uddhism started around the 1st century B.C.E., and it’s ideas differed pretty drastically from the older Theravada version. This newer version of Buddhism spread quickly out of India into Afghanistan and Central Asia, and then into China, Tibet, Mongolia, Vietnam, and finally into Korea and Japan. One of the main reasons for it’s rapid spread and great attraction to people was the “bodhisattva”, meaning “Buddha to be”. The bodhisattva was someone who had achieved Nirvana , however, instead of being taken out of the reincarnation cycle, they chose to remain in the cycle to help all others achieve Nirvana.What this meant to people was that now they could have someone help them and guide them down the path to becoming a Buddha. They no longer had to do it themselves and lead a perfect life, the bodhisattvas could show them exactly what they needed to do. Another attraction about Mahayana Buddhism was that the people could pray to the bodhisattvas for help, forgiveness, or anything. Theravada Buddhism lacked any god-like figures that the people could pray to, and people need something like that in times of need when they have no one else to turn to. These god-like bodhisattvas helped attract new people to the religion who might have been turned off by Theravada Buddhism because there were no god-like figures to pray and look to.One of these bodhisattvas that people prayed to was “Kuan-yin”, which meant “the one who hears the cry”. Kuan-yin was a Goddess, and this helped spread the religion because now women could achieve Nirvana and become Buddhas, something that didn’t happen in Theravada Buddhism. Allowing women to become Bodhisattvas attracted many more people to the religion, and helped make it spread that much faster.Christianity originated from Jesus of Nazareth, who was believed to be born from the Virgin Mary and was the son of God. It is believed that he was put her...
