[Buddha-l] Religious, But is it the power of Kings?

[L.S. Cousins]

Bob,

But do we really know that ? If it is like elsewhere, the historical 
records we have don't tell us much about any except the upper 
classes. Could it not be that Buddhism had some presence in lower 
class groups already before this. Would our sources tell us about 
this if it did ?

Lance

>Hi Joy --
>I think the best example that I know of a religion taking hold from 
>the "top-down" would be Japan. Buddhism was adopted by the ruling 
>clans in the 700s (most likely understood as a form of Shinto) and 
>it took quite a while for later forms of Buddhism to grab hold to 
>the lower classes (especially Pure Land, Nichiren & Zen).
>Bob
>Dept. of Philosophy