The end of Buddhism in India - a thread
1/5
With so much propaganda going on about the evil brahmins "destroying" Buddhism and causing it to vanish out of India, here is my personal analysis of why it fell.
REASONS
1. Turkish Invasions -
The fall of Buddhism was undoubtedly precipitated by the Islamic Turkish invasion and sacking of monasteries, universities, and libraries.
2. Abstraction at the technical level -
For several centuries, philosophical debates among and between the various Hindu and Buddhist sects refined their religious philosophies which made them abstract and less easy for the layperson to differentiate.
But why was Buddhism and not Hinduism, vulnerable due to these?
1/5
With so much propaganda going on about the evil brahmins "destroying" Buddhism and causing it to vanish out of India, here is my personal analysis of why it fell.
REASONS
1. Turkish Invasions -
The fall of Buddhism was undoubtedly precipitated by the Islamic Turkish invasion and sacking of monasteries, universities, and libraries.
2. Abstraction at the technical level -
For several centuries, philosophical debates among and between the various Hindu and Buddhist sects refined their religious philosophies which made them abstract and less easy for the layperson to differentiate.
But why was Buddhism and not Hinduism, vulnerable due to these?
2/5 The end of Buddhism in India
3. Syncretism at the layman level -
Development of tantra and the proliferation of a host of Bodhisattva and Dharmapala deities must have also made Buddhism less different to a common folk from orthodox or tantric Hinduism. Also, there was absorption of Buddhism by Hinduism as well which is reflected in the Vaishnavite doctrine of Buddha as an avatara of Vishnu. Even the Pala dynasty, the last Buddhist dynasty to rule India, who considered themselves as proud Buddhists, also prided themselves on full observance of rituals and offerings to gods and the observance of varna.
So, with the common man unable to see a distinct Buddhism in the level of praxis, it became to be seen as a religion of specialists and philosophers. It became increasingly associated with monastic learning as it failed to distinguish itself from Hinduism at the common level of the layman.
3. Syncretism at the layman level -
Development of tantra and the proliferation of a host of Bodhisattva and Dharmapala deities must have also made Buddhism less different to a common folk from orthodox or tantric Hinduism. Also, there was absorption of Buddhism by Hinduism as well which is reflected in the Vaishnavite doctrine of Buddha as an avatara of Vishnu. Even the Pala dynasty, the last Buddhist dynasty to rule India, who considered themselves as proud Buddhists, also prided themselves on full observance of rituals and offerings to gods and the observance of varna.
So, with the common man unable to see a distinct Buddhism in the level of praxis, it became to be seen as a religion of specialists and philosophers. It became increasingly associated with monastic learning as it failed to distinguish itself from Hinduism at the common level of the layman.
3/5 The end of Buddhism in India
4. Rural Roots
Hinduism was always more firmly rooted to the common man and had a connection from the village level praxis to the technical level. The brahmins not only were found in philosophical schools but also as purohitas in every village, administering to the ritual & religious needs of all of its householders. So, brahminism had a more rooted and wider demographic base and ensured that there was a connect from the praxis of the common to the sophisticated debates of the schools. At its height, the Universtity of Nalanda was supported by tithes from approximately 100 villages which enabled it to offer free training to about 10,000 students (Buddhist and non Buddhist). Buddhism on the other hand, as time went on, evolved to become more free from any immediate economic dependence on the village communities and came to depend more on royal patronage, donation of lump sums from richer elites, and the past wealth gathered by its institutions. It also ceased to proselytise or to make effort to maintain itself as a distinct religion at the local level, and turned inward into philosophical debate or esoteric tantric rituals.
PC: Dharma Dispatch dharmadispatch.in/culture/the-po…
4. Rural Roots
Hinduism was always more firmly rooted to the common man and had a connection from the village level praxis to the technical level. The brahmins not only were found in philosophical schools but also as purohitas in every village, administering to the ritual & religious needs of all of its householders. So, brahminism had a more rooted and wider demographic base and ensured that there was a connect from the praxis of the common to the sophisticated debates of the schools. At its height, the Universtity of Nalanda was supported by tithes from approximately 100 villages which enabled it to offer free training to about 10,000 students (Buddhist and non Buddhist). Buddhism on the other hand, as time went on, evolved to become more free from any immediate economic dependence on the village communities and came to depend more on royal patronage, donation of lump sums from richer elites, and the past wealth gathered by its institutions. It also ceased to proselytise or to make effort to maintain itself as a distinct religion at the local level, and turned inward into philosophical debate or esoteric tantric rituals.
PC: Dharma Dispatch dharmadispatch.in/culture/the-po…
4/5 The end of Buddhism in India
5. Resurgence of Hinduism & the Bhakti Movement
Just before the Islamic invasions, Hinduism had experienced a resurgence with the rise of many philosophers hostile to Buddhism (Shankara, Kumarila, etc..) and also the bhakti sects like Vaishnavism and Shaivism - both of which gathered huge following from villages to cities all across the breadth of India. Buddhism does not seem to have had any response to this and continued to maintain itself as an esoteric faith. These Hindu philosophers like Shankara not only philosophers who debated Buddhism but also were effective synthesizers who connected their philosophies with ritual praxis and the worship of deities that gave a connect between the common man concerns and the philosophy - Shankara not only wrote philosophy and debated Buddhists but also systematized the Hindu pantheon and brahminical rituals and established institutions which remained both philosophical centres as well as connecting to the rituals of the common man. This is obvious considering what the mathas established by Shankara and Ramanuja are doing even today.
5. Resurgence of Hinduism & the Bhakti Movement
Just before the Islamic invasions, Hinduism had experienced a resurgence with the rise of many philosophers hostile to Buddhism (Shankara, Kumarila, etc..) and also the bhakti sects like Vaishnavism and Shaivism - both of which gathered huge following from villages to cities all across the breadth of India. Buddhism does not seem to have had any response to this and continued to maintain itself as an esoteric faith. These Hindu philosophers like Shankara not only philosophers who debated Buddhism but also were effective synthesizers who connected their philosophies with ritual praxis and the worship of deities that gave a connect between the common man concerns and the philosophy - Shankara not only wrote philosophy and debated Buddhists but also systematized the Hindu pantheon and brahminical rituals and established institutions which remained both philosophical centres as well as connecting to the rituals of the common man. This is obvious considering what the mathas established by Shankara and Ramanuja are doing even today.
5/5 The end of Buddhism in India
THE PROCESS
The beginning of the end started in the 8th century with the first Muslim forays into India that led to the destruction of the university of Valabhi. In the 12th century, the Muslims extended their presence across the whole of the northern subcontinent. Nalanda was sacked in 1197. Vikramshila was sacked in 1203. Muslim chroniclers mention that the universities were initially mistaken for fortresses and hence were burnt and ravaged, before the occupants could even explain who they were and what the place was. (Warder, 1980). So, the heartland of Buddhism (Gangetic basin) was now under Islamic rule.
But Buddhist groups survived in India in pockets for longer. A Tibetan pilgrim Dharmasvamin, seeking scriptures among the ruins of Nalanda found a monk named Rahulasribhadra teaching Sanskrit grammar to a handful of pupils in 1295. But most fled to either East Asia or to South India. Buddhist institutions in Southern India survived for much longer. There is evidence for Theravada Buddhism presence in Karnataka as late as the 16th century and in Tamil Nadu as late as the 17th century. (Ritti 1989, Gombrich 1988). Gradually it died down due to the other reasons mentioned above - its disconnect with the village, syncretism, and a resurgent bhakti movement.
Pic: A statue of Buddha being worshipped as a Hindu god in Athoor in Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu.
THE PROCESS
The beginning of the end started in the 8th century with the first Muslim forays into India that led to the destruction of the university of Valabhi. In the 12th century, the Muslims extended their presence across the whole of the northern subcontinent. Nalanda was sacked in 1197. Vikramshila was sacked in 1203. Muslim chroniclers mention that the universities were initially mistaken for fortresses and hence were burnt and ravaged, before the occupants could even explain who they were and what the place was. (Warder, 1980). So, the heartland of Buddhism (Gangetic basin) was now under Islamic rule.
But Buddhist groups survived in India in pockets for longer. A Tibetan pilgrim Dharmasvamin, seeking scriptures among the ruins of Nalanda found a monk named Rahulasribhadra teaching Sanskrit grammar to a handful of pupils in 1295. But most fled to either East Asia or to South India. Buddhist institutions in Southern India survived for much longer. There is evidence for Theravada Buddhism presence in Karnataka as late as the 16th century and in Tamil Nadu as late as the 17th century. (Ritti 1989, Gombrich 1988). Gradually it died down due to the other reasons mentioned above - its disconnect with the village, syncretism, and a resurgent bhakti movement.
Pic: A statue of Buddha being worshipped as a Hindu god in Athoor in Dindigul district, Tamil Nadu.
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