Trace the development of distinctive 

forms of Japanese Buddhism 
 

● ic expectations, and (4`) there is a method to be followed to 

eliminate them” the 4 noble true ​Religions were like an art in 

Japan  

● Japanese did not have time or resources for the extreme rituals 

the Buddhists took part of.  

● they made Buddhism into their own kind of religion. 

● included chanting Buddha’s name 

● Another religion, Zen was all about how self restraint and 

meditation led to wisdom, which was popular with samurais 

● The name Buddha is an honorific title meaning "the Awakened 

One.  

● Buddhism is the least in violence   

● The Bodhi ​tree that Buddhist spiritual leader meditated under this 

tree on the night that he reached nirvana. 

● There 29 different buddhas   

 

● Buddhism reached spiritual levels and answers that Shinto could 

not explain 

● Shinto religion was more real and material, Buddhism was moral 

and ethical 

● Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world with 488 

million being buddhist. That is 7% of the population worldwide.1    

● There is no belief in a personal god 

● “ (1) all forms of existence involve some suffering, (2) suffering 

arises because of unrealistic expectations, (3) suffering can be 

eliminated by eliminating unrealistic as buddhism is summarized  

● Kobo Daishi taught Japanese people that everybody should have 

an equal chance of enlightenment​ ​and that plants and animals 

were just as important as humans. 

1
"Buddhists | Pew Research Center - Pew Forum on Religion and Public ...." 18 Dec. 2012,
http://www.pewforum.org/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-buddhist/​. Accessed 16 Feb. 2018.

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● Mahayana Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the sixth century 

● Shintoism seen in sumo wrestling, flower arranging, architecture 

● Bon festival and funerals come from Buddhism 

 
 
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https://ca.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/sj14-soc-buddhism/the-
evolution-of-buddhism-in-japan/ 
 
Medieval to Early modern times