KAMALIKA PIERIS
Revised
13.10.20
Buddha wanted to spread his ideas beyond the locality he lived in, and he sent
sixty disciples in all directions. This
was the start of Buddhist missionary work.
300 years later Emperor Dharmasoka (268
– 232 BC) took over the missionary task. He sent Buddhist missionaries to
Syria, Macedonia, Cyrene, Epirus, Kashmir, Gandhara, Lower Burma and Thailand. Thanks to king Dharmasoka, Buddhism which
till then, had covered only a few thousand square miles in north eastern India
during the first two hundred years of its existence, became a world religion,
said Guruge.
Buddhism spread in east, south, and
central Asia. It did not go to the north, which was Siberia and it did not take
root in west Asia. In Central Asia, Buddhism
spread to Gandhara, Tibet and Turkestan. In East
Asia, Buddhism spread to China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. In South Asia, Buddhism spread to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and
Sri Lanka. In South East Asia, Buddhism spread to Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia.
These Buddhist countries practiced
all three major schools of Buddhism, Mahayana, Theravada and Tantra. China, Tibet, Mongolia, Korea and Japan, were
Mahayana. Burma, Thailand, Cambodia,
Laos, Sri Lanka were Theravada. Tibet was Tantra. In addition, Buddhism allowed
local religious beliefs and customs of the host country to continue unimpeded. Some
to these beliefs became part of the Buddhist way of life.
The first indication of Buddhism in
Indo-China peninsula is the arrival of the Burmese of Sino-Tibetan origin to
lower Burma in 10th century, and the arrival of Thai from Yunnan to Central
Thailand in 12th century. But
it is difficult to chart the history of Buddhism during this period since these
Mon, Khmer, Thai groups were moving about and the centers of power kept shifting, said experts.
Eventually, the Mon kingdom of Dvaravati
with Nakon Pathom, Lop Buri as its cultural centers had nurtured Theravada
Buddhism in Thailand. The Mon kingdom of
Haripunjaya at Lamphun also was Buddhist. There was Mahayana influence as well
in Thailand. Thai monks had studied at
Nalanda.
In Burma, the kingdom of Ava and the
Mon kingdom of Pegu unified in 14th century and accepted Theravada Buddhism.
Pagan became a renowned centre of Theravada Buddhism. The monks of Burma
specialized in Abhidamma while Thailand and Sri Lanka focus on Vinaya and Sutta respectively, said
Guruge.
Vietnamese Buddhismbecame well known because of the
publicity given to monks who set themselves on fire during the Vietnam War. Vietnam’s
Buddhist monuments included the Lokesvara statue in Huong Qua (7-8 century) the
monastic complexes of Dong Duang (10-11 century) and towers of Binh Dinh (12
century).
Muslim influence
eliminated Buddhism in Central Asia, India and the Malaysian archipelago, but evidence of Buddhist
influence can still be seen in the ruins of these countries. Indonesia and Maldives is Muslim today, but
both were Buddhist earlier. Fourteen
Buddhist monasteries have been found in Maldives.
Indonesia followed Mahayana and
Vajrayana. Singasari in Eastern
Java was a centre of Tantric Buddhism. The best known Buddhist monument in
Indonesia is Borobudur, but there are other monuments too. Indonesia had the
oldest Buddhist art in Southeast Asia, said experts. A bronze image of Buddha
in Amaravati style of 3-5 AD was found at Celebes.
Buddhism had entered Malaysia and Philippines. Neither is
Buddhist today, but there is evidence to show that Malaysia had Buddhist influence. In the Philippines, archaeological findings
indicate the presence of Buddhism.
Buddhism first took root in India.
Gautama Buddha lived in India. Buddhism
started in the republics near the Ganges delta, but spread to the west as well.
Pakistan has many Buddhist monuments. Buddhism also took root in south India,
in Orissa, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati and Nagarjunikonda are in
Andhra Pradesh.
Buddhism had a troubled existence in
India. The decline of Buddhism in India took place over a period of three to
four hundred years. Buddhism was opposed
by Jainism and Vedic Brahmanism. In
Karnataka Buddhism was ousted as a result of the growing popularity of
Jainism.
The public in India had been vacillating
between Buddhism and Hinduism for several centuries. There are numerous records
of donations by wealthy persons and kings to both Hindu and Buddhist
institutions at one and the same time. Buddha
was accepted into the Hindu pantheon as the incarnation of Vishnu on par with
Rama and Krishna. But trouble was
brewing.
Hindu resurgence which began in the
Gupta age, reached its zenith in the time of Sankaracharya (788-820 or 700-750).
Sankaracharya established the Vedanta school of Hindu
philosophy. One reason for doing so was to combat the influence of Buddhism, which Sankara deeply disliked. Buddhism was
strong in India at that time, said Guruge.
Between 7th and 13th century there were
a few recorded instance of persecution of Buddhists. Buddhist monks were not
treated with respect and the Sanskrit dramatic literature it full of derogatory
reference to and representations of Buddhists, reported Guruge.
However, Buddhism continued as a
monastic religion for several centuries after the public had ceased to follow
Buddhism. In spite of an unfavorable climate Buddhist monasteries continued
their scholastic and religious activities. Buddhist institutions thrived in
Bihar and Bengal with the support of the Pala kings. These institutions were
Mahayana but recognized Tantra as well.
Buddhism was destroyed in Bihar and Bengal by the Muslim ruler
Muhammad Ibn Bakhtiyar who took over Bihar and Bengal in 13 century. Buddhism
disappeared completely from India. Hardly any monuments of the Buddha’s own period
are to be seen today. The ruins at Saheth Maheth are considered to be those of
the original monastery which the Buddha lived in for nearly 20 years of his
life.
The British rulers re-discovered
Buddhism and its monuments and elevated them. As a result, India today uses
Buddhist symbols like wheel of Dhamma and the Asoka capital as symbols of
sovereignty. Anagarika Dharmapala and his Mahabodhi Society
attempted to revive Buddhism in India in the 20th century.
Buddhism went to China along the main
Asian trade route. Evidence of Buddhism
is found as early as 65 AD, in Buddhist observances by a prince of Chu. There
were Buddhist monks in the capital Han in 130 AD. This is mentioned in a
poem. In 191 AD a temple was built in
Kiangsu . Around 300 AD there were 180
Buddhist establishment and 3700 monks and nuns
in the two capitals of Chang An and Loyang. In 286 AD, Dharmaraksa of Tun Huang had
brought out translation of Buddhist
scriptures.
Buddhism needed to adapt to the two existing systems of Chinese thought, Confucianism and Taoism. China employed
certain strategies for this, such as Ko-yi” which paired Buddhist
teachings with the local systems.
Buddhism was presented as a complementary
system of thought, not an opposing one.
Around 6 century AD, Chinese developed their own school of Buddhist thought. A typically Chinese version of Buddhism
allied to Mahayana took firm root in China and several impressive monastic centers such as Tun Huan were established.
At least fifty Chinese pilgrims went
to India in search of sacred books. Fa
Hsien, who travelled widely in India Sri Lanka and Java (399-478). Huien
Tsang spent 15 years in India (629-645)
and took back several hundred books and I-Tsing
was in India from 671-695 AD. Chinese pilgrims also came to countries like Sri Lanka in search of books for translation.
Indian monks helped Buddhism in China. Some went to China
to propagate Buddhism. There was Kumarajiva, the greatest of missionary
translators (5th century ). Gunavarman associated with Kashmir, Sri
Lanka and Java who translated Sanskrit works into Chinese. Vajrabodhi of
Nalanda and his disciple Amogavajra were
sent by Sri Lanka to present Buddhist scriptures and sacred objects to the
Chinese king in 8th century.
Buddhism in China did not always
enjoy popular patronage, but it still continued.
Buddhism was patronized by the last Chinese dynasty, the
Manchu dynasty (1644-1912).
Today, China’s leaders take an interest
in propagation of Buddhism and work together with Buddhists of other countries
and the legacy of Buddhism is constantly
invoked, remarked Guruge.
Buddhism was
introduced to Tibet in 7th century as a result of
marriage alliances between the Tibet royal family
and the royal families of Nepal and China. Tibet followed Sarvastivada
and Tantra.
Tibet
eventually developed its own brand of Buddhism, a blend of these two
schools and Tibet’s own local
beliefs. A Council was held in Lhasa in
794 AD where they discussed doctoral issues. In the 10th century 21 young men were sent to India to study Buddhism and translate Buddhist books. The
Sangha laid much emphasis on good handwriting. The monks trained using
copy books. There is a rich Tibetan
Buddhist literature, which includes translations of Sanskrit and Chinese
writings, also works from India ,Nepal
and Central Asia.
Mahayana Buddhism found its way to
Korea in 5th century AD, and was firmly established in the peninsula due to the enthusiastic support of king Chin-ji-wang
(546-656) Queen Sonduk (7th century) King Sunjong (982-997) and King
Munjon (1047-82). The sixty roll Koryo
Tripitaka was printed in the time of King Munjon. Korea helped in the spread of
Buddhism by its invention of wood block printing in 8th century and
type casting with metal in the 12th century.
Prince Kudara of South Korea sent the
first Buddhist mission to Japan in 552 AD.
The mission got a mixed reception. Opponents resisted it for nearly fifty
years but by end of the 6th
century Buddhism was established in Japan.
The greatest patron of Buddhism in
Japan was Prince Shotuku who became regent in 593 AD and ruled for 30 years. He
made Buddhism the state religion, established institutions for the propagation
of Buddhism and for the implementation of Buddhist ideals of service to the
sick and destitute. He put forward ‘the
Constitution of Seventeen articles’ which combined political principals
with the ethical ideas of Buddhism. Buddhism became the foremost religious and
cultural force in Japan for the next few centuries.
In 7th and 8th century six schools
of Buddhism were introduced to Japan, said Guruge. Japan itself established two
powerful schools of Buddhism, Tendai which came from China and Shingon Buddhism
which was Vajrayana.
From 13th- 16th century three forms
of Buddhism developed in Japan, the Pure
land school of Honen(1133-1212) the Lotus doctrine of Nichiren ( b 1222)
and Zen Buddhism . Zen Buddhism was introduced from China by Yeisai ( 1141-1215)
and Dogen ( 1200- 1253). Zen Buddhism alone,
of these three, emphasized the elements
of early Buddhism such as the training of the mind.
Sri Lanka was one the earliest
sovereign states to receive Buddhism .
Scholars say that the Buddhist
philosophy would have come to Sri Lanka
in the time of the Buddha itself. It would have come naturally and easily , due to the frequent movement of persons
between North India and Sri
Lanka. There is evidence that the public knew
the Buddhist philosophy by the time Arahant Mahinda arrived. They
converted in droves.
Chief Minister Ariththa consented to
be the first ordained Bhikkhu. He would not surely have agreed to lead a
religion he knew nothing about. By the time of Dutugemunu, Sri Lanka had established contact with Buddhist
communities abroad. They were invited to attend the unveiling of the Maha Thupa. By the time of
Dutugemunu, Sri Lanka had established contact
with Buddhist communities abroad. They were invited for the unveiling of the Maha Thupa.
The first Chaitya in Sri Lanka was built
at Tissamaharama, not Anuradhapura .
this was the largest such monument in the Buddhist world, at the time,
said Guruge. Later, three much larger
stupa were erected in Anuradhapura , Ruvanveli, Abhayagiri and
Jetavana. Jetavana was even
larger than Abhayagiri. Sri Lanka knew
to build high. Lohapasada was a
skyscraper with 125 feet and 1000 rooms, observed Guruge.
Sri Lanka followed Theravada Buddhism where the
scriptures were concerned. Sri Lanka’s contribution to world Buddhism is in the
preservation and propagation of Theravada. The Sinhala commentaries and the Sinhala Upasampada were much sought
after. But Mahayana practices were added on the medieval period. Bodhisatva Avalokitesvara
and his Tara are worshipped. The statues at
Buduruvegala are Mahayana.
Sri Lanka played an important role in
the propagation of Theravada Buddhism in Asia. Sri Lanka helped to entrench
Theravada Buddhism in the Indo-China peninsula.
Sinhala Buddhism went first to Cambodia, and from Cambodia the teachings fanned out
to Burma, Thailand and Laos.
Sri Lanka sculptors present Buddha in Yogasana position and Burma, Thailand,
Cambodia followed this .Yogasana was a
difficult position, both ankles were crossed , facing upwards. Sri Lanka was recognized not only for Theravada but also for its
Mahayana and Tantra studies. Abhayagiri influenced Buddhism in Indonesia
and Bhikkhuni Chandramali went to Tibet
to advise on the scriptures.
The
information in this series is taken almost completely from Ananda Guruge’s Buddhism, the religion and its culture” (2 ed. 2017). I acknowledge
this with deep appreciation.(Concluded)
