History of Buddhism - Rise of Mahāyāna (1st Century BCE–2nd Century CE)

Rise of Mahāyāna (1st Century BCE–2nd Century CE)

The rise of Mahāyāna Buddhism from the 1st century BCE was accompanied by complex political changes in northwestern India. The Indo-Greek kingdoms were gradually overwhelmed, and their culture assimilated by the Indo-Scythians, and then the Yuezhi, who founded the Kushan Empire from around 12 BCE.

The new form of Buddhism was characterized by the idea that all beings have a Buddha-nature and should aspire to Buddhahood, and by a syncretism due to the various cultural influences within northwestern India and the Kushan Empire.

In the Kanishka coin, the composite symbol placed by the side of the enlightened Buddha symbolizes 'the Four Noble Truths that emphasize the Middle Path, the Buddha Dhamma.'