How Did Buddhism Dbq Essay

For many centuries, a religion and philosophy founded in India (c.525 B.C.) by Siddhartha Gautama flourished along the Silk Road as it impacted the way of living. The transformation of the religion, Buddhism, varied in different ideas and was heavily influenced by its teachings throughout Asia. After the collapse of the Han Dynasty, principles of the Buddha offered great comfort to China and changed the views of the world (Docs 1 & 5). In other areas such as Indonesia and Pakistan, architecture was also transformed into a form of Buddhism as other cultures were mixed into structures and items (Docs 2, 4 & 7). Moreover, the teachings of the Buddha also changes to a sense of practice towards education and empowerment throughout the Asian continent

The “bell-shaped stupas” in Borobudur show how Buddhism was elaborated as it spread across Asian countries (Doc 2). The stupas create the shape of the Buddha as it is made for meditation and are distinctively found in Southeast Asia. Furthermore, this shows how art portrayed new developments of Buddha’s image, such as in the “Seated Buddha of Gandhara” in Pakistan (Doc 4). The statue represents the Eastern and Western culture as Greeks made the statues resemble Greek gods to portray the Buddha wearing a toga. This combines the culture of Hellenism and transforms Buddhism into a different image. Moreover, the Kanishka’s depiction of the Buddha on a gold coin shows how culture is influenced by the teachings of Buddhism (Doc 7). He was heavily influenced by the religion and was encouraged by the principles to make it spread throughout the country. The architectural form of Buddhism offers a view of its teachings these structures and

The Lotus Sutra, “Lotus of the True Dharma” notes the empowerment and influence from the philosophies of Buddhism as it shows the way towards Nirvana (Doc 3). The purpose of the Sutra is to convey to people of the hardships of making it to “Tathagata”, which encourages them to work harder and mature mindfully. Furthermore, the practices of Buddhism is also shown in an edict of Ashoka, the emperor of the Maurya Dynasty (Doc 6). He was a strong supporter of Buddhism and based many propagandas from the religion. His form of the religion, however, is the practice of great education and a path to happiness. The “noble deeds of Dhamma” was his goal from Buddhism and believed that if his relatives were to base their lives from this belief, they would achieve peace in the next life. Ashoka’s influence across India transformed Buddhism as a way of life and made a chain across the continent and the Silk