complex ideology that brought a new array of deities and a means of philosophically handling the troublesome presence of death. At first the Soga clan was placed in charge of Buddhist affairs, and the religion became so well accepted that even at the time of the downfall of the Sogas in 645, the new leaders acknowledged the emerging importance of Buddhism by placing it officially under government control. In this position as a state religion Buddhism became an effective means for explaining national disasters, curing illnesses, putting the dead to rest, and promoting the wealth of the nation, as well as the aims of the aristocracy.
In this elevated situation, the truer aims of the Buddhist philosophy were not followed. It was not until the later Heian period that Buddhism again came to emphasize individual salvation, the deeper nature of man, and the impermanent, transitory nature of life, all of which speak to the essence of Buddhism.
Buddhism was at least a thousand years old when it entered Japan, emerging from northern India with the teachings of Gautama, the great historic Buddha. Even at that time it had become a complex universalistic religion that greatly expanded the original tenets of its founder. Gautama had taught that the world is a place of suffering, and suffering is caused by human desires and strong tendencies to acquisitiveness. Release from suffering could come by following a prescribed program called the eightfold path (right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right work, right efforts, right mindfulness, and right concentration). These beliefs are still very much at the core of modern day Buddhism, but there is more emphasis on the release from suffering that leads one to see and to know, a process which leads to peace, discernment, enlightenment, and cessation of suffering.
It is possible that Buddhism was introduced into Japan from the Korean kingdom of Paekche during t...