Buddhism was divided into two main branches as it began spread worldwide.
Buddhism, like many other religions, began to evolve over time and developed into many district groups. These different groups came from the same original doctrine of Buddhism but differ in teachings and the philosophy of how to become enlightened to the truth. Buddhism was divided into two main branches as it began spread worldwide. One stream (Mahayana) made its way from India to China, Mongolia, Central Asia, and then came to Japan via the Korean Peninsula during the 6th century. The other branch (Theravada) took course to the south as it moved from Burma to Thailand via Sri Lanka in the 11th century.