[Cronos]

A bit off:
1. Buddhism WAS popular in India and spread over the entire country during the rule of Ashoka the great who ruled over nearly all of what is now India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and eastern Iran. But this decayed under later kings as Buddhism relied initially on state patronage
2. Yes and no about the non-veg --> Buddhists were encouraged not to eat it and the Buddha stayed away from it (but didn't say to do the same), and died of eating spoiled meat.

[SunkenCiv]

Ashoka spread Buddhism by the sword, which kinda summons up Kevin Kline’s character in “A Fish Called Wanda”.

Buddha died from eating bad mushrooms, but he was also 80 years old and had fasted off an on for decades after he sought enlightenment by abandoning his wife and child.