Chapter 6 Religions of South Asia 215
achieving nirvana through life-long self-discipline and meditation, a simpler path
allows for rebirth into the Pure Land.
Almost any degree of attention to the Buddha would enable rebirth in [the
Pure Land]. Beings needed only to set their minds on Amitabha, cultivate
“roots of good,” and plan for achieving enlightenment there. Even beings
that had not done well over their lifetimes in attending to the Buddha could
achieve rebirth with Amitabha if they just directed their thoughts that way
on their deathbeds and experienced a vision of Amitabha; even a single sin-
cere thought might be sufficient. (Amstutz 1998:72)
No longer was there just one Buddha; now there were many Buddhas, and
moreover full Buddhahood became possible for anyone. In these new forms,
Buddhism began its conquest of the rest of Asia, traveling to China, Japan, and
Korea by one route, and to Southeast Asia by another.
Amaravati
Mathura
Pagan
Bodh Gaya
Sarnath Banaras
Shravasti
Lumbini (Nepal)
Kapilavastu (Nepal)
Lhasa (Tibet)
Thaton
Dunhuang
Kucha (Central Asia)
Angkor
Nara
Kyoto
Palembang
Vaishali
Barobadur
Chang-an Luo-yang
CHINA
INDONESIA
INDIA
BURMA
Pacific
Ocean
Bay
Of
Bengal
So
ut
h
Ch
in
a
Se
a
Ind
ian
Oc
ea
n
Yang
zi^ R
iver
Yellow R.
Map 6.1 Route of dispersal of Buddhism.