[Buddha-l] Spread of Buddhism

[jkirk]

 It is the difference between fetching a religion and adapting it
> for local consumption, and sending (which is what the Latin roots of
> "mission" mean IIRC) a religion somewhere else, hoping it will take root
> there.
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Well, I suppose one can make that difference,  but to my mind that
difference is
pretty thin when one considers that Buddhism was spread to countries
"somewhere else," other than its native land India, via two- or multiple-way
traffic of monks of various kinds taking scriptures and teachings for the
ignorant in Central, South East Asia and East Asia. To me "spreading" takes
account of both "fetching" and "sending." And in the process we find that
the same social groups and elites that patronized the spread of Christianity
also patronized the spread of Buddhism.
I wonder if Walter found any data on the attitudes of itinerant Buddhist
monks, as they made their ways between the various continents and
sub-continents, toward the religions they encountered en route and the
audiences to whom they presumably preached. My guess would be that the
Christians were probably more condescending and dismissive of the local
religions and folkways in their paths than the Buddhists were. That, to me,
would be a significant difference. I can't imagine any Buddhist monk putting
clothing on bare-breated women in the audience, but the Christians certainly
did. I offer that as merely one example of the many ways the Christians
struggled to drastically change the folkways --the cultures--that they were
among.
Joanna