Why did Buddhism weaken in India, the birthplace of Buddhism?

One hundred years ago 189 1 year 1 month, David Hewawitarne, the father of the revival of modern Indian Buddhism, came to India from Ceylon and made his first pilgrimage to Bodhgaya. He couldn't help crying when he saw the local Buddhist temples and the Buddha statues in the temples.

Unfortunately, the Indian nation has always paid little attention to historical records, and there are few historical materials, which makes the reasons for the demise of Indian Buddhism present a situation of different opinions. The following is a brief introduction of the information at hand:

First of all, Vedic Buddhism

Buddhism began with anti-Vedic culture and died with the integration of Vedic culture.

"Since the eighth century, the revival of Hinduism outside Buddhism has been greatly persecuted by Buddhism with anti-Vedic tradition. With the spread of ideas, such as idealism, truth, harmony, otherness, mystery, and the desire for happiness and witness, Japan assimilated Brahma. Fortunately, the restoration of the Polo dynasty was a long-term peace. However, by the end of this period, Buddhism had become a gadget played by a few people. If it is implemented, it will be superstitious, obscene and despicable! It can be said that it is not good for body and mind, and it is not good for the nation. The original meaning of the law is Buddhism, and almost all of them are anti-Buddha! "

"It is harmless to destroy hostile Buddhism, but it is fatal to Buddhism if it is influenced by Vedic culture." "The disease of harmony, in-depth Buddhism, or Buddha's light, and I am ashamed of it. Or if you don't insist, it will be very difficult for the Buddha! "

Obviously, Yin Shun's mentor believes that the revival of Indian religious reform and the invasion and persecution of Muslims are not the main reasons for the demise of Indian Buddhism, but mainly due to the Brahmanization of Buddhism.

Second, hatred of Hinduism.

In the article The Rise and Fall of Indian Buddhism, Master Yimo believes that the main reason for the demise of Indian Buddhism is hatred of Hinduism.

"But, why Buddhism will decline, or even die? There are many reasons, the main reason is hatred of Hinduism, which is the name of the late resurrection of Brahmanism. When Buddhism flourished, Brahmanism did not lose its potential, and there were still many Brahmins in power in North Korea, so that the power of revival would be strong. At the same time, Buddhists themselves lost their jobs, which is almost the same as the final corruption of Brahmanism and the rise of Buddhism. India's rich temples are becoming increasingly corrupt and have lost the faith of society. In addition, in the fifth and sixth centuries, foreign nationalities were willing to accept the leadership of Hinduism, which made Buddhism lose its religious status in India. In the eighth century, Coumare batalla, a master of Brahmanism, was the last Indian to attack Buddhism and Jainism. At the same time, in order to revive, Brahmanism imitates various forms and contents of Buddhism everywhere, and because of the prevalence of tantra, some scholars confuse Indian teachings with Buddhism. After the deterioration of Buddhism, in addition, at the end of the twelfth century, because of the invasion of Islam, Buddhists were killed and many Buddhist temples were burned. A Buddhism that rose in India eventually died under special circumstances. "

However, the author believes that Buddhism in India is only extinct in name, but in fact it still exists among Indians.

Third, tantric tendencies are decadent.

Although both Yin Shun's mentor and Yi Mo's master believed that the rise of esotericism was at the end of Indian Buddhism, they did not think that esotericism was the main reason for the demise of Indian Buddhism. However, Ui Hakuju believes that the decline of esoteric tendency is the main reason for the demise of Indian Buddhism:

"... Chaoyan Temple ... is a special esoteric school, which mostly talks about the left wing. The leftist school evolved from the Hindu school (sakta), which regards lust as the Tao and so on, and ignores the practice of writing, and contains many vulgar and low-level elements. Tantric Buddhism adopted Hinduism, and in the long-term expansion, it absorbed almost all the rituals of Hindu gods, thus producing tantric literature close to mixed lewdness. In esoteric Buddhism, Xin's monasticism is called vajrayana and Mahayana, while many actions of the left are decadent and decadent. ..... Tantric Buddhism has gradually flourished in this way. With the decline of Buddhism in various parts of India, I am afraid that Buddhism has been completely submerged in Hinduism. ..... 1203, the general of Islam, Baguna Kreiger, burned down Chaoyan Temple, persecuted and killed all Buddhists, some of whom fled to Nepal and other borders, and Buddhism disappeared from the scene. ""Indian tantra is involved in the unpleasant elements of Hinduism and falls into the inherent weakness of human nature, which is called the demise of Buddhism. ..... Therefore, the demise of Indian Buddhism is considered to be the far cause of the tendency of Chinese and Yoga to emphasize academic theory, and the decadent state of esoteric Buddhism is the near cause. The superficiality of Hinayana Buddhism is a common phenomenon in this era. On the contrary, it is more important than faithfulness. "

Professor Yang Baiyi also holds a similar view:

"They (tantric) don't talk about many Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, that is, Ming kings and heretics who have never been mentioned in many Buddhists, and they are also considered as the incarnation of Tathagata. Not only that, but also absorbed a large number of folk beliefs, and put the Datura into the formal. They don't think it is necessary to try their best to practice the six paramita of Mahayana Buddhism. Gai sentient beings are full of Buddha nature, so as long as you recite the song and the rituals of Dalagni and Tantric Buddhism, you can easily achieve it-that is, become a Buddha. Therefore, the esoteric religion recognizes the happiness in the world and advocates that the troubles and desires in the world cannot be overcome and suppressed, but should be respected, as long as the impure love desire can be upgraded to compassion for all sentient beings. "

Fourth, the persecution of Islam

1202, Muslims invaded India, destroyed Vikramo Temple (Chaoyan Temple), killed monks and nuns, and the Indian Buddhist monks and nuns became extinct. In fact, Indian Buddhism has long since disappeared from Hinduism and lost its value as an independent religion. It can be said that it has long been extinct. Since the Muslim invasion of India, many Buddhist monks fled to other countries with Buddhist scriptures, and Buddhism officially died out.

Japanese scholar Akashi Huida believes that Indian Buddhism has never replaced the status of Brahmanism. Even if King Ashoka and King Ganeshiga supported Buddhist monks and teachings with the strength of the state, Brahmanism still had considerable influence among the people. Buddhism, influenced by Greek and Iranian cultures in northwest India, has developed into a worldwide religion and enriched its philosophical connotation. On the surface, it is brilliant, but it also means gradually separating from the people. Buddhism advocates tolerance, never oppresses other religions, and even adopts the spirits and teachings of other religions in the later period, thus losing the original purpose of Buddhism. No wonder Brahmanism can be revived as Hinduism, while Buddhism has become enlightenment. When Islam was persecuted, everything disappeared.

In Arabic, the "idol" is called but or budd, but it was actually moved from the Sanskrit Buddha. Unfortunately, Islam advocates "jihad", and any pagan who does not convert to Islam will kill. "When they (Muslims) arrived at this place, they surrounded it ... The city immediately fell into a terrible situation. In the same year, God came here. It is forbidden for people to worship idols (Buddha statues) burned and scratched by Muslims. Some people were also burned to death and the rest were slaughtered. "

The problem is that India has Hinduism as well as Buddhism. Why can't Hinduism be uprooted and Buddhism survive? A.KWarder thinks Hinduism is more flexible and versatile. It advocates social hierarchy, which is in line with the feudal trend of thought in the Middle Ages: people entrust themselves to leaders, and all people finally entrust their souls to God. Therefore, Hinduism can penetrate deeply into people and Indian culture. Indian land is ready to fight. It is his duty to know that it is the supreme honor to die in battle. On the contrary, Buddhism advocates peace and anti-violence, which is exactly the target of Muslim killing. Coupled with Buddhism at that time, it was too philosophical and could be said to be an academic tradition. Its traditional center is in the university, not in the people. When the university was destroyed, its traditional strength was shattered. It is not easy for the masses to understand profound philosophy, and they can't see the difference between Buddhism and Hinduism. They worship Buddha and Bodhisattva with the pure loyalty of their neighbors who worship Hindu gods. Without the guidance of erudition, the local Buddhism will be mixed with the colorful and lively worship of Hinduism. When Buddhist temples are eradicated by Muslims and monks flee abroad, Buddhism will naturally disappear in India.

Buddha's own mistakes

The demise of Buddhism in India, as mentioned above, has both internal and external causes, but the two major mistakes made by the founder of Buddhism forced Buddhism to perish in India.

India used to be a caste-based society with strict social order, each with its own status, which could not be surpassed, and the whole social machine operated smoothly. Today, this unequal social system seems unimaginable, even unreasonable and inhuman. However, in the ancient society where people's intelligence was underdeveloped and transportation was inconvenient, it was the greatest force to stabilize society. Everyone has an established social role from birth to old age, so there is no need to worry about their future. The Buddha's theory of equality of all beings was beautiful, but it was still heresy at that time. The wisdom of ordinary people is simply not enough to accept and understand, not to mention the Brahmins and the broom class who belong to vested interests, and they are bound to resist to the death. After destroying the caste system that stabilized social order, the Buddha did not propose a new social structure. He only established a monk group, not a laity group, and there was no political organization and organization theory. Basically, he only cares about the liberation of being born, only regulates the rules of life of the monks, and gives few hints about the daily life of the lay people or the problems of birth, illness and death. As a result, the monks accepted the support of the family and took practice as their own responsibility, forming an isolated system; Apart from getting spiritual or psychological comfort from monks at home, personal life issues, such as the birth of babies, the relationship between men and women, marriage and having children, scholars, farmers and businessmen, happen to be taboo for Buddhist monks. Most Buddhists are not interested in the profound philosophy of life and death. Because the secular level can't get guidance from monks, they have to turn to Brahmin priests who are good at this. Brahmanism is a god, which can just meet the needs of most people, so Buddhism is naturally not necessary for the people.

Like other religious leaders or most ancient philosophers, the Buddha's position towards women is lower than that of men. Buddhism, in particular, believes that a woman must be reincarnated as a man in order to become a Buddha. It is not as convenient for women to become monks as men, and the female monk group even disappeared from India later. Although these phenomena can be explained by physiology, it is an indisputable fact that women are inferior to men. However, customs or religious worship in the family are often passed down by women. Women's status in Buddhism is not high, so naturally they are not so keen on maintaining Buddhist traditions. It is not surprising that Buddhism gradually disappears from the family.

From the social and cultural point of view, Buddhism can no longer meet the needs of society, and its demise is of course a matter of time.

Self-restraint and Heterogeneity of Buddhism

Any custom or system seems to contribute to the progress of society, religion and mankind when it is first established, but if it cannot be corrected at any time, it will hinder the progress for a long time. Many factors contributed to the rise and development of Buddhism, but water can carry a boat and overturn it, which later became the reason for the decline of Buddhism.

Dutt, another scholar, put forward a more comprehensive view on the reasons why Buddhism died in India. These views are divided into five key points, some of which are said by the above scholars, and the author describes them as the stagnation and heterogeneity of Buddhism.

(1) Jia's overtaking position. This transcendental status once ensured the purity of the sangha and the progress of spiritual practice. After a long time, the monks forgot the original intention of the leader and became a self-centered group, specializing in spiritual cultivation or cultural research, relying on the supply of others to maintain their own lives, gradually ignoring the improvement of the moral and religious standards of people around them and the education of social people, which made the monks divorced from the broad masses. For example, there are no laws about birth, marriage and funeral in Buddhism. For example, the lonely old man, the Buddha's greatest protector, can allow children to marry people from Jain families, not to mention those who are not firm in their beliefs. In this case, Buddhism naturally declined gradually.

(2) Buddhism's attitude of not interfering with social customs. Buddha is an ascetic monk and dreamer, not a social or religious reformer. He and several of his disciples were born in a Brahmin family, so the most important thing for him is to realize the truth, not to interfere with secular beliefs and habits, because these are all origins and illusory secular truths. When they were still alive, this attitude was very popular and played a certain role, but it later contributed to the demise of Buddhism. In the early Buddhist scriptures, there was the status of Brahman God; Later, Buddhist temples were also filled with idols of gods and goddesses, medicine and Luo Yi, and the ceremony of worshipping these idols was very popular. Later generations will worship these secondary things wholeheartedly and forget the original teaching method of the leader. Buddhism lost its true colors in these complicated beliefs and rituals, making the real purpose of Buddhism disappear and eventually perish.

(3) The retreat of monks' learning. Whether the Buddhist flag can be hung high and whether the Buddhist monk group can be respected depends on the intellectuals who form the center of the monk group. However, in the 7th and 8th centuries, those who came out of these Buddhist academic centers had no knowledge and were defeated by non-Buddhist writers and debaters, which was a serious event in Indian life and might lead to the decline and degeneration of a religion, sect and critic. Because of the slack of the Sangha, or because the monks can't absorb the best intellectuals, the academic center of Buddhism has gradually lost the faith of kings and Chinese people.

(4) The rise of tantric Buddhism. Although the Buddha has made great efforts, he still can't get rid of the belief in the incantations recorded in the Ada Veda, as well as the superstitious belief in divine power, occupation and witchcraft from the Indian mind. In the early and Sanskrit Buddhist scriptures, there were spells or Dalagni, which was a precursor to the rise of tantric Buddhism. Tantric works appeared in the 4th to 8th centuries. Tantric Buddhism is a highly developed meditation philosophy. In meditation, we need to use handprints, sitting posture, shrines and spells to concentrate our consciousness. Unfortunately, the tantric practice method has been abused by many religious swindlers, reducing its value and undermining the lofty teachings advocated by great teachers. The rise of tantric Buddhism brahmanized Buddhism and was eventually absorbed by the latter. The number of Buddhists who believe in tantric Buddhism is very small. They live in seclusion in monasteries and are gradually swallowed up by the sea of Brahman Wang Yang.

(5) Religious persecution. Buddhism has never destroyed other religions, but has been persecuted by Brahmanism and Muslims. Because Buddhism is concentrated in monasteries, pagans can destroy Buddhist believers and their classic manuscripts in a very short time. Once Buddhist monks are persecuted, it means the demise of Buddhism. Those who survived also fled to Nepal and Ceylon, and Buddhism and Buddhist relics were wiped out by Indian craftsmen. (Source: Peking University Good Book, Author: Zheng)