During the third century B.C., Emperor Ashoka sent missionaries to the northwest of India that is, present-day Pakistan and Afghanistan. The mission achieved great success, as the region soon became a centre of Buddhist learning with many distinguished monks and scholars. It was hard for people to accept Buddhism at first, especially questioning the traditions of the Confucianists and Taoists. Whould the Chinese be influenced in Indian ways?
“This was one of the objections most frequently raised by confucianists ans Taoists once Buddhism had acquired a firm foothold on Chinese soil. The Chinese apologists for Buddhism answered this objection in a variety of ways.” De Bary (135)
As interest in Buddhism grew, there was a great demand for Buddhist texts to be translated from Indian languages into Chinese. This led to the arrival of translators from Central Asia and India. The first notable one was Anshigao from Central Asia who came to China in the middle of the second century. With a growing collection of Chinese translations of Buddhist texts, Buddhism became more widely known and a Chinese monastic order was also formed. The first known Chinese monk was said to be Anshigao's disciple. From the beginning of the fifth century to around the end of the sixth century, northern and southern China came under separate rulers. The south remained under native dynasties while non-Chinese rulers controlled the north.
The Buddhists in southern China continued to translate Buddhist texts and to lecture and write commentaries on the major texts. Their rulers were devoted Buddhists who saw to the construction of numerous temples, participated in Buddhist ceremonies and organized public talks on Buddhism. One of the rulers expanded on the earlier catalogue of Buddhist texts.
From the very beginning, the establishment of Buddhism depended on the protection and support of the Japanese rulers. Among these, Prince Shotoku deserves special mention for his great contribution to the early growth and expansion of Buddhism in Japan during the early part of the seventh century. Tradition says that Prince Shotoku wrote the first "constitution" of Japan, which promoted moral and social values as taught in Buddhism. His devotion and royal patronage of Buddhism helped to make it widely known. Many Buddhist temples were built and works of art created. Monks were also sent to China to study. Besides encouraging Japanese monks to read the scriptures, Prince Shotoku lectured and later wrote commentaries on some of these scriptures. His commentaries are said to be the first ever written in Japan and are now kept as national treasures.
The eighth century in Japan is known as the Nara Period. During this period, Buddhism continued to spread as more new temples were built in all the provinces, the most famous being the Todaiji Temple at Nara. Buddhist scriptures were copied and distributed throughout the country. It was also during this time that Chinese monks started to arrive and many Chinese schools of Buddhism were introduced to Japan.
The Heian Period began towards the end of the eighth century, when the capital was established at Heian (present day Kyoto). During this period, two Japanese monks named Saicho and Kukai brought two schools of Buddhism to Japan from China.Saicho had a temple on Mount Hiei, which was near the new capital. Soon the ruler began to patronise the temple and also sent Saicho to study in China. On his return to Japan, Saicho introduced the Tian-tai school of Buddhism from China.
At the end of the twelfth century, political power shifted to a group of warriors (Samurai) who had their headquarters at Kamakura. During this period, a number of distinctly Japanese Buddhist sects arose. They became popular because of their simplicity and directness of approach. Among these sects were the Jodo Shinshu, Nichiren and Zen.
In its earliest forms Japanese Buddhism was considered the preserve of learned priests, who spent their days praying for the health of the imperial household from their lairs in the great temples of the ancient capital of Nara.
The forerunner of the Jodo Shinshu - True Pure Land - sect was founded in 1175 and promoted the idea of gaining salvation through belief in the Buddha Amida. Jodo Shinshu continues to have millions of followers today.
Zen Buddhism, which reached Japan at about the same time, proved popular among members of the military elite, who were attracted by its message of enlightenment through meditation and discipline. Another influential sect, Nichiren, revelled in opposing other Buddhist schools and remains popular, providing the basis for many of Japan's "new religions".
They include Soka Gakkai, which was founded in 1930 and whose members went on to form the political party Komeito, now the junior partner in Japan's ruling coalition.
