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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
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 movementA 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.
See also
- History of Buddhism
- Decline of Buddhism in India
- Early Buddhist Schools
- Schools of Buddhism
- Buddhism in Kashmir
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