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.
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