" Many would agree with the Dalai Lama that Buddhism as a religion is kindness toward others.

These ideas would become institutionalized in time, for example Ashoka's role in the spread of Buddhism, or the role of platonic philosophy in Christianity at its foundation.

With this in mind it is sometimes argued that the Theravada would not have been considered a " Hinayana " school by Mahayanists because unlike the now-extinct Sarvastivada school, the primary object of Mahayana criticism, the Theravada school does not claim the existence of independent dharmas ; in this it maintains the attitude of early Buddhism.

The Dalai Lama answered ; " if science can disprove reincarnation, Tibetan Buddhism would abandon reincarnation ... but it's going to be mighty hard to disprove reincarnation.

The succeeding kingdoms of Sri Lanka would maintain a large number of Buddhist schools and monasteries, and support the propagation of Buddhism into other countries in Southeast Asia as well.

In the 1961 decision, Justice Hugo Black commented in a footnote, " Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God are Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism, and others.

In Japan, Nichiren continued to lead a life that would come to be revered in Nichiren Buddhism.

In China, it affected Buddhism and develop the thought of void which would later ripe as Zen Buddhism.

However, Buddhism would later be persecuted by the state and decline in influence.

Li situates his teaching of Falun Gong amidst the " Dharma-ending period " ( Mo Fa, 末法 ), described in Buddhist scriptures as an era of moral decline when the teachings of Buddhism would need to be rectified.

In 1615, Zaya journeyed to Lhasa, Tibet where he would study and practice Buddhism, including study under the guidance of the 4th Panchen Lama.

Over the history of Buddhism, there have been several notable figures who would come to be remembered as, and referred to as, buddhas.

He had become " well-versed in astrology, writing and Sanskrit " by the age of three, " able to distinguish between the Buddhist and non-Buddhist doctrines " by the age of ten, and would eventually become a master of the teachings of Mahayana, Hinayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism under the guidance of over 100 different instructors.

When he came into contact with what he perceived to be a misled or deteriorating form of Buddhism he would quickly and effectively implement reforms.

Maintaining, in this matter, the attitude of a strict operationalist, the Buddha would speak only of the spiritual experience, not of the metaphysical entity presumed by the theologians of other religions, as also of later Buddhism, to be the object and ( since in contemplation the knower, the known and the knowledge are all one ) at the same time the subject and substance of that experience.

On his return via Tokharestan and Kashgar, an arhat predicted that he had a bright future and would introduce many people to Buddhism.

If the later Upanishads came to see ultimate reality as beyond the sense of " I am ", Buddhism would then say: why call it ' Self ', then?

Indeed, there are contemporary advocates of Confucianism who are not New Confucians, but who would agree that Confucianism is not geographically or culturally parochial, any more than Buddhism or Islam have been.

The order would be neither lay nor monastic, and members take a set of ten precepts that are a traditional part of Mahayana Buddhism.

Although Sangharakshita studied under, and in some cases received initiations from, eminent Buddhist teachers during his two decades in India, including Jagdish Kashyap, Dhardo Rinpoche, HH Dudjom Rinpoche, HH Dilgo Khyentse, and Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, some strands of Buddhism would find that he never worked closely enough with any of these to be considered their " dharma-heir ".

It was in 805 that Kūkai finally met Master Hui-kuo ( 746 – 805 ) the man who would initiate him into the esoteric Buddhism tradition at Chang ' an's Qinglong Monastery ( 青龍寺 ).

He also granted a second-level initiation upon Saichō, but refused to bestow the final initiation ( which would have qualified Saichō as a master of esoteric Buddhism ) because Saichō had not completed the required studies, leading to a falling out between the two that was not resolved, this feud later extended to the Shingon and Tendai sects.

Although Confucian ideas prevail in these areas, few people outside of academia identify themselves as Confucian, and instead see Confucian ethics as a complementary guideline for other ideologies and beliefs, including democracy, Marxism, capitalism, Christianity, Islam and Buddhism.

Today, Nichiren Buddhism is not a single denomination ( see following lists ).

* 1956 – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385, 000 of his followers ( see Neo-Buddhism ).

Buddhism deals less with metaphysics and more with ontological questions and is generally not concerned with the existence of a creator God but focuses on a state called Nirvana ( see also Mu ).

( see also Neoplatonism and Gnosticism and Buddhism and Gnosticism )

* October 14 – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Indian Untouchable leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385, 000 followers ( see Neo-Buddhism ).

* Buddhism is introduced formally into Japan ( by some accounts ; see also 552 ).

" Hokusai was a member of the Nichiren sect of Buddhism, who see the North Star as associated with the deity.

The first Buddhist missionaries were called " Dharma Bhanaks " and some see a missionary charge in the symbolism behind the Buddhist wheel, which is said to travel all over the earth bringing Buddhism with it.

Although there is historical evidence for Vajrayana Buddhism in Southeast Asia and elsewhere ( see History of Vajrayana below ), today the Vajrayana exists primarily in the form of the two major sub-schools of Tibetan Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism in Japan known as Shingon, with a handful of minor subschools utilising lesser amounts of esoteric or tantric materials.

Traditions such as Buddhism see the apparent self ( our identification as souls, minds, bodies and egos ) as a " grasping-after " self — i. e., inasmuch as one has a " self ," one has it only through a deluded attempt to shore it up.

In Chinese Buddhism, the West represents movement toward the Buddha or enlightenment ( see Journey to the West ).

For instance, Śūnyatā ( emptiness ), unlike " nothingness ", is considered to be a state of mind in some forms of Buddhism ( see Nirvana, mu, and Bodhi ).

: For the Buddhist term, see Chanda ( Buddhism ).

The influx of Asian-Americans has brought in an increase of people in eastern religions: Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Shintoism, Sikhism ( see Sikhs ) and Taoism.

* Buddhists — see Buddhism

Some Jews argue that God has a relationship with all gentile monotheists ( or perceived monotheists ), including Hindus, who in the past may have been ( mis ) interpreted as having a polytheist faith ( see also Hindu views on monotheism ), as well as with members of other religions such as Buddhism.

* Tantric Buddhism, see Vajrayana

Whether torii existed in Japan before Buddhism or, to the contrary, arrived with it ( see section below ) is however an open question.

While Hindu tantra eventually came to see the letters as well as the sounds as representatives of the divine, the shift toward writing occurred when Buddhism traveled to China.