A dramatic shift happened in Buddhism roughly 500 years after the historical Buddha. This dramatic shift is the rise of what is called Mahayana Buddhism or the Great Vehicle of Buddhism. This thought perhaps emerged in Kashmir and Afghanistan and spread to China, where it was patronised by the local kings, especially the Tang dynasty in the 7th century, and eventually spread to Japan.

The fundamental difference between Mahayana Buddhism and the older school of Buddhism is that it had a far more optimistic view of life. The older school, or the 'Theravada' school or the 'Abhidhamma' school, saw the world as a place of suffering and expected people to give up desires through the practice of meditation. The Mahayana practitioners argued that through adoration and veneration of the Buddha, one is saved from the world of suffering and taken to a happy place known as 'Buddha-kshetra'. Contemplation is replaced by veneration, and more than cessation of suffering, there is hope of happiness.