Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of the Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, who lived between approximately 566 and 486 BCE in India. Buddhism gradually spread from India throughout Asia to Central Asia, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Southeast Asia, as well as to East Asian countries such as China, Korea, and Japan.

Buddhist regions of the world

The following is a comprehensive aspect of the dominant forms of Buddhism along with the primary regions with which they are associated.

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• Theravada Buddhism: parts of India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (where it is imposed as the state religion),Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, parts of Vietnam (along the Mekong Delta frontier with Cambodia, the so-called "Khmer Krom" region), and parts of China (in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Sichuan).
• Mahayana Buddhism: most of China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Korea, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, and most of Vietnam.
• Vajrayana Buddhism:
• Tibetan Buddhism: found in Tibet (and adjacent areas of China), North India, Bhutan, Nepal, southwestern China, Mongolia and, various Constituent republic of Russia that are adjacent to the area, such as: Amur Oblast, Buryatia, Chita Oblast, Tuva Republic, and Khabarovsk Krai. There is also Kalmykia, another constituent republic of Russia that is in fact the only Buddhist region in Europe, paradoxically located in the north Caucasus.
• Shingon Buddhism or "True Word" Buddhism: found in Japan.

At the present time the teachings of all three branches of Buddhism have spread throughout the world and are now easily available in the developed countries, and increasingly translated into local languages.

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It is believed that China is the only country where all of the sects and sub-sects of Buddhism have relevant numbers of followers.

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