Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent

Template:ActiveDiscuss The Decline of Buddhism in India, in the land of its birth occurred for a variety of reasons, and happened even as it continued to flourish beyond the frontiers of India. Buddhism had been established in the area of ancient Magadha and Kosala by Gautama Buddha in the 6th century BC, in what is now modern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Over 1500 years, it spread from these regions across the Indian sub-continent and beyond as the major belief system of the region. Buddhism as a religion flourished within a century of the death of Gautama Buddha, especially in northern and central India. The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, during the third century BC, and other subsequent monarchs also played a major part in the prolestyzation of Buddhism in Asia through religious ambassadors. Chinese scholars such as Faxian, Xuanzang, I-ching, Hui-sheng, and Sung-Yun travelling throughout the region between the 5th to 8th century began to speak of a decline of the Buddhist sangha, especially in the wake of the White Hun invasion. It did not recover after the fall of the Pala dynasty in the 12th century and the later deestruction of monasteries by Muslim conquerors. At the beginning of the 20th century, Buddhism was virtually extinct. However, Buddhism is undergoing a contemporary revival primarily through mass conversions of the untouchables (or dalits), of the Indian caste system. This movement was originally pioneered in the mid 20th century by B.R. Ambedkar and the influenced by of Anagarika Dharmapala, Tenzin Gyatso and the Dalit Buddhist movement.

Political and military influences

The Sungas

Following the Mauryans, the first Brahmin king was the Sunga, Pusyamitra, who is frequently linked with the persecution of Buddhists and a resurgence of Brahmanism that forced Buddhism outwards to Kashmir, Gandhara and Bactria. . There is some doubt as to whether he actually persecuted Buddhists actively.

A Buddhist tradition holds him as having taken taking steps to check the spread of Buddhism as "the number one enemy of the sons of the Sakya's and a most cruel persecutor of the religion". The Divyavadana ascribes to him the razing of stupas and viharas built by Ashoka, the placing of a bounty of 100 dinaras upon the heads of Buddhist monks (Shramanas) and describes him as one who wanted to undo the work of Ashoka. This account has however been described as "exaggerated".

Some historians have rejected Pushyamitra’s persecution of Buddhists. The first accounts appear two centuries after Pusyamitra's reign in Asokâvadâna and the Divyâvadâna. Koenraad Elst posits that historical facts confirm that Pushyamitra allowed and patronized the construction of monasteries and Buddhist universities in his domains, as well as the still-existent stupa of Sanchi. While Marshall states that it is possible that the original brick stupa built by Ashoka was destroyed by Pusyamitra and then restored by his successor Agnimitra. Following Ashoka’s sponsorship of Buddhism, it is possible that Buddhist institutions fell on harder times under the Sungas but no evidence of active persecution has been noted. Etienne Lamotte observes: “To judge from the documents, Pushyamitra must be acquitted through lack of proof.”

The Sungas were patrons of Brahmanism and their lack of royal patronage was also a setback to Buddhism, resulting in the splintering of Buddhism into many forces. Some of them were: the Saravastivadins, Mahasargikas, Sthaviravadha, and Yogacara. This resulted in a diversity of opinions and interpretations that led to a conflict between warring schools shortly after the fall of the Mauryans. Later Sunga kings were seen as more amenable to Buddhism and as having contributed to the building of the stupa at Bharhut.

The period however, has been described as one of political and spiritual competition with Brahmanism in the gangetic plains and one in which Buddhism flourished in the realms of the Bactrian kings.

Guptas

Buddhism and saw a brief revival under the Guptas. 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. It continued to prosper in Gandhara under the Shahi kingdom.

White Huns

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 Mihirakula who ruled from 515 BC suppressed Buddhism destroying monasteries as far as modern-day Allahabad before his son reversed the policy.

Harsha

In the North and west after Harshavardana's kingdom the rise of many small kingdoms. This led to the rise of the martial Rajputs clans 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 martial Rajput dynasties further pressured Buddhism.

Xuanzang's Report

Xuanzang reports in his travels across India during the 7th century that Buddhism was popular in Andhra, Dhanyakataka, and Dravida which today roughly correspond to the modern day Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. He also reports numerous ruined and deserted stupas in the conquered Buddhist regions such as by the Vaishnavite Eastern Chalukyas or those regions around modern day Nepal, as well as the persecution of Buddhists by Ssanka in the Kingdom of Gouda. 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.

Buddhism in Southern India

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 have had Hindu temples built over them. Furthermore a vigorous Hindu revival which incorporated in Vaishnavite Hinduism the concept of Buddha as the 9th incarnation of Vishnu[6] led to a sharp decline of Buddhism.

Muhammad bin Qasim

In AD 711, Muhammad bin Qasim conquered the Sindh bringing Indian societies into contact with Islam. He succeeded partly because Dahir was an unpopular Hindu king that ruled over a Buddhist majority. Chach of Alor and his kin were regarded as usurpers of the earlier Buddhist Rai Dynasty. The forces of Muhammad bin Qasim defeated Raja Dahir in alliance with the lower caste Jats and other Buddhist governors. His campaign's success is ascribed to the support of Buddhists and the lower caste Jats, Meds and Bhutto tribes.

While the Chach Nama records a couple of instances of conversion of stupas to mosques such as at Nerun, the destruction of temples was forbidden under the adopted Hanafi school of thought, 3% of the government revenue was allocated to the Brahmins and as a whole, the non-muslim populations of conquered territories were treated as People of the Book and granted Hindu, Jain and Buddhist religions the freedom to practice their faith in return for payment of the poll tax (jizya). They were then excused from military service or payment of the tax paid by muslim subjects - Zakat. The jizya enforced was a graded tax, being heaviest on the elite and lightest on the poor.

While proslytization occurred, the social dynamics of Sind were no different from other Muslim regions such as Egypt, where conversion to Islam was slow and took centuries, and generally came from among the ranks of Buddhists.

Mahmud of Ghazni

By 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 both stupas and temples during his numerous campaigns across north-western India but left those within his domains and Afghanistan alone even as al-Biruni recorded Buddha as the prophet "Burxan".

Mahmud of Ghazni is said to have been an iconoclast. Hindu and Buddhist statues, shrines and temples were looted and destroyed and many Buddhists had to take refuge in Tibet.

Muhammad of Ghor

Muhammad attacked the north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent many times. Gujarat later fell to Muhammad Ghori's armies in 1197. Muhammad of Ghor's armies destroyed many Buddhist structures, including the great Buddhist university of Nalanda.

Pala's

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 at the hands of the attacking Sena dynasty.

Ghurid Invasion

In 1200 Muhammad Khilji, one of Qutb-ud-Din's generals, destroyed monasteries fortified by the Sena armies such as Vikramshila.

The Mongols

In 1215 Genghis Khan conquered Afghanistan and ravaged the land indiscriminately, in 1227 after his death his conquest was divided and Chagatai established the Chagatai Khanate and his son Arghun made Buddhism the state religion during which time he came down harshly on Islam and demolished mosques to build many stupas. He was succeeded by his brother, and then his son Ghazan who converted to Islam and in 1295 who changed the state religion and after his reign and the splitting of the Chagatai Khanate little mention of Buddhism or the stupas built by the Mongols can be found in Afghanistan and Central Asia can be found in Afghanistan and central asia.[7]

Timur (Tamarlane)

Timur was a 14th-century warlord of Turco-Mongol descent , conqueror of much of Western and central Asia, and founder of the Timurid Empire.

Timur destroyed Buddhist establishments and raided areas in which Buddhism had flourished.

Mughals

Mughal rule also contributed to the decline of Buddhism. India's new iconoclastic monarchs destroyed many Hindu temples and Buddhist shrines alike, or converted many sacred Hindu places into muslim shrines and mosques. Mughal rulers like Aurangzeb destroyed Buddhist temples and monasteries and replaced them with Islamic mosques.

Financial and Social reasons

Buddhist monasteries were well-funded and life within was relatively easy. To avoid unwanted members, many monasteries became selective about whom they admitted, in some cases based on social class. This further cut off the sangha from Indian society.

In India, muslim rulers imposed jizya (head tax on non muslims) starting in the 11th century. Aurangzeb levied jizya on his subjects in 1679.

Philosophical divergence with Adi Shankara

In 9th century A.D. the Buddhist philosophers started to lose ground with the Hindu Saint Adi Shankara. Shankaracharya debated with Buddhist monks and raised issues with Buddhist philosophy. The rejection of the notion of Atman and yet the endorsement of rebirth, could not be explained by the Buddhists. The resurgence of Hinduism with the ideas of Shankaracharya led to reduction of royal patronage of the Buddhist monks. As political patronage failed it came under increasing pressure by Hinduism and the revival movements of Adi Shankara. Shakyamuni Buddha eventually came to be interpreted as a manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu.

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 even prior to arrival of Islam. 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 adoption 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.

Vaishnavites

In the 9th CE the Vaishnavas identified the Buddha as the ninth 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

Sufis and Bhakti's

When Islam arrived in India, it sought conversion from, not assimilation to or integration with, the already present religions. However, the new Muslim rulers left in place the Brahmin-controlled caste system that reinforced Hindu social norms [8]. 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.

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.

Survival of Buddhism in India

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.

Buddhist institutions flourished in eastern India right until the Islamic invasion. Buddhism 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 Hindu 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.

Buddhism 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. In south in some pockets, it may have survived even longer.

Revival

Further information: Buddhism in India

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 and Friends of the Western Buddhist Order. Additionally, many people who had felt oppression from the caste system in various parts of India turned to Buddhism, led initially by B. R. Ambedkar in 1956.

References

• "The Decline of Buddhism in India". Washington State University. Retrieved 2006-12-23.
• Dhammika, S. (1993). The Edicts of King Ashoka. Kandy, Sri Lanka: Buddhist Publication Society. ISBN 955-24-0104-6. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Promsak Jermsawatdi, "Thai Art with Indian influence", 2003, Abhinav Publications, ISBN 8170170907
• Doniger, Wendy (2000). Merriam-Webster Encyclopedia of World Religions. Encyclopedia Britanica. p. 1378. ISBN 0877790442. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Charles (EDT) Willemen, Bart Dessein, Collett Cox, "Sarvastivada Buddhist Scholastism", 1998, Brill Academic Publishers
• Ashok Kumar Anand, "Buddhism in India", 1996, Gyan Books, ISBN 8121205069

See also

• History of Buddhism
• History of Buddhism in India
• History of India
• Buddhism in Kashmir
• Religion in India
• Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent
• Bodh Gaya
• Harsha of Kashmir
• Dalit Buddhist movement
• Shakyamuni Buddha
• Ashoka
• Pusyamitra Sunga
• Koenraad Elst

External links

• Friends of the Western Buddhist Order
• Koenraad Elst
• Berzin Archives
• 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