he sixth century. At that time about a third of Japan's ruling class was of foreign descent and probably knew about Buddhism already, as well as other facets of continental civilization. However, the issue of whether or not to accept Buddhism as the official Japanese religion caused some dispute in the Japanese court during the second half of the sixth century.
About five centuries after the death of Gautama, Mahayana Buddhism arose, Buddhism of the "Greater Vehicle." Believers of the Mahayana development asserted that enlightenment was only open to those who had a special capacity to follow the eightfold path. Gautama had apparently said shortly before his death that all people have the capacity for buddhahood, but the Mahayanists gradually came to view Gautama as a transcendent who had special capacities beyond being a mortal. The Mahayana branch of Buddhism also brought with it a vast array of pantheistic gods, some taken from Hinduism and other religions of the Near East. In an attempt to create order out of the presence of so ma
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