10. The Mission of Buddhism.
Throughout the long
history of Buddhism covering almost twenty-five
cen-
turies, Buddhists have recognized
their mission to
spread the teachings of the Buddha throughout the
world. Soon after the founding of the order, the Buddha
sent out his
followers on missionary journeys to spread
the teaching “for the
profit and good and happiness
of the world” (Mahāvagga I, 6, 8, etc.).
The Buddhist teachings were considered universal
and all-comprehensive, to
be made known to all men
for their enlightenment. This spread of Buddhism
was
marked by the devotion of monks and laymen, and
conversion took
place only by persuasion. There is no
known case of conversion to Buddhism
by the use of
force. Even King Aśoka, under whose reign
Buddhism
spread as a universal religion in many countries, re-
nounced the use of force.
However, Buddhist mission work, generally speak-
ing, declined throughout the Buddhist world from the
tenth century
on. Under the impact of the spread of
Christianity and communism, some
Buddhist leaders
have come to be enthusiastic in mission work; they
have established some international organizations.
