Buddhism’s Cultural and Commercial Impact Across Asia

With half a billion followers, the world's fourth largest religion is Buddhism. A faith or
philosophy that aims to overcome suffering and achieve a state of inner peace and wisdom
called Nirvana. It was founded by the followers of Siddhartha Gautama who is known as Buddha
more than 2500 years ago in India.

SIddhartha Gautama was born a Hindu prince into a wealthy family in 5th Century BCE, Which
is Nepal in present day. Although he had an easy life, he was moved by suffering in the world.
He left behind the lavish lifestyle and went on to find the meaning of life. Buddhist believe that
after six years of searching, Siddhartha found enlightenment while meditating under a Bodhi tree
and then went on to spend the rest of his life teaching others how to reach the state of nirvana.
WHen the Buddha passed away his followers began to organize his teachings which were passed
through orally and they tried to spread his valuable teachings throughout Asia and the world in
various ways. In this journey of spread, Buddhism made Asia more interconnected culturally and
commercially.

According to Sen, three factors were behind the

spread of Buddhism. These are Encouragement of
missionary work, second, relationship between
merchants and Buddhist communities and third,
Rulers support. It needs to be mentioned that the
spread of Buddhism was not a straightforward
journey from India to other parts of Asia as shown
in the map. It involved complex interactions
between monks. For example Indian monks
traveled japan to teach but also to honor local
deities. In this way they become more interconnected. Moreover, in Hinduism there was the
doctrine of the caste system. For which the lower class people suffer a lot. On the other hand, in
Buddhism it rejects the caste system, abolishes rituals, priesthoods and even gods. The ultimate
goal of Buddhism is the liberation from
suffering of repeated cycles of birth, mundane
life and death called “Samsara". This blowing
out of worldly suffering is known as Nirvana
and can be achieved by using the methods of
Buddha known as the Four noble truth and the
Eightfold Path as shown in the picture. The
noble truth revolves around an understanding of
why we suffer and how to end suffering through the eightfold path. In this way, the concept of
Buddhism removes the hierarchy system form the people and by this people become more
connected by forgetting their hierarchy system.

After meditating for six years Buddha attained enlightenment at a place called Bodhgaya. The
first people whom the Buddha met were merchants called Tapussa and Bhallika. And they
become the first two lay students of the Buddha. (Sen, 2015) . It highlights the intimate
interaction between Buddhist and mercantile groups in later centuries. After the death of Buddha
which is known as mahanirvana the relic was distributed into eight rulers of india. In the third
century BCE King Ashoka redistributed these relics throughout his empire and also as a gift to
foreign polities. By this action of Asoka people from different countries and regions became
more interconnected. Though this act was controversial. Also, his son Mahinda helped to spread
Buddhism. In the 3rd century BCE, Mahinda visited Sri
Lanka. He wanted to teach islanders Buddhism. Mahinda
taught Buddhism to locals, including King Devanampiya
Tissa. His efforts were welcomed by the king and people.
This converted King Devanampiya Tissa to Buddhism,
and others followed. Mahinda's teachings made Buddhism
Sri Lanka's main religion. And the king established the
first Buddhist monastic institution in his kingdom(
Thuparamaya ) . This conversion shaped the island's
spiritual, cultural, social, and intellectual growth for centuries. For all of his contributions, Asoka
was portrayed as Chakravartin or “Universal Ruler ''. Also, after the death of Ashoka the two
succeeding empires ``Satavahanas '' and"Kusanas " played a significant role in spreading
Buddhism through trading networks. According to Sen, “by the third century BCE, an intimate
relationship between the monastic community and trading networks had developed in south
Asia” (2015). The networks linked the Gangetic areas, where the Buddha taught, to central and
southern India. Early Buddhist sites were mostly near trade route meteopolitan groups. Trade and
Buddhism interconnected towns like Taxila in Pakistan, Gangetic cities like Saravasti and
Pataliputra ( now Patna), and central and southern urban centers like Sanci in Madhya Pradesh
and Amravati in Andhara.

Moreover, by the second century Ce under king Kanishka the expansion of their empire reached
from central Asia to Gangetic plains in eastern India. This period saw significant growth in trade
routes connecting central Asian oasis states to the
maritime regions of the Bay of Bengal. Similar to King
Ashoka and the rulers of the Satavahana dynasty. ALso,
Kushana kings supported Buddhist institutions by
providing donations and sponsorships. Taxila, especially,
became a prominent center for Buddhist learning in
southern Asia during the Kushana rule ( Sen, 2015) .
Additionally,Central Asian merchants communities
expanded their trade networks into Southeast and east Asia. Notably, the Sogdians, among these
merchants, played a vital role in introducing Buddhist teachings and images to Han China during
a time of urban growth and increased commerce. ( Sen, 2015)

To conclude, Buddhism's message of compassion, rejection of societal hierarchies, and focus on

interconnection impacted Asia's cultural, social, and commercial fabric. ALso, it bridged
disparate peoples and places, establishing a legacy of togetherness and common ideals across the
continent through trade.
 Reference

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