The Journey of Buddhism

Draw

Create a graphic organizer showcasing what you know about Ancient India.

Draw

Circle how you are feeling at this moment.

Multiple Choice

Where did Buddhism originate?

• India

• China

• Japan

• Southeast Asia

Multiple Choice

Who played a crucial role in spreading Buddhism?

• Mahatma Gandhi

• Ashoka

• Nelson Mandela

• Mother Teresa

The Journey of Buddhism

Explore the profound teachings and transformative path of Buddhism as it spread across the world, influencing cultures and shaping the lives of millions.

Hinduism & Buddhism
-Diffusion of Indic Culture

For at least seven hundred years, from about
400 AD to 1200 AD, India was a large-scale and
confident exporter of its own diverse
civilization in all its forms, and the rest of Asia
was the willing and eager recipient of a
startlingly comprehensive mass transfer of
Indian culture, religion, art, music, technology,
astronomy, mythology, language, and
literature.

The Spread of Buddhism

• Buddhism originated in India in the 6th century BCE
• Spread rapidly due to emperor Ashoka's support
• Monks and missionaries played a crucial role in spreading the teachings
• By the 1st century CE, Buddhism had spread to China, Japan, and Southeast Asia
• Today, Buddhism is one of the major religions in the world

Open Ended

The many Buddhist monuments scattered around Afghanistan and the Taklamakan desert in northwest China, through which Xuanzang (a 7th-century Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator) passed, for example, are usually viewed today as the first step in the story of the spread of Buddhism from India through Asia.

What do you think of when you hear "Silk Road"?

The Spread of Buddhism

• Ashoka played a crucial role in spreading Buddhism
• After converting to Buddhism, Ashoka sent missionaries to various regions
• These missionaries helped establish Buddhist communities and spread the teachings
• Buddhism spread to countries like Sri Lanka, China, and Southeast Asia
• Ashoka's efforts led to the global expansion of Buddhism

Multiple Choice

Follows the Eightfold Path

• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Both
• Neither

Multiple Choice

Founder of this religion is Siddhartha Gautama

• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Both
• Neither

Multiple Choice

There is no single founder of this religion

• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Both
• Neither

Multiple Choice

Followers of this religion believe in the cycle of reincarnation

• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Both
• Neither

Multiple Choice

to calm or clear the mind, often focusing on a single object

• enlightenment
• nirvana
• meditate
• moksha

Multiple Choice

the goal of Hinduism, which means liberation from reincarnation

• nirvana
• meditation
• moksha
• enlightenment

Multiple Choice

the goal of Buddhism, which means state of lasting peace

• nirvana
• enlightenment
• moksha
• meditation

Multiple Choice

"The Religion of the People of India"

• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Both
• Neither

Multiple Choice

What did Siddhartha see on his journey outside of the palace?

• old man
• sick man
• all of these are correct
• dead man

Multiple Choice

the idea that your actions in this life can affect your next life is called what?

• reincarnation
• dharma
• karma
• ahimsa

Multiple Choice

Which is NOT a Hindu god?

• Brahman
• Shiva
• Indus
• Vishnu

Multiple Choice

The system that gives a rigid structure to Hindu's social and religious lives

• Hinduism
• Vishnu
• Caste

• Moksha

Multiple Choice

What's the purpose of the Eightfold Path?

• It tells you the way you should think and act to minimize suffering.

• It explains how life is full of suffering.

• They're the eight relationships we should have to make society harmonious.

• They are the eight kami in Shinto tradition.

Multiple Choice

Samsara is the belief of...

• the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation

• the universal law of cause and effect

• the existence of a soul

• a code of living that emphasizes good conduct and morality

Multiple Choice

The Holy Book of the Hindu religion is:

• the Bible

• the Vedas

• the Eightfold Path

• the Sutras

Multiple Choice

What language is the sacred text, the Vedas, written in?

• Greek

• Cuneiform

• Sankrit

• Indian

Multiple Choice

What event forced Siddartha to abandon his early life and seek wisdom?

• He discovered that he was actually the son of the king

• His parents were killed, leaving him alone in the world

• He realized that books did not contain all of the answers to life

• He saw an old man, a sick man, and a dead man and realized that suffering existed

Reorder

Order the social groups

• Brahman

• Ksatriya

• Vaishya

• Sudra

• Untouchables

1

2

3

4

5

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Match

Match the following occupations to the caste

• Brahamn

• Ksatriya

• Vaishya

• Sudra

• Untouchables

Priests

Warriors

Merchants

Laborers

Grave Diggers

• Priests

• Warriors

• Merchants

• Laborers

• Grave Diggers

The Spread of Buddhism

• Buddhism originated in India and spread to Southeast Asia through trade and missionary activities.

• Theravada Buddhism is the dominant form of Buddhism in Southeast Asia, particularly in countries like Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.

• Mahayana Buddhism is also practiced in countries like China, Vietnam and Indonesia.

• Buddhist temples and monasteries are important religious and cultural landmarks in Southeast Asia.

Mahayana

Theravada

Hinduism & Buddhism
-Diffusion of Indic Culture

The spread of Indian and especially Hindu culture, literature, and religion southeastward to Burma, Thailand, Sumatra, Vietnam, Laos, Indonesia, Java, and the Malay Peninsula tends to be studied as part of the story of the adoption throughout Indo-China of the Sanskrit language and literary culture.

​

​Borobudur Temple in Central Java, Indonesia. World's largest Buddhist temple.

​Bali, the only island still Hindu in Indonesia

Bali Hindu Dance & “Gates of Heaven” temple

“People of distant places with
diverse customs,” wrote a
Chinese Buddhist monk in the
mid-seventh century,
“generally designate the land
that they admire as India.”

A tower at the Bayon temple,
founded by the Khmer king
Jayavarman VII, Angkor,
Cambodia, late twelfth–early
thirteenth centuries

• In a "western"institution, we both intentionally and

unintentionally focus on Greco-Roman history &
culture rather than the "east" (and when then more
China c.t. India)

• India has not existed as a unified entity for much

of history - it is, in many ways, better understood
as a collection of regional kingdoms, like Europe,
so Indian culture has only loosely been associated
with the modern day political unit we know of as
India

• Local cultures adapted Indian culture to their

existing worldview so it is no longer only Indian
culture

Summary (continued)

For 700+ years, from about 400 AD to 1200 AD,
India spread its diverse culture (religion, art, music,
technology, astronomy, mythology, language, and
literature), and the rest of Asia welcomed it.

So, why doesn't India get more credit for
this achievement - not of conquest but of
sheer cultural sophistication?
• Hinduism + Buddhism tend to be studied,

discussed separately

…

Summary

• After 1200, India was occupied by Persians (Islamic

caliphates), Portuguese, and British; to get ahead in
business and government, Indians needed to learn the
language and culture of their occupiers and
de-prioritize their own.

Let's not forget the impact of geography:
• India's isolation, and its fragmented population, has

impacted India's ability to grow into an economic and
political powerhouse despite its population (poor
infrastructure, and its history as many distinct
kingdoms with their own language/culture rather
than a unified empire have prevented India from
harnessing its human and natural resources)

Summary (continued)

What do you notice?

What do you notice?

What do you notice?

Why has Hinduism remained
more popular in India while
Buddhism spread & stuck
outside of India?

Open Ended

Why has Hinduism remained
more popular in India while
Buddhism spread & stuck
outside of India?