Buddhism was not a religion of large-scale missionary culture. For centuries, the Buddha's teachings spread peacefully and heterogeneously across the Indian subcontinent, and from there to all of Asia. With each new culture it reached, Buddhist methods and styles were being modified to fit the local mentality without compromising the essential points of wisdom and compassion.
The spread of Buddhism was spontaneously carried out by the Buddhists, who voluntarily followed Buddha's instructions. In some cases the expansion took place organically, because of the interest of the population in the beliefs of foreign Buddhist merchants who crossed the water and spread the Buddhist values. In other cases, rulers adopted Buddhism in order to help develop ethical values ​​in their people.
It should be emphasized here that the message of Buddha did not have any coercive or compulsory aspect; on the contrary, the Buddha's message was simply helping other people overcome inner unhappiness and suffering.