By the time Buddhism entered Japan in the sixth century C.E., it had already become a world religion with a history of a thousand years. The form of Buddhism that from the start was dominant in Japan is known as Mahayana, the Buddhism of the Greater Vehicle, and it brought with it an enormous canon of religious literature, an elaborate body of doctrine, a well-organized priesthood, and a dazzling tradition of religious art and architecture - all of which Shintô lacked in the sixth century. Although its view of the world and mankind differed markedly from that of Shintô, it is important to understand that within the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism both differences from and similarities to the native tradition could be found. On the one hand, for example, Buddhism regarded the world as transient and saw it as a source of suffering for those who remained attached to it, a view that contrasts sharply with Shintô's ready acceptance of the world. On the other hand, however, there was an optimism in Mahayana Buddhism that meshed well with Shintô - an optimism about human nature, for it was committed to the belief that all human beings had the potential to attain the wisdom that brings an end to suffering, and an ultimate optimism about the world itself, since it taught that once human attachments are discarded, the world takes on a new and positive significance.

At first the Japanese regarded the Buddha as simply another kami and were drawn to the religion by the beauty of its art and the hope of such concrete benefits as wealth and longevity that, on the popular level, Buddhism did not disdain to promise. By the seventh century, however, some individuals began understanding Buddhism as having a message of its own. In general, we may understand the subsequent development of Buddhism in Japan as the result of constant interaction between the foreign religion and the native