Buddhism is among the oldest religious traditions of the world. It isbased on the life and teachings of Siddharta Gautama. The messageof world peace is the greatest contribution of Buddhism to the humancivilization. This paper aims to study the spread of Buddhism in theSoutheast Asian region and its relations with the ideals of peace incontemporary period. Theoretically paper relies on the post-colonialhistory writing tradition. It adopts descriptive and analytical methodto study the subject matter. Conclusions of the paper are drawn afterscrutiny of primary and secondary literatures. A thorough studyreveals that Buddhism has a glorious past in the Southeast Asia. Thepractice of Buddhism in the region was popular even prior to thebeginning of recorded history. Different monuments providetangible evidence, and deep-rooted essence of Buddhism in thesocio-cultural practices of the region are intangible testimony to this.Paper argues that inter-religious issues in the region and especiallycurrent situation of conflict between people of different faith can beresolved by following philosophy of Buddhism in true sense.
Tags: Buddhism, documents, fdocuments.in, Inter-religious issues, Peace, popular traditions