Persecution of Buddhists

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Many Buddhists have experienced persecution from non-Buddhists during the history of Buddhism. Persecution may refer to unwarranted arrest, imprisonment, beating, torture, or execution. It also may refer to the confiscation or destruction of property, or the incitement of hatred toward Buddhists.

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[edit] Persecution under the Sunga dynasty

Pusyamitra Sunga (reigned 185 to 151 BCE) assassinated the last Mauryan emperor Brhadrata in 185 BCE, and subsequently founded the Sunga dynasty. He then performed the Ashwamedha Yajna, or horse sacrifice, and brought Northern India under his rule. Buddhism had prospered under Mauryan rule, and from the mid 3rd century BC, under Ashoka, Buddhist proselytization had begun to spread beyond the subcontinent. Under Pusyamitra begins the decline of Buddhism in India, and there are legendary accounts of persecution of Buddhists during his reign. According to the 2nd century Ashokavadana:

"Then King Pusyamitra equipped a fourfold army, and intending to destroy the Buddhist religion, he went to the Kukkutarama. (...) Pusyamitra therefore destroyed the sangharama, killed the monks there, and departed.
After some time, he arrived in Sakala, and proclaimed that he would give a hundred dinara reward to whomever brought him the head of a Buddhist monk" (Shramanas) Ashokavadana, 133, trans. John Strong.

The Divyavadana ascribes to him the razing of stupas and viharas built by Ashoka, and describes him as one who wanted to undo the work of Ashoka.[1]

Some historians have rejected Pushyamitra' s persecution of Buddhists. The traditional narratives are dated to two centuries after Pushyamitra’s death in Asokâvadâna and the Divyâvadâna, Buddhist books of legend. The traditional accounts are often described as exaggerated. The Asokavadana legend is likely a Buddhist version of Pusyamitra's attack of the Mauryas, reflecting the declining influence of Buddhism in the Sunga Imperial court.

Buddhism in India in any case continued to decline over the first centuries AD, paralleling the rise of Hinduism during the same period.

[edit] Persecution in Central Asia and China

[edit] Sasanids

In 224 CE Zoroastrianism was made the official religion of the Persia, and other religions were not tolerated, thus halting the spread of Buddhism westwards. [2] In the 3rd century the Sassanids overran the Bactrian region, overthrowing Kushan rule,[3] were persecuted with many of their stupas fired.[2] Although strong supporters of Zoroastrianism, the Sasanids tolerated Buddhism and allowed the construction of more Buddhist monasteries. It was during their rule that the Lokottaravada followers erected the two colossal Buddha statues at Bamiyan.[3]

During the second half of the third century, when the Zoroastrian high priest Kirder dominated the religious policy of the state.[3] He ordered the destruction of several Buddhist monasteries in Afghanistan, since the amalgam of Buddhism and Zoroastrianism mainfested in the form of a "Buddha-Mazda" deity appeared to him as heresy.[3] Buddhism quickly recovered, however, after his death.[3]

[edit] Hepthalites

Central Asian and North Western Indian Buddhism weakened in the 6th century following the White Hun invasion who followed their own religions such as Tengri, Nestorian Christianity and Manichean.[3] Around 440 CE they conquered Sogdiana then conquered Gandhara and pushed on into the gangetic plains.[2][3] Their King Mihirkula who ruled from 515 CE suppressed Buddhism destroying monasteries as far as modern-day Allahabad before his son reversed the policy.[3]

[edit] Emperor Wuzong of Tang

Emperor Wuzong of Tang (814-846) indulged in indiscriminate religious persecution, solving a financial crisis by seizing the property of Buddhist monasteries. Buddhism had flourished into a major religious force in China during the Tang period, and its monasteries enjoyed tax-exempt status. Wuzong closed many Buddhist shrines, confiscated their property, and sent the monks and nuns home to lay life. Apart from economic reasons, Wuzong's motivation was also ideologica. As a zealous Taoist, he considered Buddhism a foreign religion that was harmful to Chinese society. He went after other foreign religions as well, all but eradicating Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism in China, and his persecution of the growing Nestorian Christian churches sent Chinese Christianity into a decline from which it never recovered.

[edit] Persecution by Christians

Thích Quảng Đức, a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, burned himself to death in Saigon in 1963. Thích was protesting the oppression of Buddhists led by U.S.-installed Catholic Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm's administration.

Buddhists in Sri Lanka were persecuted by Catholics during the fifteen and sixteenth centuries[1].

[edit] Persecution by Muslims

[edit] Persecution in India

Islamic rulers have been known implement a policy on their subjects to either accept conversion to Islam or flee the land under Islamic rule; otherwise punishable by enslavement or even execution. [4] The Mahabodhi Movement in 1890s held the Muslim Rule in India responsible for the decay of Buddhism in India. [5][6][7] Anagarika Dharmapala did not hesitate to lay the chief blame for the decline of Buddhism in India at the door of Muslim fanaticism. [8] Dr. B. R. Ambedkar stated Islam as the major behind the decline of Buddhism in India. [9]

Arab invaders described Indian Pagans as But-parast, and idol-breakers as but-shikan. The word "but" is derived from Buddhism, but the Arabs used it for "Indian paganism" in general.[10] Therefore in Arabic chronicles it is not always evident if Buddhists, Hindus or other Indian religions are meant.

Muhammad bin Qasim demolished temples and monasteries, e.g. he built at Nirun a mosque on the site of the temple of Budh.[11]

Around 1000 CE, Turkic, Persian 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 of Ghazni is said to have been an iconoclast.[12] Hindu and Buddhist statues, shrines and temples were looted and destroyed, and many Buddhists had to take refuge in Tibet.[13]

He demolished numerous monasteries alongside temples during his raid across north-western India. In 1193, Qutb-ud-Din, a Turkish commander, seized control of Delhi, leaving defenseless the northeastern territories that were the heart of Buddhist India. The Mahabodhi Temple was almost completely destroyed by the invading muslim forces. [14] One of Qutb-ud-Din's generals, Ikhtiar Uddin Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khilji, invaded Magadha and destroyed the great Buddhist shrines at Nalanda. [15] The Buddhism of Magadha suffered a tremendous decline under Khilji. [16]

Muhammad of Ghor attacked the North-Western regions of the Indian subcontinent many times. Gujarat later fell to Muhammad of Ghor's armies in 1197. Muhammad of Ghor's armies destroyed many Buddhist structures, including the great Buddhist university of Nalanda. [17]

In 1200 Muhammad Khilji, one of Qutb-ud-Din's generals destroyed monasteries fortified by the Sena armies, such as the one at Vikramshila. Many monuments of ancient Indian civilization were destroyed by the invading armies, including Buddhist sanctuaries near Benares. Buddhist monks who escaped the massacre fled to Nepal, Tibet and South India. [18]

In 1215, Genghis Khan conquered Gandhar. In 1227, after his death, his conquest was divided. Chagatai then established the Chagatai Khanate, where his son Arghun made Buddhism the state religion. At the same time, he came down harshly on Islam and demolished mosques to build many stupas. He was succeeded by his brother, and then his son Ghazan who converted to Islam and in 1295 changed the state religion. After his reign, and the splitting of the Chagatai Khanate, little mention of Buddhism or the stupas built by the Mongols can be found in Afghanistan and Central Asia.[19]

Timur was a 14th-century warlord of Turco-Mongol descent [20][21][22][23], conqueror of much of Western and central Asia, and founder of the Timurid Empire.

Timur destroyed Buddhist establishments and raided areas in which Buddhism had flourished. [24][25]

Mughal rule also contributed to the decline of Buddhism. They are reported to have destroyed many Hindu temples and Buddhist shrines alike or converted many sacred Hindu places into Muslim shrines and mosques.[26] Mughal rulers like Aurangzeb destroyed Buddhist temples and monasteries and replaced them with Islamic mosques. [27]

[edit] Iconoclasm

[edit] Nalanda and other universities

Nalanda, Vikramasila, Jagaddala, Odantapuri and other Buddhist centers of learning and monasteries were destroyed by Muslim invaders. Many of the monks were killed during these destructions.[28]

[edit] Persecution in Kashmir and Ladakh

The Ladakh Buddhist Association has said: “There is a deliberate and organised design to convert Kargil’s Buddhists to Islam. In the last four years, about 50 girls and married women with children were allured and converted from village Wakha alone. If this continues unchecked, we fear that Buddhists will be wiped out from Kargil in the next two decades or so. Anyone objecting to such allurement and conversions is harassed."[29]

In 1989, there were violent riots between Buddhists and Muslims, provoking the Ladakh Buddhist Council to call for a social and economic boycott of Muslims, which was lifted in 1992.

[edit] Persecution in Thailand

Main article: South Thailand insurgency

A resurgence in violence by Muslim Pattani separatist groups in Thailand began in 2001. During 2004 there were at least 15 cases where Buddhists have been beheaded. [2], [3], [4]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ashok Kumar Anand, "Buddhism in India", 1996, Gyan Books, ISBN 8121205069, pg 91-93
  2. ^ a b c Ehsan Yar-Shater, The Cambridge History of Iran, Cambridge University, 1983, ISBN 0521246938 pg. 860-861
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h Alexander Berzin, Historical Sketch of Buddhism and Islam in Afghanistan and Buddhists, November 2001, Online Article from the Berzin Archives. accessed 3 January 2007
  4. ^ In the Path of God (Ppr): Islam and Political Power By Daniel Pipes (page 45)
  5. ^ A Close View of Encounter between British Burma and British Bengal
  6. ^ The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 205)
  7. ^ The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 58)
  8. ^ The Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi: And Other Essays, Philosophical and Sociological By Ardeshir Ruttonji Wadia (page 483)
  9. ^ "there can be no doubt that the fall of Buddhism was due to the invasions of the Muslims.” (B.R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, vol.3, p.229 - Chapter “The decline and fall of Buddhism”). He wrote: “Thus the origin of the word ["but", Persian for "idol"] indicates that in the Muslim mind idol worship had come to be identified with the religion of Buddha. To the Muslims they were one and the same thing. The mission to break idols thus became the mission to destroy Buddhism. Islam destroyed Buddhism not only in India but wherever it went. Bactria, Parthia, Afghanistan, Gandhara and Chinese Turkestan (…) in all these countries Islam destroyed Buddhism.” (B.R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, vol.3, p.229-230.)
  10. ^ Elliot & Dowson: History of India, vol.1, p.119, 120. Koenraad Elst: Who is a Hindu. 2001
  11. ^ Elliot & Dowson: History of India, vol.1, p.158
  12. ^ Notes on the Religious, Moral, and Political State of India Before the Mohammedan Invasion:... By Faxian, Sykes (William Henry) pg.??
  13. ^ How to Prepare for the Sat II: World History By Marilynn Hitchens, Heidi Roupp, pg. ??
  14. ^ The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 205)
  15. ^ The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 8)
  16. ^ The Maha-Bodhi By Maha Bodhi Society, Calcutta (page 205)
  17. ^ Historia Religionum: Handbook for the History of Religions By C. J. Bleeker, G. Widengren page 381
  18. ^ Islam at War: A History By Mark W. Walton, George F. Nafziger, Laurent W. Mbanda (page 226)
  19. ^ The Ilkhanate
  20. ^ B.F. Manz, "Tīmūr Lang", in Encyclopaedia of Islam, Online Edition, 2006
  21. ^ The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, "Timur", 6th ed., Columbia University Press: "... Timur (timoor') or Tamerlane (tăm'urlān), c.1336–1405, Mongol conqueror, b. Kesh, near Samarkand. ...", (LINK)
  22. ^ "Timur", in Encyclopaedia Britannica: "... [Timur] was a member of the Turkic Barlas clan of Mongols..."
  23. ^ "Baber", in Encyclopaedia Britannica: "... Baber first tried to recover Samarkand, the former capital of the empire founded by his Mongol ancestor Timur Lenk ..."
  24. ^ Sir Aurel Stein: Archaeological Explorer By Jeannette Mirsky
  25. ^ Ethnicity & Family Therapy edited by Nydia Garcia-Preto, Joe Giordano, Monica McGoldrick
  26. ^ War at the Top of the World: The Struggle for Afghanistan, Kashmir, and Tibet By Eric S. Margolis page 165
  27. ^ India By Sarina Singh
  28. ^ B.R. Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches, vol.3, p.232.
  29. ^ Tundup Tsering and Tsewang Nurboo, in: “Ladakh visited”, Pioneer, 4/12/1995.

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

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