Running head: BUDDHISM IN INDIA

Buddhism in India

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Development of Buddhism in India

Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) established the Buddhism religion in the second half of

6th Century B.C. in Nepal near its border with India. Buddhism is currently a dominant religion

in East and Southeast Asia, where the increase in popularity in other parts of the globe has raised

its total number of followers to 520 million. The largest population of Buddhists is found in

China, where Buddhism is a religion for majorities in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Thailand. The

religion is also gaining popularity in the United Kingdom, Australia, and America. The religion

currently has three sects, namely Vajrayana, Mahāyāna, and Theravada Buddhism. It is a

hierarchical religion having authority in pilgrims, lay people, nuns, monasteries, and monks.

Buddhism is regarded as a nontheistic religion, considering that it is neither monotheistic nor

polytheistic. Monotheistic, in this case, means that Buddhists do not worship a supreme being.

Buddhists instead focus on accomplishing enlightenment, which is a condition characterized by

inner wisdom and peace (Gethin, 1998). Buddha, the founder of this religion, is not regarded as a

god but as an extraordinary enlightened man. Buddhists believe that enlightened people can use

wisdom, morality, and meditation to discover the truth. Buddhism beliefs are based on four noble

truths, including suffering endurance among all livings, desire to live, reincarnation, and

existence as a goal of escaping suffering. Notably, Gautama is linked to the establishment of all

the principles of Buddhism through a process of meditation.

Historical records show that Gautama (Buddha) was born in 563 B.C. to a king in the

Southern Nepalese region. According to Buddhist historical literature, Gautama’s family was

wealthy meaning that he experienced a comfortable life and pleasure in his childhood, teenage,

and early adulthood. Gautama was pampered by his wealthy father, considering that a seer had

prophesied that he would become a King in the future. However, Gautama felt uncomfortable in
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his luxurious lifestyle, considering that his father shielded him from the true nature of the world.

He, therefore, demanded to see the world by traveling to its different corners. The journey gave

him different experiences outside his comfort zone, where he was able to see the true nature of

suffering. Historical records show that Gautama saw people suffering in different ways such as

death and bereavement, old age and helplessness, and illnesses. Gautama’s expenditure

culminated with his encounter with a monk who had shunned all worldly pleasures in the quest

for enlightenment. At the end of his journey, historical records show that Gautama (Buddha)

acquired awakening (enlightenment) as depicted by his ability to show compassion for the

suffering people. Drawing a comparison between his life of luxury and that of his fellow human

beings under severe sufferings enabled him to understand that earthly pleasures are fact

transitory and mask people’s sufferings. He afterward left his son and wife and embarked on a

meditation process, which also involved long durations of fasting (Warder, 2000). The records

show that Gautama achieved enlightenment (Nirvana) after about six months hence enabling him

to understand the causes of human sufferings and strategies of overcoming these sufferings.

Buddha also spent the remaining part of his life as a celibate.

Buddha was assisted by a group of celibate followers in popularizing Buddhism in India

and other parts of Asia. After his death in 483 B.C. at the age of 80 years, they started settling in

monasteries as monks. The monks hence administered Buddha’s teaching from the monasteries

to interested followers and officiating Buddhism practices. Buddhism practices during those

times involved visiting Gautama’s place of birth and meditating under a tree (bodhi tree) where

he gained enlightenment. The monks also oversaw the painting and curving of Buddha images

and writing of Buddhism relics.

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However, the spread of Buddhism to other parts of the world took a significant step in the

3rd Century B.C. during the reign of King Ashoka. King Ashoka (304 -232 B.C.) saw Buddhism

as a strong religion that would enable him to create unity within his Indian Mauryan Empire and

help him create a healthy relationship with the neighboring kingdoms. Indian Mauryan Empire is

the largest to have ever been created in the Indian subcontinent, where it was among the largest

empires in the world at that time. King Ashoka modelled his kingdom based on Buddhist

religious traditions, which enabled him to rule over 30 million people at that time. In his desire to

strengthen Buddhism, he realized that literature was an effective tool for developing and

spreading religion. Historical records show that Ashoka organized the construction of

approximately 84,000 stupas across his kingdom to facilitate the reproduction and distribution of

Buddha’s relics. Stupas are hemispherical Buddhist structures designed to hold and protect relics

and essential objects. Ashoka also improved the integrity of Buddhism by disrobing more than

10,000 monks who he felt that lacked enough commitment to the religious spirituality. He also

dispatched missionaries to other parts of the world to popularize Buddhism. Historical records

indicate that Buddhist missionaries visited East and Southern Asian kingdoms, Middle East,

Greece, Syria, and Egypt. His motivation for sending missionaries to other parts of the world

came from his success in the present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan. He observed that

Afghanistan and Pakistan became a center for Buddhism education following the mission in this

region, as evidenced by the growth of reputable scholars and monks. He also associated

education with the abilities to study Buddhist relics, as evidenced by his introduction of

Sthaviravada Buddhist school in modern-day Sri Lanka in around 240 BC. His activities

influenced other Kingdoms in East and South Asia, including Sumatra, Japan, and China. During
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the era of King Ashoka, Buddhism was integrated with cultures in Southeast Asia, East Asian,

and Central Asia.

Buddhism also received a huge boost in the 1st Century A.D. after the establishment of

The Mahayana schools. The Mahayana (“Greater Vehicle”) still exists in Tibet, Japan, China,

and Korea. The Mahayana schools use texts named sutras to teach Buddhism. These schools

teach that there are additional strategies for achieving enlightenment in additional to meditation,

such as good works and chanting. They also encourage the adoption of Buddhism among the

non-Buddhists by stressing that lay individuals can become good Buddhists.

Reabsorption of Buddhism by Hinduism in India

The decline of the Buddhism religion in India started immediately after the death of King

Ashoka and the accompanying disintegration of the Mauryan Empire. Notably, after the death of

King Ashoka, the entire Indian subcontinent was filled with social diversification efforts and

political competition. Cultural diversification efforts and political competition promoted the

development of new institutional and doctrinal expressions in the five centuries succeeding King

Ashoka’s era. The Sunga dynasty that was established approximately 50 years after the death of

King Ashoka, featured persecution and division among the Buddhists. Buddhist scriptures, for

example, Aśokāvadāna cite that an orthodox Brahmana ruler called Puṣyamitra (187-151 B.C.)

was involved in the persecution of people of Buddhist faith (Omvedt, 2003).

Crisis in monarchies that were based in Buddhism in India is evidence from

archaeological remains of urban centers of the post-Kushan era through the appearance of

derelict monasteries. Buddhism decline in India became more pronounced during the visit of

Faxian (399-414 AD), a Chinese Buddhist monk, to India. Buddhism has deteriorated
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significantly by the time Xuanzang (602-664 AD), a Chinese monk, visited India. The decline of

Buddhism in India occurred gradually it became virtually extinct in this region in 12 Century

A.D.

Many scholars of religion, Indian history, Hinduism, and Buddhism observe that

Buddhism did not disappear from India but was rather absorbed by Hinduism. They argue that

the decline of Buddhism was not caused by the persecution of Buddhists but by its reform to

meet the expected features of Hinduism. Buddhism was losing popularity in India because of its

association with the urban society that comprised political rulers, financers, artisans, traders,

merchants, and bankers. Buddhism inclined more to the elite in urban areas rather than other

Indians residing in rural areas. Considering that only a small portion of the Indian population

lived in urban areas, Buddhism lacked support from the majority population in this region (Joshi,

2007).

Hinduism, unlike Buddhism, embraced the pluralistic, multileveled, and organic nature of

Indian traditions. Notably, with around 900 million followers today, Hinduism exists as a

combination of many philosophies and traditions developed in India over 4,000 years. Hinduism

included all people in India irrespective of their political or social positions in the society.

Hinduism, unlike Buddhism, was able to unite Indians living in rural and urban areas irrespective

of their academic and financial backgrounds.

The flexible nature of Hinduism allowed it to absorb Buddhism and maintain stability in

the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism gained prominence in India during the era of the Gupta

Empire (320-550 A.D.), which is also regarded as the Indian’s Golden Age. The period involved

the construction of cave temples and stone carvings dedicated to Hindu supreme beings. The

arguments of Brahmin philosophers between 6th and 10th Century A.D. depicted Hinduism
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philosophy as superior to Buddhist one. A Brahmin philosopher called Shankaracharya (788-820

AD), for example, involved Buddhists in a series of public debates where he emerged victories in

all of them. He also oversaw the transformation of Buddha into a descendant (avatara) of Vishnu

(an important Hindu god). More practices of Buddhism were integrated with the general

Hinduism teachings. Shankaracharya is generally recognized for establishing and unifying the

main school of thought in Hindu philosophy. Hinduism is associated with the ability of

Vijayanagar Empire to repel the invasion of India by Muslims in the 14th and 15th Century A.D.

Survival of Buddhism in East and South Asia

The survival of Buddhism in East and South Asia is associated with the translation of its

texts from Indian languages to local languages of the respective ancient regions. In China, for

example, Buddhists translated Buddhist texts from local Indian languages to Chinese. Chinese

kings of the time also welcomed translators from India and Central Asia to contribute towards

popularization Buddhism. The spread of Buddhism to Central China occurred through Chinese

contact with central Asian people. Buddhism within Central Asia majorly spread through trade.

When Central Asian Merchants visited the present-day Afghanistan and Pakistan in the third

Century B.C., they learned and accepted Buddhism. They also supported scholars and monks to

spread the Buddhist faith within Central Asia through the construction of cave monasteries along

the trade-route, most importantly, the great silk road. Henceforth, Chinese interacted with the

Central Asian traders hence learning Buddhism. However, Buddhism gained prominence in

China during the era of the Han Dynasty. It is during the Han Dynasty, through the support of

Buddhism, was able to extend its influence to Central Asia during the First Century B.C.

Translation of Buddhist texts into local languages such as Chinese (China), Japanese

(Japan), Korean (Korea), Vietnamese (Vietnam), and Thai (Thailand) enabled Buddhism to reach
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all people irrespective of their academic and financial backgrounds (Mitchell, 2001). Buddhists

in these regions continuously translated the texts to people and oversaw construction to temples

across the country. The Buddhists, through the support of emperors, participated in public talks

and ceremonies aimed at popularizing their religion. In China, for example, the emperors

supported the pilgrimage of Buddhist monks to India, with the most famous pilgrim being Xuan

Zang. Korea also sent many of its Buddhist monks to China between the 6th and 7th Centuries to

study in Chinese Buddhism schools. The Korean emperors expected these monks to teach other

citizens the Buddhism religion once they returned to their homeland.

Buddhism also enjoyed continuous periods of support by empires since its introduction.

This allowed Buddhism to flourish under stable royal patronage who always favored its

influence in cultures and political landscape. Buddhism in Korea, for example, received huge

support from Silla rulers in the 7th Century A.D. Buddhism played an important role in the

formation and expansion of Koryo Dynasty. In Japan, emperors such as Shotoku supported and

protected Buddhism (Andreasen, 2014). Buddhism monks also received minimal persecution in

these regions, unlike in India where Buddhism rose and declined across dynasties. In India, it is

evident that Buddhists experienced persecution by rulers who were inclined to other religions

such as Hinduism. In China, for example, the rulers allowed citizens to choose between

Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism as opposed to forcing them to choose between these

religions. In Japan, for example, the emperors allowed the citizens to integrate Buddhism

teaching with their indigenous Shinto beliefs.

Conclusion

Buddhism religion gained prominence in the East, Central, and Southern parts of Asia

because of its strong principles of wisdom and compassion. Buddhism supported the growth and
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expansion of empires in these regions since it effectively united leaders and their subjects under

the same principles. Buddhism is associated with the emergence of huge empires such as the

Indian Mauryan Empire, the Han Dynasty in China, and the Koryo Dynasty in Korea. Notably,

Japan was involved in the reinstatement of Buddhism in Korea hence facilitating the recovery of

the nation. Although Buddhism became extinct in India, it is evident that its principles improved

the quality of Hinduism religion’s philosophies. Buddhism has existed in East and Southeast

Asia because of the quality of its teachings and its feasibility with local indigenous cultures. The

high quality of Buddhism philosophies has also allowed its penetration in other societies across

the globe in the modern world, such as the United Kingdom, United States, and Canada.
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References

Andreasen, E. (2014). Popular Buddhism in Japan: Buddhist Religion & Culture. Routledge.

Gethin, R. (1998). The foundations of Buddhism. Oxford University Press.

Joshi, L. M. (2007). Brahmanism, Buddhism, and Hinduism. Critical Quest.

Mitchell, D. W. (2001). The way of Buddhism: Introducing the Buddhist experience (p. 368).

Oxford University Press.

Omvedt, G. (2003). Buddhism in India: challenging Brahmanism and caste. Sage Publications

India.

Warder, A. K. (2000). Indian Buddhism (Vol. 6). Motilal Banarsidass Publications.