Buddhism spread eastward via three routes:

I. The Northern Route: Northern Buddhism

　　The Northern transmission route of Buddhism started from ancient Gandhara (Pakistan and northern Afghanistan), passed through Central Asia, went over the Pamirs into the western regions of China (Xinqiang), then continued through the Hexi Corridor into China. This is the land route of the Silk Road, which can be subdivided into the southern and northern routes.

　　The Northern transmission route of Buddhism started from ancient Gandhara (Pakistan and northern Afghanistan), passed through Central Asia, went over the Pamirs into the western regions of China (Xinqiang), then continued through the Hexi Corridor into China. This is the land route of the Silk Road, which can be subdivided into the southern and northern routes.

　　From China, Buddhism continued to spread to Korea and Japan. The Buddhist teaching spread via this route is called “Northern Buddhism.”

II. The Sea Route: Southern Buddhism

　　Starting from southern India, the sea route brought Buddhism to countries such as Indonesia, Burma, Cambodia and Thailand. Some branches of this route landed on southern China, and then spread and developed inland. This route was the famous Sea Silk Road. The school of Buddhism spread via this route is the early Nikāya Buddhism, also called Southern Buddhism, or Theravada Buddhism.

※　Sea Silk Road: Kong Wang Shan, Lian Yungang, Jiangu Province; Guangzhou; Wuwen→along the mainland coastal line→Burma→India→Sri Lanka

III. Land Route: Tibetan Buddhism

　　This was the latest route of transmission. From eastern India (including Bangladesh and Nepal), it went over the Himalayas into Tibet. It became the main transmission route of Vajrayāna Buddhism. It spread from China to Japan during the 7th – 8th century, and started the Japanese Esoteric school of Buddhism, which developed significantly during the Ming-Qing periods (14th – early 20th century).