Buddhism And Its Impact On Western Asia - 1804 Words

Buddhism is one of the largest religions in the world with an estimated 500 million adherents located in all corners of the globe. Although Buddhism is practiced all around the world, the majority of Buddhists are centered in the Eastern, Southern and Central parts of Asia. It was founded in India in approximately 525 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama. Although it was founded and first gained a foothold in India, Buddhism today is usually more associated with East Asian countries such as Korea and Japan. Given the diversity of the peoples of East Asia and their political systems, culture and language one might wonder what led to the expansion of Buddhism over such a large geographical area. Buddhism began spreading quickly to Eastern Asia as a†¦show more content†¦Release from this cycle is only achieved by attaining enlightenment, the ultimate goal for Buddhists. A Buddha is an all-knowing being who has reached that perfect state of transcendence in which the concepts of humanities greed, hate and delusion are exterminated. Another key aspect is that upon passing into nirvana, one is never subject to rebirth again. According to tradition, the founder of Buddhism was born in 563 B.C.E. Siddhartha left his palace, renouncing his wealth and status, to find the cause of suffering. After years of searching, he found his answer and went on to teach others. When he died, he attained nirvana, the release from earthly desires and suffering, and became the Buddha. The Buddha s teachi ngs were written down by his followers who spread his message. These texts are called sutras. A religion began to form and new branches of Buddhism were created. The introduction of Buddhism to Korea impacted the culture and politics of the region immensely. It fundamentally changed the way in which people interacted and how political actions was carried out. Buddhism was often used as a political tool by the ruling elites and the royal families. Before the spread and integration of Buddhism, a very important religion for the Korea people was Shamanism. Buddhism absorbed the myths,