Introduction
Buddhism is known on all the continents as one of the prominent world religions. While remaining integral regarding the most significant points of the religion, several distinctive features are observed in different countries. According to Powers, new practices and doctrines develop in the process of adaptation to the context of another cultural environments (1). Buddhism has spread predominantly in Asia, reaching vast areas and an extensive number of people. Buddhism differs according to the major schools in most of the countries, either Mahāyāna or Theravāda, but there are other minor differences in local schools. Although such aspects of Buddhism as the ritual activity, meditation, and merit remain essential in all countries, the emphasis on each of them varies in different areas due to historical reasons.
The Origin of Buddhism and its Major Aspects
Buddhism takes its origin from the Ganges River Valley in Northeastern India and the story of the first Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama. As the narratives state, once he remembered all his lives in the past and realized how what consequences his actions had on his subsequent reincarnations (Powers 60). He became Buddha and gathered disciples in the valley of the Ganges who spread the knowledge and contributed to the scripture.
Owing to the activity of the disciples and royal support, Buddhism has rapidly spread through the whole territory of India. Its popularity later decreased to individual regions, such as the state of Himachal Pradesh, but instead, it advanced across the entire continent. Economic relations with other countries, especially the close location of the religious center to the Silk Road, served as the ways to transfer Buddhism to East and Southeast Asia. Southeast countries have developed the doctrines of Theravāda school, while Eastern countries and the Himalayan region adhere to Mahāyāna principles.
Although Buddhism is widely perceived as the intellectual and spiritual practice, ritual activity is the factor that helps to maintain its popularity through generations. The religion comprises a relatively small percentage of monastic life, and the majority of the population generally does not relate to religion intellectually, so the rituals are essential. According to Powers, Buddhist rituals are religious practices strongly connected to lunar phases and characterized by chanting (mantra), worship of the image of Buddha, and meditation (319). Such annual rituals as the celebration of the Buddha’s awakening, birth, and liberation are universal in all countries with differences in dates and minor details.
Merit is an essential aspect of Buddhism as it is the basis of the reincarnation belief. According to Buddhism, future rebirth depends on what karma a person developed in the previous life. Thus, all the activity, thoughts, and words have consequences at some point in the future. That is why the Buddhist scripture has elaborated on several ways of accumulating merit. For example, Powers highlights the acts of gift-giving as the starting practice (321). Meditation is probably the most popular aspect of Buddhism, known even as a secular practice in the modern world. Mindfulness meditation is the Buddhist practice that is viewed as the first step to awakening.
Historical Regions of Buddhism
Today, Buddhism is known in most parts of the modern globalized world due to the migration of its adherents, even in traditionally Christian or Muslim areas. Nevertheless, the countries where this religion originated and developed are limited to Asia. Although Buddhism occurred in India, it is now not a Buddhist country except for several small areas that, together with Buddhist centers of Nepal and Tibet, comprise the Himalayan region of Mahāyāna school. China, Japan, and Korea adhere to the same tradition, while Theravāda doctrine prevails in Southeastern Asia.
Buddhism in Southeast Asia
Theravāda Buddhism is the prevailing religion in most Southeastern Asian countries. According to Powers, it is the national religion in Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Thailand (76). Theravāda Buddhists adhere to the traditional step-by-step meditation and guided mindfulness. Rituals are widely incorporated into everyday life through such practices as wedding rituals, or transition to other life ceremonies. However, merit is emphasized most in Theravāda Buddhism, where it is believed to be an essential way to be religious. It is the primary goal of the religious life as it is the foundation of good karma and grants happy rebirth. The Buddhists believe that meritorious actions, such as gifts, donations, or offering food to monks, “improve” one’s karma.
Buddhism in East Asia
The expansion of Buddhism in East Asia started in China, where it arrived from India owing to the trade ways. Mahāyāna tradition has developed in China in several schools and later was transferred even further east – to Japan and Korea. The reason why it has spread so fast and so successfully is its resonance with dominant philosophical views of these countries, such as Daoism, Confucianism, or folk beliefs.
Unlike in Theravāda Buddhism, here, knowledge plays a significant role, and meditation is an essential practice “as the path to insight aimed at attaining liberation” (Powers 96). Some cultural differences have also developed in different countries in this region. Gardiner, for example, notes the esoteric nature of Japanese Buddhism in Mahāyāna. Different Japanese schools promoted the idea of the monks as socially integrated individuals who can marry and play an active role in society’s life.
Buddhism in Himalayan Region
Such parts of the Himalayan Region as Kashmir Valley or Kathmandu Valley are the early centers of indigenous Buddhism tradition where it has been preserved for more than 2,000 years. Here, the religious ways of ritual, meditation, and merit are treated with equal emphasis. Kapstein notes “the importance of securing rebirth in a divine realm of the Buddhist teaching” as the main aim for accumulating merit (143). However, Mahāyāna Buddhists believe that copying, reciting, or teaching a particular sūtra are the main ways to get merit. In contrast to other regions where rituals are less emphasized, in this region, they have a crucial meaning.
The Spread of Buddhism to the West
The Western expansion of Buddhism began in the US with large-scale immigration from Japan and China. While ethnic representatives of these countries in the US and the rest of the world adhere to Buddhist doctrines, the local population has adopted several practices taking them out of the ethical context minimizing “public acknowledgement of its Buddhist connections” (Watt 455). Mindfulness is often seen as a separate practice used even in psychotherapy as a secular movement (Helderman 937). Despite its increasing popularity, Buddhism is perceived in a limited way, and its transmission to the West cannot happen according to such a scenario as in Asia. The main barrier is established cultural and religious tradition with significant differences in philosophical views.
Conclusion
Key aspects of Buddhism, merit, ritual, and meditation, are essential in all the regions where this religion has spread, but certain cultures emphasize different ways of being religious. The followers of Theravāda tradition in Southeast Asia value merit as the fundamental aspect of reincarnation. Mahāyāna Buddhism in East Asia and the Himalayan area highlights the importance of meditation and religious rituals. The reason for such disparities is the influence of previous religions and cultures on the lands where Buddhism has expanded. Western countries have established an influential culture, so Buddhism is applied there, mostly in the secular context.
Works Cited
Gardiner, David L. “Tantric Buddhism in Japan: Shingon, Tendai, and the Esotericization of Japanese Buddhisms.” Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion, 2018. Web.
Helderman, Ira P. “Drawing the Boundaries between ‘Religion’ and ‘Secular’ in Psychotherapists’ Approaches to Buddhist Traditions in the United States.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion, vol. 84, no. 4, 2016, pp. 937-972. Web.
Kapstein, Matthew T. “Tibetan Buddhist Afterlife Beliefs, and Funerary Practices.” The Routledge Companion to Death and Dying, edited by Christopher M. Moreman, Routlege, 2017, pp. 143–152.
Powers, John, editor. The Buddhist World. Routledge, 2016.
Watt, Tessa. “Spacious Awareness in Mahāyāna Buddhism and Its Role in the Modern Mindfulness Movement.” Contemporary Buddhism, vol. 18, no. 2. 2017, pp. 455-480. Web.