Spread of Buddhism in Korea and JapanIntroBuddhism is one of the largest religions in the world, with approximately 500 million people spread across the globe. Although Buddhism is practiced throughout the world, the majority of Buddhists are concentrated in the eastern, southern, and central regions of Asia. It was founded in India around 525 BC by Siddhartha Gautama, known to his disciples as Buddha. Buddhism is divided into two main schools: Theravada in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and Mahayana in China, Mongolia, Korea and Japan. Given the diversity of East Asian peoples and their political systems, culture and language, one might wonder what led to the expansion over such a large geographic area. Buddhism began to spread rapidly in East Asia due to expansive trade on the Silk Road and political and commercial relations between countries in the region. Buddhism first appeared in China, then continued to make its way through East Asia until arriving on the Korean Peninsula during the Three Kingdoms period, and then finally Japan. What political and cultural influences from Korea and Japan led to the spread and widespread acceptance of Buddhism and what led it to become the dominant force in religious and political matters? Formation of Buddhism Buddhism is a religion that offers a spiritual path to transcend the sufferings of existence. Samsara, the endless cycle of birth, death and rebirth to which all beings are subject, results from the consequences incurred by an individual's karma, the sum of good and bad actions that accumulate over many years. lives. Liberation from this endless cycle is only achieved by achieving enlightenment, the goal towards which Buddhists strive...... middle of paper ......n. The notion of the Buddha as a Supreme Being whose scope was not limited to the spiritual domain but encompassed everything, even in the political domain, held promise as a possible justification for the privileging of royal authority over that of the aristocracy.JapanAu In Japan, an era that saw a particularly widespread introduction and acceptance of Buddhism was the Nara period. The Nara period lasted from approximately 710 AD to 794 AD. Two particular examples of citizens' desire to see Buddhism implemented can be seen in "The Bodhisattva Gyogi" and the "Golden Light Sutra." In conclusion, it is clear that citizens and government had the greatest impact on Through a variety of historical and textual evidence, I concluded that it was the actions of the politician. As a side note, I would like to point out that I intend to elaborate more on the spread of Buddhism in Japan..