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The Expansion
Ashoka then worked to expand the religion by sending monks to teach the people. -
Separarion
By 200 A.D. Buddhism had spread to many places like Sri Lanka or China. Then Buddhism was separated into two different forms of the religion. Mahayana and Hinayana. -
China's Buddhism Dynasty
By 500 A.D. China had 2 million followers of Buddhism. China can thank the Silk Road for that number. Huge temples and monasteries were built. -
Decline in China
Then around the 850's Buddhism took a decline in China due to persecutions. 4600 temples were destroyed and 260,500 monks and nuns were not allowed to practice Buddhism anymore. -
Decline along Silk Road
Decline of Buddhism all along the Silk Road also started in the 800's due to the fall of the Tang dynasty in the east and the Arabs in the west. -
End of Buddhism in Central Asia
Then by 1450 almost all of central Asia wasn't Buddhist anymore. They were Islamic. -
The Conversion
Then in the 3rd century B.C. a king from the Mauryan Empire, Ashoka converted to Buddhism. -
The Beginning
Buddhism started in the 5th century B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama in India. -
Buddha's Life
For decades he traveled teaching about his religion until his death. -
After Siddhartha
For 200 years after Buddha's death there were only small communities of monks that practiced the religion.
