< Issue No. 17 (2022)Article
Mapping the Spread of Buddhism: Caravans and Sailing Ships
Lancaster, Lewis, University Of California, Berkeley
Abstract
Prior to 1500 C.E., the map of the presence of Buddhism covers a wide area of Eastern Eurasia. This mapping has been given the name “Great Circle of Buddhism.” One method of study is to identify information relating to the “rim” of this “Circle” as well as to the “core.” Important events in the history of the tradition took place at the “rim” as trade, and cultural issues flowed in both directions along it. Using geo-registration software for the data, it is possible to document the trading and sailing circuits that were to be found in a complex pattern that had both local as well as international structures. This approach allows for a study of the dynamics of the religion’s dissemination even when textual histories do not exist.