Buddhism on the Silk Routes to East Asia

Popularization of Buddhism

State Religion of Mauryan Empire (320-185 BCE)

*Ashoka or King Piyadasi (r. 268-232 BCE)

*Chakravartin “Wheel-turning" king

Kushan Empire (50-260 CE)

Kanishka II (r. ca., 120-140 CE)

State religion

Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism

Buddhist Doctrinal Divisions

*Theravada (Teaching of the Elders) or Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle)

Monasticism

Meditation

*Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism, ca. 1st-2nd c. CE

Monasticism & meditation

Optional for enlightenment

Multiple Buddhas

5 past Buddhas

Historical Buddha

Maitreya (Buddha of the Future)

*Bodhisattva (Enlightened Being)

Popular worship

Compassion

Tranfer of merit

Devotional worship

Art and statues

Spread of Buddhism

Southeast Asia

Theravada Buddhism (Teaching of the Elders)

Central Asia, China, Korea, Japan

Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism

Kushan Empire

Missionaries

Barriers to spread of Buddhism from South Asia to China

Differences in language and culture

Geography

Mountains

Desert

Travel through desert

Less risk of robbery

Bactrian Camels: Ships of the Desert

Oasis

Survival in the Desert

Mountain Snow and Glaciers

Spring and Summer Melt

Example of Silk Routes Oasis: Turfan

Birth of an Oasis in Turfan

Irrigated Agriculture

Aids to Buddhist spread

*Silk Road

Oasis stops

Resupply depots

Markets

Trade goods

Silks

Polychrome

Money

Precious metals

Oasis Monastery Network

Way stations

Resident monks

Missionaries

Pilgrims

Cultural bridges

Centers of learning

Translation projects

Imperial Patronage

*Chakravartin “Wheel-turning" king

Translation projects in Chang'an

*Xuanzang (ca. 596-664) served Tang (618-907)

Building Projects

Monasteries of N. Wei (386-534) and Tang (618-907)

Longmen, Luoyang

Adaptability of Mahayana Buddhism

Statues and paintings

Religious ideas

Study Questions on Lecture

1. How do the beliefs and practices of Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism compare with the Buddha's earlier (Theravada) teaching? What are the similarities and differences?

2. What was the Silk Road? What travel and cultural barriers hindered Buddhism's spread along the Silk Road to China? Why did missionaries and merchants favor routes through desert? How did oasis monastery networks and imperial patronage help to overcome these barriers?

2. As Chinese adopted Mahayana Buddhism, how were Buddhist religious ideas and practices modified?

Reading Study Questions

Reading: Hansen, et al., 172-176, 182-191, 196

1. How did Buddhism change after the development of Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism teachings in Northwest India?

2. How was Buddhism adapted and transformed in China? Give specific examples from the Sanskrit and Chinese versions of the story of Maudgalyayana (pp. 184-185).

3. Hansen and Curtis say that Buddhism became a popular religion in Asia because kings, "drawn by the chakravartin ideal...made a series of individual decisions to support Buddhism" (p. 196). What is a chakravartin? What do Hansen and Curtis mean by this statement? Do you agree with the authors based on what you have learned about the popularization of Buddhism in this chapter?

Supplementary Reading on D2L>Content:

16) “Tales of the Bodhisattva Guanshiyin”

1. How did Mahayana Buddhists believe that they could gain help from Guanshiyin (Avalokitesvara) in times of need? Give at least two specific examples. How would belief in the miraculous powers of Guanshiyin (Avalokitesvara) help to make Mahayana Buddhism a more popular religion?

2. How does Mahayana Buddhist worship of Guanshiyin (Avalokitesvara) represent a change from the earlier preaching of the Buddha in 14) "Buddha's First Sermon"? What similarities exist between these two sects of Buddhism?