초록 열기/닫기 버튼
When we review the spread of Buddhism in Asia, we come to know that early Indian Buddhism was not transmitted to Japan in its original form. First of all, from the perspective of time, Buddhism was spread and expanded across central Asia over a long period of time. When Buddhism was first transmitted from India to China, it was already a mixture of early Buddhism and Mahayana Buddhism. Also, from a regional perspective, early Indian Buddhism, heavily influenced by the Indian worldview and its values, differed greatly from Chinese culture and thought. And when Buddhism was transmitted to Japan via Korea, it also contained characteristics of East Asian culture, including Korean values. Therefore, for these reasons, it was impossible for Japanese Buddhism to receive early Buddhism in its original form. If we examine the process of how Buddhism was propagated in Asia, we can see that the concept of Buddha-Nature became much more important than it had been in India. The Consciousness-only School and Esoteric Buddhism developed in India, but the concept of Buddha-Nature developed more profoundly in China. In Asia, including China, the concept of Buddha-Nature was developed based on the book Awakening of Faith in the Mahayana and that concept was transmitted to Japan. Therefore, when we examine the development of the concept of Buddha-Nature, we come to find that early Indian Buddhism was introduced to China, after which a Buddhism modified to suit Chinese culture was spread to Japan through Korea.
