Buddhism first arrived in the Korean lands via Goguryeo, which had imported it from the neighboring Chinese. It entered Goguryeo in 372 CE, then Baekje in 384 CE, and finally Shilla in 527 CE. This new religion had a profound impact upon the cultural development of the Korean kingdoms and the legacy of this impact remains a part of Korean culture today. As is often the case of a new religion entering new lands, the spread of Buddhist teachings into Korean culture met with some resistance, particularly among the aristocracy. Eventually, Buddhism became integrated into the Korean context and was established as a state religion in each of the three kingdoms. Rulers were quick to utilize this new religion as a means of justifying their rule and filling the spiritual gap that the ancient shamanstic traditions did not cover.
Early on, Buddhism as a religion of the aristocracy enabled the ruling class of each kingdom to devise a philosophical, social, and spiritual justification to create a fully-functioning and well-ordered state society. As Buddhism spread quickly among the Korean peoples, it underwent a great degree of localization. Since Buddhism does not elaborate on deities or deity veneration, Buddhist ideas eventually integrated with that of local religions and thus people followed Buddhist principles and philosophy while continuing and maintaining their traditions. Early Buddhist converts were able to reconcile their traditional beliefs with that of their newly adopted religion. While local shamanistic beliefs provided spiritual explanations for the forces of nature, Buddhism offered a means to explain the afterlife.
The type of Buddhism that entered and spread through East Asia and the Korean lands is referred to as "Mahayana" (the "Greater Vehicle"), although this is a very general term as "Mahayana" encompasses a great variety of schools of thought including Pure Land and Cheontae. Mahayana is referred to as "Daeseung" 대승 in Korea. While this term refers to many different forms of Buddhism, those under the umbrella of "Mahayana" mostly typically focus on the path of the Bodhisattva, an individual who follows the Buddhist path, but delays his or her enlightenment to help others, and incorporates other pieces of literature such as the sutras as part of the doctrine. Mahayana "sects" (again, "sect" is a very general term) may or may not closely follow the Tipitika, the "Three Baskets" - the Vinaya Pitika, the Sutta Pitika, and the Abhidhamma Pitika - that serve as the canon of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. Often, it is the case that sutras, which Mahayanists believe to be hidden sermons of Siddharta Guatama, the historical Buddha, that are more emphasized in Mahayana tradition.
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