Buddhist Asia · 250 BC - 552 AD

Buddhism crosses Asia

From the Ganges plain, Buddhism traveled with monks and merchants over mountains, deserts and seas: to Sri Lanka, Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan. Students watch the spread unfold on the map and find out how a faith changes when it travels.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, 250 BC to AD 200
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

From the Ganges plain, Buddhism traveled with monks and merchants over mountains, deserts and seas: to Sri Lanka, Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan. Students watch the spread unfold on the map and find out how a faith changes when it travels.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Trace the spread of Buddhism from India to Sri Lanka, Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan on the map.
  • Explain how trade routes over land and sea carried Buddhism across Asia.
  • Give two examples of how Buddhism changed as it reached new cultures.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

250 BC

Watch it spread

Turn on Spreads and choose Buddhism. Drag the time slider slowly from 250 BC to AD 600. Write down the order in which India, Sri Lanka, China, Korea and Japan light up.

Open this view on the map
b

AD 100

The mountain road

Set the year to AD 100 and zoom in on Gandhara and Bactria, in the Kushan Empire. Monks and merchants crossed these mountains to the Silk Road. Which mountain ranges stand in the way?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 200

The sea road

Jump to AD 200 and turn on Trade Routes. Follow the Maritime Spice Route from India to Southeast Asia. Which places of the Buddhism spread lie close to this sea road?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Buddhism traveled with merchants as well as monks. Why would traders carry a religion with them?
  2. Buddhism later almost disappeared from India, but it lives on across Asia. How can a religion outlive its homeland?
  3. Each country changed Buddhism a little: its art, its texts, its temples. Is a religion that changes still the same religion?
  4. Chinese monks translated thousands of texts from Sanskrit. Why is translation both so hard and so important?
  5. Kings in Korea and Japan welcomed Buddhism, sometimes against powerful families. Why might a ruler want a new religion?
4

Game round

10 min

Play Constantine the Great in Rule History. He backed Christianity in the 300s, the same century in which Buddhism reached Korea. After the round, compare him with Ashoka: why do rulers support a religion, and how does that help it spread?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.