ABSTRACT
The spread of Buddhism across the span of Asia—commencing nearly two and a half millennia ago—is a fascinating but seldom-recounted story. From its origin in an obscure corner of the ancient Kosala-Videha region—the ancient Buddha-Bhumi near where the Gandak river descends from the Himalayan foothills into the Indian plains—Buddhism took shape during the lifetime of Gautama Buddha. Starting with the Buddha’s first address to his first five ordained disciples at the Issipattana deer-park at Sarnath, the message of the Dhamma was carried not only by the Buddha directly, but also by his wandering disciples. The preaching of the Dhamma during the Buddha’s lifetime coincided with the rise of Magadha to political ascendancy in north India under Bimbisara and Ajatashatru, whose reigns are documented by both the Jain and Buddhist records. As an ethical way of life rather than a religion founded on canonical scriptures, early Buddhist civilisation needed no central authority other than the monastic order.
