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DECLINE AND REVIVALBuddhism is a world religion, which arose in and around ancient Magadha and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama who is known as the Buddha (literally the Enlightened One orAwakened One). It spread outside of Magadha starting in the Buddha's lifetime, and with the reign of the Buddhist Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, spread across India and became the dominant religion. Followers of Buddhism, called Buddhists referred to themselves as Sakyans or Sakyabhiksu in ancient India.Buddhist scholar Donald S. Lopez asserts they also used the term Bauddha, although scholar Richard Cohen asserts that that term was used only by outsiders to describe Buddhists.

Buddhism has spread outside of India through two main traditions; Theravada which extended south and east and now has widespread following in Southeast Asia and Sri Lanka, and Mahayana, which diffused first west, then north and later east throughout East Asia. Both traditions have since spread throughout the world, mainly in North America and Europe. The practice of Buddhism as a distinct and organized religion declined from the land of its origin in around 13th century, but not without leaving a significant impact. Hindus continued to absorb Buddhist practices and teachings, such as meditation and the renunciation of the material world.Buddhist practice is most common in Himalayan areas like Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh and Sikkim. Buddhism has reemerged as a major faith in India in the past century, thanks to its adoption by many Indian intellectuals, the migration of Buddhist Tibetan exiles, and the mass conversion of hundreds of thousands of Hindu Dalits.

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

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 region as Bihar.

At the Deer Park Water Reservation 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 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.

Just before Buddha died, he reportedly told his followers that thereafter the Dharma would be their leader. The early arhants considered Gautama's words the primary source of Dharma (doctrine, teaching) and Vinaya (rules of discipline and community living), and took great pains to formulate and transmit his teachings accurately. Nonetheless, no ungarnished collection of his sayings has survived. The version of the Canon (accepted scripture) preserved in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan are sectarian variants of a corpus that grew and crystallized during three centuries of oral transmission.

Buddhist movements

The Buddha did not appoint any successor, and asked his followers to work for personal salvation. The teachings of the Buddha existed only in oral traditions. The Sangha held a number of Buddhist councils in order to reach consenseus on matters of Buddhist doctrine and practice.

According to the scriptures, a monk by the name of Mahakasyapa presided over the first Buddhist council held at Rajgir. Its purpose was to recite and agree on the Buddha's actual teachings and on monastic discipline. Some scholars consider this council fictitious.

The Second Buddhist Council is said to have taken place at Vaishāli. Its purpose was to deal with questionable monastic practices like the use of money, the drinking of palm wine, and other irregularities; the council declared these practices unlawful.

What is commonly called the Third Buddhist Council was held at Pātaliputra, and was called by Emperor Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. Organized by the monk Moggaliputta Tissa, it was held in order to rid the sangha of the large number of monks who had joined the order because of its royal patronage. Most scholars now believe this council was exclusively Theravada, and that the dispatch of missionaries to various countries at about this time was nothing to do with it.

What is often called the Fourth Buddhist council is generally believed to have been held under the patronage of emperor Kanishka at Jālandhar, though the late Monseigneur Professor Lamotte considered it fictitious. It is generally believed to have been a council of the Sarvastivada school.

Following the Buddha's passing, many philosophical movements emerged within Buddhism. The first of these were the various Early Buddhist Schools (including Theravada). Later Mahayana Buddhismand Vajrayana Buddhism arose.

Early Buddhism Schools

Main article: Early Buddhist Schools

The Early Buddhist Schools were the various schools in which pre-sectarian Buddhism split in the first few centuries after the passing away of the Buddha (in about the fifth century BCE). These schools have in common an attitude to the scriptures, that doesn't accept the inclusion of the Mahayana Sutras as valid teachings of Gautama Buddha. It accepts the Tipitaka as the final recension of the teachings of the Buddha.

• Theravada is the single remaining representative of the Early Buddhist Schools of Indian Buddhism. Theravada is now practiced mainly inSri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.
• Another prominent Nikaya school was the Sarvastivada, and much of its doctrine was incorporated into Tibetan Buddhism. It included one of the main branches of Indian Abhidharma that was instrumental in the creation of the Yogacara doctrine. Its system of monastic rulesVinaya is still used in Tibetan Buddhism and has also been influential in monastic Chinese Buddhism.

Mahayana

The Mahāyāna branch of Buddhism popularized the concept of a Bodhisattva (literally enlightened being or "a Buddha-to-be") and the worship of the bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas like Mañjuśrī,Avalokiteśvara, Maitreya became the focus of popular devotional worship in the Mahāyāna sect. According to the Mahāyāna tradition, the key attributes of the bodhisattvas are compassion and kindness.

Mahayana Buddhism includes the following Indian schools:

• Mādhyamaka (Middle Way), a Mahāyāna tradition popularized by Nāgārjuna and Aśvaghoṣa.
• Yogācāra (Consciousness Only), founded by Asaṅga and Vasubandhu.

Vajrayana

A form of Indian Buddhism that emerged in the 4th century AD and later became widespread in Tibet, and Japan. The Vajrayana developed in India, but was spread to Tibet, and has also been practiced in Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, and Mongolia.

This school emerged from forest meditation traditions in northern India, in which the entire emphasis of teachings was on practice, using skillful means to attain the goal of enlightenment in one's present lifetime. This form is also known as Vajrayana (The Diamond Vehicle). Tantrism is an esoterictradition. Its initiation ceremonies involve entry into a mandala, a mystic circle or symbolic map of the spiritual universe. Also central to Tantrism is the use of mudras and mantras. Vajrayana became the dominant form of Buddhism in Tibet and was also transmitted through China to Japan, where it continues to be practiced by the Shingon sect.

It is generally accepted that the spread of Buddhism from India to Tibet and then to the wider regions of Central and East Asia took place mainly via Kashmir.

A lesser known route of transmission is that which went through the valley of Kathmandu, situated in present-day Nepal. The valley, forms the cradle of the Nepali state today, and since the farthest point in historical time, has found itself under the cultural influence of the South Asian Hindu (and also Buddhist) civilization. However, being a distant outpost of Hinduism (and Buddhism), it was spared from the ravages of later conquests and social upheavals. Even after Buddhism died in the heartland, it survived in Kathmandu valley. Monastic records in the numerous monasteries show that till the mid-medieval period in Nepali history, Tibetan students regularly came there for learning Buddhism from the local spiritual masters. The Tibetan religious scripts Lantsha and Vartu are variants of the Ranjana system used by the Newars of Kathmandu. However, due to numerous social, economic and political factors prominent among which was declining patronage from the Hindu rulers, Buddhist monasticism in the valley died. By then Tibetan Buddhism had already gained prominence in the region. Today, in the urban centres of Kathmandu valley, we still find Indian Mahayana Buddhism, modified through mixing with Vajrayana, practiced by the local Buddhist Newar population.

Strengthening of Buddhism in India

The Early Spread of Buddhism

"During the sixth and fifth centuries B.C.E., commerce and cash became increasingly important in an economy previously dominated by self-sufficient production and bartered exchange. Merchants found Buddhist moral and ethical teachings an attractive alternative to the esoteric rituals of the traditional brahmin priesthood, which seemed to cater exclusively to brahmin interests while ignoring those of the new and emerging social classes."

"Furthermore, Buddhism was prominent in communities of merchants, who found it well suited to their needs and who increasingly established commercial links throughout the Mauryan empire."

"Merchants proved to be an efficient vector of the Buddhist faith, as they established diaspora communities in the string of oasis towns-Merv, Bukhara, Samarkand, Kashgar, Khotan, Kuqa, Turpan, Dunhuang - that served as lifeline of the silk roads through central Asia."

Asoka and the Mauryan Empire

The Maurya empire reached its peak at the time of emperor Asoka, 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 other countries to propagate Buddhism. Greek envoyMegasthenes describes the wealth of the Mauryan capital. Stupas, pillars and edicts on stone remain atSanchi, Sarnath and Mathura, indicating the extent of the empire.

Emperor Ashoka the Great (304 BCE–232 BCE) was the ruler of the Maurya Empire from 273 BCE to 232 BCE.

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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 ofPersia 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 Romeand Egypt.

Graeco-Bactrians, Sakas and Indo-Parthians

Menander was the most famous bactrian 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.

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By 90 BC Parthians took control of eastern Iran and around 50 BC put an end to last remnants of Greek rule in Afghanistan. By around 7 AD 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 BC and 75 AD.

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 byMahmud of Ghazni in 11th century.

The Pala and Sena era

Under the rule of the Pala and Sena kings, large mahaviharas flourished in what is now Biharand Bengal. According to Tibetan sources, five great Mahaviharas stood out: Vikramaśīla, the premier university of the era; Nalanda, past its prime but still illustrious, Somapura,Odantapurā, and Jaggadala.^[19] The five monasteries formed a network; "all of them were under state supervision" and their existed "a system of co-ordination among them . . it seems from the evidence that the different seats of Buddhist learning that functioned in eastern India under the Pāla were regarded together as forming a network, an interlinked group of institutions," and it was common for great scholars to move easily from position to position among them.^[20]

Dharma masters

Indian shramanas propagated Buddhism in various regions, including East Asia and Central Asia.

in the Edicts of Ashoka, Ashoka mentions the Hellenistic kings of the period as a recipient of his Buddhist proselytism. Emissaries of Ashoka, such as Dharmaraksita, are described in Palisources as leading Greek ("Yona") Buddhist monks, active in Buddhist proselytism (the Mahavamsa, XII.

Roman Historical accounts describe an embassy sent by the "Indian king Pandion (Pandya?), also named Porus," to Caesar Augustus around the 1st century. The embassy was travelling with a diplomatic letter in Greek, and one of its members was a sramana who burned himself alive in Athensto 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:

"The sramana master from Barygaza in India"

Lokaksema is the earliest known Buddhist monk to have translated Mahayana Buddhist scriptures into the Chinese language. Gandharan monks Jnanagupta and Prajna contributed through several important translations of Sanskrit sutras into Chinese language.

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) was the Buddhist Bhikkhu traditionally credited as the founder of Zen Buddhism in China.

In 580, Indian monk Vinitaruci travelled to Vietnam. This, then, would be the first appearance of Vietnamese Zen, or Thien Buddhism.

Padmasambhava, in Sanskrit meaning "lotus-born", is said to have brought Tantric Buddhismto 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.Shantarakshita, abbot of Nalanda and founder of the Yogachara-Madhyamika is said to have helped Padmasambhava establish Buddhism in Tibet.

Indian monk Atisha, holder of the mind training (Tib. lojong) teachings, is considered an indirect founder of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism. Indian monks, such as Vajrabodhi, also travelled to Indonesia to propagate Buddhism.

Decline of Buddhism in India

The decline of Buddhism has been attributed to various reasons. Regardless of the religious beliefs of their kings, states usually patronized all the important sects relatively even-handedly. This consisted of building monasteries and religious monuments, donating property such as the income of villages for the support of monks, and protecting previously donated property by leaving them exempt from taxation. Donations were most often made by private persons such as wealthy merchants and female relatives of the royal family, but this correlated with periods in which the state also gave its support and protection. In the case of Buddhism, this support was particularly important because of its high level of institutional organization and the dependence of monks on donations from the laity. State patronage of Buddhism took the form of massive propertied foundations.

The gradual expansion in the scope and authority of caste regulations shifted political and economic power to the local arena, reversing the trend of centralization.The caste system gradually expanded into secular life as a regulative code of social and economic transactions.

Brahmans developed a new relationship with the state. It became the duty of political officials to enforce the caste regulations written by Brahmans.^[30] Caste regulations grew over a long period of time. As they did, states gradually lost control of landed revenue. A key transition was the downfall of the Guptas. Indian social structure developed in a manner opposite to that of China or Rome, where administration of law was dominated by government officials. Instead, Brahmans became hereditary monopolists of the law in a series of weak, ephemeral states.

Brahmans came to regulate more and more aspects of public life, and collected fees for the performance of their rituals. Caste law, administered by Brahmans, was built up to control all local economic production and much of its distribution. The transformation of Brahman priests to linchpins of the caste system transformed the functioning property system. The political ascendancy of Hinduism and its displacement of Buddhism's political and social base came by this indirect route. Orthodox Brahmins were now capable of cutting off the flow of material resources upon which institutional Buddhism depended. Parallel developments that led to the decrease in the influence of Buddhism were the institution of rival Hindu temples, which were an innovation of the bhakti movement, and eventually orders of Hindu monks. These undercut Buddhist patronage and popular support.

A continuing decline occurred after the fall of the last Empire supportive of Buddhism: the Pala dynasty in the 12th century CE. This continued with the later destruction of monasteries by the new Muslim conquerors and their attempts to spread Islam in the region.nfluence of Hinduism

Hinduism became a more "intelligible and satisfying road to faith for many ordinary worshippers" than it had been because it now included not only an appeal to a personal god, but had also seen the development of an emotional facet with the composition of devotional hymns.

The period between the 400 CE and 1000 CE saw gains by Hinduism at the expense of Buddhism.

The White Hun invasions

Chinese scholars traveling through the region between the 5th and 8th centuries CE, such as Faxian, Xuanzang, I-ching, Hui-sheng, and Sung-Yun, began to speak of a decline of the Buddhist Sangha, especially in the wake of the White Hun invasion.

Turkish Muslim Conquerors

The Muslim conquest of the Indian subcontinent was the first great iconoclastic invasion into South Asia. The resulting occasional and sporadic destruction of temples did not affect Hinduism, but for Buddhism the destruction of the stupas has been attributed with a rapid and almost total disappearance from North India. Additionally, more academic forms of Indian Buddhism relied on patronage by kings and merchants and this change in rulership coupled with the economic integration with the Islamic world and thus the growing domination of long-distance trade by the Muslim merchant class eroded these sources of patronage resulting in an absorption into either Hinduism or Islam.

Causes within the Buddhist Tradition of the time

By the time the Muslims began conquering India in the 12th century under the Ghurids, the number of monasteries had severely declined. Buddhism, which once had spread across the face of India, was a vital force confined to an ever-shrinking number of monasteries in the areas of its origins. Scholars believe that the monasteries at the time became detached from everyday life in India and that Indian Buddhism had no rituals or priests with the laymen relying on Brahmin priests for marriages and funerals.^{Revival of Buddhism in India}

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Anagarika Dharmapala and the Maha Bodhi Society

Further information: Maha Bodhi Society and Anagarika Dharmapala

A revival of Buddhism began in India in 1891, when the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala founded the Maha Bodhi Society.^[39] Its activities expanded to involve the promotion of Buddhism in India. In June 1892, a meeting of Buddhists took place atDarjeeling. Dharmapala spoke to Tibetan 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.

Bengal Buddhist Association

In 1892, Kripasaran Mahasthavir founded the Bengal Buddhist Association (Bauddha Dharmankur Sabha) inCalcutta.^[41] Kripasaran (1865–1926) was instrumental in uniting the Buddhist community of Bengal and North East India. He built other branches of the Bengal Buddhist Association at Shimla (1907), Lucknow(1907), Dibrugarh (1908), Ranchi (1915), Shillong (1918), Darjeeling (1919), Tatanagar Jamshedpur (1922), as well as in Sakpura, Satbaria, Noapara, Uninepura, Chittagong Region in present dayBangladesh.

Tibetan Buddhism

The 14th Dalai Lama departed Tibet in 1959, when 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.

Neo Buddhist movement (Conversion of Dalits)

A Buddhist revivalist movement among Dalit Indians was initiated in 1890s by Dalit leaders such as Iyothee Thass, Brahmananda Reddy, and Damodar Dharmananda Kosambi. In the 1950s, Dr.B. R. Ambedkar turned his attention to Buddhism and travelled to Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) to attend a convention of Buddhist scholars and monks. While dedicating a new Buddhist vihara near Pune, Dr. B. R. Ambedkar announced that he was writing a book on Buddhism, and that as soon as it was finished, he planned to make a formal conversion to Buddhism. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar twice visited Burma in 1954; the second time in order to attend the third conference of the World Fellowship of Buddhists in Rangoon. In 1955, he founded the Bharatiya Bauddha Mahasabha, or the Buddhist Society of India. He completed his final work, The Buddha and His Dhamma, in 1956. It was published posthumously.

After meetings with the Sri Lankan Buddhist monk Hammalawa Saddhatissa, Ambedkar organised a formal public ceremony for himself and his supporters in Nagpur on October 14, 1956. Accepting the Three Refuges and Five Precepts from a Buddhist monk in the traditional manner, Ambedkar completed his own conversion. He then proceeded to convert an estimated 500,000 of his supporters who were gathered around him. Taking the 22 Vows, Ambedkar and his supporters explicitly condemned and rejected Hinduism and Hindu philosophy.This was the worlds biggest mass religion conversion which is celebrated by buddhist every year at Nagpur nearby 10-15 lacs buddhist gathered there for the ceremony. He then traveled to Kathmandu in Nepal to attend the Fourth World Buddhist Conference. He completed his final manuscript, The Buddha or Karl Marx, on December 2, 1956.

Recent status of Neo Buddhists and Buddhism

Neo Buddhists (formerly Dalits) have made a considerable improvement in their living, thinking and ideas. Dr. B. R. Ambedkar wished to carry on this conversion-cum-enlightened movement to all those who are oppressed but only those who belong to his caste (mahaar) in Maharashtra got benefited. Initially many of those who were newly converted used to influx Hinduism and Buddhism however nowadays Neo Buddhists follow Therigatha / Theravada only. Those who strictly follow Buddhism are mainly concentrated in areas like (Vidharbha districts) Nagpur, Amravati, Akola, Bhandara, Chandrapur and Yavatmal; Neo Buddhists in Mumbai and other Urban, Semi urban areas are following the suit. Neo Buddhists living in Western Maharashtra, Marathwada, Khandesh continue to follow some old ritualistic (Hindu) practices. Neo Buddhists in Maharashtra occasionally face the problem of castism in areas of livelihood, but the scene is changing fast and people have started understanding the importance of equality and education has helped Neo Buddhists to grow by leaps and bounds. In fact, literacy rate in Neo Buddhists is as high as 90%. Neo Buddhists had have been highly benefited by the quota system in educational and government sectors which eventually led to development of the Neo Buddhists. However the benefit of quota system has not been passed to the very poor and oppressed Neo Buddhists (who can be seen as Dalit even today) living in rural and very backward areas in Marathwada, Vidhrabha and Western Maharashtra. Many wealthy and educated Neo Buddhists have started dropping the use of caste certificates.

Politically Neo Buddhists follow Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's Republican Party of India, however RPI has failed to carry on the momentum and is divided in many factions. Culprits of this deterioration were wealth and positions seeking RPI politicians and ruling Congress-NCP parties. Since RPI is divided, people find solace in Congress, BRP-BMS, BSP and NCP; few are inclined towards BJP-Shiv Sena, but very few. Politicians like Kanshiram and Mayawati also held up the cause of conversion to Buddhism but after envisaging political loss Mayawati has abandoned the plan of Mass conversion of Jatavs and Chamars in Buddhism.

Overall the growth and development of Neo Buddhists living in India is fairly balanced but still those who live in Rural areas face discrimination in the name of caste.

Vipassana movement

The Buddhist meditation tradition of Vipassana meditation is growing in popularity in India. Many institutions—both government and private sector—now offer courses for their employees. This form is mainly practiced by the elite and middle class Indians. This movement has spread to many other countries in Europe, America and Asia.

The light of Buddhism was extinguished in India around B.E. 1700/ c. 1200 C.E. In Malaya and Indonesia Buddhism ran the same course of decay. At first, around 1857/1314, it degenerated into a Hinduized form. Before the end of the fourteenth century (1900 B.E.), together with Hinduism, it was replaced by Islam imported from India. In Southeast Asia, as Theravada, and in North Asia, as Mahayana, Buddhism continued to glow. Then came again the age of decay. In China and Korea from B.E. 1900,onwards, the revival of Confucianism in accord with the state Policy of nationalism brought Buddhism under suppression. The revival of Shintoism in Japan also led to the suppression of Buddhism in 2411/1868. In Southeast Asia the decay came with the advent of colonialism from the West. In Ceylon, the task of suppressing Buddhism, begun by the Portuguese in 2050/1507, was carried on by the Dutch around 2200/1657 and then by the British since 2340/1797. In Indochina, it persisted until Burma was made a British colony in 2367/1814, and Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos were brought under French rule in 2426, 2406 and 2436 (1883, 1863 and 1893 C.E.) respectively. In Thailand alone, the religious life of the people remained unaffected and Buddhism continued to flourish with the support of the ruler and the public throughout the colonial period without any interruption.

After some time the contact with the West, its colonialism and its civilization, brought about remarkable changes in the faces of the Asian nations. In countries under foreign occupation where Buddhism was suppressed and persecuted, people turned against Western civilization and a strong urge was aroused in them to protect and maintain their national heritages. This led to the revival of Buddhism and the adjustment of Buddhist institutions and the monkhood to function efficiently in the changing situations. However, in Thailand where people did not experience colonial treatment, this reaction did not take place. On the contrary, the people turned their attention towards the exciting and tempting materialism of Western civilization. While they pursued this new kind of material quest, they became more and more indifferent and cold towards their religious traditions. Buddhist institutions enjoying luxurious support fell into a kind of indulgence and did not adjust themselves to the changing conditions. Material support and cooperation continues to grow, while the intellectual and spiritual gap widens.

II. Western Scholars and the Buddhist Revival

After four or five centuries of stagnation, the period of revival began nearly at the same time in Japan, around 2411/1 868, and in Ceylon, around 2414/1871. In Japan, the suppression and persecution during the Meiji era acted as a stimulus, while in Ceylon the revival was aroused partly by the colonial suppression and partly by the awareness of Buddhist traditions in its homeland.

In India Buddhism was completely forgotten by the Indian people and it was not until the middle of the eighteenth century that there was an awareness of her existence and prosperity in the past. This awareness may be regarded as the beginning of the modern period of Buddhism.

It happened that in 2293/1750 a broken piece of an Asokan pillar inscription was discovered by a British official in Delhi. Then followed many other discoveries, the study of Asokan inscriptions and the interest in Buddhist traditions which increased through the years. In 2362/1819. The Ajanta cave was accidentally discovered by two British soldiers. The great stupa at Sanchi was discovered and in 2394/1851 was opened by Sir Alexander Cunningham. There were large numbers of subsequent discoveries. An active work of excavation and restoration of Buddhist archaeological sites was carried on. The glorious history of Buddhism was revealed, its greatness discovered and brought back to the interest both of India and of the world.

The work of explorers and archaeologists was followed by literary activities of Western scholars from 2369/1826 onwards. Translations and transliterations of the Pali canonical literature, treatises, commentaries, chronicles and grammar, essays and treatises on Pali and Buddhism, and Pali dictionaries were made by scholars of different nationalities: English, French, German, Danish, Dutch, American, and others. The founding of the Pall Text Society in London by Prof. T.W. Rhys Davids in 2424/1881 was a great step forward in Pali studies. The Society has published to date nearly the whole of the Pali Canon and all the important works of the Pali non-canonical literature together with their translations (a larger number than scriptural publications in Thailand). Special mention should be made of lexicography. The well-known Dictionary of the Pali Language by R.C. Childers published in London in 2418/1875 is regarded as the first advance in this field. When this work was found inadequate, the Pali Text Society published the "Pali-English Dictionary" edited by T.W. Rhys Davids and William Stede (2464-68/1921-25),which is still the main reference for all students of Pali. This was followed by 'A Critical Pali Dictionary' by Dines Anderson and Helmer Smith, the first part of which was published in Copenhagen in 2470/1927. However, only two volumes of it in twenty-one parts (a - uparima, in 1085 pages) have been published so far. In London, Pali scholars have also been preparing for the Pali Text Society "Pali Tipi.taka"m Concordance" about 1340 pages (a - pura) of which have been published since 1952. Great advances have also been made in the study of Sanskrit Buddhist literature both in the original and in later versions, especially in Tibetan and Chinese. In England, Buddhist publications and researches have followed to the present an unbroken line and contributed greatly to the steady progress of Buddhist studies. France and Germany have also made considerable contributions. It is, however, the United States that is stepping forward to take the lead in Buddhist publications and research works. Rapid progress was made during recent years.

The labours of Western scholars brought about an awakening among the scholars of India. The Buddhist Text Society was founded in Calcutta in 2435/1892 and the pioneer work in the field of Buddhist studies was done in Bengal. In the course of time Santiniketan, Patna and Nalanda in eastern India and Bombay, Poona and Baroda in western India became active centres of Buddhist studies.[2] Alongside literary activities, Buddhist revival in India began as an organized movement with the founding of the Maha Bodhi Society in 2434/1891.

III. Ceylonese and Indian Contributions

The founder of the Maha Bodhi Society was Anaagaarika Dbarmapaala, a young Buddhist of Ceylon. Dharmapaala was born in 2407/18642 in a wealthy and influential Buddhist family in Colombo. His personal name was Don David Hewavitharne. He was educated in a Christian missionary school. As he could not love his wine-drinking and pleasure-loving missionary teachers, he developed an attachment towards Buddhist monks who were meek and abstemious. Under the influence of Colonel Olcott and Madame Blavatsky he took an interest in Theosophy and then adopted a life of religious dedication as an Andgdrika.

In 2428/1885, Sir Edwin Arnold, the author of The Light of Asia (a long poem about the Buddha, which made many converts and stimulated scholarly study of Buddhism), visited Bodh Gaya (or, in Pali, Buddha Gayaa) which was in the hands of the Mahants, Hindu Shaivites, and was shamefully neglected. He pointed out this fact in a series of articles in the London Telegraph. Inspired by Sir Edwin Arnold's articles, Dharmapaala visited Bodh Gaya and was so shocked at what he saw that he made a vow to dedicate his life both to the task of restoring the Holy Place to Buddhist hands as a worthy place of pilgrimage, and to the revival of the Noble Dharma in the land of its birth.

Dharmapaala returned to Ceylon in May 2434/1891 and founded the Maha Bodhi Society in Colombo. In the same year, a mission was sent to Bodh Gaya and, then, an international conference of Buddhists was held there. In the following year a journal was launched and headquarters of the new society were set up in Calcutta. Dharmapaala visited the United States two times during the 1890's, the first time to attend the Parliament of Religions in Chicago, when he visited Hawaii, Japan, China, Thailand and Malaya on his way back, and the second time to preach Buddhism when he stayed there for one year and made several American converts. Substantial financial help came from wealthy Americans, especially Mrs. Mary E. Foster whom he met in Honolulu and who became his most active supporter. Further branches of the Society were set up and in 2463/1920 a Buddhist Vihara was opened at Culcutta. The revival movement was then well founded and continued steadily. Dharmapaala entered the monkhood in 2474/1931 and passed away two years later, leaving his unfinished mission to be carried on by his colleagues and followers. ,

India achieved independence on August 15, 2490/1947. When questions arose as to what should be adopted as national symbols of free India, the Constituent Assembly ultimately turned towards the Buddhist heritage. Thus, the Dharma-cakra or the Wheel of the Law came to be represented at the centre of the national flag to remind the nation of the noble doctrine of the Buddha and of the Dharma-vinaya or Conquest by Righteousness of Asoka, while the Lion Capital of Asoka, representing the fearless proclamation of the Dharma to the four quarters of the world, has been adopted as the official seal of the Republic. The Chairman of the Committee which drafted the Constitution was Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the leader of the untouchables who became converted to Buddhism and made the Buddhist revival a mass movement.

Two other important events increased the interest in Buddhism among the Indian masses, the home-coming of the sacred relics of the two Chief Disciples of the Buddha in 2492/1949 and theBuddha-Jayanti or 2500th anniversary of the Buddha's Parinirvaana, in 1956. The relics were returned to India by the British Government to be enshrined at San chi, their original resting place, on the request of the Maha Bodhi

Society. The enshrinement of the relics was celebrated together with the Maha Bodhi Society's Golden Jubilee and an international Buddhist conference attended by the Prime Ministers of India and Burma and world Buddhist leaders. The Indian Buddha-Jayanti celebrations commenced in May 1956 and lasted for one full year, till May 1957. The programme of the Government of India includes the publication of a Tripitaka in Devanaagarii script and '2500 Years of Buddhism,' a special volume which is an indication of the respect given to Buddhism by the Indian educated class.

On October 14 of the year of celebration, Dr. B.R. Ambedkar led half a million followers in a formal declaration of adherence to Buddhism. This event was followed by a fast increase in the Buddhist population in India, particularly through a number of similar conversions among the untouchables seeking social equality. By 2508/1965 there were about 4,000,000 Buddhists in India in contrast to 50,000 in 2434/1891. Numbers of 13 Bhikkhus, Viharas, and Buddhist societies and organizations have also considerably increased. The study of Pali was introduced into Calcutta University as far back as the year 2451/1908. This example has been followed by many other Indian Universities. The establishment of the Naalanda Pali Institute (Nava Naalandaa Mahaavihaara) in 2494/1951 and the founding of the Magadh University in 2505/1962 are also evidences of an important place modern India has given to Pali and Buddhist studies.

In the 1950s, when the Red Chinese overran Tibet, her people, both monks and laymen, fled to north India and found refuge in her hill country. There, a Buddhist community is taking shape and Tibetan Buddhism may make a significant contribution to the future of Indian Buddhism.

A Thai monastery called Wat Thai Buddha-Gaya, which was constructed by the Thai Government on the invitation of the Government of India to celebrate the Buddha-Jayanti, was completed in 2509/1966. It is well known as one of the finest vihaaras ever constructed in modern India. The Burmese, Japanese, Chinese and Tibetan Buddhists also have monasteries at Buddha Gaya.

Just a century ago Buddhism was unheard of in the land of its birth, as nearly every trace of the religion had been effaced from the Indian soil. Today, the seed of the Bodhi tree, deeply planted under the soil, being fed by fertilizer from abroad, has sprouted and has signs of a glorious growth.

In some border areas of India such as some parts of Assam and in Bangladesh (East Bengal), Buddhism has never entirely disappeared. There the monastic life still survives and a small Buddhist population has persisted. Notable in this way is Chittagong, which has been closely connected with Burma both historically and geographically; there the monkhood consists ofhundreds of monks and novices. Through some revival movement, Buddhism in these areas has begun to grow again and may do a good service to the development of modern Buddhism on the Indian Subcontinent.