with trade and barter
faith travels along borders
birthing Zen

©Vivian Zems

Carpe Diem Haiku Kai # 1377-Buddhism finds its way along the Silk Road

The transmission of Buddhism to China via the Silk Road began in the 1st century CE, according to a semi-legendary account of an ambassador sent to the West by the Chinese Emperor Ming (58–75). During this period Buddhism began to spread throughout Southeast, East, and Central Asia. Mahayana, Theravada, and Tibetan Buddhism are the three primary forms of Buddhism that spread across Asia via the Silk Road.