Places of Origin and Processes of Diffusion of Buddhism

Place of Origin (Hearth)

The Hearth of Buddhism is Northern India (Modern Day Nepal). It is said that Buddha was born in Bodh Gaya and Buddha first taught Dharma, "the nature of reality regarded as a universal truth taught by the Buddha; the teaching of Buddhism” (Oxford Languages), in Isipatana, Sarnath.

Historical Process of Diffusion

Historical Process of Diffusion

• Buddhism, one of the major influencing religions of the world, diffused through the historical process of relocation diffusion.
• Relocation diffusion is the spread of an idea or innovation, in this case religion, through the physical movement of people.
• Buddhism is considered to be diffused by relocation diffusion since Buddhist monks would travel through the Silk Road and various silk routes spreading Buddha’s ideas and the principles of Buddhism.
• Buddhist monks would start their traveling routes in India and would settle religous institutions along the silk road; this caused Buddhism to spread to Central Asia, China, Japan, and SouthEast Asia.

Geographic Expansion

• The Buddhism religion originated 2,500 years ago in 563–483 B.C.E. in India. Over the years it has spread across Asia and the rest of the world.
• The commercial lines that stretched from northwest India to northern China helped both the introduction of Buddhism to Central Asia and the sustenance of a strong Buddhist culture there for many centuries.
• There are many theories of how Buddhism was spread. One theory is that Indo-Scythian king Kaniska of the Kushan (Kusana) dynasty, encouraged the spread of Buddhism into Central Asia. Nowadays Buddhism is most dominant in Bhutan, but Buddhism is present in Myanmar, Cambodia, Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Tibet, Laos, Macau, Mongolia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Kalmykia, and Vietnam. Large Buddhist populations live in North Korea, Nepal, India, and South Korea.

Geographic expansion

Social and Cultural Impact on the Places Where These Religions Expanded

Buddhism had a great social and cultural impact in the places where it expanded. It is known as one of the cultures with most rules and customs, and it has left many of these in the places it has expanded to.

- An example and one of the most well known are the clothes, all places where the emperor or leader has accepted as the official religion people use Kāṣāya for their dressing. In places where it is not the official religion but it has expanded there will still be that type of clothing but less common.

- Another example is the sound/noise of the place. Buddhism is known as one of the loudest religions. In the places where it has expanded and it is the official religion there will be shomyo all day. This is a special chant in the Buddhism religion that is sung all day in special centers.

Social and Cultural Impact on the Places Where These Religions Expanded

- A social impact of Buddhism is education. Buddhism is a very non-violent religion and they have focused their education to be practical, action oriented and geared towards social welfare. The three main things they will teach is discipline, meditation and wisdom. This type of education can be seen in the places where this religion has expanded.

- In these places where Buddhism has made impacts women have a larger role. It is a religion in which many women participate and have a role outside of home so in these places women can be seen as workers and devoted to their religion by making chants all day, teachers of Buddhism and more.

In conclusion Buddhism has left many social and cultural impacts in the places that it has expanded and most of it has to do with music, clothing, education and the role of women in the society.

Work Cited Page

National Geographic Society. (2020, July 7). Buddhism. https://www.nationalgeographic.org/ encyclopedia/buddhism/

Neelis, J. (n.d.). Buddhism on the Silk Routes. Department of Washington. Retrieved from https: //depts.washington.edu/silkroad/exhibit/religion/buddhism/buddhism_silkroad.html

Reynolds, F. E., Snellgrove, D. L., Kitagawa, J. M., Nakamura, H., Lopez, D. S., Tucci, G., & The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2021, April 8). Buddhism - central asia and china. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism/Central-Asia-and-China

Reynolds, F. E., Snellgrove, D. L., Kitagawa, J. M., Nakamura, H., Lopez, D. S., Tucci, G., & The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2021, April 8). Buddhism - central asia and china. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Buddhism/Historical-de velopment#ref68659

Fager, E. (2020, November 27). Buddhism. ArcGIS StoryMaps. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/962d139a51cf409f9f05ee34d4a5d35e

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