Decline of Buddhism in India

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From Buddhist Encyclopedia

Buddhism was initially established in India and it flourished there during the early phases of its history. After more than 1500 years, the decline of Buddhism in India, caused by several factors, would lead to the virtual extinction of Indian Buddhism by the beginning of the 13th century, with the exception of some pockets.

Integration with life in India

Following the reign of Emperor Ashoka the Great 273-232 BC]), Buddhism had prospered quite well throughout India. However when bereft of political power, it declined. The Sunga king Pusyamitra Sunga (around 185 BCE) was is said to have persecuted Buddhist monks (Shramanas), setting a bounty of 100 gold coins on every buddhist and Jain monks head and the destruction of many stupas. However other Sungas supported Buddhism, the stupa at Bharhut was constructed during the Shunga period. By the 4th to 5th century Buddhism was already in decline in northern India, even as it was achieving multiple successes in Central Asia and along the Silk Road as far as China. In India it found strong ideological opposition for its monastic system. As political patronage failed it came under increasing pressure by Hinduism.

In the 9th CE the Vaishnavas identified the Buddha as an avatāra of the Hindu god Vishnu – which contradicted basic Buddhist understandings about the nature of a Buddha and of nirvāna. Shakyamuni Buddha was often revered as one of the gods, and eventually came to be interpreted as a manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu.

However, even though there was integration of ideas, the Buddhist sangha was a separate world from the predominant Hindu society. Buddhist monasteries were quite well-funded and life within was relatively easy. To avoid freeloading, many monasteries became very selective about whom they admitted, in some cases based on social class. This further cut off the sangha from Indian society.

Political and military developments

In the Indian sub-continent, ever since the 1st Century BC political opposition from the surrounding Hindu Kingdoms became severe and even in regions of Buddhist preponderance, one often found the Indian caste system in operation such as the northwest (Pañjāb) and the lower Gangetic plain (Uttar Pradesh and Bengal). In political contests between Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms, Buddhist rulers were gradually replaced by Hindu ones. By the 4th to 5th century Buddhism was already in decline in northern India, even though it was achieving multiple successes in Central Asia and along the Silk Road as far as China.

After the end of the Mauryans the Sunga dynasty came to power and was hostile to Buddhism. By the 4th to 5th century Buddhism was already in decline in Northern India even though it saw a brief revival under the Guptas in contrast to its countinuing spread eastwards in Central Asia. It continued to prosper in Gandhara under the buddhist Turki-Shahis. Buddhism spread was driven by powerful monarchs who adopted and supported it, lacking political support it began to decline.

Central Asian and North Western Indian Buddhism weakened in the 6th century following the White Hun invasion who followed their own religions such as Tengri, Nestorian Christianity and Manichean. Their King Mihirkula who ruled from 515 BC suppressed Buddhism destroying monasteries as far as modern-day Allahabad before his son reversed the policy.

Xuanzang reports in his travels across India during the 7th century of Buddhism being popular in Andhra, Dhanyakataka]], and Dravida which today roughly correspond to the modern day Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu [1] while reporting many deserted stupas in the area around modern day Nepal and the persecution of buddhists by Ssanka in the Kingdom of Gouda. (In modern day West Bengal.) Xuanzang compliments the patronage of Harshavardana during this same period while noting in his travels that in various regions Buddhism was giving way to Jainism and Hinduism.[2]

In the North and west after Harshavardana's kingdom the rise of many small kingdoms led to the rise of the Rajputs across the gangetic plains and marked the end of Buddhist ruling clans along with a sharp decline in royal patronage until a revival under the Pala Empire in the Bengal region. Subsequently the replacement of Buddhist royal lines with Hindu royals and the rise of Rajput dynasties further pressured the official sanction of Buddhism.

When Muhammad bin Qasim led the invasion of Sindh he actually found ready help among the Buddhists who helped his cross the river in his campaign against their Hindu overlord the Raja Dahir. Buddhist commentators would remark upon these events as a comeuppance for the Hindus, especially Brahmins while lamenting the effects of Muslim military expeditions on themselves. Beyond the direct political effects, these invasions also impeded commercial ties to the west, weakening the merchant classes who tended to sponsor Buddhism [3].

In the 10th century Mahmud of Ghazni defeated the Hindu-Shahis effectively removing Hindu influence and ending Buddhist self-governance across Central Asia and the Punjab region. He demolished numerous monasteries alongside temples during his raid across north-western India but left those within his domains and Afghanistan alone even as al-Biruni recorded Buddha as the prophet "burxan".

In the south of India while there was no overt persecution of Buddhists at least two Pallava rulers Simhavarma and Trilochana are known to have destroyed Buddhist stupas and built Hindu temples in their place. Furthermore a vigorous Hindu revival which incorporated in Vaishnavite Hinduism the concept of Buddha as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu[4] led to a sharp decline of Buddhism.

In the east under the Palas in Bengal Mahayana Buddhism flourished and spread to Bhutan and Sikkim. The Palas created many temples and a distinctive school of Buddhist art. Mahayana Buddhism flourished under the Palas, between the 8th and the 12th century before it collapsed under assault from the Hindu Sena dynasty. In 1200 Muhammad Khilji, one of Qutb-ud-Din's generals, destroyed monasteries fortified by the Sena armies such as Vikramshila, and sacked the great Buddhist university of Nalanda in 1193; his march across Northern India was a major milestone in Indian Buddhism's sudden decline, as he devastated the last vestiges of Buddhist political prowess and resistance by laying waste their fortified monasteries.

In 1215 Genghis Khan conquered Afghanistan and ravaged the land indiscriminately, in 1227 after his death his conquest was divided and Hulagu Khan established the Il-Khanate where his son Arghun made Buddhism the state religion during which time he came down harshly on Islam and demolished mosques and built many stupas. He was succeeded by his brother, then his son Ghazan who in 1295 converted to Islam and changed the state religion. After this reign little mention of Buddhism or the stupas built by the Mongols can be found in Afghanistan and Central Asia.[5]

After the Mongol invasions of Islamic lands across Central Asia, many Sufis also found themselves fleeing towards India and around the environs of Bengal. Here their influence, caste attitudes towards Buddhists, previous familiarity with converting Buddhists, a lack of Buddhist political power, Hinduism's revival movements such as Advaita and the rise of the syncretic bhakti movement, all contributed to a significant realignment of beliefs relegating Buddhism in India to the peripheries.

Decline

While the exact cause of the decline of Buddhism in India is disputed, it is known that the mingling of Hindu and Buddhist societies in India and the rise of Hindu Vedanta movements began to compete against Buddhism. Many believe that Hinduism's adaptation to Buddhism resulted in Buddhism's rapid decline while others point to the aggressive attitudes adopted by various Hindu kings. Particularly important were Hinduism's revival movements such as the adotion of the Buddha into the Hindu pantheon, Advaita Vedanta and the Bhakti movement, both of which showed the influence of Buddhist thought. Buddhism's influence on Bhakti movement in particular emphasized more Buddhist concepts of spiritual merit rather than caste as well as the Mahayana Buddhist concepts of love and self sacrifice. Mahayana Buddhist schools at the common level was far more devotional. Some scholars believe that the influence of Bhakti was synergistic with oppressive caste and social situations, in that Bhakti made conversion to Hinduism a more comfortable alternative for oppressed Buddhists.

When Islam arrived in India, it sought conversion from, not assimilation to or integration with, the already present religions. The new Muslim rulers left in place the Brahmin-controlled caste system that reinforced Hindu social norms [6]. Under Sufi influence, the pressures of caste and with no political support structure left in place to resist social mores many converted to Islam in the Bengal region. However, the destruction of many monasteries and stupas resulted in the Buddhist order being almost entirely eradicated, because most of the tradition was kept up by monks, not lay-people.

At the beginning of the modern era, Buddhism was very nearly extinct in mainstream Indian society. Some tribal peoples living in the territory of modern India did continue to practice Buddhism. In Bengal, the Bauls still practice a syncretic form of Hinduism that was strongly influenced by Buddhism. There is also evidence of small communities of Indian Theravada Buddhists existing continuously in Bengal in the area of Chittagong up to the present [7]. Buddhism continued to prosper in the nearby countries of Nepal, Tibet, Burma and Sri Lanka, as well as in more distant locations, such as China, Japan and South-east Asia.

Indian Buddhist Movement and Dalit Movement Views

See also: Dalit, Indian Buddhist Movement, Anti-Brahmanism, anti-Hindu

The 20th century has seen a rise of anti-caste movements in India which blame the Hindu caste structure and the political aspirations of the Hindu clergy (Brahmins) for being actively responsible for the cause of the decline of both the Buddhist political power and the decline of the practice of Buddhism in the Indian sub-continent. B. R. Ambedkar opined that hate towards Buddhism is the reason behind Untochability. In his book 'Untochables: Who were they and why they became' Dr. Ambedkar says "We can, therefore, say with some confidence that Untouchability was born some time about 400 A.D. It is born out of the struggle for supremacy between Buddhism and Brahmanism which has so completely moulded the history of India and the study of which is so woefully neglected by students of Indian history. " These views are not supported by mainstream scholarship, as evidence exists to suggest that untouchability existed in India long before Buddhism originated.

Hindutva Views

See also: Hindutva

Proponents of Hindutva place blame on the decline of Buddhism entirely upon the Muslim conquest of South Asia and accuse Muslims of indiscriminate slaughter, persecution and genocide alongside active destruction destruction of stupas, and disavow any Hindu-Buddhist antagonism and usually point to the prevalence of Buddhism in Central Asia and South Asia, Turkistan, Afghanistan, Kashmir and Bangladesh, Lakshadweep Islands) before coming into contact with Islam. These assertions are supported by many mainstream scholars, such as Will Durant and Sergei Trifolovich.

Survival of Buddhism in India

Buddhism started to decline in India gradually after about 5th century. However it continued to have a significant presence in several regions.

Buddhist institutions flourished in eastern India right until the Turkish invasion. It still survives among the Barua, a community of Bengali/Magadh descent that migrated to Chittagong region. Indian Buddhism also survives among Newars of Nepal.

In Orissa, Mahima Dharma, a derivative of Buddhism, survived until 18th century.

The Kayasthas, a community of scribes in North India, had been a supporter of Buddhism since the early period. They continued to support Buddhism until about 12th-13th century in some regions.

It survived in Kashmir valley until 13-14th century, perhaps slightly longer in the nearby Swat Valley. In Ladakh region, adjacent to Kashmir valley, Tibetan Buddhism survives. Tibetan Buddhism must have been popular in Kashmir at one time, as we learn from Rajatarangini of Kalhana.

In Tamilnadu and Kerala, Buddhism survived until 15-16th century. At Nagapattinam, in Tamil Nadu, Buddhist idols were cast and inscribed until this time, and the ruins of the Chudamani Vihara stood until they were destroyed by the Jesuits in 1867 [8]. There is a 6 foot tall Buddha idol in the village of Thiaganoor on the outskirts of the Aragalur. The idol is actively worshipped like Hindu god in a tiny temple setting to date. There are many Buddha idols in agriculture fields in this area. In south in some pockets, it may have survived even longer. The worship of Dharma Shasta may be a relic of Buddhism in Kerala.

Revival

In recent times, Buddhism has seen a revival in India}, partially because of the more liberal laws concerning religion, and also because of the presence of Tibetan Buddhists. Additionally, many Bahujan and Dalits who felt oppressed under the caste system of Hinduism in various parts of India are convertinging to Buddhism by taking Trisarana, Panchsheel and [22 vows]. This movement was initially led by B. R. Ambedkar in 1956, who organized a mass conversion for himself and approximately 400,000 of his followers to Buddhism due to its casteless, more liberal nature.

See also

• Buddhism
• History of Buddhism
• History of India
• Buddhism in Kashmir
• Religion in India
• Muslim conquest of India

Historical Chronology

• 515 Huna king Mihirkula destroys Buddhist institutions
• 680 Tibetans join Shahis against the Umayyad forces in Bactria
• 715 Arab general Qutaiba retook Bactria from the Shahis and destroys Nava Vihara
• 735 Barmakids converts from Buddhism in Bactria
• 750-1150 Mahasiddhas promote tantrika Budhism
• 788-820 Adi Shankara establishes Advaita's supremacy in India by debating against Buddhists
• 879 Hindu Shahis retook Kabul and Nagarahara, Hinduism and Buddhism again flourishes
• 913 - 942 reign of Nasr II, Buddhist statues still made in Samarkand
• 1114-1154 Gahadvala Govindchandra constructs viharas in North India
• 1193 Nalanda destroyed by Khilji forces
• 1200 Vikramshila]and Odantapuri destroyed by Khilji forces
• 1295 Arghun's son Ghazan succeeded to the Khanate throne and destroyed the new Buddhist monasteries
• 1389-1413 Sikander the iconoclast destroys the great Buddhas of Kashmir.
• 16th cent Buddhism still flourishes at Nagapattinam in Tamilnadu
• 19th cent. Baruas and Newars remain as the last of the Indian Buddhists
• 1891 Anagarika Dharmapala visits India, Buddhism reemerges in India
• 1923 Rahul Sankrityayan becomes a Bhikkhu
• 1956 Ambedkar becomes a Buddhist, founding the neo-Buddhist movement.

External links

• Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Ancient India by Bodhisattva Dr. B. R. Ambedkar
• Devastation and Downfall of Buddhism in India extracted from Buddhist Pilgrimage, by Bro Chan Khoon San
• Koenraad Elst on allegations of "Hindu iconoclasm": Pushyamitra, Bodh-Gaya, Harsha of Kashmir, [9], [10]

• Bodhi's Tamil afterglow

• Reformation Movement in the Buddhist Sangha of Bangladesh (1856-1971)

• Berzin Archives