... India, the motherland of Buddhism. Buddhism developed in India as a nonconformist counterpart to the local dominating religion that is Hinduism. It denied the authority of the caste system and did not accept the importance and value of the extensive Vedic rites and rituals. Eventually, Buddhism was near extinguished from India, as the Hindu religion adopted more and more of its philosophical practices and the line between the two became blurred. Both religions have faith in the notion of reincarnation, karma, and the end goal of Nirvana, or absolute liberation. But roughly 1000 years after the birth of the Buddah and the start of this religion, Buddhism began to change and spread throughout the surrounding areas. India's trade routes served as an incredible vehicle of influence for religion and philosophy. Because of its international connections, many important people traveled to such great lengths as China and Japan. One such man was ...

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