Buddhism And Modern Thought

The spread of Buddhism into other countries does not properly form a part of the history of Buddhist thought, except in so far as the mingling of cultures may have produced new schools. Theoretically there was no development. All schools claimed to be holding the word of Buddha, and in one sense they were right. The Buddhism of Ceylon spread to Burma, Siam, and Cambodia. ¹ There are sects and ecclesiastical differences, but the doctrine is still that of the Päli Scriptures. The Tibetans and the Chinese, followed by the Koreans and Japanese, received Mahãyãna Buddhism. Now it is Japan which is chiefly active in devotion to the doctrine, and the schools of Japan still find the Buddha word in the sūtras of the Mahãyãna schools which they received from the Chinese.