How Buddhism Adapted and Resisted Ranges of Influences - Admission/Application Essay Example

Introduction This research aimed at showing how Buddhism adapted and resisted ranges of influences. They included social, religious, political and geographical factors as it spread across (or “universalized in ”) Asia in the first millennium CE. Research carried out will be mainly from electronic materials and will consider dates, locations and content sources in creating its arguments. It will show how Buddhism as a religion started and spread across Asia and also be elaborative on the different branches of Buddhism and its teachings. Body History of Buddhism According to Namgyal.org, Buddhism was born out of the teachings and practices of the Buddha form. The Buddha was born 2565 years ago in what is the modern day Nepal. The Buddha (Shakyamuni or Siddhartha Gautama) born in a royal clan, but he left all that (power and wealth) to pursue truth and enlightenment. Retelling of the life history of Buddha forms the basis of Buddhist philosophy. Paintings showing key events of Buddha’s life also form part of monasteries and temples through the Buddhist world. Buddha renounced his old life at the age of 29 years due to a life transforming experience of encounter with human suffering, decay and death of the unprotected people who lived outside his palace. At this age, he started his quest for meaning and enlightenment which he achieved at the age of 37 years after intense meditation at Bhodhgaya, a village in North India that has become a pilgrimage site. Buddhism gained popularity especially in North India because its teachings offered alternatives to the rigid social structures prevalent at that time. Buddhism is open to all either as monastic renouncers or lay devotees (Namgyal.org). Fundamentals of Buddhism are captured in the following four teachings: • The normal condition of this world is misery or suffering. • Suffering originates from desire or attachment of worldly things • The end of suffering is reached if one renounces worldly things • Becoming detached from worldly things is reached through the eightfold path of right views, right intentions, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration (Namgyal.org). The spread of Buddhism According to Ushistory.org, Buddhism was started by Siddhartha Gautama after he denounced his princely life of luxury and wealth after seeing the suffering and illness of people in order to seek for enlightenment. He achieved this through the abandonment of basic needs. After achieving enlightenment, he became known as Buddha or the “awakened one.” He started moving all across northeast India spreading his philosophy regardless of gender and caste and died in 483 B.C.E after teaching for 45 years. After his death, he achieved a state of nirvana or the ultimate release from suffering in which the self is no longer exists, and salvation is achieved. His last words to his followers were: “strive on with awareness” that they still do. Branches of Buddhism According to Violatti, today Buddhism is divided into four branches, they include Mahayana, Theravada, Vajrayana and Zen Buddhism. This resulted from different transformation of Buddhism and emergence of different schools. Lack of sufficient sources documenting the development of Buddhism as a region has made it hard for researchers on Buddhism development. However, some sources like the diaries of Chinese Buddhist pilgrims who visited India from 5th to 7th century CE have been helpful. After the death of Buddha, many followers settled in different geographical locations which contributed to the differences in method of teaching and practices. Mahayana Buddhism (Great Vehicle) started in 100 BCE in northern India and spread to Central Asia, East Asia and some areas of South East Asia. Buddhist schools in china, Korea, Tibet and Japan belong to this Mahayana tradition. Mahayana Buddhism was tailored towards what listeners want to hear and is sometimes criticized as week has lead it to be absorbed by other traditions like Hinduism. Despite all this, its stable, diversified and offers moral unity (Violatti). Theravada Buddhism (teaching of the elders) was the dominant Buddhism in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Srilanka and Thailand and can be traced back to 3rd Century BCE. It is believed that this branch was inspired by Emperor Ashoka in Srilanka in 240 BCE (Violatti). Vajrayana Buddhism “The Vehicle of the Thunderbolt” started in India around 900 CE and followed the principles of the Mahayana tradition and stated that the achievement of enlightenment through traditional methods was tedious but Vajrayana could deliver it in one lifetime and this has been incorporated in the Tibetan Buddhism (Violatti). Zen Buddhism: originally from china (known as Chan Buddhism then) but moved to Japan around 7th century CE focuses mainly on meditation to achieve a higher level of enlightenment. Its core idea is that anyone can achieve enlightenment through meditation. There are records of persecution of Buddhist traditions in China in 845 CE under the rule of emperor Wuzhong (r. 841-846) but it still survived. Various ways through which Buddhism spread across (or “universalized in ”) Asia in the first millennium CE. Trade; according to Bellezza, Buddhism transmission and expansion through trade happened in two main channels. These were; donor patronage and monks and nuns involvement in commercial activities. He goes on to say that there were symbiotic relationships between Buddhist monastic institutions and trade networks which were mostly due to gift giving in order to gain merit. Epigraphic and textual materials were dating back to 500 BCE to 1000CE shows that there existed localized and trans-regional aspects of Buddhist transmit ion and trade routes. He continues to say that urbanization, and rise in Iron Age was concurrent with the rise of Buddhism since it also encouraged cultural interactions (p.141). He goes on to say that intellectual exchange through the trans-regional Hellenistic influences contributed to the spread of Buddhist art in the 4th to 2nd century CE. Mobility also contributed a lot to the spread of Buddhism as people were able to move to most parts of Asia through trade that contributed to its spread (142). Political reasons; according to Kusalasaya, rulers like emperor Asoka of India played a great role in the spread of Buddhism. In Thailand, is believed to have been introduced by Buddhist missionaries sent to various parts of the then known world by the emperor. In India, Mahayana Buddhism thrived during the reign of King Kanishka in the second half of first century AD and also spread to the neighboring countries like Sumatra, Java and Kambuja. Also between 1002 to 1182 A.D. rulers who ruled Suryavarman dynasty in Cambodia played a great role in the spread of Buddhism both in Cambodia and modern day Thailand. In the year 1057 A.D. king, Annaruddha in Central Burma made his capital at the pagan city of central Burma. From this, we can conclude that rulers played a great role in the spread of Buddhism as is evidence from the above examples (Kusalasaya). Social reason; According to Numrich, Buddhism’s nature of people renouncing worldly possession as the main teaching as was taught and practiced by the Buddha makes one achieve a state of nirvana (enlightenment). These teachings were accepted by the various people of the Asia region although they had different beliefs, practices, and cultures. This is because Buddhism not only offered Buddha’s teachings but also provided disciplinary rules and commentaries of religious authorities (1). He also go on to say that Buddhism beliefs were similar to Hinduism beliefs, and that was accepted easily in the Hindu since its teachings of suffering and achieving enlightenment teachings similar to those in Hinduism (3). Buddhism teachings on morality and ethics also helped in its spread because it prohibited murder, sexual misconducts or taking of intoxicants causing misbehavior (3). Geographical reason; according to Sen, Buddhism spread easily across Asia in the 1st century CE due to cross-cultural exchanges especially due to the travelling monks and pilgrims. Consequently, circulation of religious texts made it possible for Buddhism to spread across Asia. The view by many of India as a mystic land with civilized people also contributed by attracting more pilgrims who later spread Buddhism to their home lands like China (24) Soni says that during the rule of China’s Ming dynasty, the conversion to Buddhism by most people led to improved relationship between Tibet and china because they shared a common religion, and that is Buddhism. The Mongol people started converting to Tibetan Mahayana Buddhism and adopted so this led to better relationship between the people of these two geographical region as in 1578 the Mongol prince Altan Khan met with the third Dalai Lama which led to better relationship between the two regions (5). Religious reason for spread of Buddhism; Konsky et al. say that Buddhism was successful in India because the existing religion in the region, Hindu, offered similar concepts when it came to doctrines and these contributed in the spread since it was accepted by the locals. Buddhism got accepted since it criticized the Hinduism caste system as it believed that all men were equal as opposed to the Hindu caste system (241-242). Conclusion In conclusion, we can say that Buddhism as a religion was able to spread and penetrate from Indian to many parts of Asia mainly due to its religious philosophy. Its concentration on achieving Nirvana was instrumental to its spread because it encouraged everybody to join it regardless of their gender or position in the society. Buddism was unlike other dominant religions in the area like Hindu, who practiced Hinduism. The influence of rulers and traders who supported it coupled with the effects of pilgrims goes a long way in ensuring its penetration. Works cited Namgyal.org . “A History of Buddhism” Namgyal Monastery. Institute Of Buddhist Studies. n. d. Web 25 Nov 2014:. http://www.namgyal.org/about/buddhism.cfm Ushistory.org. The Birth and Spread of Buddhism; .n.d. Web 25 Nov 2014: http://www.ushistory.org/civ/8d.asp Violatti, C. A Short History of the Buddhist Schools. Ancient civilization .28th Nov. 2013. Web 25 Nov 2014: http://www.ancient.eu/article/492/ Bellezza, J.V. Early Buddhist Transmission And Trade Networks: Mobility And Exchange Within And Beyond The Northwest Borders Of South Asia. Dynamics In The History Of Religion, Vol.2. By Jason Neelis; Review By John Vincent Bellezza. Himalaya, The Journal Of The Association For The Nepal And Himalayan Studies:2014. Vol1(33)iss.1 & 2 Web 21 Nov 2014. http://digitalcommons.macalester.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2106&context=himalaya Kusalasaya, K. Buddhism in Thailand Its Past and Its Present; 2006. Web 25 Nov 2014: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/kusalasaya/wheel085.html Numrich, P.D. The Buddhist Tradition: Religious Beliefs and Health Care Decisions; 2001. Web 25 Nov 2014:http://www.che.org/members/ethics/docs/1275/Buddhist.pdf Sen, T. The Travel Records Of Chinese Pilgrims Faxian, Xuanzang And Yijing. Sources For Cross-Cultural Encounters Between Ancient China And Ancient India; 2006. Web 25 Nov 2014: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/travel_records.pdf Soni, S.K. Chinese influences in the perspective of Buddhism: Asian perspective on China and Tibet: Geographical, history and Buddhism. Pdf. 2004,7th oct. Web 25 Nov 2014: http://politics.ntu.edu.tw/RAEC/comm2/Bangkok%20Agenda-last%20edited%20ok.pdf Konsky, C., Kapoor, U., Blue, J. & Kapoor, S. Religion, and communication; a study of Hinduism, Buddhism and Christianity.PDF. 2000. Web 25 Nov 2014: http://www.uri.edu/iaics/content/2000v10n2/15%20Catherine%20Konsky,%20Usha%20Kapoor,%20Janet%20Blue%20&%20Suraj%20Kapoor.pdf Read More