ultimately decided that asceticism couldn't end suffering, and instead chose a middle way, a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.

Under a fig tree, now known as the Bodhi tree, he vowed never to leave the position until he found Truth. At the age of 35, he attained Enlightenment. He was then known as Gautama Buddha, or simply "The Buddha", which means "the enlightened one", or "the awakened one".

For the remaining 45 years of his life, he traveled the Gangetic Plain of central India (the region of the Ganges/Ganga river and its tributaries), teaching his doctrine and discipline to a diverse range of people. By the time of his death, he had thousands of followers.

The Buddha's reluctance to name a successor or to formalise his doctrine led to the emergence of many movements during the next 400 years: first the schools of Nikaya Buddhism, of which only Theravada remains today, and then the formation of Mahayana and Vajrayana, pan-Buddhist sects based on the acceptance of new scriptures and the revision of older techniques.

Followers of Buddhism, called Buddhists in English, referred to themselves as Sakyan-s or Sakyabhiksu in ancient India.[2][3] Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez asserts they also used the term Bauddha,[4] although scholar Richard Cohen asserts that that term was used only by outsiders to describe Buddhists.[5]

Early Buddhism remained centered on the Ganges valley, spreading gradually from its ancient heartland. The canonical sources record two councils, where the monastic Sangha established the textual collections based on the Buddha's teachings and settled certain disciplinary problems within the community.

The first Buddhist council was held just after Buddha's Parinirvana, and presided over by Gupta Mahkyapa, one of His most senior disciples, at Rjagha (today's Rajgir) during the 5th century under the noble support of king Ajthaatru. The objective of the council was to record all of Buddha's teachings into the doctrinal teachings (sutra) and Abhidhamma and to codify the monastic rules (vinaya). nanda, one of the Buddha's main disciples and his cousin, was called upon to recite the discourses and Abhidhamma of the Buddha, and Upali, another disciple, recited the rules of the vinaya. These became the basis of the Tripiaka (Three Baskets), which is preserved only in Pli.

Actual record on the first Buddhist Council did not mention the existence of the Abhidhamma. It existed only after the second Council.

The second Buddhist council was held at Vaisali following a dispute that had arisen in the Sagha over a relaxation by some monks of various points of discipline. Eventually it was decided to hold a second council at which the original Vinaya texts that had been preserved at the first Council were cited to show that these relaxations went against the recorded teachings of the Buddha.

The Mauryan Emperor Aoka (273232 BC) converted to Buddhism after his bloody conquest of the territory of Kalinga (modern Odisha) in eastern India during the Kalinga War. Regretting the horrors and misery brought about by the conflict, the king magnanimously decided to renounce violence, to replace the misery caused by war with respect and dignity for all humanity. He propagated the faith by building stupas and pillars urging, amongst other things, respect of all animal life and enjoining people to follow the Dharma. Perhaps the finest example of these is the Great Stupa of Sanchi, (near Bhopal, India). It was constructed in the 3rd century BC and later enlarged. Its carved gates, called toranas, are considered among the finest examples of Buddhist art in India. He also built roads, hospitals, resthouses, universities and irrigation systems around the country. He treated his subjects as equals regardless of their religion, politics or caste.

This period marks the first spread of Buddhism beyond India to other countries. According to the plates and pillars left by Aoka (the edicts of Aoka), emissaries were sent to various countries in order to spread Buddhism, as far south as Sri Lanka and as far west as the Greek kingdoms, in particular the neighboring Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, and possibly even farther to the Mediterranean.

King Aoka convened the third Buddhist council around 250 BC at Pataliputra (today's Patna). It was held by the monk Moggaliputtatissa. The objective of the council was to purify the Sagha, particularly from non-Buddhist ascetics who had been attracted by the royal patronage. Following the council, Buddhist missionaries were dispatched throughout the known world.

Some of the edicts of Aoka describe the efforts made by him to propagate the Buddhist faith throughout the Hellenistic world, which at that time formed an uninterrupted continuum from the borders of India to Greece. The edicts indicate a clear understanding of the political organization in Hellenistic territories: the names and locations of the main Greek monarchs of the time are identified, and they are claimed as recipients of Buddhist proselytism: Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid Kingdom (261246 BC), Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt (285247 BC), Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia (276239 BC), Magas (288258 BC) in Cyrenaica (modern Libya), and Alexander II (272255 BC) in Epirus (modern Northwestern Greece).

Furthermore, according to Pli sources, some of Aoka's emissaries were Greek Buddhist monks, indicating close religious exchanges between the two cultures:

Aoka also issued edicts in the Greek language as well as in Aramaic. One of them, found in Kandahar, advocates the adoption of "piety" (using the Greek term eusebeia for Dharma) to the Greek community:

It is not clear how much these interactions may have been influential, but some authors[citation needed] have commented that some level of syncretism between Hellenist thought and Buddhism may have started in Hellenic lands at that time. They have pointed to the presence of Buddhist communities in the Hellenistic world around that period, in particular in Alexandria (mentioned by Clement of Alexandria), and to the pre-Christian monastic order of the Therapeutae (possibly a deformation of the Pli word "Theravda"[7]), who may have "almost entirely drawn (its) inspiration from the teaching and practices of Buddhist asceticism"[8] and may even have been descendants of Aoka's emissaries to the West.[9] The philosopher Hegesias of Cyrene, from the city of Cyrene where Magas of Cyrene ruled, is sometimes thought to have been influenced by the teachings of Aoka's Buddhist missionaries.[10]

Buddhist gravestones from the Ptolemaic period have also been found in Alexandria, decorated with depictions of the Dharma wheel.[11] The presence of Buddhists in Alexandria has even drawn the conclusion: "It was later in this very place that some of the most active centers of Christianity were established".[12]

In the 2nd century AD, the Christian dogmatist, Clement of Alexandria recognized Bactrian Buddhists (ramanas) and Indian gymnosophists for their influence on Greek thought:

Sri Lanka was proselytized by Aoka's son Mahinda and six companions during the 2nd century BC. They converted the King Devanampiya Tissa and many of the nobility. In addition, Aoka's daughter, Saghamitta also established the bhikkhun (order for nuns) in Sri Lanka, also bringing with her a sapling of the sacred bodhi tree that was subsequently planted in Anuradhapura. This is when the Mahvihra monastery, a center of Sinhalese orthodoxy, was built. The Pli canon was written down in Sri Lanka during the reign of king Vattagamani (2917 BC), and the Theravda tradition flourished there. Later some great commentators worked there, such as Buddhaghoa (4th5th century) and Dhammapla (5th6th century), and they systemised the traditional commentaries that had been handed down. Although Mahyna Buddhism gained some influence in Sri Lanka at that time, the Theravda ultimately prevailed and Sri Lanka turned out to be the last stronghold of it. From there it would expand again to South-East Asia from the 11th century.

In the areas east of the Indian subcontinent (modern Burma and Thailand), Indian culture strongly influenced the Mons. The Mons are said to have been converted to Buddhism from the 3rd century BC under the proselytizing of the Indian Emperor Aoka, before the fission between Mahyna and Hinayna Buddhism. Early Mon[citation needed] Buddhist temples, such as Peikthano in central Burma, have been dated to between the 1st and the 5th century CE.

The Buddhist art of the Mons was especially influenced by the Indian art of the Gupta and post-Gupta periods, and their mannerist style spread widely in South-East Asia following the expansion of the Mon kingdom between the 5th and 8th centuries. The Theravda faith expanded in the northern parts of Southeast Asia under Mon influence, until it was progressively displaced by Mahyna Buddhism from around the 6th century AD.

According to the Aokvadna (2nd century AD), Aoka sent a missionary to the north, through the Himalayas, to Khotan in the Tarim Basin, then the land of the Tocharians, speakers of an Indo-European language.

The Shunga dynasty (18573 BC) was established in 185 BC, about 50 years after Aoka's death. After assassinating King Brhadrata (last of the Mauryan rulers), military commander-in-chief Pushyamitra Shunga took the throne. Buddhist religious scriptures such as the Aokvadna allege that Pushyamitra (an orthodox Brahmin) was hostile towards Buddhists and persecuted the Buddhist faith. Buddhists wrote that he "destroyed hundreds of monasteries and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent Monks":[14] 840,000 Buddhist stupas which had been built by Aoka were destroyed, and 100 gold coins were offered for the head of each Buddhist monk.[15] In addition, Buddhist sources allege that a large number of Buddhist monasteries (vihras) were converted to Hindu temples, in places like, but not limited to, Nalanda, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, and Mathura, among many others.

Modern historians, however, dispute this view in the light of literary and archaeological evidence. They opine that following Aoka's sponsorship of Buddhism, it is possible that Buddhist institutions fell on harder times under the Shungas, but no evidence of active persecution has been noted. Etienne Lamotte observes: "To judge from the documents, Pushyamitra must be acquitted through lack of proof."[16] Another eminent historian, Romila Thapar points to archaeological evidence that "suggests the contrary" to the claim that "Pushyamitra was a fanatical anti-Buddhist" and that he "never actually destroyed 840,000 stupas as claimed by Buddhist works, if any". Thapar stresses that Buddhist accounts are probably hyperbolic renditions of Pushyamitra's attack of the Mauryas, and merely reflect the desperate frustration of the Buddhist religious figures in the face of the possibly irreversible decline in the importance of their religion under the Shungas.[17]

During the period, Buddhist monks deserted the Ganges valley, following either the northern road (uttarapatha) or the southern road (dakinapatha).[18] Conversely, Buddhist artistic creation stopped in the old Magadha area, to reposition itself either in the northwest area of Gandhra and Mathura or in the southeast around Amaravati. Some artistic activity also occurred in central India, as in Bhrhut, to which the Shungas may or may not have contributed.

At the start of the Silk Road in the crossroads between India and China (modern Afghanistan, northern Pakistan, and Tajikistan) Greek kingdoms had been in place since the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great around 326 BC and continued for over 300 years: first the Seleucids from around 323 BC, then the Greco-Bactrian kingdom from around 250 BC and finally the Indo-Greek Kingdom, lasting until 10 CE.

The Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I invaded the Indian Subcontinent in 180 BC, establishing an Indo-Greek kingdom that was to last in parts of Northwest South Asia until the end of the 1st century CE. Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greek and Greco-Bactrian kings, and it has been suggested that their invasion of India was intended to show their support for the Mauryan empire and to protect the Buddhist faith from the alleged religious persecutions of the Shungas (18573 BC).

One of the most famous Indo-Greek kings is Menander (reigned c. 160135 BC). He converted to Buddhism and is presented in the Mahyna tradition as one of the great benefactors of the faith, on a par with king Aoka or the later Kushan king Kanika. Menander's coins bear the mention of the "saviour king" in Greek; some bear designs of the eight-spoked wheel. Direct cultural exchange is also suggested by the dialogue of the Milinda Paha around 160 BC between Menander and the Buddhist monk Ngasena, who was himself a student of the Greek Buddhist monk Mahadharmaraksita. Upon Menander's death, the honor of sharing his remains was claimed by the cities under his rule, and they were enshrined in stupas, in a parallel with the historic Buddha.[19] Several of Menander's Indo-Greek successors inscribed "Follower of the Dharma," in the Kharoh script, on their coins, and depicted themselves or their divinities forming the vitarka mudr.

It is also around the time of initial Greek and Buddhist interaction that the first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha are found, often in realistic Greco-Buddhist style. The former reluctance towards anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, and the sophisticated development of aniconic symbols to avoid it (even in narrative scenes where other human figures would appear), seem to be connected to one of the Buddhas sayings, reported in the Digha Nikaya, that discouraged representations of himself after the extinction of his body.[20] Probably not feeling bound by these restrictions, and because of "their cult of form, the Greeks were the first to attempt a sculptural representation of the Buddha".[21][pageneeded] In many parts of the Ancient World, the Greeks did develop syncretic divinities, that could become a common religious focus for populations with different traditions: a well-known example is the syncretic God Sarapis, introduced by Ptolemy I in Egypt, which combined aspects of Greek and Egyptian Gods. In India as well, it was only natural for the Greeks to create a single common divinity by combining the image of a Greek God-King (The Sun-God Apollo, or possibly the deified founder of the Indo-Greek Kingdom, Demetrius), with the traditional attributes of the Buddha. Many of the stylistic elements in the representations of the Buddha point to Greek influence: the Greco-Roman toga-like wavy robe covering both shoulders (more exactly, its lighter version, the Greek himation), the contrapposto stance of the upright figures (see: 1st2nd century Gandhara standing Buddhas[22]), the stylicized Mediterranean curly hair and topknot (ushnisha) apparently derived from the style of the Belvedere Apollo (330 BCE),[23] and the measured quality of the faces, all rendered with strong artistic realism (See: Greek art). A large quantity of sculptures combining Buddhist and purely Hellenistic styles and iconography were excavated at the Gandharan site of Hadda.

Several influential Greek Buddhist monks are recorded. Mahadharmaraksita (literally translated as 'Great Teacher/Preserver of the Dharma'), was "a Greek ("Yona") Buddhist head monk", according to the Mahavamsa (Chap. XXIX[24]), who led 30,000 Buddhist monks from "the Greek city of Alasandra" (Alexandria of the Caucasus, around 150km north of today's Kabul in Afghanistan), to Sri Lanka for the dedication of the Great Stupa in Anuradhapura during the rule (165 BC - 135 BC) of King Menander I. Dharmaraksita (Sanskrit), or Dhammarakkhita (Pali) (translation: Protected by the Dharma), was one of the missionaries sent by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka to proselytize the Buddhist faith. He is described as being a Greek (Pali: "Yona", lit. "Ionian") in the Mahavamsa.

A Buddhist gold coin from India was found in northern Afghanistan at the archaeological site of Tillia Tepe, and dated to the 1st century AD. On the reverse, it depicts a lion in the moving position with a nandipada in front of it, with the Kharoh legend "Sih[o] vigatabhay[o]" ("The lion who dispelled fear").

The Mahayana Buddhists symbolized Buddha with animals such as a lion, an elephant, a horse or a bull. A pair of feet was also used. The symbol called nandipada by archaeologists and historians is actually a composite symbol. The symbol at the top symbolizes the "Middle Path", the Buddha dhamma. The circle with a centre symbolizes cakka. Thus, the composite symbol symbolizes dhammacakka, the Buddhist Wheel of the Law. Thus, the symbols on the reverse of the coin jointly symbolize Buddha rolling the dhammacakka. In the "Lion Capital" of Saranath, India, Buddha rolling the dhammacakka is depicted on the wall of the cylinder with lion, elephant, horse and bull rolling the dhammacakkas. On the obverse, an almost naked man only wearing an Hellenistic chlamys and wearing a head-dress rolls a dhammacakka. The legend in Kharoh reads "Dharmacakrapravata[ko]" ("The one who turned the Wheel of the Law"). It has been suggested that this may be an early representation of the Buddha.[25]

The head-dress symbolizes the "Middle Path". Thus, the man with the head-dress is a person who adheres to the Middle Path. (In one of the Indus Valley seals, we find a similar head-dress worn by 9 women.)

Thus, on both sides of the coin, we find Buddha rolling the dhammacakka.

As no scientific study on literary and physical symbolization of Buddha and Buddhism was conducted by the archaeologists and historians, imaginary and false interpretations were only given on coins, seals, Brahmi and other inscriptions and other archaeological finds.

Several scholars have suggested that the Prajpramit stras, which are among the earliest Mahyna stras,[26][27] developed among the Mahsghika along the Ka River in the ndhra region of South India.[28]

The earliest Mahyna stras to include the very first versions of the Prajpramit genre, along with texts concerning Akobhya Buddha, which were probably written down in the 1st century BCE in the south of India.[29][30] Guang Xing states, "Several scholars have suggested that the Prajpramit probably developed among the Mahsghikas in southern India, in the ndhra country, on the Ka River."[31]A.K. Warder believes that "the Mahyna originated in the south of India and almost certainly in the ndhra country."[32]

Anthony Barber and Sree Padma note that "historians of Buddhist thought have been aware for quite some time that such pivotally important Mahayana Buddhist thinkers as Ngrjuna, Dignaga, Candrakrti, ryadeva, and Bhavaviveka, among many others, formulated their theories while living in Buddhist communities in ndhra."[33] They note that the ancient Buddhist sites in the lower Ka Valley, including Amaravati, Ngrjunako and Jaggayyapea "can be traced to at least the third century BCE, if not earlier."[34] Akira Hirakawa notes the "evidence suggests that many Early Mahayana scriptures originated in South India."[35]

The Fourth Council is said to have been convened in the reign of the Kashmir emperor Kanika around 100 AD at Jalandhar or in Kashmir. Theravda Buddhism had its own Fourth Council in Sri Lanka about 200 years earlier in which the Pli canon was written down in toto for the first time. Therefore, there were two Fourth Councils: one in Sri Lanka (Theravda), and one in Kashmir (Sarvstivdin).

It is said that for the Fourth Council of Kashmir, Kanika gathered 500 monks headed by Vasumitra, partly, it seems, to compile extensive commentaries on the Abhidharma, although it is possible that some editorial work was carried out upon the existing canon itself. Allegedly during the council there were altogether three hundred thousand verses and over nine million statements compiled, and it took twelve years to complete. The main fruit of this council was the compilation of the vast commentary known as the Mah-Vibhsh ("Great Exegesis"), an extensive compendium and reference work on a portion of the Sarvstivdin Abhidharma.

Scholars believe that it was also around this time that a significant change was made in the language of the Sarvstivdin canon, by converting an earlier Prakrit version into Sanskrit. Although this change was probably effected without significant loss of integrity to the canon, this event was of particular significance since Sanskrit was the sacred language of Brahmanism in India, and was also being used by other thinkers, regardless of their specific religious or philosophical allegiance, thus enabling a far wider audience to gain access to Buddhist ideas and practices. For this reason there was a growing tendency among Buddhist scholars in India thereafter to write their commentaries and treatises in Sanskrit. Many of the early schools, however, such as Theravda, never switched to Sanskrit, partly because Buddha explicitly forbade translation of his discourses into what was an elitist religious language (as Latin was in medieval Europe). He wanted his monks to use a local language instead - a language which could be understood by all. Over time, however, the language of the Theravdin scriptures (Pli) became a scholarly or elitist language as well, exactly opposite to what the Buddha had explicitly commanded.

From that point on, and in the space of a few centuries, Mahyna was to flourish and spread in the East from India to South-East Asia, and towards the north to Central Asia, China, Korea, and finally to Japan in 538 AD and Tibet in the 7th century.

After the end of the Kushans, Buddhism flourished in India during the dynasty of the Guptas (4th-6th century). Mahyna centers of learning were established, especially at Nland in north-eastern India, which was to become the largest and most influential Buddhist university for many centuries, with famous teachers such as Ngrjuna. The influence of the Gupta style of Buddhist art spread along with the faith from south-east Asia to China.

Indian Buddhism had weakened in the 6th century following the White Hun invasions and Mihirakula's persecution.

Xuanzang reported in his travels across India during the 7th century, of Buddhism being popular in Andhra, Dhanyakataka and Dravida, which area today roughly corresponds to the modern day Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.[36] While reporting many deserted stupas in the area around modern day Nepal and the persecution of Buddhists by Shashanka in the Kingdom of Gauda in modern-day West Bengal, Xuanzang complimented the patronage of Haravardana during the same period. After the Haravardana kingdom, the rise of many small kingdoms that led to the rise of the Rajputs across the gangetic plains and marked the end of Buddhist ruling clans along with a sharp decline in royal patronage until a revival under the Pla Empire in the Bengal region. Here Mahyna Buddhism flourished and spread to Tibet, Bhutan and Sikkim between the 7th and the 12th centuries before the Plas collapsed under the assault of the Hindu Sena dynasty. The Plas created many temples and a distinctive school of Buddhist art. Xuanzang noted in his travels that in various regions Buddhism was giving way to Jainism and Hinduism.[37] By the 10th century Buddhism had experienced a sharp decline beyond the Pla realms in Bengal under a resurgent Hinduism and the incorporation in Vaishnavite Hinduism of Buddha as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu.[38]

A milestone in the decline of Indian Buddhism in the North occurred in 1193 when Turkic Islamic raiders under Muhammad Khilji burnt Nland. By the end of the 12th century, following the Islamic conquest of the Buddhist strongholds in Bihar and the loss of political support coupled with social pressures, the practice of Buddhism retreated to the Himalayan foothills in the North and Sri Lanka in the south. Additionally, the influence of Buddhism also waned due to Hinduism's revival movements such as Advaita, the rise of the bhakti movement and the missionary work of Sufis.

Central Asia had been influenced by Buddhism probably almost since the time of the Buddha. According to a legend preserved in Pli, the language of the Theravdin canon, two merchant brothers from Bactria named Tapassu and Bhallika visited the Buddha and became his disciples. They then returned to Bactria and built temples to the Buddha.[39]

Central Asia long played the role of a meeting place between China, India and Persia. During the 2nd century BC, the expansion of the Former Han to the west brought them into contact with the Hellenistic civilizations of Asia, especially the Greco-Bactrian Kingdoms. Thereafter, the expansion of Buddhism to the north led to the formation of Buddhist communities and even Buddhist kingdoms in the oases of Central Asia. Some Silk Road cities consisted almost entirely of Buddhist stupas and monasteries, and it seems that one of their main objectives was to welcome and service travelers between east and west.

The Theravdin traditions first spread among the Iranian tribes before combining with the Mahyna forms during the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC to cover modern-day Pakistan, Kashmir, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. These were the ancient states of Gandhra, Bactria, Margiana and Sogdia, from where it spread to China. Among the first of these states to come under the influence of Buddhism was Bactria as early as the 3rd century BC (see Greco-Buddhism). It was not, however, the exclusive faith of this region. There were also Zoroastrians, Hindus, Nestorian Christians, Jews, Manichaeans, and followers of shamanism, Tengrism, and other indigenous, nonorganized systems of belief.

Various Nikya schools persisted in Central Asia and China until around the 7th century AD. Mahyna started to become dominant during the period, but since the faith had not developed a Nikaya approach, Sarvstivdins and Dharmaguptakas remained the Vinayas of choice in Central Asian monasteries.

Various Buddhist kingdoms rose and prospered in both the Central Asian region and downwards into the Indian sub-continent, such as the Kushan Empire, prior to the White Hun invasion in the 5th century, where under the King Mihirakula they were heavily persecuted.

Buddhism in Central Asia started to decline with the expansion of Islam and the destruction of many stupas in war from the 7th century. The Muslims accorded them the status of dhimmis as "people of the Book", such as Christianity or Judaism, and Al-Biruni wrote of Buddha as prophet "burxan".

Buddhism saw a surge during the reign of Mongols following the invasion of Genghis Khan and the establishment of the Il Khanate and the Chagatai Khanate who brought their Buddhist influence with them during the 13th century; however, within 100 years the Mongols who remained in that region would convert to Islam and spread Islam across all the regions of central Asia. Only the eastern Mongols and the Mongols of the Yuan dynasty would keep Vajrayna Buddhism.

Buddhism expanded westward into the easternmost fringes of Arsacid Parthia, to the area of Merv, in ancient Margiana, today's territory of Turkmenistan. Soviet archeological teams have excavated in Giaur Kala near Merv a Buddhist chapel, a gigantic Buddha statue and a monastery.

Parthians were directly involved in the propagation of Buddhism: An Shigao (c. 148 AD), a Parthian prince, went to China, and is the first known translator of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese.

The eastern part of central Asia (Chinese Turkestan, Tarim Basin, Xinjiang) has revealed extremely rich Buddhist works of art (wall paintings and reliefs in numerous caves, portable paintings on canvas, sculpture, ritual objects), displaying multiple influences from Indian and Hellenistic cultures. Serindian art is highly reminiscent of the Gandhran style, and scriptures in the Gandhri script Kharoh have been found.

Central Asians seem to have played a key role in the transmission of Buddhism to the East. The first translators of Buddhists scriptures into Chinese were Parthian (Ch: Anxi) like An Shigao (c. 148 AD) or An Hsuan, Kushan of Yuezhi ethnicity like Lokaksema (c. 178 AD), Zhi Qian and Zhi Yao or Sogdians like Kang Sengkai. Thirty-seven early translators of Buddhist texts are known, and the majority of them have been identified as Central Asians.

Central Asian and East Asian Buddhist monks appear to have maintained strong exchanges until around the 10th century, as shown by frescoes from the Tarim Basin.

These influences were rapidly absorbed, however, by the vigorous Chinese culture, and a strongly Chinese particularism develops from that point.

According to traditional accounts, Buddhism was introduced in China during the Han dynasty (206 BC-220 AD) after an emperor dreamed of a flying golden man thought to be the Buddha. Although the archaeological record confirms that Buddhism was introduced sometime during the Han dynasty, it did not flourish in China until the Six Dynasties period (220-589 AD).[43]

The year 67 AD saw Buddhism's official introduction to China with the coming of the two monks Moton and Chufarlan. In 68 AD, under imperial patronage, they established the White Horse Temple (), which still exists today, close to the imperial capital at Luoyang. By the end of the 2nd century, a prosperous community had settled at Pengcheng (modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu).

The first known Mahyna scriptural texts are translations into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokakema in Luoyang, between 178 and 189 AD. Some of the earliest known Buddhist artifacts found in China are small statues on "money trees", dated c. 200 AD, in typical Gandhran drawing style: "That the imported images accompanying the newly arrived doctrine came from Gandhra is strongly suggested by such early Gandhra characteristics on this "money tree" Buddha as the high unia, vertical arrangement of the hair, moustache, symmetrically looped robe and parallel incisions for the folds of the arms."[44]

In the period between 460-525 AD during the Northern Wei dynasty, the Chinese constructed Yungang Grottoes, and it's an outstanding example of the Chinese stone carvings from the 5th and 6th centuries. All together the site is composed of 252 grottoes with more than 51,000 Buddha statues and statuettes.

Another famous Buddhism Grottoes is Longmen Grottoes which started with the Northern Wei Dynasty in 493 AD. There are as many as 100,000 statues within the 1,400 caves, ranging from an 1 inch (25 mm) to 57 feet (17 m) in height. The area also contains nearly 2,500 stelae and inscriptions, whence the name "Forest of Ancient Stelae", as well as over sixty Buddhist pagodas.

Buddhism flourished during the beginning of the Tang Dynasty (618907). The dynasty was initially characterized by a strong openness to foreign influences and renewed exchanges with Indian culture due to the numerous travels of Chinese Buddhist monks to India from the 4th to the 11th centuries. The Tang capital of Chang'an (today's Xi'an) became an important center for Buddhist thought. From there Buddhism spread to Korea, and Japanese embassies of Kentoshi helped gain footholds in Japan.

However, foreign influences came to be negatively perceived towards the end of the Tang Dynasty. In the year 845, the Tang emperor Wuzong outlawed all "foreign" religions including Christian Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism in order to support the indigenous Taoism. Throughout his territory, he confiscated Buddhist possessions, destroyed monasteries and temples, and executed Buddhist monks, ending Buddhism's cultural and intellectual dominance.

However, about a hundred years after the Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution, Buddhism revived during the Song Dynasty (11271279).

Pure Land and Chan Buddhism, however, continued to prosper for some centuries, the latter giving rise to Japanese Zen. In China, Chan flourished particularly under the Song dynasty (11271279), when its monasteries were great centers of culture and learning.

In the last two thousand years, the Buddhist have built The Four Sacred Mountains of Buddhism, they are Mount Wutai, Mount Emei, Mount Jiuhua, Mount Putuo.

Today, China boasts one of the richest collections of Buddhist arts and heritages in the world. UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in Gansu province, the Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang in Henan province, the Yungang Grottoes near Datong in Shanxi province, and the Dazu Rock Carvings near Chongqing are among the most important and renowned Buddhist sculptural sites. The Leshan Giant Buddha, carved out of a hillside in the 8th century during the Tang Dynasty and looking down on the confluence of three rivers, is still the largest stone Buddha statue in the world.

Buddhism was introduced around 372 AD, when Chinese ambassadors visited the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, bringing scriptures and images. Buddhism prospered in Korea - in particular Seon (Zen) Buddhism from the 7th century onward. However, with the beginning of the Confucian Yi Dynasty of the Joseon period in 1392, a strong discrimination took place against Buddhism until it was almost completely eradicated, except for a remaining Seon movement.

The Buddhism of Japan was introduced from Three Kingdoms of Korea in the 6th century. The Chinese priest Ganjin offered the system of Vinaya to the Buddhism of Japan in 754. As a result, the Buddhism of Japan has developed rapidly. Saich and Kkai succeeded to a legitimate Buddhism from China in the 9th century.

Being geographically at the end of the Silk Road, Japan was able to preserve many aspects of Buddhism at the very time it was disappearing in India, and being suppressed in Central Asia and China.

The Buddhism quickly became a national religion and thrived, particularly under Shotoku Taishi (Prince Shotoku) during Asuka period (538-794). From 710, numerous temples and monasteries were built in the capital city of Nara, such as the five-story pagoda and Golden Hall of the Hry-ji, or the Kfuku-ji temple. Countless paintings and sculptures were made, often under governmental sponsorship. The creations of Japanese Buddhist art were especially rich between the 8th and 13th centuries during Nara period(710-794), Heian period(794-1185) and Kamakura period(1185-1333).

During Kamakura period, major reformation activities started, namely changing from Buddhism for the imperial court to the Buddhism for the common people. The traditional Buddhism mostly focused on the protection of the country, imperial house or noble families from the ill spirits and salvation of the imperial families, nobles and monks themselves (self-salvation). On the other hand, new sects such as Jodo shu (pure land sect) founded by Honen and Jodo Shinshu (true pure land sect) founded by Shinran, Honen's disciple, emphasized salvation of sinners, common men and women and even criminals such as murderers of parents. Shinran preached the commoners by teaching that saying nembutsu (prayer of Amida Buddha) is a declaration of faith in Amida's salvation. Also for the first time in the history of Buddhism, Shinran started a new sect allowing marriage of monks by initiating his own marriage, which was deemed as taboo from the traditional Buddhism.

Another development in Kamakura period was Zen, by the introduction of the faith by Dogen and Eisai upon their return from China. Zen is highly philosophical with simplified words reflecting deep thought, but, in the art history, it is mainly characterized by so-called zen art, original paintings (such as ink wash and the Enso) and poetry (especially haikus), striving to express the true essence of the world through impressionistic and unadorned "non-dualistic" representations. The search for enlightenment "in the moment" also led to the development of other important derivative arts such as the Chanoyu tea ceremony or the Ikebana art of flower arrangement. This evolution went as far as considering almost any human activity as an art with a strong spiritual and aesthetic content, first and foremost in those activities related to combat techniques (martial arts).

Buddhism remains active in Japan to this day. Around 80,000 Buddhist temples are preserved and regularly restored.

Buddhism arrived late in Tibet, during the 7th century. The form that predominated, via the south of Tibet, was a blend of mahyna and vajrayna from the universities of the Pla empire of the Bengal region in eastern India.[45]Sarvstivdin influence came from the south west (Kashmir)[46] and the north west (Khotan).[47] Although these practitioners did not succeed in maintaining a presence in Tibet, their texts found their way into the Tibetan Buddhist canon, providing the Tibetans with almost all of their primary sources about the Foundation Vehicle. A subsect of this school, Mlasarvstivda was the source of the Tibetan Vinaya.[48] Chan Buddhism was introduced via east Tibet from China and left its impression, but was rendered of lesser importance by early political events.[49]

From the outset Buddhism was opposed by the native shamanistic Bon religion, which had the support of the aristocracy, but with royal patronage it thrived to a peak under King Rlpachn (817-836). Terminology in translation was standardised around 825, enabling a translation methodology that was highly literal. Despite a reversal in Buddhist influence which began under King Langdarma (836-842), the following centuries saw a colossal effort in collecting available Indian sources, many of which are now extant only in Tibetan translation. Tibetan Buddhism was favored above other religions by the rulers of imperial Chinese and Mongol Yuan Dynasty (12711368).

During the 1st century AD, the trade on the overland Silk Road tended to be restricted by the rise in the Middle-East of the Parthian empire, an unvanquished enemy of Rome, just as Romans were becoming extremely wealthy and their demand for Asian luxury was rising. This demand revived the sea connections between the Mediterranean and China, with India as the intermediary of choice. From that time, through trade connection, commercial settlements, and even political interventions, India started to strongly influence Southeast Asian countries (excluding Vietnam). Trade routes linked India with southern Burma, central and southern Siam, islands of Sumatra and Java, lower Cambodia and Champa, and numerous urbanized coastal settlements were established there.

For more than a thousand years, Indian influence was therefore the major factor that brought a certain level of cultural unity to the various countries of the region. The Pli and Sanskrit languages and the Indian script, together with Theravda and Mahyna Buddhism, Brahmanism, and Hinduism, were transmitted from direct contact and through sacred texts and Indian literature such as the Rmyaa and the Mahbhrata.

From the 5th to the 13th centuries, South-East Asia had very powerful empires and became extremely active in Buddhist architectural and artistic creation. The main Buddhist influence now came directly by sea from the Indian subcontinent, so that these empires essentially followed the Mahyna faith. The Sri Vijaya Empire to the south and the Khmer Empire to the north competed for influence, and their art expressed the rich Mahyna pantheon of the bodhisattvas.

Srivijaya, a maritime empire centered at Palembang on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, adopted Mahyna and Vajrayna Buddhism under a line of rulers named the Sailendras. Yijing described Palembang as a great center of Buddhist learning where the emperor supported over a thousand monks at his court. Yijing also testified to the importance of Buddhism as early as the year 671 and advised future Chinese pilgrims to spend a year or two in Palembang.[50]Atia studied there before travelling to Tibet as a missionary.

As Srivijaya expanded their thalassocracy, Buddhism thrived amongst its people. However, many did not practice pure Buddhism but a new syncretism form of Buddhism that incorporated several different religions such as Hinduism and other indigenous traditions.[51]

Srivijaya spread Buddhist art during its expansion in Southeast Asia. Numerous statues of bodhisattvas from this period are characterized by a very strong refinement and technical sophistication, and are found throughout the region. Extremely rich architectural remains are visible at the temple of Borobudur the largest Buddhist structure in the world, built from around 780 in Java, which has 505 images of the seated Buddha. Srivijaya declined due to conflicts with the Hindu Chola rulers of India, before being destabilized by the Islamic expansion from the 13th century.

Later, from the 9th to the 13th centuries, the Mahyna Buddhist and Hindu Khmer Empire dominated much of the South-East Asian peninsula. Under the Khmer, more than 900 temples were built in Cambodia and in neighboring Thailand. Angkor was at the center of this development, with a temple complex and urban organization able to support around one million urban dwellers. One of the greatest Khmer kings, Jayavarman VII (11811219), built large Mahyna Buddhist structures at Bayon and Angkor Thom.

Buddhism in Vietnam as practiced by the Vietnamese is mainly of Mahyna tradition. Buddhism came from Vietnam as early as the 2nd century AD through the North from Central Asia via India. Vietnamese Buddhism is very similar to Chinese Buddhism and to some extent reflects the structure of Chinese Buddhism after the Song Dynasty. Vietnamese Buddhism also has a symbiotic relationship with Taoism, Chinese spirituality and the native Vietnamese religion.

Various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Saivism.[52] The Majusrimulakalpa, which later came to classified under Kriyatantra, states that mantras taught in the Shaiva, Garuda and Vaishnava tantras will be effective if applied by Buddhists since they were all taught originally by Manjushri.[53] The Guhyasiddhi of Padmavajra, a work associated with the Guhyasamaja tradition, prescribes acting as a Shaiva guru and initiating members into Saiva Siddhanta scriptures and mandalas.[54] The Samvara tantra texts adopted the pitha list from the Shaiva text Tantrasadbhava, introducing a copying error where a deity was mistaken for a place.[55]

From the 11th century, the destruction of Buddhism in the Indian mainland by Islamic invasions led to the decline of the Mahyna faith in South-East Asia. Continental routes through the Indian subcontinent being compromised, direct sea routes developed from the Middle-East through Sri Lanka to China, leading to the adoption of the Theravda Buddhism of the Pli canon, introduced to the region around the 11th century from Sri Lanka.

King Anawrahta (10441078); the founder of the Pagan Empire, unified the country and adopted the Theravdin Buddhist faith. This initiated the creation of thousands of Buddhist temples at Pagan, the capital, between the 11th and 13th centuries. Around 2,200 of them are still standing. The power of the Burmese waned with the rise of the Thai, and with the seizure of the capital Pagan by the Mongols in 1287, but Theravda Buddhism remained the main Burmese faith to this day.

The Theravda faith was also adopted by the newly founded ethnic Thai kingdom of Sukhothai around 1260. Theravda Buddhism was further reinforced during the Ayutthaya period (14th18th century), becoming an integral part of Thai society.

In the continental areas, Theravda Buddhism continued to expand into Laos and Cambodia in the 13th century. From the 14th century, however, on the coastal fringes and in the islands of south-east Asia, the influence of Islam proved stronger, expanding into Malaysia, Indonesia, and most of the islands as far as the southern Philippines.

Nevertheless, since Suharto's rise to power in 1966, there has been a remarkable renaissance of Buddhism in Indonesia. This is partly due to the requirements of Suharto's New Order for the people of Indonesia to adopt one of the five official religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism or Buddhism. Today it is estimated there are some 10 million Buddhists in Indonesia. A large part of them are people of Chinese ancestry.

After the Classical encounters between Buddhism and the West recorded in Greco-Buddhist art, information and legends about Buddhism seem to have reached the West sporadically. An account of Buddha's life was translated into Greek by John of Damascus, and widely circulated to Christians as the story of Barlaam and Josaphat. By the 14th century this story of Josaphat had become so popular that he was made a Catholic saint.

The next direct encounter between Europeans and Buddhism happened in Medieval times when the Franciscan friar William of Rubruck was sent on an embassy to the Mongol court of Mongke by the French king Saint Louis in 1253. The contact happened in Cailac (today's Qayaliq in Kazakhstan), and William originally thought they were wayward Christians (Foltz, "Religions of the Silk Road").

In the period after Hulagu, the Mongol Ilkhans increasingly adopted Buddhism. Numerous Buddhist temples dotted the landscape of Persia and Iraq, none of which survived the 14th century. The Buddhist element of the Il-Khanate died with Arghun.[56]

The Kalmyk Khanate was founded in the 17th century with Tibetan Buddhism as its main religion, following the earlier migration of the Oirats from Dzungaria through Central Asia to the steppe around the mouth of the Volga River. During the course of the 18th century, they were absorbed by the Russian Empire.[57] At the end of the Napoleonic wars, Kalmyk cavalry units in Russian service entered Paris.[58]

Interest in Buddhism increased during the colonial era, when Western powers were in a position to witness the faith and its artistic manifestations in detail. The opening of Japan in 1853 created a considerable interest in the arts and culture of Japan, and provided access to one of the most thriving Buddhist cultures in the world.

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