Buddhism in India: Difference between revisions

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	==History==		==History==

	For a full account of the spread of Buddhism in India and beyond, see the ] and the ].		For a full account of the spread of Buddhism in India and beyond, see the ] and the ].

	===Modern revival===		==Modern revival==
⚫	~~{{main~~\|Buddhism in ~~modern~~ India}}
	The number of Indian Buddhists remains quite small; under 1% population of whole India (excluding refugees from elsewhere) in a country of over a billion. Revival movements have been attempted with slowly increasing success.

			At the beginning of the ], Buddhism was almost ]<ref name="Census of India 2001">http://www.censusindiamaps.net/page/Religion_WhizMap1/housemap.htm</ref>, the land of its origin. Certain tribal groups in ] continued to follow Buddhism, as did peoples in ] and ] where ]an culture was influential, but these groups were on the margins of Indian society.
	A Buddhist revivalist movement among ] Indians was initiated in 1956 by Dr. B. R. ]. Historically ]n Buddhist monks have played big role for Buddhist Movement in India.<ref>http://www.mahabodhiindia.com/home.htm</ref>. In the month of October 2006 most of the Buddhist Ordinations are carried by Sri Lankan Buddhist Monks where some ]s converted to Buddhism. They took Trisarana, Panchsheel and 22 vows in the conversion ceremony arranged in different part of India. The move was criticized by Hindu groups as "unhelpful" and has been criticized as a "political stunt"<ref>http://web.archive.org/web/20030622160717/http://www.the-week.com/21nov18/events6.htm</ref>

			===Anagarika Dharmapala and his followers===
	] (FWBO) is a Buddhist movement that was founded in the UK by Sangharakshita (formerly ]) in 1967, followed by the Western Buddhist Order in 1968. In 1978 Indian wing of the FWBO founded, known as the Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana.<ref>http://www.tbmsg.org/index1.html</ref>
			The Buddhist revival began in India in ], when the ] Buddhist leader ] founded the ]<ref>{{cite book
			\|last=Ahir
			\|first=D.C.
		⚫	\|title=Buddhism in Modern India
			\|year=1991
			\|publisher=Satguru
			\|id=ISBN 81-7030-254-4
			}}</ref>. The original objective of the Maha Bodhi Society was to restore the glory of the ] at ]. But later, the scope of the its activities expanded to involve the promotion of Buddhism in India. In June 1892, a meeting of Buddhists was organized at ]. Dharmapala spoke to the ]ian Buddhists and presented a relic of the Buddha to be sent to the ].

			After ], the Mahabodhi Temple was under the control of a ] ''mahant'' (abbott). Dharmapala started a campaign to return control of the temple to Buddhists. A long legal battle ensued, which Dharmapala lost in ]. Dharmapala built many ]s and temples in India, including the one at ], the place of ]'s first sermon. He died in 1933, the same year he was ordained a ]. After India gained independence, the control passed from the Hindu ''mahant'' to the ] State Government of Bihar, which established a temple management committee. The first monk under the management committee was Anagarika Munindra, a member of the Maha Bodhi Society<ref>{{cite book
			\|last=Ahir
			\|first=D.C.
			\|title=Buddhism in Modern India
			\|year=1991
			\|publisher=Satguru
			\|id=ISBN 81-7030-254-4
			}}</ref>.

			Dharmapala considered Buddhism an ]n religion and stated that the next Buddha will be born in the ] caste, in the city of ], which will then be called ''Ketumati''<ref name="the_arya_dharma">{{cite book
			\|last=Dharmapala
			\|first=Angarika
			\|title=The Arya Dharma of Sakya Muni, Gautama Buddha
			\|year=1917
			\|publisher=Maha Bodhi Book Society
			\|url=http://arfalpha.com/SelfDiscipline/SelfDiscipline.htm
			}}</ref>. He also said that the Vedic ], ], ], ], ], ] and ] were "destructive religions". He considered ''Buddhagama'' (Buddhism), ] and ] as the only non-destructive religions. He considered Buddhism as the oldest religion and the "only religion that stands by itself"<ref name="the_arya_dharma"/>:

			{{cquote\|Christianity and Islam are alien to the people in spirit; Brahmanism is only for the high castes; and the only religion that can help the teeming millions of India is the religion of Compassion of the Buddha, the Aryan prince of the solar line of Ikshvaku}}

			The Maha Bodhi Society mainly attracted upper-caste people<ref name="bhagwan_das_revival">{{cite book
			\|last=Das
			\|first=Bhagwan
			\|title=Revival of Buddhism in India. Role of Dr Baba Sahib B.R.Ambedkar.
			\|year=1998
			\|publisher=Dalit Today Prakashan, Lucknow
			\|id=ISBN 81-7030-254-4
			}}</ref>.

			===Dalit Buddhist movement===
			{{main\|Dalit Buddhist movement}}

			A Buddhist revivalist movement among ] Indians was initiated in 1890s by Dalit leaders such as ], ], and ]. ]n Buddhist monks played big role for Dalit Buddhist movement in India.<ref>http://www.mahabodhiindia.com/home.htm</ref>. In, 1956 ] converted to Buddhism along with followers, giving a major impetus to the Dalit Buddhist movement in India.

	==See also==		==See also==

Revision as of 14:25, 7 December 2006

A statue of Buddha in Twang, Arunachal Pradesh.

Buddhism arose in India and flourished for a long time. It eventually declined and disappeared from most regions of India around 13th century, but not without leaving a significant impact. In Himalayan areas like Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim, Buddhist practice was continued. It has reemerged as a major faith in India in the past century.

Characteristics

A fresco from the Ajanta caves in Maharashtra, India, once a gathering places for Buddhist monks.

Nikaya

Theravada is the single remaining representative of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikaya schools of Indian Buddhism, which are sometimes referred to by the controversial term Hinayana. Theravada is now practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.
Another prominent Nikaya school was the Sarvastivada, much of the doctrine of which was incorporated into Tibetan Buddhism. It included one of the main branches of Indian Abhidharma that was instrumental in the creation of Yogacara doctrine. Its system of monastic rules Vinaya is still used in Tibetan Buddhism and is also somewhat influential in monastic Chinese Buddhism.

Mahayana

For a full discussion of Mahayana Buddhism, please see Mahayana.

Madhyamaka (Middle Way), of which the most significant thinker is Nagarjuna
Yogacara founded by Asanga and Vasubandhu. Also known as Cittamatra, Vijnanavada (Mind Only, Consciousness-Mind Only).
Tathagatagarbha A tenet of Indian and East Asian Buddhist thought based on the third turning of the wheel of dharma and central to Yogacara.

Vajrayana

A form of Indian Buddhism that emerged in roughly the 7th century AD and later became widespread in Tibet, and also found in Japan. For a full discussion, please see Vajrayana.

History

For a full account of the spread of Buddhism in India and beyond, see the History of Buddhism and the Decline of Buddhism in India.

Modern revival

At the beginning of the 20th century, Buddhism was almost non-existant in India, the land of its origin. Certain tribal groups in Bengal continued to follow Buddhism, as did peoples in Ladakh and Sikkim where Tibetan culture was influential, but these groups were on the margins of Indian society.

Anagarika Dharmapala and his followers

The Buddhist revival began in India in 1891, when the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala founded the Maha Bodhi Society. The original objective of the Maha Bodhi Society was to restore the glory of the Mahabodhi Temple at Bodh Gaya. But later, the scope of the its activities expanded to involve the promotion of Buddhism in India. In June 1892, a meeting of Buddhists was organized at Darjeeling. Dharmapala spoke to the Tibetian Buddhists and presented a relic of the Buddha to be sent to the Dalai Lama.

After decline of Buddhism in India, the Mahabodhi Temple was under the control of a Hindu mahant (abbott). Dharmapala started a campaign to return control of the temple to Buddhists. A long legal battle ensued, which Dharmapala lost in 1906. Dharmapala built many viharas and temples in India, including the one at Sarnath, the place of Buddha's first sermon. He died in 1933, the same year he was ordained a bhikkhu. After India gained independence, the control passed from the Hindu mahant to the Bihar State Government of Bihar, which established a temple management committee. The first monk under the management committee was Anagarika Munindra, a member of the Maha Bodhi Society.

Dharmapala considered Buddhism an Aryan religion and stated that the next Buddha will be born in the Brahmin caste, in the city of Benares, which will then be called Ketumati. He also said that the Vedic Brahmanism, Zorastrianism, Muhammedanism, Judaism, Christianity, Confucianism and Saiva Vedantism were "destructive religions". He considered Buddhagama (Buddhism), Jainism and Vaishnavism as the only non-destructive religions. He considered Buddhism as the oldest religion and the "only religion that stands by itself":

Christianity and Islam are alien to the people in spirit; Brahmanism is only for the high castes; and the only religion that can help the teeming millions of India is the religion of Compassion of the Buddha, the Aryan prince of the solar line of Ikshvaku

The Maha Bodhi Society mainly attracted upper-caste people.

Dalit Buddhist movement

Main article: Dalit Buddhist movement

A Buddhist revivalist movement among Dalit Indians was initiated in 1890s by Dalit leaders such as Iyothee Thass, Brahmananda Reddy, and Dharmananda Kosambi. Sri Lankan Buddhist monks played big role for Dalit Buddhist movement in India.. In, 1956 B. R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism along with followers, giving a major impetus to the Dalit Buddhist movement in India.

External links

Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch (Vol. 1, Vol. 2, Vol. 3) by Sir Charles Eliot, at Project Gutenberg

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http://www.censusindiamaps.net/page/Religion_WhizMap1/housemap.htm
Ahir, D.C. (1991). Buddhism in Modern India. Satguru. ISBN 81-7030-254-4.
Ahir, D.C. (1991). Buddhism in Modern India. Satguru. ISBN 81-7030-254-4.
^ Dharmapala, Angarika (1917). The Arya Dharma of Sakya Muni, Gautama Buddha. Maha Bodhi Book Society.
Das, Bhagwan (1998). Revival of Buddhism in India. Role of Dr Baba Sahib B.R.Ambedkar. Dalit Today Prakashan, Lucknow. ISBN 81-7030-254-4.
http://www.mahabodhiindia.com/home.htm

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Buddhism in India