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Decline Of Buddhism In India

Decline of Buddhism in India

Buddhism was initially established in India and it flourished there during the early phases of its history. After more than 1500 years, the decline of Buddhism in India, caused by several factors, would lead to the virtual extinction of Indian Buddhism by the beginning of the 13th century.

Integration with life in India

Following the reign of King Ashoka (273-232 BCE), Buddhism had prospered quite well throughout India. Up to the 9th century CE, Indian followers numbered in the hundreds of millions. However, Hinduism was strongly ingrained in the minds of the common people, and to this day continues to be the foundation for many customs and daily activities. Buddhism did not have this level of integration, maintaining a separate identity from secular life. Indians, for the most part, included Buddhism as part of Hinduism when it came to the Buddha and various figures of veneration. Shakyamuni Buddha was often revered as one of the gods, and eventually came to be interpreted as a manifestation of the Hindu god Vishnu. However, even though there was integration of ideas, the Buddhist sangha was a separate world from the largely Hindu-based society. Buddhist monasteries were quite well-funded and life within was relatively easy. To avoid freeloading, many monasteries became very selective about whom they admitted, in some cases based on social class. This further cut off the sangha from Indian society.

Political and military developments

Indian Buddhism weakened in the 7th century following White Hun and early Islamic invasions such as that of Muhammad bin Qasim. Beyond the direct political effects, these invasions also impeded commercial ties to the west, weakening the merchant classes who tended to sponsor Buddhism [http://radar.ngcsu.edu/~mgilbert/indiasyl.htm]. However, Buddhism would enjoy a strong revival under the Pala Empire in the northeast. Mahayana Buddhism flourished under the Palas, between the 8th and the 12th century. However, after the defeat of the Palas by the Hindu Sena dynasty, Buddhism's position again began to erode. Around 1000 CE, Turkic, Persians and the Afghan Muslims began major incursions into India through the traditional invasion routes of the northwest. Mahmud of Ghazni (979-1030) established a base in Punjab and raided nearby areas. Mahmud is remembered for the ferocity of his attacks on non-Muslim religions. In 1193, Qutb-ud-Din, a Turkish commander, seized control of Delhi, leaving defenseless the northeastern territories that were the heart of Buddhist India. Later that year, raiders under Muhammad Khilji, one of Qutb-ud-Din's generals, destroyed Nalanda, the great Buddhist library; this event was a major milestone in Indian Buddhism's suddenly precipitous decline. By the end of the 12th century, following the Islamic conquest of the Buddhist strongholds in Bihar and Bengal, Buddhists ceased to be a significant presence in India.

Assimilation, conversion, and destruction

While the exact cause of the decline of Buddhism in India is disputed, it is known that the mingling of Hindu and Buddhist societies in India and the rise of Hindu Vedanta movements began to compete against Buddhism. Many believe that Hinduism's adaptation to Buddhism resulted in Buddhism's rapid decline. Particularly important were Hinduism's revival movements such as Advaita Vedanta and the Bhakti movement, both of which showed the influence of Buddhist thought. Some scholars believe that the influence of Bhakti was synergistic with aggressive Muslim actions, in that Bhakti made conversion to Hinduism a more comfortable alternative for oppressed Buddhists. When Islam arrived in India, it sought conversion from, not assimilation to or integration with, the already present religions. However, because Hinduism was so integral to the character of the Indian people, Islam could not uproot it entirely, even in its lasting impression on converts to Islam. Moreover, the new Muslim rulers left in place the Brahmin-controlled caste system that reinforced Hindu social norms [http://radar.ngcsu.edu/~mgilbert/indiasyl.htm]. However, the destruction of many monasteries and stupas resulted in the Buddhist order being almost entirely eradicated, because most of the tradition was kept up by monks, not lay-people. At the beginning of the modern era, Buddhism was very nearly extinct in mainstream Indian society. Some tribal peoples living in the territory of modern India did continue to practice Buddhism. In Bengal, the Bauls still practice a syncretic form of Hinduism that was strongly influenced by Buddhism. There is also evidence of small communities of Indian Theravada Buddhists existing continuously in Bengal in the area of Chittagong up to the present [http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/B_0641.HTM]. Buddhism continued to prosper in the nearby countries of Nepal, Tibet and Burma, as well as in more distant locations, such as China and Japan.

Survival of Buddhism in India

Buddhism started to decline in India gradually after about 5th century. However it continued to have a significant presence in several regions. Buddhist institutions flourished in eastern India right until the Turkish invasion. It still survives among the Barua, a community of Bengali/Magadh descent that migrated to Chittagong region. Indian Buddhism also survives among Newars of Nepal. In Orissa, Mahima Dharma, a derivative of Buddhism, survived until 18th century. The kayasthas, the community of scribes, in North India, had been a supporter of Buddhism since the early period. They continued to support Buddhism until about 12th-13th century in some regions. It survived in Kashmir valley until 13-14th century, perhaps slighlty longer in the nearby Swat valley. In Ladakh region, adjacent to kashmir valley, Tibetan Buddhism survives. Tibetan Buddhism must have been popular in Kashmir at one time, as we learn from Rajatarangini of Kalhana. In Tamilnadu and Kerala, Buddhism survived until 15-16th century. At Nagapattinam, in Tamilandu, Buddhist idols were cast and inscribed until this time. At Nagapattinam, the ruins of the Chulamanipanma Vihar stood until they were destroyed by the Jesuits in 1867. In south in some pockets, it may have survived even longer. The worship of Dharma Shasta may be a relic of Buddhism in Kerala.

Revival

main article: Neo-Buddhism In recent times, Buddhism has seen a revival in India, partially because of the more liberal laws concerning religion, and also because of the presence of Tibetan Buddhists. Additionally, many people who had felt oppression from the caste system in various parts of India turned to Buddhism, led initially by B. R. Ambedkar in 1956, due to its casteless, more liberal nature.

External links

- Koenraad Elst on allegations of "Hindu iconoclasm": [http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/books/acat/ch2.htm Pushyamitra], [http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/books/acat/ch3.htm Bodh-Gaya], [http://koenraadelst.voiceofdharma.com/books/acat/ch4.htm Harsha of Kashmir], [http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/books/acat/ch6.htm#4a], [http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/books/wiah/ch7.htm#37a]
- [http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DhammaTimes/message/2627?viscount=100 Bodhi's Tamil afterglow]
- [http://www.rakhapura.com/scolumns/read.asp?ScID=25 Reformation Movement in the Buddhist Sangha of Bangladesh (1856-1971)] Category:History of India Category:Buddhism

History of Buddhism

The history of Buddhism spans from the 6th century BCE to the present, starting with the birth of the Buddha Siddharta Gautama. This makes it one of the oldest religions practiced today. Throughout this period, the religion evolved as it encountered various countries and cultures, adding to its original Indian foundation Hellenistic as well as Central Asian, East Asian, and Southeast Asian cultural elements. In the process, its geographical extent became considerable so as to affect at one time or another most of the Asian continent. The history of Buddhism is also characterized by the development of numerous movements and schisms, foremost among them the Theravada, Mahāyāna and Vajrayana traditions, punctuated by contrasting periods of expansion and retreat.

Life of the Buddha

Vajrayana Main article: Gautama Buddha According to the Buddhist tradition, the historical Buddha Siddharta Gautama was born to the Shakya clan that belonged to the Hindu warrior caste (Kshatriya), at the beginning of the Magadha period (546–324 BCE), in the plains of Lumbini, Southern Nepal. He is also known as the Shakyamuni (literally "The sage of the Shakya clan"). After an early life of luxury under the protection of his father, the king of Kapilavastu (later to be incorporated into the state of Magadha), Siddharta entered into contact with the realities of the world and concluded that real life was about unbearable and inescapable suffering and sorrow. Siddharta renounced his meaningless life of luxury to became an ascetic. He ultimately decided that asceticism was also meaningless, and instead chose a middle way, a path of moderation away from the extremes of self-indulgence and self-mortification. Under a fig tree, now known as the Bodhi tree, he vowed never to leave the position until he found Truth. At the age of 35, he attained Enlightenment. He was then known as Gautama Buddha, or simply "The Buddha", which means "the awakened one". For the remaining 45 years of his life, he travelled the Gangetic Plain of central India (region of the Ganges/Ganga river and its tributaries), teaching his doctrine and discipline to an extremely diverse range of people. The Buddha's reluctance to name a successor or to formalise his doctrine led to the emergence of many movements during the next 400 years: 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.

Early Buddhism

Before the royal sponsorship of Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE, Buddhism seems to have remained a relatively minor phenomenon, and the historicity of its formative events is poorly established. Two formative councils are supposed to have taken place, although our knowledge of them is based on much later accounts. The councils tend to explain the formalization of the Buddhist doctrine, and the various subsequent schisms inside the Buddhist movement.

1st Buddhist council (5th c. BCE)

The first Buddhist council was held soon after the death of the Buddha under the patronage of king Ajatasatru of the Magadha empire, and presided by a monk named Mahakasyapa, at Rajagriha (today's Rajgir). The objective of the council was to record the Buddha's sayings (sutra) and codify monastic rules (vinaya): Ananda, one of the Buddha's main disciples and his cousin, was called upon to recite the discourses of the Buddha, and Upali, another disciple, recited the rules of the vinaya. These became the basis of the Pali Canon, which has been the orthodox text of reference throughout the history of Buddhism.

2nd Buddhist council (383 BCE)

The second Buddhist council was convened by King Kalasoka and held at Vaisali, following conflicts between the traditional schools of Buddhism and a more liberal interpretational movement called the Mahasanghikas. The traditional schools considered the Buddha as a human being who reached enlightenment, which could be most easily attained by monks following the monastic rules and practicing the teaching for the sake of overcoming suffering and attaining Arahantship. The secessionist Mahasangikas, however, tended to consider this approach too individualistic and selfish. They considered the objective of becoming an arhat insufficient, and instead proposed that the only true goal was to reach full buddhahood, in a sense opening the way to future Mahāyāna thought. They became proponents of more relaxed monastic rules, which could appeal to a large majority of monastic and lay people (hence their name the "great" or "majority" assembly). The council ended with the rejection of the Mahasanghikas. They left the council and maintained themselves for several centuries in northwestern India and Central Asia according to Kharoshti inscriptions found near the Oxus and dated c. 1st century CE. See also: early Buddhist schools

Ashokan proselytism (c. 260 BCE)

early Buddhist schools, sandstone. British Museum.]] The Mauryan king Ashoka (273–232 BCE) converted to Buddhism after his bloody conquest of the territory of Kalinga (today's Orissa) in the east of India. Regretful of the horrors brought by the conflict, the king decided to renounce violence, and to propagate the faith by building stupas and pillars urging for the respect of all animal life, and enjoining people to follow the Dharma. He also built roads and hospitals around the country. This period marks the first spread of Buddhism beyond India. According to the plates and pillars left by king Ashoka (the Edicts of Ashoka), emissaries were sent to various countries in order to spread Buddhism, as far as the Greek kingdoms in the West, in particular the neighboring Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, and possibly even farther to the Mediterranean according to the stone inscriptions left by Ashoka.

3rd Buddhist council (c.250 BCE)

King Ashoka convened the third Buddhist council around 250 BCE at Pataliputra (today's Patna). It was held by the monk Moggaliputta. The objective of the council was to reconcile the different schools of Buddhism, to purify the Buddhist movement, particularly from opportunistic factions which had been attracted by the royal patronage, and to organize the dispatch of Buddhist missionaries throughout the known world. The Pali canon (Tipitaka, or Tripitaka in Sanskrit, literally the "Three Baskets"), which comprises the texts of reference of traditional Buddhism and is considered to be directly transmitted from the Buddha, was formalized at that time. It consists of the doctrine (the Sutra Pitaka), the monastic discipline (Vinaya Pitaka) and an additional new body of subtle philosophy (the Abhidharma Pitaka). The efforts of Ashoka to purify the Buddhist faith also had the effect of segregating against other emerging movements. In particular, after 250 BCE, the Sarvastivadin (who had been rejected by the 3rd council, according to the Theravada tradition) and the Dharmaguptaka schools became quite influential in northwestern India and Central Asia, up to the time of the Kushan Empire in the first centuries of the common era. The Dharmaguptakas were characterized by a belief that Buddha was separate, and above, the rest of the Buddhist community. The Sarvastivadin believed that past, present, and future are all simultaneous.

Hellenistic world

Some of the Edicts of Ashoka inscriptions describe the efforts made by Ashoka to propagate the Buddhist faith throughout the Hellenistic world, which at that time formed an uninterrupted continuum from the borders of India to Greece. The Edicts indicate a clear understanding of the political organization in Hellenistic territories: the names and location of the main Greek monarchs of the time are identified, and they are claimed as recipients of Buddhist proselytism: Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid Kingdom (261–246 BCE), Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt (285–247 B.C.), Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia (276–239 BCE), Magas of Cyrene (288–258 BCE), and Alexander II of Epirus (272–255 BCE). Alexander II of Epirus (260–218 BCE).]] :"The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas (4,000 miles) away, where the Greek king Antiochos rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos, Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni." (Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock Edict, S. Dhammika). Furthermore, according to Pali sources, some of Ashoka's emissaries were Greek Buddhist monks, indicating close religious exchanges between the two cultures: :"When the thera (elder) Moggaliputta, the illuminator of the religion of the Conqueror (Ashoka), had brought the (third) council to an end (...) he sent forth theras, one here and one there: (...) and to Aparantaka (the "Western countries" corresponding to Gujarat and Sindh) he sent the Greek (Yona) named Dhammarakkhita". (Mahavamsa XII). Mahavamsa) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar. Kabul Museum.]] It is not clear how much these interactions may have been influential, but some authors have commented that some level of syncretism between Hellenist thought and Buddhism may have started in Hellenic lands at that time. They have pointed to the presence of Buddhist communities in the Hellenistic world around that period, in particular in Alexandria (mentioned by Clement of Alexandria), and to the pre-Christian monastic order of the Therapeutae (possibly a deformation of the Pali word "Theravada"), who may have "almost entirely drawn (its) inspiration from the teaching and practices of Buddhist ascetism" (Robert Lissen). Buddhist gravestones from the Ptolemaic period have also been found in Alexandria, decorated with depictions of the Dharma wheel (Tarn, "The Greeks in Bactria and India"). Commenting on the presence of Buddhists in Alexandria, some scholars have even pointed out that “It was later in this very place that some of the most active centers of Christianity were established” (Robert Linssen "Zen living"). In the 2nd century CE, the Christian dogmatist Clement of Alexandria recognized Bactrian Buddhists (Sramanas) and Indian Gymnosophists for their influence on Greek thought: :"Thus philosophy, a thing of the highest utility, flourished in antiquity among the barbarians, shedding its light over the nations. And afterwards it came to Greece. First in its ranks were the prophets of the Egyptians; and the Chaldeans among the Assyrians; and the Druids among the Gauls; and the Sramanas among the Bactrians ("Σαρμαναίοι Βάκτρων"); and the philosophers of the Celts; and the Magi of the Persians, who foretold the Saviour's birth, and came into the land of Judaea guided by a star. The Indian gymnosophists are also in the number, and the other barbarian philosophers. And of these there are two classes, some of them called Sramanas ("Σαρμάναι"), and others Brahmins ("Βραφμαναι")." Clement of Alexandria "The Stromata, or Miscellanies" Book I, Chapter XV

Asian expansion

In the areas east of the Indian subcontinent (today's Burma), Indian culture strongly influenced the Mons. The Mons are said to have been converted to Buddhism around 200 BCE under the proselytizing of the Indian king Ashoka, before the scission between Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhism. Early Mon Buddhist temples, such as Peikthano in central Burma, have been dated between the 1st and the 5th century CE. Hinayana), art of Dvaravati, c.8th century.]] The Buddhist art of the Mons was especially influenced by the Indian art of the Gupta and post-Gupta periods, and their mannerist style spread widely in South-East Asia following the expansion of the Mon kingdom between the 5th and 8th centuries. The Theravada faith expanded in the northern parts of Southeast Asia under Mon influence, until it was progressively displaced by Mahayana Buddhism from around the 6th century CE. Sri Lanka was allegedly proselytized by Ashoka's son Mahinda and six companions during the 2nd century BCE. They converted the king Devanampiva Tissa and many of the nobility. This is when the Mahavihara monastery, a center of Sinhalese orthodoxy, was built. The Pali Canon was put in writing in Sri Lanka during the reign of king Vittagamani (r. 29–17 BCE), and the Theravada tradition flourished there, harbouring some great commentators such as Buddhaghosa (4th–5th century). Although Mahayana Buddhism gained some influence at that time, Theravada ultimately prevailed, and Sri Lanka turned out to be the last stronghold of Theravada Buddhism, from where it would expand again to South-East Asia from the 11th century. There is also a legend, not directly validated by the edicts, that Ashoka sent a missionary to the north, through the Himalayas, to Khotan in the Tarim Basin, then the land of an Indo-European people, the Tocharians. See also: Edicts of Ashoka

Sunga persecutions (2nd–1st c.BCE)

The Sunga dynasty (185–73 BCE) was established in 185 BCE, about 50 years after Ashoka's death. After murdering King Brhadrata (last of the Mauryan rulers), military commander-in-chief Pusyamitra Sunga took the throne. An orthodox Brahmin, Sunga is known for his hostility and persecution towards the Buddhist faith. He is recorded as having "destroyed monasteries and killed Monks" (Divyavadana, pp. 429–434): 84,000 Buddhist stupas which had been built by Ashoka were destroyed (R. Thaper), and 100 gold coins were offered for the head of each Buddhist monk (Indian Historical Quarterly Vol. XXII, p. 81 ff cited in Hars.407). A large number of Buddhist monasteries (viharas) were converted to Hindu temples, in such places as Nalanda, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, or Mathura. See also: Sunga empire

Greco-Buddhist interaction (2nd c. BCE–1st c. CE)

Sunga empire (reigned c. 160–135 BCE).
Obv: Greek legend, BASILEOS SOTHROS MENANDROY lit. "Saviour King Menander".]] In the areas west of the Indian subcontinent, neighboring Greek kingdoms had been in place in Bactria (today's northern Afghanistan) since the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great around 326 BCE: first the Seleucids from around 323 BCE, then the Greco-Bactrian kingdom from around 250 BCE. 250 BCE, 1st-2nd century CE, Gandhara.]] The Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I invaded India in 180 BCE as far as Pataliputra, establishing an Indo-Greek kingdom that was to last in various part of northern India until the end of the 1st century BCE. Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greek kings, and it has been suggested that their invasion of India was intended to show their support for the Mauryan empire, and to protect the Buddhist faith from the religious persecutions of the Sungas (185–73 BCE). One of the most famous Indo-Greek kings is Menander (reigned c. 160–135 BCE). He apparently converted to Buddhism and is presented in the Mahayana tradition as one of the great benefactors of the faith, on a par with king Ashoka or the later Kushan king Kanishka. Menander's coins bear the mention "Saviour king" in Greek, and sometimes designs of the eight-spoked wheel. Direct cultural exchange is also suggested by the dialogue of the Milinda Panha between Menander and the monk Nagasena around 160 BCE. Upon his death, the honour of sharing his remains was claimed by the cities under his rule, and they were enshrined in stupas, in a parallel with the historic Buddha (Plutarch, Praec. reip. ger. 28, 6). Several of Menander's Indo-Greek successors inscribed the mention "Follower of the Dharma" in the Kharoshthi script on their coins, and depicted themselves or their divities forming the vitarka mudra. mudra and a palm of victory on the reverse (British Museum).]] The interaction between Greek and Buddhist cultures may have had some influence on the evolution of Mahayana, as the faith developed its sophisticated philosophical approach and a man-god treatment of the Buddha somewhat reminiscent of Hellenic gods. It is also around that time that the first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha are found, often in realistic Greco-Buddhist style: "One might regard the classical influence as including the general idea of representing a man-god in this purely human form, which was of course well familiar in the West, and it is very likely that the example of westerner's treatment of their gods was indeed an important factor in the innovation" (Boardman, "The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity" ). See also: Greco-Buddhism

Buddhism and the Roman world

Roman historical accounts describe an embassy sent by the "Indian king Pandion (Pandya?), also named Porus", to Caesar Augustus around 13 CE. The embassy was travelling with a diplomatic letter in Greek, and one of its members was a sramana who burned himself alive in Athens to demonstrate his faith. The event made a sensation and was described by Nicolaus of Damascus, who met the embassy at Antioch, and related by Strabo (XV,1,73 ) and Dio Cassius (liv, 9). A tomb was made to the sramana, still visible in the time of Plutarch, which bore the mention "ΖΑΡΜΑΝΟΧΗΓΑΣ ΙΝΔΟΣ ΑΠΟ ΒΑΡΓΟΣΗΣ" ("The sramana master from Barygaza in India"). These accounts at least indicate that Indian religious men (Sramanas, to which the Buddhists belonged, as opposed to Hindu Brahmanas) were circulating in the Levant during the time of Jesus. Some knowledge of Buddhism existed quite early in the West. In the 2nd century CE, Clement of Alexandria, the father of Christian dogmatism, wrote about the Buddha: :"Among the Indians are those philosophers also who follow the precepts of Boutta, whom they honour as a god on account of his extraordinary sanctity." (Clement of Alexandria "The Stromata, or Miscellanies" Book I, Chapter XV ). Early 3rd-4th century Christian writers such as Hippolytus and Epiphanius write about a Scythianus, who visited India around 50 CE from where he brought "the doctrine of the Two Principles". According to these writters, Scythianus' pupil Terebinthus presented himself as a "Buddha" ( "He called himself a Buddas" Isaiah ). Terebinthus went to Palestine and Judaea ("becoming known and condemned" Isaia), and ultimately settled in Babylon, where he transmitted his teachings to Mani, thereby creating the foundation of Manicheism. Manicheism, 2-3rd century CE.]] The story of the birth of the Buddha was also known: a fragment of Archelaos of Carrha (278 CE) mentions the Buddha's virgin-birth, and Saint Jerome (4th century CE) mentions the birth of the Buddha, who he says "was born from the side of a virgin". Queen Maya came to bear the child by the intervention of the Tusita spirit of the Buddha, very much like Jesus was conceived in connection with the visitation of the Holy Ghost to the Virgin Mary. In the 3rd century, the Syrian writer and Christian Gnostic theologian Bar Daisan described his exchanges with the religious missions of holy men from India (Greek: Σαρμαναίοι, Sramanas), passing through Syria on their way to Elagabalus or another Antonine emperor. His accounts were quoted by Porphyry (De abstin., iv, 17 ) and Stobaeus (Eccles., iii, 56, 141). Finally, from the 3rd century to the 12th century, some Gnostic religions such as Manichaeism, which combined Christian, Hebrew and Buddhist influences (Mani, the founder of the religion, resided for some time in Kushan lands), spread throughout the Old World, to Gaul and Britain in the West, and to China in the East. Some leading Christian theologians such as Augustine of Hippo were Manicheans before converting to orthodox Christianity. Such exchanges, many more of which may have gone unrecorded, suggest that Buddhism may have had some influence on early Christianity: "Scholars have often considered the possibility that Buddhism influenced the early development of Christianity. They have drawn attention to many parallels concerning the births, lives, doctrines, and deaths of the Buddha and Jesus" (Bentley, "Old World Encounters").

Rise of Mahayana (1st c.BCE–2nd c.CE)

Jesus (c.100–126 CE) with a Hellenistic representation of the Buddha, and the word "Boddo" in Greek script.]] The rise of Mahayana Buddhism from the 1st century BCE was accompanied by complex political changes in northwestern India. The Indo-Greek kingdoms were gradually overwhelmed, and their culture assimilated by Indo-European nomad migrants from Central Asia, the Indo-Scythians, and then the Yuezhi, who founded the Kushan Empire from around 12 BCE. The Kushans were supportive of Buddhism, and a fourth Buddhist council was convened by the Kushan emperor Kanishka, around 100 CE at Jalandhar or in Kashmir, and is usually associated with the formal rise of Mahayana Buddhism and its scission from Theravada Buddhism. Theravada Buddhism does not recognize the authenticity of this council, and it is sometimes called the "council of heretical monks". It is said that Kanishka gathered 500 bhikkhus in Kashmir, headed by Vasumitra, to edit the Tripitaka and make references and remarks. Allegedly, during the council there were all together three hundred thousand verses and over nine million statements compiled, and it took twelve years to complete. This council did not rely on the original Pali canon (the Tipitaka). Instead, a set of new scriptures was approved, as well as fundamental principles of Mahayana doctrine. The new scriptures, usually in the Gandhari vernacular and the Kharosthi script, were rewritten in the classical language of Sanskrit, to many scholars a turning point in the propagation of Buddhist thought. The new form of Buddhism was characterized by an almost God-like treatment of the Buddha, by the idea that all beings have a Buddha-nature and should aspire to Buddhahood, and by a syncretism due to the various cultural influences within northwestern India and the Kushan Empire.

Mahayana expansion (1st c.CE–10th c.CE)

Kushan Empire From that point on, and in the space of a few centuries, Mahayana was to flourish and spread in the East from India to South-East Asia, and towards the north to Central Asia, China, Korea, and finally to Japan in 538 CE.

India

After the end of the Kushans, Buddhism flourished in India during the dynasty of the Guptas (4th–6th century). Mahayana centers of learning were established, especially at Nalanda in north-eastern India, which was to become the largest and most influential Buddhist university for many centuries, with famous teachers such as Nagarjuna. The Gupta style of Buddhist art became very influential from South-East Asia to China as the faith was spreading there. Buddhists, 11th century, Pala Empire.]] Indian Buddhism weakened in the 7th century following White Hun and Islamic invasions. However, it enjoyed a strong revival under the Pala Empire, in which Mahayana Buddhism flourished between the 8th and the 12th century. The Palas created many temples and a distinctive school of Buddhist art. A milestone in the decline of Indian Buddhism occurred in 1193 when Turkic Islamic raiders under Muhammad Khilji destroyed Nalanda. By the end of the 12th century, following the Islamic conquest of the Buddhist strongholds in Bihar, Buddhists ceased to be a significant presence in India. Additionally, the influence of Buddhism also waned due to Hinduism's revival movements such as Advaita and the rise of the bhakti movement. Despite being born in India, at the dawn of the 20th century, Buddhism was followed only in a few isolated areas of that country. See also: Indian Buddhism, Decline of Buddhism in India

Central and Northern Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia had been influenced by Buddhism probably almost since the time of the Buddha. According to a legend preserved in Pali, the language of the Theravada canon, two merchant brothers from Bactria, named Tapassu and Bhallika, visited the Buddha and became his disciples. They then returned to Bactria and built temples to the Buddha (Foltz). Central Asia long played the role of a meeting place between China, India and Persia. During the 2nd century BCE, the expansion of the Former Han to the west brought them into contact with the Hellenistic civilizations of Asia, especially the Greco-Bactrian Kingdoms. Thereafter, the expansion of Buddhism to the north led to the formation of Buddhist communities and even Buddhist kingdoms in the oases of Central Asia. Some Silk Road cities consisted almost entirely of Buddhist stupas and monasteries, and it seems that one of their main objectives was to welcome and service travelers between east and west. Various Nikaya schools persisted in Central Asia and China until around the 7th century CE. Mahayana started to become dominant during the period, but since the faith had not developed a Nikaya approach, Sarvastivadin and Dharmaguptakas remained the Vinayas of choice in Central Asian monasteries. Buddhism in Central Asia started to decline with the expansion of Islam in the area from the 7th century. The Muslims did not show to the Buddhists the tolerance that they had for other religions "of the Book", such as Christianity or Judaism. Instead they considered Buddhists to be practitioners of idolatry, and tended to persecute them harshly. See also: Silk Road, Silk Road transmission of Buddhism

Tarim Basin

Silk Road transmission of Buddhism, 9th-10th century.]] The eastern part of central Asia (Chinese Turkestan, Tarim Basin, Xinjiang) has revealed extremely rich Buddhist works of art (wall paintings and reliefs in numerous caves, portable paintings on canvas, sculpture, ritual objects), displaying multiple influences from Indian and Hellenistic cultures. Serindian art is highly reminiscent of the Gandharan style, and scriptures in the Gandhari script Kharosthi have been found. Central Asians seem to have played a key role in the transmission of Buddhism to the East. The first translators of Buddhists scriptures into Chinese were either Parthian (Ch: Anxi) like An Shigao (c. 148 CE) or An Hsuan, Kushan of Yuezhi ethnicity like Lokaksema (c. 178 CE), Zhi Qian and Zhi Yao, or Sogdians (Ch: Kangju) like Kang Sengkai. Thirty-seven early translators of Buddhist texts are known, and the majority of them have been identified as Central Asians. Central Asian and East Asian Buddhist monks appear to have maintained strong exchanges until around the 10th century, as shown by frescos from the Tarim Basin. These influences were rapidly absorbed however by the vigorous Chinese culture, and a strongly Chinese particularism develops from that point. See also: Dunhuang, Kingdom of Khotan

China

Buddhism probably arrived in China around the 1st century CE from Central Asia (although there are some traditions about a monk visiting China during Asoka's reign), and through to the 8th century it became an extremely active center of Buddhism. Asoka province. Circa 200 CE. The hair, the moustache and the clothing are strongly indicative of Gandharan influences ("Crossroads of Asia", p.208)]] The year 67 CE saw Buddhism's official introduction to China with the coming of the two monks Moton and Chufarlan. In 68 CE, under imperial patronage, they established the White Horse Temple (白馬寺), which still exists today, close to the imperial capital at Luoyang. By the end of the second century, a prosperous community had been settled at Pengcheng (modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu). The first known Mahayana scriptural texts are translations made into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokaksema in Luoyang, between 178 and 189 CE. Some of the earliest known Buddhist artifacts found in China are small statues on "money trees", dated circa 200 CE, in typical Gandharan style (drawing): "That the imported images accompanying the newly arrived doctrine came from Gandhara is strongly suggested by such early Gandhara characteristics on this "money tree" Buddha as the high ushnisha, vertical arrangement of the hair, moustache, symmetrically looped robe and parallel incisions for the folds of the arms." ("Crossroads of Asia" p209) Buddhism flourished during the beginning of the Tang dynasty (618–907). The dynasty was initially characterized by a strong openness to foreign influences, and renewed exchanges with Indian culture due to the numerous travels of Chinese Buddhist monks to India from the 4th to the 11th century. The Tang capital of Chang'an (Today's Xi'an) became an important center for Buddhist thought. From there Buddhism spread to Korea, and Japanese embassies of Kentoshi helped gain footholds in Japan. Korea)]] However foreign influences came to be negatively perceived towards the end of the Tang dynasty. In the year 845, the Tang emperor Wu-Tsung outlawed all "foreign" religions (including Christian Nestorianism, Zoroastrianism, and Buddhism) in order to support the indigenous Taoism. Throughout his territory, he confiscated Buddhist possessions, destroyed monasteries and temples, and executed Buddhist monks, ending Buddhism's cultural and intellectual dominance. Pure Land and Chan Buddhism, however, continued to prosper for some centuries, the latter giving rise to Japanese Zen. In China, Chan flourished particularly under the Song dynasty (1127–1279), when its monasteries were great centers of culture and learning. Today, China boosts one of the richest collections of Buddhist arts and heritages in the world. UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang in Gansu province, the Longmen Grottoes near Luoyang in Henan province, the Yungang Grottoes near Datong in Shanxi province, and the Dazu Stone Carvings near Chongqing are among the most important and renowned Buddhist sculptural sites. The Leshan Giant Buddha, carved out of a hillside in the 8th century during Tang Dynasty and looking down on the confluence of three rivers, is still the largest stone Buddha statue in the world. See also: Buddhism in China, Chinese Art, Tang Dynasty art Chinese Buddhist cuisine

Korea

Main article: Buddhism in Korea Buddhism was introduced around 372 CE, when Chinese ambassadors visited the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo, bringing scriptures and images. Buddhism prospered in Korea, and in particular Seon (Zen) Buddhism from the 7th century onward. However, with the beginning of the Confucean Yi Dynasty of the Joseon period in 1392, Buddhism was strongly discriminated against until it was almost completely eradicated, except for a remaining Seon movement.

Japan

Main article: Buddhism in Japan Buddhism in Japan Japan, the largest Buddhist country today, discovered Buddhism in the 6th century when monks traveled to the islands together with numerous scriptures and works of art. The Buddhist religion was adopted by the state in the following century. Being geographically at the end of the Silk Road, Japan was able to preserve many aspects of Buddhism at the very time it was disappearing in India, and being suppressed in Central Asia and China. From 710 CE numerous temples and monasteries were built in the capital city of Nara, such as the five-story pagoda and Golden Hall of the Horyuji, or the Kofuku-ji temple. Countless paintings and sculptures were made, often under governmental sponsorship. The creation of Japanese Buddhist art was especially rich between the 8th and 13th century during the periods of Nara, Heian, and Kamakura. From the 12th and 13th, a further development was Zen art, following the introduction of the faith by Dogen and Eisai upon their return from China. Zen art is mainly characterized by original paintings (such as sumi-e and the Enso) and poetry (especially haikus), striving to express the true essence of the world through impressionistic and unadorned "non-dualistic" representations. The search for enlightenment "in the moment" also led to the development of other important derivative arts such as the Chanoyu tea ceremony or the Ikebana art of flower arrangement. This evolution went as far as considering almost any human activity as an art with a strong spiritual and esthetic content, first and foremost in those activities related to combat techniques (martial arts). Buddhism remains very active in Japan to this day. Around 80,000 Buddhist temples are preserved and regularly restored. See also: Japanese Art, Zen

Tibet

Tantric Buddhism started as a movement in eastern India around the 5th or the 6th century. Many of the practices of Tantric Buddhism are derived from Brahmanism (the usage of mantras, yoga, or the burning of sacrificial offerings), and have essentially been influenced by Mahayana thought. Tantrism, also called Vajrayana Buddhism, became the dominant form of Buddhism in Tibet from the 8th century. See also: Buddhism in Tibet, Tibetan art

South-East Asia

Tibetan art (8th century, Sri Vijayan period, Thailand)]] During the 1st century CE, the trade on the overland Silk Road tended to be restricted by the rise in the Middle-East of the Parthian empire, an unvanquished enemy of Rome, just as Romans were becoming extremely wealthy and their demand for Asian luxury was rising. This demand revived the sea connections between the Mediterranean and China, with India as the intermediary of choice. From that time, through trade connection, commercial settlements, and even political interventions, India started to strongly influence Southeast Asian countries. Trade routes linked India with southern Burma, central and southern Siam, lower Cambodia and southern Vietnam, and numerous urbanized coastal settlements were established there. For more than a thousand years, Indian influence was therefore the major factor that brought a certain level of cultural unity to the various countries of the region. The Pali and Sanskrit languages and the Indian script, together with Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, Brahmanism, and Hinduism, were transmitted from direct contact and through sacred texts and Indian literature such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. From the 5th to the 13th century, South-East Asia had very powerful empires and became extremely active in Buddhist architectural and artistic creation. The main Buddhist influence now came directly by sea from the Indian subcontinent, so that these empires essentially followed the Mahayana faith. The Sri Vijaya Empire to the south and the Khmer Empire to the north competed for influence, and their art expressed the rich Mahayana pantheon of the Bodhisattvas.

Sri Vijayan empire (5th–15th century)

The Sri Vijayan empire, a maritime empire centered on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, had adopted Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism under a line of rulers named the Sailendras. Sri-Vijaya spread Mahayana Buddhist art during its expansion in Southeast Asia. Numerous statues of Mahayana Bodhisattvas from this period are characterized by a very strong refinement and technical sophistication, and are found throughout the region. Extremely rich architectural remains are visible at the temple of Borobudur (the largest Buddhist structure in the world, built from around 780 CE), in Java, which has 505 images of the seated Buddha. The Indonesian Buddhist Empire of Sri Vijaya declined due to conflicts with the Chola rulers of India, before being destabilized by the Islamic expansion from the 13th century.

Khmer Empire(9th–13th century)

Chola period (8021431), 10th–11th c.CE]] Later, from the 9th to the 13th century, the Mahayana Buddhist and Hindu Khmer Empire dominated much of the South-East Asian peninsula. Under the Khmer, more than 900 temples were built in Cambodia and in neighboring Thailand. Angkor was at the center of this development, with a temple complex and urban organization able to support around one million urban dwellers. One of the greatest Khmer kings, Jayavarman VII (1181–1219), built large Mahayana Buddhist structures at Bayon and Angkor Thom. Following the destruction of Buddhism in mainland India during the 11th century, Mahayana Buddhism declined in Southeast Asia, to be replaced by the introduction of Theravada Buddhism from Sri Lanka.

Theravada Renaissance (11th century CE— )

Angkor Thom From the 11th century, the destruction of Buddhism in the Indian mainland by Islamic invasions led to the decline of the Mahayana faith in South-East Asia. Continental routes through the Indian subcontinent being compromised, direct sea routes between the Middle-East through Sri Lanka and to China developed, leading to the adoption of the Theravada Buddhism of the Pali canon, introduced to the region around the 11th century CE from Sri Lanka. King Anawrahta (1044–1077), the historical founder of the Burmese empire, unified the country and adopted the Theravada Buddhist faith. This initiated the creation of thousands of Buddhist temples at Pagan, the capital, between the 11th and 13th century. Around 2,000 of them are still standing. The power of the Burmese waned with the rise of the Thai, and with the seizure of the capital Pagan by the Mongols in 1287, but Theravada Buddhism remained the main Burmese faith to this day. The Theravada faith was also adopted by the newly founded ethnic Thai kingdom of Sukhothai around 1260. Theravada Buddhism was further reinforced during the Ayutthaya period (14th–18th century), becoming an integral part of the Thai society. In the continental areas, Theravada Buddhism continued to expand into Laos and Cambodia in the 13th century. However, from the 14th century, on the coastal fringes and in the islands of South-East Asia, the influence of Islam proved stronger, expanding into Malaysia, Indonesia, and most of the islands as far as the southern Philippines. However, since 1966 with Soeharto's rise of power in the aftermath of the bloody events after the so called "September 30th, 1965 murders", allegedly executed by the Communists Party, there has been a remarkable renaissance of Buddhism in Indonesia. This is partly due to the Soeharto's New Order's requirements for the people of Indonesia to adopt one of the five official religions: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism or Buddhism. Today it is estimated there are some 10 millions Buddhists in Indonesia. A large part of them are people of Chinese ancestry.

Expansion of Buddhism to the West

Buddhism After the Classical encounters between Buddhism and the West recorded in Greco-Buddhist art, information and legends about Buddhism seem to have reached the West sporadically. During the 8th century, Buddhist Jataka stories were translated into Syriac and Arabic as Kalilag and Damnag. An account of Buddha's life was translated in to

Indian Buddhism

, India, once a gathering places for Buddhist monks.]]

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, Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
- 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 Buddism 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

The number of Indian Buddhists remains quite small; under 10,000,000 persons (excluding refugees from elsewhere) in a country of over 1,000,000,000. Revival movements have been attempted with limited success. See Neo-Buddhism for a full account.
- Neo-Buddhism A 20th century revivalist movement among bahujan caste and untouchable Indians, initiated in 1956 by Bodhisattva Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.
- Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) is a Buddhist movement that was founded in the UK by Sangharakshita (formerly Dennis Lingwood) 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

Ashoka

Please see Ashoka (disambiguation) for other uses of the word Ashoka Ashoka the Great (IAST , Devanagari अशोक ) was the emperor of the Mauryan empire from 273 BC to 232 BC. After a number of military conquests, Ashoka reigned over most of South Asia and beyond, from present day Afghanistan to Bengal and as far south as Mysore. An early supporter of Buddhism, 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. The name "Ashoka" translates as 'without sorrow' in Sanskrit. Asoka was the first ruler of ancient Bharatavarsha (India), after the famed Mahabharata rulers, to unify such a vast territory under his empire, which in retrospect exceeds the boundaries of the present-day Republic of India. The British author H. G. Wells wrote of Ashoka: "In the history of the world there have been thousands of kings and emperors who called themselves 'Their Highnesses', 'Their Majesties' and 'Their Exalted Majesties' and so on. They shone for a brief moment, and as quickly disappeared. But Ashoka shines and shines brightly like a bright star, even unto this day."

Historical Sources

Information about the life and reign of Ashoka primarily comes from a relatively small number of Buddhist sources. In particular, the Sanskrit Ashoka Avadana ('Story of Ashoka') and the two Pāli chronicles of Sri Lanka (the Dipavamsa and Mahavamsa) provide most of the currently known information about Asoka. Additional information is contributed by the Edicts of Asoka, whose authorship was finally attributed to the Ashoka of Buddhist legend after the discovery of dynastic lists that gave the name used in the edicts (Piyadasi- meaning 'good looking', or 'favored by the Gods') as a title or additional name of Ashoka Mauriya. The use of Buddhist sources in reconstructing the life of Ashoka has had a strong influence on perceptions of Ashoka, and the interpretations of his edicts. Building on traditional accounts, early scholars regarded Ashoka as a primarily Buddhist monarch who underwent a conversion to Buddhism and was actively engaged in sponsoring and supporting the Buddhist monastic institution. Later scholars have tended to question this assessment. The only source of information not attributable to Buddhist sources- the Ashokan edicts- make only a few references to Buddhism directly, despite many references to the concept of dhamma (Sanskrit: dharma). Some interpreters have seen this as an indication that Ashoka was attempting to craft an inclusive, poly-religious civil religion for his empire that was centered on the concept of dharma as a positive moral force, but which did not embrace or advocate any particular philosophy attributable to the religious movements of Ashoka's age (such as the Jains, Buddhists, orthodox Brahmanists, and Ajivikas). Most likely, the complex religious environment of the age would have required careful diplomatic management in order to avoid provoking religious unrest. Modern scholars and adherants of the traditional Buddhist perspective both tend to agree that Ashoka's rule was marked by tolerance towards a number of religious faiths.

Early life

Ashoka was the son of the Mauryan emperor Bindusara by a relatively lower ranked Queen known as Dharma. Ashoka had several elder siblings and just one younger sibling, Vitthashoka. Because of his exemplary intellect and warrior skills, he is said to have been the favorite of his grandfather Chandragupta Maurya. According to legend, Ashoka recovered his grandfather's sword after Chandragupta Maurya cast it away before embarking on life as a Jain ascetic.

Rise to power

Developing into an impeccable warrior general and a shrewd statesman, Ashoka went on to command several regiments of the Mauryan army. His growing popularity across the empire made his elder brothers wary of his chances of being favoured by Bimbasara to become the next emperor. The eldest of them, Prince Susima, the traditional heir to the throne, persuaded Bindusara to send Ashoka to quell an uprising in the city of Taxila in the north-west province of Sindh, of which Prince Susima was the governor. Taxila was a highly volatile place because of the war-like Indo-Greek population and mismanagement by Susima himself. This had led to the formation of different militias causing unrest. Ashoka complied and left for the troubled area. As news of Ashoka's visit with his army trickled in, he was welcomed by the revolting militias and the uprising ended without a fight. (The province revolted once more during the rule of Ashoka, but this time the uprising was crushed with an iron fist). militia Ashoka's success made his step-brothers more wary of his intentions of becoming the emperor, and more incitements from Susima led Bindusara to send Ashoka into exile. He went into Kalinga and stayed incognito there. There he met a fisherwoman named Kaurwaki, with whom he fell in love; recently found inscriptions indicate that she went on to become his second or third queen. Meanwhile, there was again a violent uprising in Ujjain. Emperor Bindusara summoned Ashoka back after an exile of two years. Ashoka went into Ujjain and in the ensuing battle was injured, but his generals quelled the uprising. Ashoka was treated in hiding so that loyalists of the Susima group could not harm him. He was treated by Buddhist monks and nuns. This is where he first learned the teachings of the Buddha, and it is also where he met Devi, who was his personal nurse and the daughter of a merchant from adjacent Vidisha. After recovering, he married her. It was quite unacceptable to Bindusara that one of his sons should marry a Buddhist, so he did not allow Ashoka to stay in Pataliputra, but instead sent him back to Ujjain and made him the governor of Ujjain. The following year passed quite peacefully for him and Devi was about to deliver his first child. In the meantime, Emperor Bindusara died. As the news of the unborn heir to the throne spread, Prince Susima planned the execution of the unborn child; however, the assassin who came to kill Devi and her child killed his mother instead. As the folklore goes, in a fit of rage, Prince Ashoka attacked Pataliputra (modern day Patna), and beheaded all his brothers, including Susima, and threw their bodies in a well in Pataliputra. At that stage of his life, many called him Chanda Ashoka meaning murderer and heartless Ashoka. Ascending the throne, Ashoka expanded his empire over the next eight years, expanding it from the present-day boundaries of Bangladesh and the state of Assam in India in the east to the territory of present-day Iran and Afghanistan in the west; from the Pamir Knots in the north to the almost peninsular part of southern India. At that stage of his life, he was called Chakravartin which literally translates to "he for whom the wheel of law turns" (broadly meaning the emperor). right

Conquest of Kalinga

While the early part of Ashoka's reign was apparently quite bloodthirsty, he became a follower of the Buddha's teaching after his conquest of Kalinga, on the east coast of India in the present-day state of Orissa. Kalinga was a state that prided itself on its sovereignty and democracy; with its monarchical-cum-parliamentary democracy, it was quite an exception in ancient Bharata, as there existed the concept of Rajdharma, meaning the duty of the rulers, which was intrinsically entwined with the concept of bravery and Kshatriya dharma. The pretext for the start of the Kalinga War (265 BC or 263 BC) is uncertain. One of Susima's brothers might have fled to Kalinga and found official refuge there. This enraged Ashoka immensely. He was advised by his ministers to attack Kalinga for this act of treachery. Ashoka then asked Kalinga's royalty to submit before his supremacy. When they defied this diktat, Ashoka sent one of his generals to Kalinga to make them submit. The general and his forces were, however, completely routed through the skilled tactics of Kalinga's commander-in-chief. Ashoka, baffled at this defeat, attacked with the greatest invasion ever recorded in Indian history until then. Kalinga put up a stiff resistance, but they were no match for Ashoka's brutal strength. The whole of Kalinga was plundered and destroyed: Ashoka's later edicts say that about 100,000 people were killed on the Kalinga side and 10,000 from Ashoka's army; thousands of men and women were deported.

Conversion to Buddhism

As the legend goes, one day after the war was over, Ashoka ventured out to roam the city and all he could see were burnt houses and scattered corpses. This sight made him sick and he cried the famous quotation, "What have I done?" The brutality of the conquest led him to adopt Buddhism and he used his position to propagate the relatively new philosophy to new heights, as far as ancient Rome and Egypt. From that point Ashoka, who had been described as "the cruel Ashoka" (Chandashoka), started to be described as "the pious Ashoka" (Dharmashoka). He made Vibhajjavada Buddhism his state religion around 260 BC. He propagated the Vibhajjvada school of Buddhism and preached it within his domain and worldwide from about 250 BC. Emperor Ashoka undoubtedly has to be credited with the first serious attempt to develop a Buddhist polity. polity.]] Prominent in this cause were his son Venerable Mahinda and daughter Sanghamitta (whose name means "friend of the Sangha"), who established Buddhism in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). He built thousands of stupas and Viharas for Buddhist followers. The Stupas of Sanchi are world famous and the stupa named Sanchi Stupa 1 was built by Emperor Ashoka. During the remaining portion of Ashoka's reign, he pursued an official policy of nonviolence or ahimsa. Even the unnecessary slaughter or mutilation of animals was immediately abolished. Wildlife became protected by the king's law against sport hunting and branding. Limited hunting was permitted for consumption reasons but Ashoka also promoted the concept of vegetarianism. Ashoka also showed mercy to those imprisoned, allowing them outside one day each year. He attempted to raise the professional ambition of the common man by building universities for study and water transit and irrigation systems for trade and agriculture. He treated his subjects as equals regardless of their religion, politics and caste. The kingdoms surrounding his, so easily overthrown, were instead made to be well-respected allies. He is acclaimed for constructing hospitals for animals and renovating major roads throughout India. After this transformation of self, Ashoka came to be known as Dhammashoka (Pāli), meaning Ashoka, the follower of Dharma. Ashoka defined the main principles of dharma (dhamma in Pāli) as nonviolence, tolerance of all sects and opinions, obedience to parents, respect for the Brahmans and other religious teachers and priests, liberality towards friends, humane treatment of servants, and generosity towards all. These principles suggest a general ethic of behavior to which no religious or social group could object. generosity) by king Ashoka, from Kandahar. Kabul Museum.]] Some critics say that Ashoka was afraid of more wars, but among his neighbors, including the Seleucid Empire and the Greco-Bactrian kingdom established by Diodotus I, none could match his strength. He was a contemporary of both Antiochus I Soter and his successor Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid dynasty as well as Diodotus I and his son Diodotus II of the Greco-Bactrian kingdom. If his inscriptions and edicts are well studied, one finds that he was familiar with the Hellenic world but never in awe of it. The Edicts of Ashoka, which talk of friendly relations, give the names of both Antiochus of the Seleucid empire and Ptolemy III of Egypt. But the fame of the Mauryan empire was widespread from the time that Ashoka's grandfather Chandragupta Maurya defeated Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the Seleucid Dynasty. The Ashoka Pillar at Sarnath is the most popular of the relics left by Ashoka. Made of sandstone, this pillar records the visit of the emperor to Sarnath, in the 3rd century BC. It has a four-lion capital (four lions standing back to back) which was adopted as the emblem of the modern Indian republic. The lion symbolises both Ashoka's imperial rule and the kingship of the Buddha. In translating these monuments, historians learn the bulk of what is assumed to have been true fact of the Mauryan Empire. It is difficult to determine whether certain events ever happened, but the stone etchings depict clearly of how Ashoka wanted to be thought and how he wanted to be remembered. emblem] Ashoka's own words as known from his Edicts are: "All men are my children. I am like a father to them. As every father desires the good and the happiness of his children, I wish that all men should be happy always." Edward D'Cruz interprets the Ashokan dharma as a "religion to be used as a symbol of a new imperial unity and a cementing force to weld the diverse and heterogeneous elements of the empire". See also: Edicts of Ashoka

Death and legacy

Emperor Ashoka ruled for an estimated forty years, and after his death, the Maurya dynasty lasted just fifty more years. Ashoka had many wives and children, but their names are lost to time. Mahinda and Sanghamitta were twins born by his first wife, Devi, in the city of Ujjain. He had entrusted to them the job of making his state religion, Buddhism, more popular across the known and the unknown world. Mahinda and Sanghamitta went into Sri Lanka and converted the King, the Queen and their people to Buddhism. So they were naturally not the ones handling state affairs after him. Some rare records speak of a successor of Ashoka named Kunal, who was his son from his last wife. But his rule did not last long after Ashoka's death. right The reign of Emperor Ashoka Maurya could easily have disappeared into history as the ages passed by, and would have, if he had not left behind a record of his trials. The testimony of this wise king was discovered in the form of magnificently sculpted pillars and boulders with a variety of actions and teachings he wished to be published etched into the stone. What Ashoka left behind was the first written language in India since the ancient city of Harappa. Rather than Sanskrit, the language used for inscription was the current spoken form called Prakrit. In the year 185 BC, about fifty years after Ashoka's death, the last Mauryan ruler, Brhadrata, was brutally murdered by the commander-in-chief of the Mauryan armed forces, Pusyamitra Sunga, while he was taking the Guard of Honor of his forces. Pusyamitra Sunga founded the Sunga dynasty (185 BC-78 BC) and ruled just a fragmented part of the Mauryan Empire. Not until some 2,000 years later under Akbar the Great and his great-grandson Aurangzeb would as large a portion of the subcontinent as that ruled by Ashoka again be united under a single ruler. When India gained independence from the British Empire it adopted Ashoka's emblem for its own, placing the dharma wheel(The Wheel of Rightious Duty) that crowned his many columns on the flag of the newly independent state. Ashoka was ranked #53 on Michael H. Hart's list of the most influential figures in history. A semi-fictionalized portrayal of Ashoka's life was produced as a motion picture recently under the title Asoka.

Ashoka and Buddhist Kingship

One of the more enduring legacies of Ashoka Maurya was the model that he provided for the relationship between Buddhism and the state. Throughout Theravada Southeast Asia, the model of rulership embodied by Ashoka replaced the Brahmanist notion of divine kingship that had previously dominated (in the Angkor kingdom, for instance). Under this model of 'Buddhist kingship', the king sought to legitimize his rule not through descent from a divine source, but by supporting and earning the approval of the Buddhist sangha. Following Ashoka's example, kings established monasteries, funded the construction of stupas, and supported the ordination of monks in their kingdom. Many rulers also took an active role in resolving disputes over the status and regulation of the sangha, as Ashoka had in calling a conclave to settle a number of contentious issues during his reign. This development ultimately lead to a close association in many Southeast Asian countries between the monarchy and the religious hierarchy, an association that can still be seen today in the state-supported Buddhism of Thailand and the traditional role of the Thai king as both a religious and secular leader.

Ashoka in popular culture

- Asoka is a film based on his life.
- Asoka ki chinta is a famous hindi poem by Jaishankar Prasad. The poem portrays Asoka's mindset during Kalinga War.

External links

[http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/king_asoka.pdf King Asoka and Buddhism. Historical and Literary studies]

Sources

Swearer, Donald. Buddhism and Society in Southeast Asia. Anima Books. Chambersburg, PA. 1981. ISBN 0890120234. Category:Mauryan dynasty Category:Buddhism Ashoka Category:Theravada Buddhism ja:アショーカ王

273 BCE

Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 320s BC 310s BC 300s BC 290s BC 280s BC - 270s BC - 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC 230s BC 220s BC 278 BC 277 BC 276 BC 275 BC 274 BC - 273 BC - 272 BC 271 BC 270 BC 269 BC 268 BC ---- Births
- Deaths
- Events
- Category:270s BC

232 BCE

Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC - 230s BC - 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC Years: 237 BC 236 BC 235 BC 234 BC 233 BC - 232 BC - 231 BC 230 BC 229 BC 228 BC 227 BC ---- Events
- King Agron dies, and the throne of Illyria is occupied by his wife Queen Teuta (Tefta), "the Catherine the Great of Illyria", who expels the Greeks from the Albanian coast and then launches pirate ships into the Ionian Sea, preying on Roman shipping.
- In Rome, the Lex Flaminia de agro Gallico et Piceno viritim dividundo authorizes the distribution of land in Gaul to Roman colonists.
- Seleucus II Callinicus tried to regain Parthia Births
- Deaths
- Ashoka, Buddhist ruler of the Mauryan empire in India
- Cleanthes of Assos, head of the Stoic School in Athens
- Agron, the first king of Illyria (modern Albania) Category:230s BC

Hinduism

:This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). Hinduism (हिन्दू धर्म; also known as Sanātana Dharma - सनातन धर्म, and Vaidika-Dharma - वैदिक धर्म) is a worldwide religious tradition that is based on the Vedas and is the direct descendent of the Vedic Indo-Iranian religion. It encompasses many religious traditions that widely vary in practice, as well as many diverse sects and philosophies. An array of deities are worshipped. Beliefs, codes and principles vary from region to region. It has proven impossible to trace the beginning of Vedic religion, although modern estimates of Hinduism's origin vary from 3102 BCE to 1300 BCE. It is also the third largest religion in the world with a following of approximately 1 billion people. Ninety-eight percent of Hindus can be found on the Indian subcontinent, chiefly in India. It is noteworthy however that the relatively small Himalayan kingdom of Nepal is the only nation in the world with Hinduism as its state religion. See Hindu for more about a Hindu and different communities of Hindus.
Core Concepts

The Eternal Way
"Sanātana Dharma" (सनातन धर्म, The Eternal Values ), Hinduism's traditional name, speaks to the idea that certain spiritual principles hold eternally true, transcending man-made constructs, representing a pure science of consciousness. This consciousness is not merely that of the body or mind and intellect, but of a transcendental state that exists within and beyond our existence, the unsullied Soul of all. Religion to the Hindu is the eternal search for the divine Brahman (ब्रह्मन्, pronounced as "brəhmən", nominative singular being ब्रह्म or "brəhmə"), the Supreme immanent and transcendent Reality or the Cosmic Spirit. Hinduism's aspiration is best expressed in the following mantra: :OM Asato mā sadgamaya, tamaso mā jyotirgamaya, mrityor māmritam gamaya :"OM Lead me from falsehood to truth, from darkness to light, from death to immortality." mantra
Basic beliefs
What can be said to be common to all Hindus is the belief in Dharma (duties and obligations), Reincarnation (rebirth), Karma ("actions", leading to a cause and effect relationship), and Moksha (salvation) of every soul through a variety of paths, such as Bhakti (devotion), Karma (action) and Jnana (knowledge), and of course, belief in God (Ishvara). Reincarnation or the soul's transmigration through a cycle of birth and death, until it attains Moksha, is governed by Karma. The philosophy of Karma lays forth the results of free-willed actions, which leave their imprint on the soul or the self, called as ātman. These actions determine the course of life and the life cycle for the soul in its subsequent life. Virtuous actions take the soul closer to the divine supreme and lead to a birth with higher-consciousness. Evil actions hinder this recognition of the divine supreme and the soul takes lower forms of worldly life. All existence, per Hinduism, from vegetation to mankind, are subjects to the eternal Dharma, which is the natural law. Even Heaven (svarga) and Hell (naraka) are temporary. Liberation from this material existence and cycle of birth and death, to join, reach or develop a relationship with the "universal spirit" (depending on belief), is known as moksha, which is the ultimate goal of Hindus. The other principles include the guru/chela dynamic, the Divinity of Word of OM and the power of mantras (religious hymn), manifestations of the divine's spirit in all forms of existence (pantheism); that is an understanding that the essential spark of the (Atman/Brahman) is in every living being, the concept that all human beings are divine.
Practice (Yoga Dharma)
Hinduism includes a variety of practices, primarily spiritual devotion (Bhakti Yoga), selfless service (Karma Yoga), knowledge and meditation (Jnana or Raja Yoga). These are described in the two principal texts of Hindu Yoga: The Bhagavad Gita and the Yoga Sutras. The Upanishads are also important as a philosophical foundation for these practices. The yogas provide a sort of alternate path (or faiths) that links together various Hindu beliefs and can also be used to categorize non-Hindu beliefs that are seen as paths to moksha, or nirvana.
The four objectives Of Life
Another major aspect of Hindu dharma that is common to practically all Hindus is that of the purusharthas, the "four objectives of life". They are kama, artha, dharma and moksha. It is said that all humans seek kama (pleasure, physical or emotional) and artha (material wealth), but soon, with maturity, learn to govern these legitimate desires within the higher framework of dharma (righteousness). Of course, the only goal that is truly ultimate, whose attainment results in ultimate happiness, is moksha (salvation), also known as Mukti (spiritual liberation), Samadhi, Nirvana, or escape from Samsara (the cycle of birth and death).
The four stages of Life
Ideally (though not feasible for most of today's lay Hindus), the human life is divided into four Ashramas ("phases" or "stages"). They are Brahmacharya, Grihastha, Vanaprastha and Sanyasa. The first quarter of one's life, Brahmacharya ("meditation in Brahma") is spent in celibate, controlled, sober and pure contemplation under a Guru, building up the mind for the realization of truth. Grihastya is the householder's stage, alternatively known as samsara, in which one marries and satisfies kama and artha within a married life and professional career. Vanaprastha is gradual detachment from the material world, ostensibly giving over duties to one's children, spending more time in contemplation of the Divine, and making holy pilgrimages. Finally, in sanyasa, the individual goes into seclusion, often envisioned as the renunciation, to find the Divine through detachment from worldly life and peacefully shed the body for the next life. sanyasa]]
Nature of God
The Vedas depict Brahman as the Ultimate Reality, the Absolute or Universal Soul (Param-atman), One without form, shape, gender, begining or the end (Nirguna, Nirankara). In Hinduism God is a form of Cosmic Energy or Universal Power to create, to preserve and to destroy. To make it easily understandable to primitive people more than five thousand years ago, a concept of the Trinity - god of creation (Brahma), god of preservation (Vishnu) and god of destruction (Shiva) - gods with various human forms and symbols was introduced. To humanize it further and to emphasize the importance of righteous way of life, there is a feminine aspect to the Trinity (Sarswati, Lakshmi and Parpati, respectively) and even their offsprings (Ganesha and Kartikeya). Hinduism because of its very concept, even incorporated some the religious beliefs, gods and goddesses of native peoples conquered by early Hindus. Some people misunderstand Hinduism as multigod religion but that is absolutely untrue. There also exists the lord of the universe, whom some call as Vishnu and some as Shiva, and other devas as different aspects of the potency of one Brahman. Brahman is the indescribable, inexhaustible, incorporeal, omniscient, omnipresent, original, first, eternal, both transcendent and immanent, absolute infinite existence, and the ultimate principle who is without a beginning, without an end , who is hidden in all and who is the cause, source, material and effect of all creation known, unknown and yet to happen in the entire universe. Brahman (not to be confused with the deity Brahmā) is seen as a panentheistic "universal spirit". The personality behind Brahman is known as Parabrahman (The superior Brahman). Unlike Abrahamic religions which believe in a strictly personal God, Hindus believe in a both the personal and impersonal concept of God, usually called as Ishvara (ईश्वर, lit., the Supreme Lord). Hindus maintain that Ishvara is One and only One, although He can be viewed as having many manifestations such as Vishnu or transformations such as Shiva while Vaishnavites and Shaivites view Vishnu or Shiva respectively to be the same as Ishvara. The terms Ishvara and devas must not be confused. Devas could be as numerous as 330 million. These Devas may variously be translated into English as gods, demi-gods, deities, spirits or angels. Ishvara could be viewed in any way, as a non-corporeal, infinite, spiritual being, or as anthropomorphic deities such as Shiva and Vishnu, for the sake of devotional worship. Note that Brahmā, Vishnu and Shiva are not regarded as ordinary devas but as Mahadevas. Brahman is viewed as without personal attributes (Nirguna Brahman) or with attributes (Saguna Brahman, equated with Ishvara) as God. In Advaita Vedanta, Ishvara is simply the manifested form of Brahman upon the human mind. Thus according to Smarta views, the divine can be with attributes, Saguna Brahman, and also be viewed with whatever attributes, (e.g., a female goddess) a devotee conceives. In Vaishnavism and Shaivism, Saguna Brahman such Vishnu or Shiva is viewed as male. Vaishnavites consider Vishnu to be the source of Brahman. The divine power (or energy) of God is personified as female or Shakti. However, the Divine and divine energy are indivisible, unitary, and the same. The analogy is that fire represents the divine and the actual heat Shakti. Though all the different paths of Moksha (salvation) are, to various extents, acknowledged by all denominations, the actual conception of Brahman and i