Buddhism originated in ancient India around the sixth-fifth centuries BC. That wasa period of social and religious turmoil， roughly coinciding with the time between theSpring and Autumn Period （770-476 BC） and the Warring States Period （475-221BC） in Chinese history when various schools of thought （like Confucianism， Legalism，Mohism， etc） and their exponents came to the fore. Religiously， Brahmanism had nolonger met the needs of the society， and new Shramanic sects emerged. Politically， therewere 16 kingdoms contending for hegemony in the Ganges-Yamuna river basin， andin the end Magadha rose to prominence under a number of dynasties， peaking with theMaurya Dynasty that unified most of the Indian subcontinent in the middle of the thirdcentury BC.. The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into four phases： PrimevalBuddhism， Sectarian （Theravada or "Hinayana"） Buddhism， Mahayana Buddhism，and Tantric Buddhism. After a long time of evolution， it eventually developed into acolossal， all-embracing religious system represented by a vast collection of scrolls ofBuddhist scripture， which is fundamentally different from Judaism， Christianity andIslamism all based on one sacred book.
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