Persecution of Buddhists

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Religious discrimination and persecution
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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.

Contents 1 Persecution in Asia 1.1 Sassanids 1.2 Hepthalites 1.3 Emperor Wuzong of Tang 2 Persecution by Christians 2.1 Vietnam 2.2 Sri Lanka 2.3 South Korea 3 Persecution by Communists 3.1 Tibet 3.2 Khmer Rouge 3.3 Soviet Russia 3.4 Mongolia 4 Persecution by Muslims 4.1 Afghanistan 4.2 India 4.3 Pakistan 4.4 Thailand 5 Persecution in the Indian Subcontinent 5.1 Persecution in Myanmar 5.2 Persecution under the Sunga Pusyamitra 6 References 7 Further reading

[edit] Persecution in Asia

[edit] Sassanids

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. ^[1] In the 3rd century the Sassanids overran the Bactrian region, overthrowing Kushan rule,^[2] were persecuted^[clarify] with many of their stupas fired.^[1] Although strong supporters of Zoroastrianism, the Sassanids 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.^[2]

During the second half of the third century, when the Zoroastrian high priest Kirder dominated the religious policy of the state.^[2] 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.^[2] Buddhism quickly recovered, however, after his death.^[2]

[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.^[2] Around 440 CE they conquered Sogdiana then conquered Gandhara and pushed on into the gangetic plains.^[1][2] Their King Mihirkula who ruled from 515 CE suppressed Buddhism destroying monasteries as far as modern-day Allahabad before his son reversed the policy.^[2]

[edit] Emperor Wuzong of Tang

Main article: Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution

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.

See also

• Four Buddhist Persecutions in China

[edit] Persecution by Christians

[edit] Vietnam

Buddhists were discriminated against under the reign of President Ngô Đình Diệm.

Already in 1953, first rumors of discrimination against Buddhists surfaced in Vietnam. The allegations stated that Catholic Vietnamese armed by the French had been raiding villages. By 1961, the shelling of pagodas in Vietnam was being reported in Australian and American media^[3]

After the Catholic Ngo Dinh Diem came to power in South Vietnam, backed by the United States, he favoured his relatives and correligionists over the Buddhists. Though Buddhists made up 80% of Vietnam's population, Catholics were favoured for high positions in the army and civil service. Half of the 123 members National Assembly were Catholic. Buddhists were also forced to procure special government permits to hold large meetings, a tactic used generally for trade unions.^[4] In May 1963, the government forbade the flying of Buddhist flags on Vesak. After Buddhist protesters clashed with government troops, nine people were killed.^[4] In protest, the Buddhist monk Thích Quảng Đức burned himself to death in Saigon.^[5].

[edit] Sri Lanka

Under British rule, Christians were openly favoured for jobs and promotions.^[6] Robert Inglis, a prominent 19th Century British Conservative, likened Buddhism to "idolatry" during a parliamentary debate over the relationship of "Buddhist priests" to the British colonial government, in 1852.^[7] (Inglis was also an outspoken opponent of Jewish Emancipation).

[edit] South Korea

South Korean Buddhists are persecuted by Christians. Recently Christians are destroying temples, statues of the Buddha, praying for the destruction of all Buddhist temples ^[8], and persecuting Buddhist monks. ^[9]

[edit] Persecution by Communists

[edit] Tibet

Tibetan Buddhists have been threatened by the Government of the People's Republic of China and by Han settlers, who occupy governing positions in Tibet^[10]. Buddhist monks and nuns have been tortured and killed by the Chinese military, according to human rights groups^[11].

[edit] Khmer Rouge

The Khmer Rouge actively persecuted Buddhists during their reign from 1975 to 1979^[12]. Buddhist institutions and temples were wantonly destroyed and Buddhist monks and teachers were killed in large numbers^[13]. A third of the nations monasteries were destroyed along with numerous holy texts and items of high artistic quality. 25,000 Buddhist monks were massacred by the regime.^[14].

The persecution was undertaken because Pol Pot believed Buddhism to be "a decadent affectation". He sought to eliminate Buddhism's 1,500 year mark on Cambodia.^[14].

[edit] Soviet Russia

Buddhism was persecuted and looked down upon by the Soviet authorities. Adherents were brutally attacked by the authorities^[15] to "free" the masses to work in gulags^[16]. During Stalin's rule, all the Kalmyk Buddhists were forcibly moved to Siberia and only allowed to return after his death^[17].

[edit] Mongolia

Buddhist monks were persecuted in Mongolia during communist rule up until democratization in 1990^[18].

[edit] Persecution by Muslims

[edit] Afghanistan

Two ancient Buddha statues, known as the Buddhas of Bamyan, were destroyed on March 21, 2001 by the Islamic Taliban government.^[19][20]. Mr. B Raman, Director of the Institute for Topical Studies in Chennai, argued that the Taliban actively campaigned against Buddhist influences in Afghanistan.^[21]

[edit] India

Various personages involved in the revival of Buddhism in India such as Anagarika Dharmapala and the The Mahabodhi Movement of 1890s as well as Dr. B. R. Ambedkar hold the Muslim Rule in India responsible for the decay of Buddhism in India^{[22][23][24][25][26]}

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. ^[27] One of Qutb-ud-Din's generals, Ikhtiar Uddin Muhammad Bin Bakhtiyar Khilji, invaded Magadha and destroyed the great Buddhist shrines at Nalanda. ^[28] The Buddhism of Magadha suffered a tremendous decline under Khilji. ^[29]

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^[30] near Benares. Buddhist monks who escaped the massacre fled to Nepal, Tibet and South India. ^[31]

Timur destroyed Buddhist establishments and raided areas in which Buddhism had flourished. ^[32][33]

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.^[34] Mughal rulers like Aurangzeb destroyed Buddhist temples and monasteries and replaced them with Islamic mosques. ^{[35][verification needed]}

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 taken 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."^[36][37]

[edit] Pakistan

In September 2007 suspected pro-Taleban militants in north-west Pakistan have tried to blow up an ancient carving of Buddha using dynamite which sustained only minimal damage^[20]. In November 2007, suspected Taliban rebels blew up a Buddha statue in the Swat Valley, destroying the head, shoulders, and feet of the statue^[38].

[edit] Thailand

Primarily Buddhist Thailand has been involved in a fight with Muslim insurgents in the South. Buddhists have been beheaded^[39] and clergy and teachers are frequently threatened with their lives.^[40] Shootings of Buddhists are quite frequent in the South,^[41][42] as are bombings,^[43] and attacking religious establishments.^[44]

[edit] Persecution in the Indian Subcontinent

[edit] Persecution in Myanmar

The Government of Myanmar has cracked down on Buddhist monks and have destroyed some monasteries^[45].

[edit] Persecution under the Sunga Pusyamitra

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

Pusyamitra Sunga (reigned 185 to 151 BCE) assassinated the last Mauryan emperor Brhadrata in 185 BCE, and subsequently founded the Sunga dynasty. From the mid 3rd century BC, under Ashoka, Buddhist proselytization had begun to spread beyond the subcontinent. Buddhist texts such as the Ashokavadana and Divyavadana, written about four centuries after his reign, they contain accounts of the persecution of Buddhists during his reign. They ascribe to him the razing of stupas and viharas built by Ashoka, the placement of a bounty of 100 dinaras on the heads of Buddhist monks and describe him as one who wanted to undo the work of Ashoka.^[46]

Some historians have rejected Pushyamitra' s persecution of Buddhists and the traditional accounts are often described as exaggerated. The Asokavadana legend has been likened to a Buddhist version of Pusyamitra's attack of the Mauryas, reflecting the declining influence of Buddhism in the Sunga Imperial court.

Later Sunga kings were seen as amenable to Buddhism and as having contributed to the building of the stupa at Bharhut.^[47]. The decline of Buddhism in India did not set in until the Gupta dynasty.

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

• Al-Biladhuri: Kitãb Futûh Al-Buldãn, translated into English by F.C. Murgotte, New York, 1924.
• Elliot and Dowson: The History of India as told by its own Historians, New Delhi reprint, 1990.
• Majumdar, R. C. (ed.), The History and Culture of the Indian People, Volume VI, The Delhi Sultanate, Bombay, 1960; Volume VII, The Mughal Empire, Bombay, 1973.