Buddhism - A Religion of India

Buddhism as a way of life was adopted by several rulers of the Indian subcontinent. Large institutions and religious centres were established with this patronage. Several years after the Buddha's death two major branches of Buddhist thought emerged: one called Hinayana, the little vehicle, and the other Mahayana, the great vehicle that carries one to salvation.

From the Indian subcontinent the teachings of the Buddha spread to neighbouring Sri Lanka, the north-west frontier, Myanmar(Burma), Thailand, Indonesia, China, Korea and finally to Japan. In the 10th and 12th centuries, as Muslim armies began to conquer territories in India, several Buddhist institutions were destroyed. Idol worship, not permissible under Islam, came under threat and Buddhist monks fled from mainland India to shelter in the Himalayan mountains. In time, these retreats, in the valleys of Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and Ladakh in India, became famous centres of learning. Here, manuscripts, sciences and rituals and the gentle way of the Buddha were preserved over the centuries.