The spread of buddhism

Buddhists follow three main traditions; the Theravada or Southern tradition; the Mahayana or Northern tradition; and the Vajrayana Tibetan tradition.

Long ago, Buddhism began to spread southwards from its place of origin in Northern India to Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Indo-China and other South East Asian countries. It also moved Northwards through Kashmir Afghanistan along the ‘Silk road’ into the Himalayan kingdoms (Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal), Tibet, Mongolia and other parts of Central Asia, and also into China, and later Korea and Japan. This was a fortunate development because Buddhism had all but died out in India after the Muslim incursions of the eleventh Century CE. In more modern times, the spread of Communism has also virtually obliterated Buddhism from various other countries where it was once strongly established (e.g. China, Vietnam, Tibet, Mongolia etc.). There is now a resurgence of Buddhism in these countries. Nowadays, however, Buddhism is attracting an increasing following in Europe and the Americas. In Asia, it is thriving in countries like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Korea and Japan