Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
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Tropic of Cancer
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DIFFUSION OF FOUR
MAJOR RELIGIONS
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Christianity
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Islam
Buddhism
Figure 7.8
Diffusion of Four Major World Religions.
The hearths and major routes of diffusion
are shown on this map. It does not show smaller diffusion streams: Islam and Buddhism, for
example, are gaining strength in North America, although their numbers are still comparatively
small.
©E. H. Fouberg, A. B. Murphy, and H. J. de Blij, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Buddhism. Siddhartha was profoundly shaken by the mis-
ery he saw around him, which contrasted sharply with
the splendor and wealth in which he had been raised.
Siddhartha came to be known as Buddha, the enlightened
one. He may have been the fi rst prominent Indian reli-
gious leader to speak out against Hinduism's caste system.
Salvation, he preached, could be attained by anyone, no
matter what his or her caste. Enlightenment would come
through knowledge, especially self-knowledge; elimina-
tion of greed, craving, and desire; complete honesty; and
never hurting another person or animal.
After Buddha's death in 489
and Korea. Along with other faiths, Buddhism is part of
Japanese culture.
Like Christianity and Islam, Buddhism changed
as it grew and diffused, and now the religion is strongly
regional with different forms in different regions.
Buddhism's various branches have an estimated 347 mil-
lion adherents, with Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada
Buddhism claiming the most adherents. Theravada
Buddhism is a monastic faith practiced in Sri Lanka,
Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. It
holds that salvation is a personal matter, achieved through
good behavior and religious activities, including periods
of service as a monk or nun. Mahayana Buddhism, which
is practiced mainly in Vietnam, Korea, Japan, and China,
holds that salvation can be aided by appeals to super-
human, holy sources of merit. The Buddha is regarded
as a divine savior. Mahayana Buddhists do not serve as
monks, but they spend much time in personal medita-
tion and worship. Other branches of Buddhism include
the Lamaism of Xizang (Tibet), which combines monas-
tic Buddhism with the worship of local demons and dei-
ties, and Zen Buddhism, the contemplative form that is
prevalent in Japan.
Buddhism has become a global religion over the last
two centuries, diffusing to many areas of the world, but
not without confl ict in its wake. Militant regimes have
attacked the religion in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
In Thailand, Buddhism has been under pressure owing to
rising political tensions. At the same time, Buddhism has
gained adherents in the western world.
at the age of 80,
the faith grew rather slowly until the middle of the third
century
bce
, when the Emperor Asoka became a con-
vert. Asoka was the leader of a large and powerful Indian
empire that extended from the Punjab to Bengal and
from the Himalayan foothills to Mysore. He not only set
out to rule his country in accordance with the teachings
of Buddha; he also sent missionaries to carry Buddha's
teachings to distant peoples (Fig. 7.9). Buddhism
spread as far south as Sri Lanka and later advanced
west toward the Mediterranean, north into Tibet, and
east into China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and Indonesia,
over a span of about ten centuries (Fig. 7.8). Although
Buddhism diffused to distant lands, it began to decline in
its region of origin. During Asoka's rule there may have
been more Buddhists than Hindu adherents in India, but
after that period Hinduism gained followers in India.
Today Buddhism is practiced by relatively few in India,
but thrives in Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, Nepal, Tibet,
bce
