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Buddhism is a Dharmic religion originating in ancient India. 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.

Siddhartha Gautama

Siddhārtha Gautama was the historical founder of Buddhism. Siddhartha Gautama was born as a Kshatriya prince in ancient India.

After asceticism and meditation, Siddhartha Gautama discovered the Buddhist Middle Way—a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification.

Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment sitting under a pipal tree, now known as the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya. Gautama, from then on, was known as "The Perfectly Self-Awakened One", the Samyaksambuddha.

Buddha found patronage in the ruler of Magadha, emperor Bimbisara. The emperor accepted Buddhism as personal faith and allowed the establishment of many Buddhist "Viharas". This eventually led to the renaming of the entire reigon as Bihar.

At the Deer Park near Vārāṇasī in northern India, Buddha set in motion the Wheel of Dharma by delivering his first sermon to the group of five companions with whom he had previously sought enlightenment. They, together with the Buddha, formed the first saṅgha, the company of Buddhist monks, and hence, the first formation of Triple Gem (Buddha, Dharma and Sangha) was completed.

For the remaining 45 years of his life, the Buddha is said to have traveled in the Gangetic Plain of Northeastern India and other reigons.

Buddha attained Parinirvana in the abandoned jungles of Kuśināra.

Buddhist movements

Many movements emerged during the next 400 years following Buddha's passing: first the schools of Nikaya Buddhism, of which only Theravada remains today, and then the formation of Mahayana, a pan-Buddhist movement based on the acceptance of new scriptures.

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.
• Zen A form of Mahayana Buddhism attributed to Bodhidharma.

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.

Strengthening of Buddhism in India

Ashoka and the Mauryan Empire

The empire reached it's peak at the time of emperor Ashoka, who himself converted to Buddhism after the Battle of Kalinga. This heralded a long period of stability under the Buddhist emperor. The power of the empire was vast -- ambassadors were sent to as far as Sri Lanka and Nepal to propogate Buddhism. Greek envoy Megasthenes describes the wealth of the Mauryan capital. Stupas, pillars and edicts on stone remain at Sanchi, Sarnath and Mathura, indicating the extent of the empire.

Emperor Ashoka the Great (304 BC–232 BC) was the ruler of the Maurya Empire in present-day eastern India from 273 BC to 232 BC.

Ashoka reigned over most of India after a series of military campaigns. Emperor Ashoka's kingdom stretched from South Asia and beyond, from present-day Afghanistan and parts of Persia in the west, to Bengal and Assam in the east, and as far south as Mysore.

According to legend, emperor Ashoka was overwhelmed by guilt after the conquest of Kalinga, following which he accepted Buddhism as personal faith with the help of his Brahmin mentors Radhasvami and Manjushri. Ashoka established monuments marking several significant sites in the life of Shakyamuni Buddha, and according to Buddhist tradition was closely involved in the preservation and transmission of Buddhism. He used his position to propagate the relatively new philosophy to new heights, as far as ancient Rome and Egypt.

Graeco-Bactrians, Sakas and Indo-Parthians

Menander was the most famous king. He ruled from Taxila and later from Sagala (Sialkot). He rebuilt Taxila (Sirkap) and Pushkalavati. He became Buddhist and remembered in Buddhists records due to his discussions with a great Buddhist philosopher in the book Milinda Panha.

By 90 BCE Parthians took control of eastern Iran and around 50 BCE put an end to last remnants of Greek rule in Afghanistan. By around 7 CE an Indo-Parthian dynasty succeeded in taking control of Gandhara. Parthians continued to support Greek artistic traditions in Gandhara. The start of the Gandharan Greco-Buddhist art is dated to the period between 50 BCE and 75 CE.

Kushan Empire

Kushan Empire under emperor Kanishka was known as the Kingdom of Gandhara. The Buddhist art spread outward from Gandhara to other parts of Asia. He greatly encouraged Buddhism. Before Kanishka Buddha was not represented in human form. In Gandhara Mahayana Buddhism flourished and Buddha was represented in human form.

This tower was reported by Fa-Hsien, Sun-Yun and Hsuan-Tsang. This structure was destroyed and rebuilt many times and remained in semi ruins until it was finally destroyed by Mahmud of Ghazni in 11th century.

Dharma masters

Indian shramanas propogated Buddhism in reigons, including China, Vietnam and Central Asia.

The Indian dhyana master Buddhabhadra was the founding abbot and patriarch of the Shaolin Temple. Buddhist monk and esoteric master from North India (6th Century CE), Bodhiruci is regarded as the patriarch of the Ti-Lun school. Bodhidharma (c. 6th century CE) was the Buddhist monk traditionally credited as the founder of Chán (Zen) Buddhism in China.

In 580, an Indian monk named Vinitaruci travelled to Vietnam after completing his studies with Sengcan, the third patriarch of Chinese Zen. This, then, would be the first appearance of Vietnamese Zen, or Thien Buddhism.

The Yogācāra texts were composed in the period of Buddhism known to practitioners as The Third Turning of the Wheel. The Yogācāra studies texts form a survey of all of The Three Turnings of the Wheel of Dharma. Originating around a set of scriptures and treatises composed by such early Indian masters as the brothers Vasubandhu and Asanga (who was said to be inspired by the legendary Maitreya-natha), this school held a prominent position in the Indian scholastic tradition for several centuries. It was also transmitted to Tibet by Dharmarakshita who intiated Atisha into the Yogachara lineage, where its teachings became an integral part of much of Tibetan Buddhism up to modern times, and to East Asia, where it was studied with intensity for several centuries.

Padmasambhava, in Sanskrit meaning "lotus-born", is said to have brought Tantric Buddhism to Tibet in the 8th century. In Bhutan and Tibet he is better known as "Guru Rinpoche" ("Precious Master") where followers of the Nyingma school regard him as the second Buddha.

Decline of Buddhism in India

Buddhism declined in India following the loss of patronage due to the fall of sympathetic rulers such as Magadha, Kosala and the Kushan, invasions such as the White Huns.

Islamic rulers have been known implement a policy on their subjects to either accept conversion to Islam or flee the land under Islamic rule; otherwise punishable by enslavement or even execution. The Mahabodhi Movement in 1890s held the Muslim Rule in India responsible for the decay of Buddhism in India. Anagarika Dharmapala did not hesitate to lay the chief blame for the decline of Buddhism in India at the door of Muslim fanaticism. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar stated Islam as the major behind the decline of Buddhism in India.

Anagarika Dharmapala and the Maha Bodhi Society

Buddhist revival began in India in 1891, when the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala founded the Maha Bodhi Society. 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.

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. .

Tibetian Buddhism

Following Dalai Lama's departure from Tibet, Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru offered to permit him and his followers to establish a "government-in-exile" in Dharamsala.

Tibetan exiles have settled in the town, numbering several thousand. Most of these exiles live in Upper Dharamsala, or McLeod Ganj, where they established monasteries, temples and schools. The town is sometimes known as "Little Lhasa", after the Tibetan capital city, and has become one of the centres of Buddhism in the world.

Lama Gyatso is also known to express solidarity with Hinduism, another Dharmic faith with origins in India. Lama Gyatso has also appeared in Hindu religious ocassions such as the Kumbh.

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. In, 1956 B. R. Ambedkar converted to Buddhism along with followers, giving a major impetus to the Dalit Buddhist movement in India.

Notes

1. India by Stanley Wolpert Page 32
2. India by Stanley Wolpert Page 32
3. India. By Sarina Singh (page20)
4. "Bodhisattva that the Brahman," see Chap. xvi
5. Faure, Bernard. Chan Insights and Oversights: an epistemological critique of the Chan tradition, Princeton University Press, 1993. ISBN 0-691029-02-4
6. The Founder Of Shaolinsi The founder of Shaolinsi
7. Concise Encyclopedia Brittanica Article on Bodhidharma
8. In the Path of God (Ppr): Islam and Political Power By Daniel Pipes (page 45)
9. A Close View of Encounter between British Burma and British Bengal
10. The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 205)
11. The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 58)
12. The Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi: And Other Essays, Philosophical and Sociological By Ardeshir Ruttonji Wadia (page 483)
13. "there can be no doubt that the fall of Buddhism was due to the invasions of the Muslims.” (B.R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, vol.3, p.229 - Chapter “The decline and fall of Buddhism”). He wrote: “Thus the origin of the word indicates that in the Muslim mind idol worship had come to be identified with the religion of Buddha. To the Muslims they were one and the same thing. The mission to break idols thus became the mission to destroy Buddhism. Islam destroyed Buddhism not only in India but wherever it went. Bactria, Parthia, Afghanistan, Gandhara and Chinese Turkestan (…) in all these countries Islam destroyed Buddhism.” (B.R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, vol.3, p.229-230.)
14. Ahir, D.C. (1991). Buddhism in Modern India. Satguru. ISBN 81-7030-254-4.
15. Ahir, D.C. (1991). Buddhism in Modern India. Satguru. ISBN 81-7030-254-4.
16. "When I say that Buddhism is part of Hinduism, certain people (e.g. neo-Buddhists) criticize me. But if I were to say that Hinduism and Buddhism are totally different, it would not be in conformity with truth."
17. "I am very happy to be here and I am looking forward to bringining the Buddhists and Hindus together because I consider them as twins.... This place is really impressive and the whole place is really spiritual."

• History of Buddhism
• Buddhism in India