Japan's state religion. The Prince, who was the Imperial Regent, is still revered as 'Father of Japanese Buddhism'. So strong was the early Buddhist impact on Japan that in the 8th century Emperor Shomu declared himself 'A servant of the Three Jewels" and established state supported monasteries in all major towns. At Todaiji Temple in Nara he ordered installation of an enormous (50 foot high) Vairocana Buddha statue gilded with gold "as an earthly symbol of Buddha's Heavenly tranquility" The statue was completed in 750 AD. Some years later Emperor Shomu abdicated the throne to join a monastery. The Empress who succeeded him did likewise, and appointed a monk in her place. However the Imperial court dethroned him and prevented Japan becoming a Buddhist ecclesiastical state. 

The next great victory for the gospel of compassion came with the conversion of Tibet's first great king Song Tsan Gampo to Buddhism in the middle of the 8th cty AD. Like the renowned Emperor Ashoka a thousand years earlier, he fought many battles, unified Tibet and created an empire. He became so strong and renowned that the Tang Royal court gave him one of their princesses in Marriage. It was his wife Wen Chang, a Tang Chinese princess who converted him. In coming to Lhasa, she had brought with her a large bronze Buddha statue, to house which the Jo Khang temple, still extant, was built in Lhasa. With the King's conversion the Royal court and most Tibetans adopted the new religion. The King sent his minister, Thu-Mi to India to procure sacred scriptures and invite Indian monks to Tibet to teach Buddhism. Among those who came in subsequent decades and centuries were Padma Sambhava, (who built the revered Samye monastery and created the religious educational system of 'Lamaism') and Atisha, former Chancellor of Vikramashila Univerity, who launched a massive effort to translate Buddhist Sanskrit works into Tibetan. From then on, Tibet became the real repository of India's historic Buddhist legacy as it had evolved upto the middle of the 11th cty, as most Buddhist monasteries and universities in India were destroyed by about this time by Afghan invaders.

Just when Tibet was being transformed from a warring, conglomeration of tribes to a peaceful monastic nation, the great Buddhist city of Pagan was being built as capital of Burma's first empire and the Buddhist architectural marvel at Borobuddur (central Java) was being raised by the Sailendra Kings. 
The period between the 11th and 13th centuries saw Afghan Marauders frequently invading India to plunder temples and royal treasuries, and European Christian nations launching Crusades to retrieve the Holy Land from Seljuk Turks. There apparently was a "Clash of Civilizations" between Hinduism, Christianity and Islam. Yet, amazingly, it was at this very time that Islam was undergoing a radical internal transformation through Sufism towards compassion and non -violence. Though some claim Sufism is as old Islam itself and originated with the transcendental mental state in which Prophet Mohammed received Divine revelation, it actually sprouted as a distinct doctrine with the Baghdadi woman ascetic Rabiah (d. 801 AD) who spoke of union with the Divine through love and total internal surrender. Hasan Al Mansur, a century later, carried forward this doctrine. However the real flowering of Sufism and its widespread acceptance within the "ummah" came with Al Ghazali (d. 1111) and Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1275). Sufism urges striving for Divine union through love, total internal surrender to God and respect for all religions. For them 'Love is Action; Action is Knowledge; Knowledge is Truth; Truth is Love'. From their practice of constantly meditating Sufis {so called because of the rough clothing ('suf') they wore} became known as "those who always weep" and consider this world "a hut of sorrows." Karen Armstrong, in her book 'Islam - A Short History' writes "When a Sufi first heard the Divine call, he or she became aware of their painful separation from the source of all being. The mystical journey was simply a return to what is truly natural to humanity, a doctrine very similar to that held by Buddhists. Sufism remained a fringe movement during the Abbasid period, but later Sufi masters would create an esoteric movement which would captivate the majority of Moslems." It is notable that many Sufi Pirs (masters), including Jalaluddin Rumi, emerged out of Afghanistan, where Buddhism had flourished for over a thousand years from Ashoka's time to Islam's arrival in the 7th century AD. Also notable is that though Prophet Mohammed had affirmed there should be "no monaticism in Islam" Sufis set up monastic orders. Sufism achieved great influence in India during Akbar's reign. This Emperor became an ardent devotee of the Sufi Pir Salim Chisti and built a special mosque for him in the wilderness where he lived. Sufi Islam spread to Indonesia and other parts of South East Asia from India. This accounts for Islam's non dogmatic and highly tolerant character in these countries. 

In the early 13th century the warlike Mongols, led by their greatly feared leader Chengiz Khan, emerged out of the remote Mongolian grasslands to conquer the world. Between 1207 - 1258 he, his sons and grandsons overthrew the Kin, Kwarasmian, Chinese and Abbasid Empires and conquered all kingdoms and lands from northern China to Hungary. The speed and cruelty of their campaigns struck terror into the hearts of all in their path. In 1275, having overthrown the Sung Empire in southern China, Kublai Khan, grandson of Chengiz Khan, became Emperor of China. His empire extended from the South China sea to the Baltic Sea. 

Whereas Kublai Khan had all the power and grandeur he desired he lacked legitimacy in the eyes of the Chinese people most of whom were as Buddhist as they were Confucian. He therefore decided to invite the revered abbot of the Tibetan Sakya Monastery, to bless his regime. When said Abbot visited Peking in 1282 he was accorded the highest honours. He reciprocated by blessing the Mongol regime and proclaiming Kublai Khan an incarnation of the Bodhisattva 'Manjushri'. The latter then appointed Phagspa, an important Tibetan monk as 'Teacher of the Realm'. He actively promoted Buddhism all over the empire but particularly in China where he whittled down the privileges of the Taoists who were his main rivals. 

It was during the reign of Khublai Khan that Buddhism took root in Mongolia , and within a century transformed that country and its people, like it had done five hundred years earlier in Tibet, from their nomadic, cruel way of life into a monastic, pastoral and peaceful one. 
When the Mongol dynasty was overthrown by the Mings, Karakoram, the Mongol capital, was sacked (1388). Much damage was done to its Buddhist monasteries, stupas and sacred literature. However, a major religious revival took place under the Mongol King Altan Khan, who in 1578 invited the head Lama of the Drepung Monastery, Sonam Gyatso to visit Mongolia. When said visit took place he bestowed the title of 'Dalai Lama' on this abbot. Thereafter his successors have carried the same title. The first important step in translating sacred scripture from Tibetan to Mongolian, was taken by Sonam Gara, with 'Subhasitaratnonidhi'. By the early 17th cty., over 330 canonical works had been translated. Today there are several dozen Buddhist monasteries in Mongolia all of which have become quite active after the collapse of Communism. Among these the Gandanthekcheling is most renowned.