The Religion of India
- Asoka waged war with many areas, causing his empire to grow
- In the nearby state of Kalinga, 100,000 soldiers were killed and even more civilians died
- Even though Asoka was the victor, he felt bad about the slaughter of Kalinga
- Eventually, he decided to study Buddhism, and decided to rule by the teachings
- The most significant teaching of Buddha was "peace to all beings," which expanded across the empire
- It was also an empire that practiced religious toleration, which was the acceptence of people from different faiths
- Chandragupta's son, Asoka promoted Buddhism in the Mauryan Empire
- Even though Buddhism was popular, after Asoka died in 232 B.C., the teachings of Buddha weren't enough to hold the empire together
- A more popular form of Buddhism came into place, in which The Buddha stated that everyone could reach a spiritual state called Nirvana.
- Even though the Buddha had specifically said not to worship him, many Buddhists began treating him as a god.
- The new belief was put in place that other people could also become Buddhas
- There was a controversy over the new policies. Two "parties" were formed, the Mahayana sect, who accepted the new policies, and the Theravada sect, which believed in the older teachings of Buddhism.
- Stupas, stone buildings constructed over holy relics, were put in place.
- Due to the Silk Roads, Buddhism and Hinduism were able to spread very fast
- Hinduism comes from the old religion of Rigveda.
- Later, Rigveda was changed into Brahmanism
- Some of the Gods were Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva