History of Buddhism in India
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Buddhism is an ancient Indian religion, which arose in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha (now in Bihar, India), and is based on the teachings of Gautama Buddha[note 1] who was deemed a "Buddha" ("Awakened One"[3]), although Buddhist doctrine holds that there were other Buddhas before him. Buddhism spread outside of Magadha starting in the Buddha's lifetime.
During the reign of the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, the Buddhist community split into two branches: the Mahāsāṃghika and the Sthaviravāda, each of which spread throughout India and split into numerous sub-sects.[4] In modern times, two major branches of Buddhism exist: the Theravada in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and the Mahayana throughout the Himalayas and East Asia. The Buddhist tradition of Vajrayana is sometimes classified as a part of Mahayana Buddhism, but some scholars consider it to be a different branch altogether.[5]
The practice of Buddhism lost influence in India around the 7th century CE, after the collapse of the
Background
Gautama Buddha
According to tradition, as recorded in the Pali Canon and the Agamas, Siddhārtha Gautama attained
According to tradition, in the Deer Park in
) was completed.For the remaining years of his life, the Buddha is said to have travelled in the
Buddha died in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India.[8][9] Modern historians place his death, according to tradition at the age of 80, in the decades around 400 BC, several decades later than the date in Buddhist tradition.
Adherents
Followers of Buddhism, called Buddhists in English, referred to themselves as Saugata.
Early developments
Early Buddhist Councils
The Buddha did not appoint any successor, and asked his followers to work toward liberation following the instructions he had left. The teachings of the Buddha existed only in oral traditions. The Sangha held a number of Buddhist councils in order to reach consensus on matters of Buddhist doctrine and practice.
- The Second Buddhist Council is said to have taken place at Vaiśālī. Its purpose was to deal with questionable monastic practices like the use of money, the drinking of palm wine, and other irregularities; the council declared these practices unlawful.
- What is commonly called the Moggaliputta Tissa, it was held in order to rid the sangha of the large number of monks who had joined the order because of its royal patronage. Most scholars now believe this council was exclusively Theravada, and that the dispatch of missionaries to various countries at about this time had nothing to do with it.
- What is often called the Sarvastivādaschool.
Early Buddhism Schools
The Early Buddhist Schools were the various schools in which
- .
- Dharmaguptaka: followed in China, Korea, Vietnam, and Taiwan.
- Mūlasarvāstivāda: followed in Tibetan Buddhism.
The Dharmaguptakas made more efforts than any other sect to spread Buddhism outside India, to areas such as
During the early period of
Early Buddhist schools in India often divided modes of Buddhist practice into several "vehicles" (yāna). For example, the Vaibhāṣika Sarvāstivādins are known to have employed the outlook of Buddhist practice as consisting of the Three Vehicles:[21]
- Śrāvakayāna
- Pratyekabuddhayāna
- Bodhisattvayāna
Mahayana
Several scholars have suggested that the
The earliest Mahayana sūtras to include the very first versions of the Prajnaparamita genre, along with texts concerning
Anthony Barber and Sree Padma note that "historians of Buddhist thought have been aware for quite some time that such pivotally important Mahayana Buddhist thinkers as
Vajrayana
Various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and
Strengthening
The early spread of Buddhism
In the sixth and fifth centuries BC, economic development made the merchant class increasingly important. Merchants were attracted to Buddhist teachings, which contrasted with existing Brahmin religious practice. The latter focussed on the social position of the Brahmin caste to the exclusion of the interests of other classes.
Ashoka and the Mauryan Empire
The
Emperor Ashoka the Great (304 BC–232 BC) was the ruler of the Mauryan Empire from 273 BC to 232 BC. Ashoka reigned over most of India after a series of military campaigns. Emperor Ashoka's kingdom stretched from South Asia and beyond, from present-day parts of Afghanistan in the north and Balochistan in the west, to Bengal and Assam in the east, and as far south as Mysore.
According to legend, emperor Ashoka was overwhelmed by guilt after the conquest of
In 2018, excavations in Lalitgiri in Odisha by the Archaeological Survey of India revealed four monasteries along with ancient seals and inscriptions which show cultural continuity from post-Mauryan period to 13 century AD. In Ratnagiri and Konark in Odisha, Buddhist history as discovered in Lalitagiri is also shared. A museum has been made to preserve the ancient history and was inaugurated recently[when?] by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[41]
Graeco-Bactrians, Sakas and Indo-Parthians
By 90 BC,
Kushan Empire
The Kusana or Kushan Empire ruled large parts of north India from about 60 to 270 AD, as well as the strongly Buddhist region of Gandhara, including much of modern Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kushan rulers were supporters of Buddhist institutions, and built numerous stupas and monasteries. Some of their coins showed an image of Buddha. During this period, Gandharan Buddhism spread through the trade routes protected by the Kushans, out through the Khyber Pass into Central Asia. Gandharan Buddhist art styles also spread outward from Gandhara to other parts of Asia.
The monarchs of the next major dynasty, the Gupta Empire, with its peak c. 319 to 467, were Hindus, and the decline of Buddhism, especially in the west of north India, probably began in this period.
The Pala and Sena era
Under the kings of the
During this period [Pala dynasty] Mahayana Buddhism reached its zenith of sophistication, while tantric Buddhism flourished throughout India and surrounding lands. This was also a key period for the consolidation of the epistemological-logical (pramana) school of Buddhist philosophy. Apart from the many foreign pilgrims who came to India at this time, especially from China and Tibet, there was a smaller but important flow of Indian pandits who made their way to Tibet...
— Damien Keown, [42]
Dharma masters
-
Bodhidharma lived during the 5th or 6th century and is traditionally credited as the transmitter of Chan Buddhism to China.
-
Padmasambhava lived during the 8th-century and is credited for the construction of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at Samye.
Indian ascetics (Skt. śramaṇa) propagated Buddhism in various regions, including East Asia and Central Asia.
In the Edicts of Ashoka, Ashoka mentions the Hellenistic kings of the period as a recipient of his Buddhist proselytism.
- ("The sramana master from Barygazain India")
The Indian
In 580, Indian monk
Indian monk
to propagate Buddhism.Decline
The decline of Buddhism has been attributed to various factors. Regardless of the religious beliefs of their kings, states usually treated all the important sects relatively even-handedly.[51] This consisted of building monasteries and religious monuments, donating property such as the income of villages for the support of monks, and exempting donated property from taxation. Donations were most often made by private persons such as wealthy merchants and female relatives of the royal family, but there were periods when the state also gave its support and protection. In the case of Buddhism, this support was particularly important because of its high level of organization and the reliance of monks on donations from the laity. State patronage of Buddhism took the form of land grant foundations.[52]
Numerous copper plate inscriptions from India as well as Tibetan and Chinese texts suggest that the patronage of Buddhism and Buddhist monasteries in medieval India was interrupted in periods of war and political change, but broadly continued in Hindu kingdoms from the start of the common era through early 2nd millennium CE.[53][54][55] Modern scholarship and recent translations of Tibetan and Sanskrit Buddhist text archives, preserved in Tibetan monasteries, suggest that through much of the 1st millennium CE in medieval India (and Tibet as well as other parts of China), Buddhist monks owned property and were actively involved in trade and other economic activity, after joining a Buddhist monastery.[56][57]
With the Gupta dynasty (~4th to 6th century), the growth in ritualistic Mahayana Buddhism, mutual influence between Hinduism and Buddhism,[58] the differences between Buddhism and Hinduism blurred, and Vaishnavism, Shaivism and other Hindu traditions became increasingly popular, and Brahmins developed a new relationship with the state.[59] As the system grew, Buddhist monasteries gradually lost control of land revenue. In parallel, the Gupta kings built Buddhist temples such as the one at Kushinagara,[60][61] and monastic universities such as those at Nalanda, as evidenced by records left by three Chinese visitors to India.[62][63][64]
According to Hazra, Buddhism declined in part because of the rise of the Brahmins and their influence in socio-political process.[65] According to Randall Collins, Richard Gombrich and other scholars, Buddhism's rise or decline is not linked to Brahmins or the caste system, since Buddhism was "not a reaction to the caste system", but aimed at the salvation of those who joined its monastic order.[66][67][68]
The 11th century Persian traveller
According to some scholars such as Lars Fogelin, the decline of Buddhism may be related to economic reasons, wherein the Buddhist monasteries with large land grants focused on non-material pursuits, self-isolation of the monasteries, loss in internal discipline in the sangha, and a failure to efficiently operate the land they owned.[55][72]
The Hun invasions
Chinese scholars travelling through the region between the 5th and 8th centuries, such as
Muslim conquerors
The
In the north-western parts of medieval India, the Himalayan regions, as well regions bordering central Asia, Buddhism had facilitated trade relations, states Lars Fogelin. With the Islamic invasion and expansion, and central Asians adopting Islam, the trade route-derived financial support sources and the economic foundations of Buddhist monasteries declined, on which the survival and growth of Buddhism was based.[72][78] The arrival of Islam removed the royal patronage to the monastic tradition of Buddhism, and the replacement of Buddhists in long-distance trade by the Muslims eroded the related sources of patronage.[77][78]
In the Gangetic plains, Odisha, northeast and the southern regions of India, Buddhism survived through the early centuries of the 2nd millennium.[72] The Islamic invasion plundered wealth and destroyed Buddhist images,[79] and consequent take over of land holdings of Buddhist monasteries removed one source of necessary support for the Buddhists, while the economic upheaval and new taxes on laity sapped the laity support of Buddhist monks.[72]
Monasteries and institutions such as Nalanda were abandoned by Buddhist monks or destroyed from the 8th through 15th centuries, who were forced to flee to escape the invading Muslim army, after which the site decayed over the Islamic rule in India that followed.[81][82]
The last empire to support Buddhism, the
Surviving Buddhists
Many Indian Buddhists fled south. It is known that Buddhists continued to exist in India even after the 14th century from texts such as the Chaitanya Charitamrita. This text outlines an episode in the life of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533), a Vaishnava saint, who was said to have entered into a debate with Buddhists in Tamil Nadu.[86]
The Tibetan
Buddhism also survived to the modern era in Himalayan regions such as Ladakh, with close ties to Tibet.[90] A unique tradition survives in Nepal's Newar Buddhism. The most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in India, in particular Bodh Gaya, continued to receive pilgrims from outside India throughout the medieval and modern periods, which are now greatly increased with easier air travel.
In Bihar and Bengal, many Buddhist shrines and temples have remained intact with the Buddha or Bodhisattva inside, being appropriated and worshipped as a Brahmanical deity. Around the neighbourhood of Nalanda, the remains of votive stupas are worshipped as Shiva lingas. An image of the Buddha in bhūmisparśa mudrā at the village of Telhara receives full-fledged pūjā as Hanuman during Rama Navami. A sculpture of the Buddha has ended up as Vāsudeva at Gunaighar in Comilla.[91]
-
Tawang Monastery in Arunachal Pradesh, was built in the 1600s, is the largest monastery in India and second largest in the world after the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet.
-
Rumtek Monastery in Sikkim was built under the direction of Changchub Dorje, 12th Karmapa Lama in the mid-1700s.[93]
Causes within the Buddhist tradition of the time
Some scholars suggest that a part of the decline of Buddhist monasteries was because it was detached from everyday life in India and did not participate in the ritual social aspects such as the rites of passage (marriage, funeral, birth of child) like other religions.[77]
Revival
Maha Bodhi Society
The modern revival of Buddhism in India began in the late nineteenth century, led by
A central figure of this movement was Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala, who founded the Maha Bodhi Society in 1891.[95] An important focus of the Maha Bodhi Society's activities in India became the recovery, conservation and restoration of important Buddhist sites, such as Bodh Gaya and its Mahabodhi temple.[94] Dharmapāla and the society promoted the building of Buddhist vihāras and temples in India, including the one at Sarnath, the place of Buddha's first sermon. Dharmapāla died in 1933, the same year he was ordained a bhikkhu.[95]
Following
Important Indian Buddhist intellectuals of the modern period include Rahul Sankrityayan (1893-1963), Dharmanand Kosambi (1876-1941) and Bhadant Anand Kausalyayan.[98] The Bengal Buddhist Kripasaran Mahasthavir (1865-1926) founded the Bengal Buddhist Association in 1892. In Tamil Nadu, the Tamil Iyothee Thass (1845-1914) was a major figure who promoted Buddhism and called the Paraiyars to convert.[99]
The Indian government and the states have continued to promote the development of Buddhist pilgrimage sites ("the Buddhist Circuit"), both as a source of tourism and as a promotion of India's Buddhist heritage which is an important cultural resource for India's foreign diplomatic ties.[100] In 2010, the Nalanda University was established in Bihar.[101]
Dalit Buddhist movement
In the 1950s, the
The conversion movement has generally been limited to certain social demographics, such as the Mahar caste of Maharashtra and the Jatavs.[103] Although they have renounced Hinduism in practice, a community survey showed adherence to many practices of the old faith including endogamy, worshipping the traditional family deity etc.[104]
Major organizations of this movement are the Buddhist Society of India (the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha) and the Triratna Buddhist Community (the Triratna Bauddha Mahasangha).[105]
Tibetan Buddhism
The Dalai Lama's brother, Gyalo Thondup, himself lives in
Vipassana movement
The
Culture
Communities
Himalayan hill region.- Beda people: The Beda people are a Buddhist community of the Indian union territory of Ladakh, where they practise their traditional occupation of musicianship.
- Theravada Buddhism.[110]
- Bhotiya
- Bhutia
- Bodh people
- Bugun
- Chakma people
- Chugpa tribe
- Gurung people
- Khamba people
- Khamti people
- Khamyang people
- Lepcha people
- Lishipa tribe
- Mahar
- Marathi Buddhists
- Na people
- Rakhine people
- Sherpa people
- Tai Phake people
- Tamang people
Festivals
Indian Buddhists celebrate many festivals.
- viharas, and local statues commemorating Ambedkar are carried in procession with a lot of fanfare.[114]
- Dhammachakra Pravartan Day is celebrated to mark the conversion to Buddhism of Ambedkar and approximately 600,000 followers on 14 October 1956 at Deekshabhoomi.[115] Every year on Ashoka Vijayadashami, millions of Buddhists gather at Deekshabhoomi to celebrate the mass conversion. Many Buddhists also visit local Buddhist sites there to celebrate the festival. Every year on that day thousands of people embrace Buddhism.[116]
- Buddha Purnima Is celebrated by both Buddhists and non-Buddhists in India. It is believed to be a festival celebrating the adoption of the teachings of Siddharata Gautama. On this day Indian Buddhists wear white clothes and meditate, and are supposed to only consume vegetarian food. Mahabodhi Temple is a popular attraction during this time period.[117]
Branches
According to an IndiaSpend analysis of 2011 Census data, there are more than 8.4 million Buddhists in India of whom 87% are neo-Buddhists or Navayana Buddhists. They are converted from other religions, mostly
Demographics
Year | Percent | Increase |
---|---|---|
1951 | 0.05% | - |
1961 | 0.74% | +0.69% |
1971 | 0.70% | -0.04% |
1981 | 0.71% | +0.01% |
1991 | 0.76% | +0.05% |
2001 | 0.77% | +0.01% |
2011 | 0.70% | -0.07% |
The Buddhist percentage has decreased from 0.74% in 1961 to 0.70% in 2011.[120] Between 2001 and 2011, the Buddhist population declined in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Delhi, and Punjab.[121]
According to the
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1951 | 180,823 | — |
1961 | 3,250,227 | +1697.5% |
1971 | 3,812,325 | +17.3% |
1981 | 4,720,000 | +23.8% |
1991 | 6,388,000 | +35.3% |
2001 | 7,955,207 | +24.5% |
2011 | 8,442,972 | +6.1% |
Source: Census of India |
In the 1951 census of India, 181,000 (0.05%) respondents said they were Buddhist.
The majority (92%) of the people in the Chakma Autonomous region in Mizoram follows Theravada Buddhism.[127]
Census of India, 2011
State and union territory | Buddhist Population (approximate) | Buddhist Population (%) | % of total Buddhists |
---|---|---|---|
Maharashtra | 6,531,200 | 5.81% | 77.36% |
West Bengal | 282,898 | 0.31% | 3.35% |
Madhya Pradesh | 216,052 | 0.30% | 2.56% |
Uttar Pradesh | 206,285 | 0.10% | 2.44% |
Sikkim | 167,216 | 27.39% | 1.98% |
Arunachal Pradesh | 162,815 | 11.77% | 1.93% |
Tripura | 125,385 | 3.41% | 1.49% |
Jammu and Kashmir (before 2019 formation of Ladakh) | 112,584 | 0.90% | 1.33% |
Ladakh (formed 2019) | 108,761 | 39.65% | 1.29% |
See also
- Barua Buddhist Institutes in India and Bangladesh
- Buddhism in Himachal Pradesh
- Buddhism in Kashmir
- Buddhism in North Karnataka
- Index of Buddhism-related articles
- List of converts to Buddhism from Hinduism
- Lord Buddha TV
- Sambuddhatva jayanthi
- Surai Sasai
Notes
References
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- ^ Smith, Vincent A. (1914). The Early History of India from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest Including the Invasion of Alexander the Great (3rd ed.). London: Oxford University Press. pp. 168–169. Archived from the original on 11 November 2021. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
- ^ Monier-Williams, Monier. Dictionary of Sanskrit. OUP. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
- ^ Akira Hirakawa, Paul Groner, A history of Indian Buddhism: from Śākyamuni to early Mahāyāna. Reprint published by Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1993, page 2.
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- ^ P. 178 The Vision of Dhamma: Buddhist Writings of Nyanaponika Thera By Nyanaponika (Thera), Erich Fromm
- ISBN 0-415-54444-0. pg 33. "Donors adopted Sakyamuni Buddha's family name to assert their legitimacy as his heirs, both institutionally and ideologically. To take the name of Sakya was to define oneself by one's affiliation with the Buddha, somewhat like calling oneself a Buddhist today."
- ^ Sakya or Buddhist Origins by Caroline Rhys Davids (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1931) pg 1. "Put away the word "Buddhism" and think of your subject as "Sakya." This will at once place you for your perspective at a true point . . You are now concerned to learn less about 'Buddha' and 'Buddhism,' and more about him whom India has ever known as Sakya-muni, and about his men who, as their records admit, were spoken of as the Sakya-sons, or men of the Sakyas."
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- ^ Curators of the Buddha By Donald S. Lopez. University of Chicago Press. pg 7
- ISBN 0-415-54444-0. pg 33. Quote: [Bauddha is] "a secondary derivative of Buddha, in which the vowel's lengthening indicates connection or relation. Things that are bauddha pertain to the Buddha, just as things-saiva relate to Shiva and things-Vaisnava belong to Vishnu. (...) bauddha can be both adjectival and nominal; it can be used for doctrines spoken by the Buddha, objects enjoyed by him, texts attributed to him, as well as individuals, communities, and societies that offer him reverence or accept ideologies certified through his name. Strictly speaking, Sakya is preferable to bauddha since the latter is not attested at Ajanta. In fact, as a collective noun, bauddha is an outsider's term. The bauddha did not call themselves this in India, though they did sometimes use the word adjectivally (e.g., as a possessive, the Buddha's)."
- ^ Williams, Mahayana Buddhism, Routledge, 1989, page 6
- ^ the Teaching of Vimalakīrti, Pali Text Society, page XCIII
- ^ Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. 2000. p. 278
- ^ Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. 2000. p. 281
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- ^ Williams, Paul. Buddhist Thought. Routledge, 2000, pages 131.
- ^ Williams, Paul. Mahayana Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations 2nd edition. Routledge, 2009, pg. 47.
- ^ Guang Xing. The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory. 2004. pp. 65–66 "Several scholars have suggested that the Prajnāparamita probably developed among the Mahasamghikas in Southern India, in the Andhra country, on the Krishna River."
- ^ Akira, Hirakawa (translated and edited by Paul Groner) (1993). A History of Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: pp. 253, 263, 268
- ^ "The south (of India) was then vigorously creative in producing Mahayana Sutras" – Warder, A.K. (3rd edn. 1999). Indian Buddhism: p. 335.
- ^ Guang Xing. The Concept of the Buddha: Its Evolution from Early Buddhism to the Trikaya Theory. 2004. pp. 65–66
- ^ Warder, A.K. Indian Buddhism. 2000. p. 313
- ^ Padma, Sree. Barber, Anthony W. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra. SUNY Press 2008, pg. 1.
- ^ Padma, Sree. Barber, Anthony W. Buddhism in the Krishna River Valley of Andhra. SUNY Press 2008, pg. 2.
- ^ Akira, Hirakawa (translated and edited by Paul Groner) (1993). A History of Indian Buddhism. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass: p. 252, 253
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- ^ Sanderson, Alexis. "The Shaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Shaivism during the Early Medieval Period." In: Genesis and Development of Tantrism, edited by Shingo Einoo. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009. Institute of Oriental Culture Special Series, 23, pp. 129-131.
- ^ Sanderson, Alexis. "The Shaiva Age: The Rise and Dominance of Shaivism during the Early Medieval Period." In: Genesis and Development of Tantrism, edited by Shingo Einoo. Tokyo: Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo, 2009. Institute of Oriental Culture Special Series, 23, pp. 144-145.
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- ^ "Merchants proved to be an efficient vector of the Buddhist faith, as they established diaspora communities in the string of oasis towns-Merv, Bukhara, Samarkand, Kashgar, Khotan, Kuqa, Turpan, Dunhuang – that served as lifeline of the silk roads through central Asia." Jerry Bentley, Old World Encounters: Cross-Cultural Contacts and Exchanges in Pre-Modern Times (New York: Oxford University Press, 1993), 47-48.
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- Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pāṇḍyas, and as far as Tāmraparṇi." (Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika)
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Further reading
- Dutt, Nalinaksha (1998). Buddhist Sects in India. New Delhi: ISBN 81-208-0427-9.
- ISBN 978-81-85990-74-3.
- ISBN 978-1-85168-186-0.
- Peeters Press.