The Asian continent is an enormous landmass that is home to a rich array of cultural and religious traditions. As different groups migrated across it, they affected change on existing communities. Such trends can be seen throughout the history of humankind and the result has been a diffusion of ideas and traditions that take unique forms as they touch different regions. There are a number of philosophies and religions that form the core belief system of people in Asia. Today let’s look at the early days of Buddhism.
Having little knowledge of its history, I was interested in exploring the early days of Buddhism and its path across Asia. The Buddhism page on our Religious Studies subject guide was incredibly helpful for getting started. As I quickly discovered, the history and complexity of Buddhism’s early evolution in various regions of Asia is incredible. Way more than can be covered in a simple blog post!
Instead of doing a complete disservice to Buddhism and its history, I decided to put together a brief timeline of its initial dissemination across Asia. The information contained in this timeline only skims the surface. I invite you to use it as a stepping stone to further inquiry. The Encyclopedia of Buddhism and The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism were particularly helpful in this venture.
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References
Brown, R. L. (2004). Indonesia and the Malay Peninsula. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Vol. 1, pp. 370-372). Macmillan Reference USA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3402600208/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=090b3279.
Buswell, Robert E., Jr., ed. Encyclopedia of Buddhism. 2 vols. New York: Macmillan Reference USA, 2004. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3402600204/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=c4696ed8.
Davidson, R. M. (2003). Tibet. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Vol. 2, pp. 851-859). Macmillan Reference USA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3402600439/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=78bca3eb.
Gómez, L. O. (2005). Buddhism: Buddhism in India. In L. Jones (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 1101-1131). Macmillan Reference USA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3424500425/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=d68bfce2.
Hansen, A. (2004). Cambodia. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Vol. 1, pp. 105-110). Macmillan Reference USA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3402600081/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=3c39342a.
Holt, J. C. (2003). Sri Lanka. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Vol. 2, pp. 795-799). Macmillan Reference USA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3402600414/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=4ed2614e.
Keel, H.S. (2004). Korea. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Vol. 1, pp. 430-435). Macmillan Reference USA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3402600242/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=a51f5d42.
Nattier, J. (2004). Central Asia. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Vol. 1, pp. 120-122). Macmillan Reference USA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3402600086/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=e980b6c2 .
Poceski, M. (2004). China. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Vol. 1, pp. 139-145). Macmillan Reference USA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3402600092/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=3bb99689.
Pranke, P. A. (2003). Myanmar. In R. E. Buswell, Jr. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Vol. 2, pp. 574-577). Macmillan Reference USA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3402600310/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=68a828bc.
Ruppert, B. O. (2005). Buddhism: Buddhism in Japan. In L. Jones (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion (2nd ed., Vol. 2, pp. 1174-1186). Macmillan Reference USA. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3424500432/GVRL?u=edmo69826&sid=bookmark-GVRL&xid=6daf0660.
