Buddhism and JainismBuddhism and Jainism are two Indian religions that developed in Magadha (Bihar) and continue to thrive in the modern age. Gautama Buddha and Mahavira are generally accepted as contemporaries. Jainism and Buddhism share many features, terminology and ethical principles, but emphasize them differently. Both are śramaṇa ascetic traditions that believe it is possible to attain liberation from the cycle of rebirths and deaths (samsara) through spiritual and ethical disciplines.
Buddhism and the Roman worldSeveral instances of interaction between Buddhism and the Roman world are documented by Classical and early Christian writers. Textual sources in Tamil language, moreover, suggest the presence of Buddhism among some Roman citizens in the 2nd century AD. Roman historical accounts describe an embassy sent by the "Indian king Porus (Pandion (?) Pandya (?) or Pandita (?) ) to Caesar Augustus sometime between 22 BC and 13 AD. The embassy was travelling with a diplomatic letter on a skin in Greek, and one of its members was a sramana who burned himself alive in Athens to demonstrate his faith.
Buddhism and ChristianityThere were links between Buddhism and the pre-Christian Mediterranean world, with Buddhist missionaries sent by Emperor Ashoka of India to Syria, Egypt and Greece from 250 BC. Significant differences between the two religions include monotheism in Christianity and Buddhism's orientation towards nontheism (the lack of relevancy of the existence of a creator deity) which runs counter to teachings about God in Christianity, and grace in Christianity against the rejection of interference with karma in Theravada Buddhism on.
MoheyanHeshang Moheyan () was a late 8th century Buddhist monk associated with the East Mountain Teaching. Moheyan (摩訶衍) is a brief translation of Mahayana in Chinese, so the name literally means a Mahayana monk. He became famous for representing Chan Buddhism in the so called "Council of Lhasa," a debate between adherents of the Indian teachings of "gradual enlightenment" and the Chinese teachings of "sudden enlightenment," which according to tradition was won by the "gradual teachings.
Buddhism and Eastern religionsBuddhism has interacted with several Eastern religions such as Taoism, Shinto and Bon since it spread from the Indian subcontinent during the 2nd century AD. The relationships between Taoism and Buddhism are complex, as they influenced each other in many ways while often competing for influence. Taoism in its early form was a mixture of early mythology, folk religion, and Taoist philosophy. The arrival of Buddhism forced Taoism to renew and restructure itself into a more organized religion, while addressing similar existential questions raised by Buddhism.
Buddhist devotionDevotion, a central practice in Buddhism, refers to commitment to religious observances or to an object or person, and may be translated with Sanskrit or Pāli terms like saddhā, gārava or pūjā. Central to Buddhist devotion is the practice of Buddhānussati, the recollection of the inspiring qualities of the Buddha. Although buddhānussati was an important aspect of practice since Buddhism's early period, its importance was amplified with the arising of Mahāyāna Buddhism.
Buddhism in MyanmarBuddhism (ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ), specifically Theravāda Buddhism (ထေရဝါဒဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ), is the state religion of Myanmar since 1961, and practiced by nearly 90% of the population. It is the most religious Buddhist country in terms of the proportion of monks in the population and proportion of income spent on religion. Adherents are most likely found among the dominant Bamar people, Shan, Rakhine, Mon, Karen, and Chinese who are well integrated into Burmese society. Monks, collectively known as the sangha (community), are venerated members of Burmese society.
Buddhism in the PhilippinesBuddhism is a minor religion in the Philippines. In 2016, Buddhism was practiced by around 2% of the population, according to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations. Indian influences in early Philippine politiesReligion in pre-colonial PhilippinesHistory of the Philippines (900-1521) and List of India-related topics in the Philippines The oldest archeological evidence of Buddhism's presence in the Philippines date back to the 9th century, when Vajrayana was known as the dominant branch of Buddhism.
Buddhism in ArgentinaBuddhism is a minority religion in Argentina, where, in addition to the majority of the Christian population, the rate of self-professed Buddhists is about 0.5%. Buddhism in Argentina has been practiced since the early 1980s. Chinese Buddhist immigrants had established their first Buddhist temple in 1986, and Korean Buddhist immigrants also founded their own temple. Since then many groups have been giving teachings, some of them rooted in the best known Sōtō tradition from Japan, but also in many Tibetan institutes for the practice of meditation (Mahamudra, Dzog Chen, Lam Rim).
Buddhism in EuropeAlthough there was regular contact between practising Buddhists and Europeans in antiquity the former had little direct impact. In the latter half of the 19th century, Buddhism came to the attention of Western intellectuals and during the course of the following century the number of adherents has grown. There are now between 1 and 4 million Buddhists in Europe, the majority in Italy, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. European contact with Buddhism first began after Alexander the Great's conquest of northwestern India in the 3rd century BC.
