Religions exist as long as human beings exist. When humans moved, as a result, the religions were spread. However, whether a religion can continue to exist, it depends on how well this religion has been able to integrate with the local culture. In other words, the continual existence of a religion is highly dependent on how well this religion can be adopted locally. Let's use Buddhism as an example which originated in Central India. It’s well known that Buddhism was founded in the fifth century B.C. in northern India, in what is now known as Nepal, by Siddhartha Gautama, a young prince of the Sakyan kingdom. In the third century B.C., under the patronage of third Mauryan emperor Ashoka (260-232 B.C.), Buddhism flourished and spread from the surrounding area of the Ganges River throughout India and northwest India. The northwest region of India is between India and Pakistan in Kashmir areas. This area is also where the cultural exchange between the east and the west occurred. Mahayana Buddhism evolved out of the development of Buddhism in this region. During the first century A.D., the Buddhism developed in this area was spread eastward through the Central and West Asia trade routes to China. After five to six hundred years, Buddhism went through the long process of rejection and acceptance, conflict and unification, and was later integrated with China's Confucianism and Taoism, giving origin to unification of three teachings into one. In China, Buddhism was completely localized. Examples of Buddhism after being localized in China are the Schools of Tiantai and Huayan, which emphasize the purport of the teaching, and the schools of Chan and Pureland, which emphasize practice. Having been localized in China, Buddhism was then carried to Taiwan through Jian Nan and Mm Nan. Now, Buddhism lives in the Taiwanese' world. In 1895, Taiwan became a Japanese colony for the next 50 years. The Japanese immigrants brought with them Japan's eight schools and thirteen divisions of Buddhism to Taiwan. Among the different preachers, there were many passionate ones who actively promoted the localized Japanese Buddhism in Taiwan. After 50 years, what has been the influence of localized Japanese Buddhism on the people in Taiwan? In other words, what effect and new driving forces did it have on the Taiwanese Buddhism? What degree of integration did it have with the local cultural background? This paper investigates these topics using Taiwanese Pure Land School as an example.
