Buddhism

==History==
{{Main|History of Buddhism}}
{{For timeline|Timeline of Buddhism}}
[[File:Mahākāśyapa_meets_an_Ājīvika_and_learns_of_the_parinirvana,_Gandhara_sculpture_2.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Mahākāśyapa]] meets an [[Ājīvika]] ascetic, one of the common Śramaṇa groups in ancient India]]

===Historical roots===
Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of [[Iron Age India]] around the middle of the first millennium BCE.{{sfnp|Gethin|2008|p=xv}} This was a period of great intellectual ferment and socio-cultural change known as the [[History of India#Second urbanisation (c. 600 – 200 BCE)|"Second urbanisation"]], marked by the growth of towns and trade, the composition of the [[Upanishads]] and the historical emergence of the [[Śramaṇa]] traditions.<ref>{{cite book|author=Abraham Eraly |title=The First Spring: The Golden Age of India |year=2011|publisher=Penguin Books |isbn=978-0-670-08478-4 |pages=538, 571 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=te1sqTzTxD8C}}</ref>{{sfnp|Gombrich|1988|pp=26–41}}{{Refn|group=note|While some interpretations state that Buddhism may have originated as a social reform, other scholars state that it is incorrect and anachronistic to regard the Buddha as a social reformer.<ref name="QueenKing1996p17"/> Buddha's concern was "to reform individuals, help them to leave society forever, not to reform the world... he never preached against social inequality". [[Richard Gombrich]], quoted by Christopher Queen.<ref name="QueenKing1996p17">{{harvc|first=Christopher |last=Queen |c=Introduction: The Shapes and Sources of Engaged Buddhism |in1=Queen |in2=King |pp=[https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZsTgY1lNNsC&pg=PA17 17–18] |year=1996}}</ref>{{sfnp|Gombrich|1988|pp=30–31}}}}

New ideas developed both in the [[Historical Vedic religion|Vedic tradition]] in the form of the Upanishads, and outside of the Vedic tradition through the Śramaṇa movements.<ref>{{cite book|author=Hajime Nakamura |title=A History of Early Vedānta Philosophy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=asNLliQHDNQC |year=1983 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0651-1 |pages=102–104, 264–269, 294–295 }}; Quote: "But the Upanishadic ultimate meaning of the Vedas, was, from the viewpoint of the Vedic canon in general, clearly a new idea.."; p. 95: The [oldest] Upanishads in particular were part of the Vedic corpus (...) When these various new ideas were brought together and edited, they were added on to the already existing Vedic..."; p. 294: "When early Jainism came into existence, various ideas mentioned in the extant older Upanishads were current,....".</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Klaus G. Witz |title=The Supreme Wisdom of the Upaniṣads: An Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2jnPlEqwe_UC |year=1998|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass  |isbn=978-81-208-1573-5 |pages= 1–2, 23}}; Quote: "In the [[Aranyaka]]s therefore, thought and inner spiritual awareness started to separate subtler, deeper aspects from the context of ritual performance and myth with which they had been united up to then. This process was then carried further and brought to completion in the [[Upanishad]]s. (...) The knowledge and attainment of the Highest Goal had been there from the Vedic times. But in the Upanishads inner awareness, aided by major intellectual breakthroughs, arrived at a language in which Highest Goal could be dealt with directly, independent of ritual and sacred lore".<br />{{cite book|author=Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle|title=The Origin and Development of Early Indian Contemplative Practices |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HOzdcIxJy2sC|year=1994|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn=978-3-447-03479-1|pages=58 with footnote 148, 22–29, 87–103, for Upanishads–Buddhist Sutta discussion see 65–72}}</ref><ref name="Olivelle1992">{{cite book|author=Patrick Olivelle |title=The Samnyasa Upanisads: Hindu Scriptures on Asceticism and Renunciation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fB8uneM7q1cC|year=1992|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-536137-7|pages=3–5, 68–71}};<br />{{cite book|author=Christoph Wulf |title=Exploring Alterity in a Globalized World |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_ZxeCwAAQBAJ |year=2016|publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-33113-1 |pages=125–126}}; Quote: "But he [Bronkhorst] talks about the simultaneous emergence of a Vedic and a non-Vedic asceticism. (...) [On Olivelle] Thus, the challenge for old Vedic views consisted of a new theology, written down in the early Upanishads like the Brhadaranyaka and the Mundaka Upanishad. The new set of ideas contained the...."</ref> The term Śramaṇa refers to several Indian religious movements parallel to but separate from the [[historical Vedic religion]], including Buddhism, [[Jainism]] and others such as [[Ājīvika]].<ref>AL Basham (1951), History and Doctrines of the Ajivikas – a Vanished Indian Religion, Motilal Banarsidass, {{ISBN|978-81-208-1204-8}}, pp. 94–103</ref>

Several Śramaṇa movements are known to have existed in India before the 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre-[[Mahavira]]), and these influenced both the [[āstika and nāstika]] traditions of [[Indian philosophy]].<ref name=reginaldray247>Reginald Ray (1999), Buddhist Saints in India, Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0-19-513483-4}}, pp. 237–240, 247–249</ref> According to Martin Wilshire, the Śramaṇa tradition evolved in India over two phases, namely [[Pratyekabuddha|Paccekabuddha]] and [[Śrāvaka|Savaka]] phases, the former being the tradition of individual ascetic and the latter of disciples, and that Buddhism and [[Jainism]] ultimately emerged from these.<ref name=wiltshire293>Martin Wiltshire (1990), Ascetic Figures Before and in Early Buddhism, De Gruyter, {{ISBN|978-3-11-009896-9}}, p. 293</ref> [[Historical Vedic religion|Brahmanical]] and non-Brahmanical ascetic groups shared and used several similar ideas,{{sfnp|Samuel|2010|pp=123–125}} but the Śramaṇa traditions also drew upon already established Brahmanical concepts and philosophical roots, states Wiltshire, to formulate their own doctrines.<ref name=reginaldray247/><ref name=wiltshire226>Martin Wiltshire (1990), Ascetic Figures Before and in Early Buddhism, De Gruyter, {{ISBN|978-3-11-009896-9}}, pp. 226–227</ref> Brahmanical motifs can be found in the oldest Buddhist texts, using them to introduce and explain Buddhist ideas.{{sfnp|Shults|2014|p=126}} For example, prior to Buddhist developments, the Brahmanical tradition internalised and variously reinterpreted the [[Srauta|three Vedic sacrificial fires]] as concepts such as Truth, Rite, Tranquility or Restraint.{{sfnp|Shults|2014|p=127}} Buddhist texts also refer to the three Vedic sacrificial fires, reinterpreting and explaining them as ethical conduct.{{sfnp|Shults|2014|pp=125–129}}

The Śramaṇa religions challenged and broke with the Brahmanic tradition on core assumptions such as [[Atman (Hinduism)|Atman]] (soul, self), [[Brahman]], the nature of afterlife, and they rejected the authority of the [[Vedas]] and [[Upanishad]]s.<ref>P. Billimoria (1988), Śabdapramāṇa: Word and Knowledge, Studies of Classical India Volume 10, Springer, {{ISBN|978-94-010-7810-8}}, pp. 1–30</ref>{{sfnp| Jaini|2001|pp=47–48}}<ref name="Siderits2007p16"/> Buddhism was one among several Indian religions that did so.<ref name="Siderits2007p16">{{cite book|author=Mark Siderits |title=Buddhism as Philosophy: An Introduction |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bK6O4Z7RyH8C |year=2007|publisher=Ashgate|isbn=978-0-7546-5369-1|page=16 with footnote 3}}</ref>

Early Buddhist positions in the [[Theravada]] tradition had not established any deities, but were epistemologically cautious rather than directly [[atheist]]. Later Buddhist traditions were more influenced by the critique of deities within [[Hinduism]] and therefore more committed to a strongly atheist stance. These developments were historic and epistemological as documented in verses from [[Śāntideva]]'s [[Bodhicaryāvatāra]], and supplemented by reference to [[suttas]] and [[Jataka tales|jātakas]] from the [[Pali canon]].<ref>{{cite book|doi=10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199644650.013.004 |date=2013 |last1=Skilton |first1=Andrew |chapter=22 Buddhism  |title=The Oxford Handbook of Atheism|isbn=9780199644650  }}</ref>

===Indian Buddhism===
{{Main|History of Buddhism in India}}
[[File:Ajanta_Chaitya_10_plan.jpg|thumb|[[Ajanta Caves]], Cave 10, a first period type [[chaitya]] worship hall with [[stupa]] but no idols]]
The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into five periods:{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1993|p=7}} Early Buddhism (occasionally called [[pre-sectarian Buddhism]]), [[Nikaya Buddhism]] or Sectarian Buddhism (the period of the early Buddhist schools), Early [[Mahayana|Mahayana Buddhism]], Late Mahayana, and the era of [[Vajrayana]] or the "Tantric Age".

====Pre-sectarian Buddhism====
{{Main|Pre-sectarian Buddhism}}

According to [[Lambert Schmithausen]] Pre-sectarian Buddhism is "the canonical period prior to the development of different schools with their different positions".<ref>Schmithausen (1987) "Part I: Earliest Buddhism," Panels of the VIIth World Sanskrit Conference Vol. II: Earliest Buddhism and Madhyamaka, ed. David Seyfort Ruegg and Lambert Schmithausen, Leiden: Kern Institute, pp. 1–4.</ref>

The [[early Buddhist Texts]] include the four principal Pali [[Nikāya]]s {{refn|The [[Digha Nikaya]], [[Majjhima Nikaya]], [[Samyutta Nikaya]] and [[Anguttara Nikaya]]|group=note}} (and their parallel [[Āgama (Buddhism)|Agamas]] found in the Chinese canon) together with the main body of monastic rules, which survive in the various versions of the [[patimokkha]].{{sfnp|Sujato|Brahmali|2015|p=39–41}}{{sfnp|Gethin|2008|p=xviii}}{{sfnp|Harvey|1998|p=3}} However, these texts were revised over time, and it is unclear what constitutes the earliest layer of Buddhist teachings. One method to obtain information on the oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pāli Canon and other texts.{{refn|group=note|The surviving portions of the scriptures of [[Sarvastivada]], [[Mulasarvastivada]], [[Mahīśāsaka]], [[Dharmaguptaka]] and other schools.{{sfnp|Vetter|1988|p=ix}}{{sfnp|Warder|2000}}}} The reliability of the early sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute.{{sfnp|Vetter|1988|pp=xxi–xxxvii}} According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies.{{sfnp|Vetter|1988|p=ix}}{{refn|group=note|Exemplary studies are the study on descriptions of "liberating insight" by Lambert Schmithausen,{{sfnp|Schmithausen|1981}} the overview of early Buddhism by Tilmann Vetter,{{sfnp|Vetter|1988}} the philological work on the four truths by K.R. Norman,{{sfnp|Norman|1992}} the textual studies by Richard Gombrich,{{sfnp|Gombrich|1997}} and the research on early meditation methods by Johannes Bronkhorst.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993}}}}

According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished:{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|p=vii}}
# "Stress on the fundamental homogeneity and substantial authenticity of at least a considerable part of the Nikayic materials". Proponents of this position include [[A. K. Warder]]{{refn|group=note|According to A.K. Warder, in his 1970 publication "Indian Buddhism", from the oldest extant texts a common kernel can be drawn out.{{sfnp|Warder|2000}} According to Warder, c.q. his publisher: "This kernel of doctrine is presumably common Buddhism of the period before the great schisms of the fourth and third centuries BC. It may be substantially the Buddhism of the Buddha himself, although this cannot be proved: at any rate it is a Buddhism presupposed by the schools as existing about a hundred years after the parinirvana of the Buddha, and there is no evidence to suggest that it was formulated by anyone else than the Buddha and his immediate followers."{{sfnp|Warder|2000|loc=inside flap}}}} and [[Richard Gombrich]].{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|p=viii}}{{refn|group=note|Richard Gombrich: "I have the greatest difficulty in accepting that the main edifice is not the work of a single genius. By "the main edifice" I mean the collections of the main body of sermons, the four Nikāyas, and of the main body of monastic rules."{{sfnp|Gombrich|1997}}}}
# "Scepticism with regard to the possibility of retrieving the doctrine of earliest Buddhism". Ronald Davidson is a proponent of this position.{{refn|group=note|Ronald Davidson: "While most scholars agree that there was a rough body of sacred literature (disputed){{sic}} that a relatively early community (disputed){{sic}} maintained and transmitted, we have little confidence that much, if any, of surviving Buddhist scripture is actually the word of the historic Buddha."{{sfnp|Davidson|2003|p=147}}}}
# "Cautious optimism in this respect". Proponents of this position include J.W. de Jong,{{sfnp|Jong|1993|p=25}}{{refn|group=note|name="Jong"|J.W. De Jong: "It would be hypocritical to assert that nothing can be said about the doctrine of earliest Buddhism [...] the basic ideas of Buddhism found in the canonical writings could very well have been proclaimed by him [the Buddha], transmitted and developed by his disciples and, finally, codified in fixed formulas."{{sfnp|Jong|1993|p=25}}}} Johannes Bronkhorst{{refn|group=note|Bronkhorst: "This position is to be preferred to (ii) for purely methodological reasons: only those who seek nay find, even if no success is guaranteed."{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|p=vii}}}} and Donald Lopez.{{refn|group=note|Lopez: "The original teachings of the historical Buddha are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to recover or reconstruct."{{sfnp|Lopez|1995|p=4}}}}

=====The Core teachings=====
According to Mitchell, certain basic teachings appear in many places throughout the early texts, which has led most scholars to conclude that Gautama Buddha must have taught something similar to the [[Four Noble Truths]], the [[Noble Eightfold Path]], [[Nirvana (Buddhism)|Nirvana]], the [[three marks of existence]], the [[Skandha|five aggregates]], [[pratītyasamutpāda|dependent origination]], [[Karma in Buddhism|karma]] and [[Rebirth (Buddhism)|rebirth]].{{sfnp|Mitchell|2002|p=34}}

According to N. Ross Reat, all of these doctrines are shared by the Theravada Pali texts and the Mahasamghika school's ''[[Salistamba Sutra|Śālistamba Sūtra]]''.<ref>Reat, Noble Ross. "The Historical Buddha and his Teachings". In: ''Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophy''. Ed. by Potter, Karl H. Vol. VII: Abhidharma Buddhism to 150 AD. Motilal Banarsidass, 1996, pp. 28, 33, 37, 41, 43, 48.</ref> A recent study by Bhikkhu Analayo concludes that the Theravada ''[[Majjhima Nikāya|Majjhima Nikaya]]'' and Sarvastivada ''[[Madhyama Agama]]'' contain mostly the same major doctrines.<ref>Analayo (2011). ''A Comparative Study of the Majjhima-nikāya''. Dharma Drum Academic Publisher. p. 891.</ref> [[Richard G. Salomon (professor of Asian studies)|Richard Salomon]], in his study of the Gandharan texts (which are the earliest manuscripts containing early discourses), has confirmed that their teachings are "consistent with non-Mahayana Buddhism, which survives today in the Theravada school of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, but which in ancient times was represented by eighteen separate schools."<ref>{{cite news |last=Salomon |first=Richard |date=20 January 2020 |title=How the Gandharan Manuscripts Change Buddhist History |newspaper=Lions Roar |url=https://www.lionsroar.com/how-the-gandharan-manuscripts-change-buddhist-history/ |access-date=2020-10-10 |archive-date=29 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200229000500/https://www.lionsroar.com/how-the-gandharan-manuscripts-change-buddhist-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

However, some scholars argue that critical analysis reveals discrepancies among the various doctrines found in these early texts, which point to alternative possibilities for early Buddhism.{{sfnp|Skorupski|1990|p=5}}{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1998|pp=4, 11}}{{sfnp|Schopen|2002|pp=}} The authenticity of certain teachings and doctrines have been questioned. For example, some scholars think that karma was not central to the teaching of the historical Buddha, while other disagree with this position.{{sfnp|Matthews|1986|p=124}}{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1998|p=14}} Likewise, there is scholarly disagreement on whether insight was seen as liberating in early Buddhism or whether it was a later addition to the practice of the four ''jhānas''.{{sfnp|Schmithausen|1981}}{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|pp=77–78, Section 8.4.3}}{{sfnp|Vetter|1988|p=5, Quote: [T]hey do not teach that one is released by knowing the four noble truths, but by practising the fourth noble truth, the eightfold path, which culminates in right samadhi}} Scholars such as Bronkhorst also think that the four noble truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight".{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|1993|p=107}} According to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way".{{sfnp|Vetter|1988}} In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path.{{sfnp|Vetter|1988}}

====Ashokan Era and the early schools====
{{Main|Early Buddhist schools|Buddhist councils|Theravada}}
[[File:Sanchi Stupa No 3.jpg|thumb|left|[[Sanchi]] Stupa No. 3, near [[Vidisha]], [[Madhya Pradesh]], India]]
According to numerous Buddhist scriptures, soon after the [[Parinirvana|{{IAST|parinirvāṇa}}]] (from Sanskrit: "highest extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha, the [[first Buddhist council]] was held to collectively recite the teachings to ensure that no errors occurred in oral transmission. Many modern scholars question the historicity of this event.{{sfnp|Harvey|2013|pp=88–90}} However, [[Richard Gombrich]] states that the monastic assembly recitations of the Buddha's teaching likely began during Buddha's lifetime, and they served a similar role of codifying the teachings.{{sfnp|Williams|2005|pp=175–176}}

The so called [[Second Buddhist council]] resulted in the first schism in the [[Sangha (Buddhism)|Sangha]]. Modern scholars believe that this was probably caused when a group of reformists called [[Sthavira nikāya|Sthaviras]] ("elders") sought to modify the Vinaya (monastic rule), and this caused a split with the conservatives who rejected this change, they were called [[Mahāsāṃghika]]s.{{sfnp|Harvey|2013|pp=89–90}}<ref>Skilton, Andrew. ''A Concise History of Buddhism.'' 2004. pp. 49, 64</ref> While most scholars accept that this happened at some point, there is no agreement on the dating, especially if it dates to before or after the reign of Ashoka.<ref>Sujato, Bhante (2012), Sects & Sectarianism: The Origins of Buddhist Schools, Santipada, {{ISBN|978-1-921842-08-5}}</ref>

[[File:Asoka̠ Buddhist Missions.png|thumb|Map of the Buddhist missions during the reign of [[Ashoka]] according to the Edicts of Ashoka]]
Buddhism may have spread only slowly throughout India until the time of the [[Maurya Empire|Mauryan]] emperor [[Ashoka]] (304–232 BCE), who was a public supporter of the religion. The support of Aśoka and his descendants led to the construction of more [[Stupa|stūpas]] (such as at [[Sanchi]] and [[Bharhut]]), temples (such as the [[Mahabodhi Temple]]) and to its spread throughout the Maurya Empire and into neighbouring lands such as [[Central Asia]] and to the island of [[Sri Lanka]].

During and after the Mauryan period (322–180 BCE), the Sthavira community gave rise to several schools, one of which was the [[Theravada]] school which tended to congregate in the south and another which was the [[Sarvāstivāda]] school, which was mainly in north India. Likewise, the [[Mahāsāṃghika]] groups also eventually split into different Sanghas. Originally, these schisms were caused by disputes over monastic disciplinary codes of various fraternities, but eventually, by about 100 CE if not earlier, schisms were being caused by doctrinal disagreements too.{{sfnp|Harvey|1998|pp=74–75}}

Following (or leading up to) the schisms, each Saṅgha started to accumulate their own version of [[Tripiṭaka]] (triple basket of texts).<ref name=britannicatipitaka>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tipitaka Tipitaka] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427112107/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tipitaka |date=27 April 2020 }} Encyclopædia Britannica (2015)</ref><ref name="Crandall2012p56">{{cite book |author=Barbara Crandall |title=Gender and Religion: The Dark Side of Scripture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Zq7UAwAAQBAJ |edition=2nd |year=2012 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-4411-4871-1 |pages=56–58 |access-date=10 July 2016 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111055820/https://books.google.com/books?id=Zq7UAwAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> In their Tripiṭaka, each school included the Suttas of the Buddha, a Vinaya basket (disciplinary code) and some schools also added an [[Abhidharma]] basket which were texts on detailed scholastic classification, summary and interpretation of the Suttas.<ref name=britannicatipitaka/>{{sfnp|Harvey|2013|pp=90–91}} The doctrine details in the Abhidharmas of various Buddhist schools differ significantly, and these were composed starting about the third century BCE and through the 1st millennium CE.{{sfnp|Harvey|2013|pp=90–93}}<ref>"Abhidhamma Pitaka". ''Encyclopædia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, 2008.</ref>{{sfnp|Keown|Prebish|2004|p=485}}

===Post-Ashokan expansion===
{{Main|Silk Road transmission of Buddhism}}
[[File:ExtentOfBuddhismAndTrade.jpg|thumb|left|Extent of Buddhism and trade routes in the 1st century CE]]
According to the [[Edicts of Ashoka|edicts of Aśoka]], the Mauryan emperor sent emissaries to various countries west of India to spread "Dharma", particularly in eastern provinces of the neighbouring [[Seleucid Empire]], and even farther to [[Hellenistic civilization|Hellenistic]] kingdoms of the Mediterranean. It is a matter of disagreement among scholars whether or not these emissaries were accompanied by Buddhist missionaries.{{sfnp|Gombrich|2005a |p=135}}

[[File:Buddhist Expansion.svg|thumb|right|Buddhist expansion throughout Asia]]
In central and west Asia, Buddhist influence grew, through Greek-speaking Buddhist monarchs and ancient Asian trade routes, a phenomenon known as [[Greco-Buddhism]]. An example of this is evidenced in Chinese and Pali Buddhist records, such as ''[[Milinda Panha|Milindapanha]]'' and the [[Greco-Buddhist art]] of [[Gandhara|Gandhāra]]. The ''Milindapanha'' describes a conversation between a Buddhist monk and the 2nd-century BCE Greek king [[Menander I|Menander]], after which Menander abdicates and himself goes into monastic life in the pursuit of nirvana.{{sfnp|Trainor|2004|pp=103, 119}}<ref>{{cite book |author=Jason Neelis |title=Early Buddhist Transmission and Trade Networks: Mobility and Exchange Within and Beyond the Northwestern Borderlands of South Asia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GB-JV2eOr2UC |year=2010 |publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-90-04-18159-5 |pages=102–106 |access-date=10 July 2016 |archive-date=11 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111060324/https://books.google.com/books?id=GB-JV2eOr2UC |url-status=live }}</ref> Some scholars have questioned the ''Milindapanha'' version, expressing doubts whether Menander was Buddhist or just favourably disposed to Buddhist monks.<ref>{{cite book|author1=Ann Heirman |author2=Stephan Peter Bumbacher |title=The Spread of Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kr_M1e7yImoC |year=2007|publisher=Brill Academic |isbn=978-90-04-15830-6|pages=139–142 }}</ref>

The [[Kushan empire]] (30–375 CE) came to control the Silk Road trade through Central and South Asia, which brought them to interact with [[Gandharan Buddhism]] and the Buddhist institutions of these regions. The Kushans patronised Buddhism throughout their lands, and many Buddhist centres were built or renovated (the Sarvastivada school was particularly favored), especially by Emperor Kanishka (128–151 CE).<ref>Kurt A. Behrendt, ''The Buddhist architecture of Gandhara, Handbuch der Orientalistik'' Brill, 2004, p. 13</ref><ref name="Heirman, Ann p. 57">Heirman, Ann; Bumbacher, Stephan Peter (editors). The Spread of Buddhism, Brill, p. 57</ref> Kushan support helped Buddhism to expand into a world religion through their trade routes.<ref name="Liu2010p42">{{cite book|author=Xinru Liu|title=The Silk Road in World History|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FJ8RDAAAQBAJ|year=2010|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-533810-2|page=42|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=11 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111060324/https://books.google.com/books?id=FJ8RDAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> Buddhism spread to [[Kingdom of Khotan|Khotan]], the [[Tarim Basin]], and China, eventually to other parts of the far east.<ref name="Heirman, Ann p. 57"/> Some of the earliest written documents of the Buddhist faith are the [[Gandharan Buddhist texts]], dating from about the 1st century CE, and connected to the [[Dharmaguptaka]] school.{{sfnp|Warder2000|p=278}}<ref>"The Discovery of 'the Oldest Buddhist Manuscripts'" Review article by Enomoto Fumio. ''The Eastern Buddhist'', Vol NS32 Issue I, 2000, p. 161</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Abstract: Sects & Sectarianism. The Origin of the three existing Vinaya lineages: Theravada, Dharmaguptaka, and Mulasarvastivada|author=Bhikkhu Sujato|author-link=Bhante Sujato|url=http://www.congress-on-buddhist-women.org/index.php?id=62|access-date=12 March 2017|archive-date=18 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191218065734/http://www.congress-on-buddhist-women.org/index.php?id=62}}</ref>

The [[Muslim conquest of Persia|Islamic conquest]] of the [[Iranian Plateau]] in the 7th-century, followed by the [[Muslim conquests of Afghanistan]] and the later establishment of the [[Ghaznavids|Ghaznavid kingdom]] with Islam as the state religion in Central Asia between the 10th- and 12th-century led to the decline and disappearance of Buddhism from most of these regions.<ref name="Kudara2002">{{cite journal |last1=Kudara|first1=Kogi|date=2002|title=A Rough Sketch of Central Asian Buddhism |url=http://www.shin-ibs.edu/publications/pacific-world/third-series-number-4-fall-2002/|journal=Pacific World: Journal of the Institute of Buddhist Studies |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=93–107 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20180406102117/http://www.shin-ibs.edu/publications/pacific-world/third-series-number-4-fall-2002/|archive-date=6 April 2018|access-date=28 November 2018}}</ref>

===Mahāyāna Buddhism===
{{Main|Mahāyāna}}
[[File:BuddhistTriad.JPG|thumb|left|alt=stone statue group, a Buddhist triad depicting, left to right, a Kushan, the future buddha Maitreya, Gautama Buddha, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and a Buddhist monk. 2nd–3rd century. Guimet Museum|A Buddhist triad depicting, left to right, a [[Kushan Empire|Kushan]], the future buddha [[Maitreya]], [[Gautama Buddha]], the bodhisattva [[Avalokiteśvara]], and a [[bhikkhu|monk]]. Second–third century. [[Guimet Museum]]]]

The origins of Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle") Buddhism are not well understood and there are various competing theories about how and where this movement arose. Theories include the idea that it began as various groups venerating certain texts or that it arose as a strict forest ascetic movement.<ref name="Drewes, David 2010">Drewes, David, ''Early Indian Mahayana Buddhism I: Recent Scholarship'', Religion Compass 4/2 (2010): 55–65, {{doi|10.1111/j.1749-8171.2009.00195.x}}</ref>

The first Mahāyāna works were written sometime between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE.{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1993|p=252}}<ref name="Drewes, David 2010"/> Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahāyāna comes from early Chinese translations of Mahāyāna texts, mainly those of [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokakṣema]]. (2nd century CE).{{refn|group=note|name=China Buswell 2004|"The most important evidence – in fact the only evidence – for situating the emergence of the Mahayana around the beginning of the common era was not Indian evidence at all, but came from China. Already by the last quarter of the 2nd century CE, there was a small, seemingly idiosyncratic collection of substantial Mahayana sutras translated into what Erik Zürcher calls 'broken Chinese' by an Indoscythian, whose Indian name has been reconstructed as Lokaksema."{{sfnp|Buswell|2004|p=492}}}} Some scholars have traditionally considered the earliest [[Mahayana sutras|Mahāyāna sūtras]] to include the first versions of the [[Prajnaparamita]] series, along with texts concerning [[Akshobhya|Akṣobhya]], which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India.{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1993|pp=252–253, 263, 268}}{{refn|group=note|name=South|"The south (of India) was then vigorously creative in producing Mahayana Sutras" Warder{{sfnp|Warder|2000|p=335}}}}

There is no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of Buddhism, with a separate monastic code (Vinaya), but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas.{{sfnp|Nattier|2003|pp=193–194}}{{sfnp|Williams|2008|pp=4–5}} Records written by Chinese monks visiting India indicate that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks could be found in the same monasteries, with the difference that Mahāyāna monks worshipped figures of Bodhisattvas, while non-Mahayana monks did not.{{sfnp|Williams|2000|p=97}}

[[File:Nalanda.jpg|thumb|Site of [[Nalanda]] University, a great centre of Mahāyāna thought]]
Mahāyāna initially seems to have remained a small minority movement that was in tension with other Buddhist groups, struggling for wider acceptance.<ref>Walser, Joseph, ''Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture,'' Columbia University Press, 2005, p. 18.</ref> However, during the fifth and sixth centuries CE, there seems to have been a rapid growth of Mahāyāna Buddhism, which is shown by a large increase in epigraphic and manuscript evidence in this period. However, it still remained a minority in comparison to other Buddhist schools.<ref>Walser, Joseph, ''Nagarjuna in Context: Mahayana Buddhism and Early Indian Culture,'' Columbia University Press, 2005, pp. 29-34.</ref>

Mahāyāna Buddhist institutions continued to grow in influence during the following centuries, with large monastic university complexes such as [[Nalanda]] (established by the 5th-century CE Gupta emperor, [[Kumaragupta I]]) and [[Vikramashila]] (established under [[Dharmapala (emperor)|Dharmapala]] {{Circa|783}} to 820) becoming quite powerful and influential. During this period of Late Mahāyāna, four major types of thought developed: Mādhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddha-nature (''Tathāgatagarbha''), and the [[Buddhist logico-epistemology#The Dignāga-Dharmakīrti tradition|epistemological tradition of Dignaga and Dharmakirti]].{{sfnp|Hirakawa|1993|pp=8–9}} According to [[Dan Lusthaus]], Mādhyamaka and Yogācāra have a great deal in common, and the commonality stems from early Buddhism.{{sfnp|Lusthaus|2002|pp=236–237}}

===Late Indian Buddhism and Tantra===
{{main|Vajrayana}}
[[File:Thangka Depicting Vajrabhairava, ca. 1740, Sotheby's.jpg|thumb|Vajrayana adopted deities such as [[Bhairava]], known as [[Yamantaka]] in Tibetan Buddhism.]]
During the [[Gupta Empire|Gupta period]] (4th–6th centuries) and the empire of [[Harsha|Harṣavardana]] ({{Circa|590}}–647 CE), Buddhism continued to be influential in India, and large Buddhist learning institutions such as [[Nalanda]] and [[Valabhi University|Valabahi]] Universities were at their peak.{{sfnp|Warder|2000|p=442}} Buddhism also flourished under the support of the [[Pala Empire|Pāla Empire]] (8th–12th centuries). Under the Guptas and Palas, Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana developed and rose to prominence. It promoted new practices such as the use of [[mantra]]s, [[dharani]]s, [[mudra]]s, [[mandala]]s and the visualization of deities and Buddhas and developed a new class of literature, the [[Tantras (Buddhism)|Buddhist Tantras]]. This new esoteric form of Buddhism can be traced back to groups of wandering yogi magicians called [[mahasiddha]]s.<ref>Ray, Reginald A (2000) ''Indestructible Truth: The Living Spirituality of Tibetan Buddhism''.</ref><ref>Davidson, Ronald M.,(2002). ''Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement'', Columbia University Press, p. 228, 234.</ref>

The question of the origins of early Vajrayana has been taken up by various scholars. [[David Seyfort Ruegg]] has suggested that Buddhist tantra employed various elements of a "pan-Indian religious substrate" which is not specifically Buddhist, Shaiva or Vaishnava.<ref>Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, p. 171.</ref>

According to Indologist [[Alexis Sanderson]], various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and [[Shaivism|Saivism]]. Sanderson has argued that Buddhist tantras can be shown to have borrowed practices, terms, rituals and more form Shaiva tantras. He argues that Buddhist texts even directly copied various Shaiva tantras, especially the Bhairava Vidyapitha tantras.<ref>Sanderson, Alexis. "The Śaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Śaivism during the Early Medieval Period." In: Genesis and Development of Tantrism, edited by Shingo Einoo. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009. Institute of Oriental Culture Special Series, pp. 23, 124, 129-31.</ref><ref>Sanderson, Alexis; Vajrayana:, Origin and Function, 1994</ref> Ronald M. Davidson meanwhile, argues that Sanderson's claims for direct influence from Shaiva ''Vidyapitha'' texts are problematic because "the chronology of the ''Vidyapitha'' tantras is by no means so well established"<ref>Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, p. 204.</ref> and that the Shaiva tradition also appropriated non-Hindu deities, texts and traditions. Thus while "there can be no question that the Buddhist tantras were heavily influenced by [[Kapalika]] and other Saiva movements" argues Davidson, "the influence was apparently mutual".<ref>Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement, p. 217.</ref>

Already during this later era, Buddhism was losing state support in other regions of India, including the lands of the [[Karkota Empire|Karkotas]], the [[Gurjara-Pratihara dynasty|Pratiharas]], the [[Rashtrakuta dynasty|Rashtrakutas]], the [[Pandya dynasty|Pandyas]] and the [[Pallava dynasty|Pallavas]]. This loss of support in favor of Hindu faiths like [[Vaishnavism]] and [[Shaivism]], is the beginning of the long and complex period of the [[Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent]].<ref>Omvedt, Gail (2003). "Buddhism in India: Challenging Brahmanism and Caste", p. 172.</ref> The [[Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent|Islamic invasions and conquest of India]] (10th to 12th century), further damaged and destroyed many Buddhist institutions, leading to its eventual near disappearance from India by the 1200s.{{sfnp|Collins|2000|pp=184-185}}

===Spread to East and Southeast Asia===
[[File:Prasat Bayon 2014.JPG|thumb|[[Angkor Thom]] build by [[Khmer Empire|Khmer]] King [[Jayavarman VII]] ({{circa|1120}}–1218)]]
The [[Silk Road transmission of Buddhism]] to China is most commonly thought to have started in the late 2nd or the 1st century CE, though the literary sources are all open to question.{{sfnp|Zürcher |1972|pp=22–27}}{{refn|group=note|name=Hill |See Hill (2009), p. 30, for the Chinese text from the ''[[Hou Hanshu]]'', and p. 31 for a translation of it.{{sfnp|Hill |2009|pp=30–31}}}} The first documented translation efforts by foreign [[Buddhist monk]]s in China were in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the expansion of the [[Kushan Empire]] into the Chinese territory of the [[Tarim Basin]].{{sfnp|Zürcher |1972|p=23}}

The first documented Buddhist texts translated into Chinese are those of the Parthian [[An Shigao]] (148–180 CE).<ref>Zürcher, Erik. 2007 (1959). The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China. 3rd ed. Leiden: Brill. pp. 32–34</ref> The first known [[Mahayana|Mahāyāna]] scriptural texts are translations into Chinese by the Kushan monk [[Lokaksema (Buddhist monk)|Lokakṣema]] in [[Luoyang]], between 178 and 189 CE.{{sfnp|Williams|2008|p=30}} From China, Buddhism was introduced into its neighbours [[Korea]] (4th century), [[Japan]] (6th–7th centuries), and [[Vietnam]] ({{Circa|1st}}–2nd centuries).<ref name="Dykstra, Yoshiko Kurata 2001 p. 100">Dykstra, Yoshiko Kurata; De Bary, William Theodore (2001). ''Sources of Japanese tradition''. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 100. {{ISBN|0-231-12138-5}}.</ref><ref>Nguyen Tai Thu. ''The History of Buddhism in Vietnam''. 2008.</ref>

During the Chinese [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907), [[Chinese Esoteric Buddhism]] was introduced from India and [[Chan Buddhism]] (Zen) became a major religion.<ref>McRae, John (2003), Seeing Through Zen, The University Press Group Ltd, pp. 13, 18</ref><ref>Orzech, Charles D. (general editor) (2011). Esoteric Buddhism and the Tantras in East Asia. Brill. p. 4</ref> Chan continued to grow in the [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279) and it was during this era that it strongly influenced Korean Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism.<ref>McRae, John (2003), Seeing Through Zen, The University Press Group Ltd, pp. 13, 19–21</ref> [[Pure Land Buddhism]] also became popular during this period and was often practised together with Chan.<ref>Heng-Ching Shih (1987). Yung-Ming's Syncretism of Pure Land and Chan, The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 10 (1), p. 117</ref> It was also during the Song that the entire [[Chinese Buddhist canon|Chinese canon]] was printed using over 130,000 wooden printing blocks.{{sfnp|Harvey|2013|p=223}}

During the Indian period of Esoteric Buddhism (from the 8th century onwards), Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and [[Mongolia]]. Johannes Bronkhorst states that the esoteric form was attractive because it allowed both a secluded monastic community as well as the social rites and rituals important to laypersons and to kings for the maintenance of a political state during succession and wars to resist invasion.{{sfnp|Bronkhorst|2011|pp=242–246}} During the Middle Ages, Buddhism slowly declined in India,<ref>{{cite book |author=Andrew Powell |title=Living Buddhism |url=https://archive.org/details/livingbuddhism00powe |pages=[https://archive.org/details/livingbuddhism00powe/page/38 38–39] |year=1989 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-20410-2}}</ref> while it vanished from Persia and Central Asia as Islam became the state religion.<ref name="larsfogelin6">{{cite book|author=Lars Fogelin |title=An Archaeological History of Indian Buddhism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yPZzBgAAQBAJ |year=2015|publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-994823-9 |pages=6–11, 218, 229–230}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Sheila Canby |title=Depictions of Buddha Sakyamuni in the Jami al-Tavarikh and the Majma al-Tavarikh |journal=Muqarnas |volume=10 |year=1993 |pages=299–310 |doi=10.2307/1523195 |jstor=1523195}}</ref>

The [[Theravada]] school arrived in Sri Lanka sometime in the 3rd century BCE. Sri Lanka became a base for its later spread to [[Southeast Asia]] after the 5th century CE ([[Myanmar]], [[Malaysia]], [[Indonesia]], [[Thailand]], [[Cambodia]] and coastal [[Vietnam]]).<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vO_-AgAAQBAJ|title=Lost Kingdoms: Hindu-Buddhist Sculpture of Early Southeast Asia|author=John Guy|publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art|year=2014|isbn=978-1-58839-524-5|pages=9–11, 14–15, 19–20|access-date=10 July 2016|archive-date=11 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230111060324/https://books.google.com/books?id=vO_-AgAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>{{sfnp|Skilling|1997}} [[Theravada|Theravada Buddhism]] was the dominant religion in [[Myanmar|Burma]] during the Mon [[Hanthawaddy Kingdom]] (1287–1552).<ref>Myint-U, Thant (2006). ''The River of Lost Footsteps – Histories of Burma''. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. {{ISBN|978-0-374-16342-6}}. pp. 64–65</ref> It also became dominant in the [[Khmer Empire]] during the 13th and 14th centuries and in the Thai [[Sukhothai Kingdom]] during the reign of [[Ram Khamhaeng]] (1237/1247–1298).<ref>[[George Cœdès|Cœdès, George]] (1968). Walter F. Vella, ed. ''The Indianized States of Southeast Asia''. trans. Susan Brown Cowing. University of Hawaii Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8248-0368-1}}.</ref><ref>Gyallay-Pap, Peter. "Notes of the Rebirth of Khmer Buddhism," Radical Conservativism.</ref>