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The decline of Buddhism in India, the land of its birth, occurred for a variety of reasons and happened even as it continued to flourish beyond the frontiers of India.〔Promsak, pg.14〕 Buddhism had seen a steady growth from its beginnings in the 6th century BCE to its endorsement as state religion of the Maurya Empire under Ashoka in the 3rd century BCE. It continued to flourish during the final centuries BCE and the first centuries of the Common Era, and spread even beyond the Indian subcontinent to Central Asia and beyond to China. But a steady decline of Buddhism in India set in during the later Gupta era and under the Pala Empire. Chinese monks travelling through the region between the 5th and 8th centuries CE, such as Faxian, Xuanzang, Yijing, Huisheng, and Song Yun, began to speak of a decline of the Buddhist ''sangha'', especially in the wake of the White Hun invasion.〔Merriam-Webster, pg. 155–157〕 Decline continued after the fall of the Pala dynasty in the 12th century CE and the gradual Muslim conquest in the Indian subcontinent.〔 By that time, Buddhism had become especially vulnerable to hostile rulers because it lacked strong roots in society as most of its adherents were ascetic communities.〔P. 183 ''Max Weber: an intellectual portrait'' By Reinhard Bendix〕 Apart from a small community in eastern Bengal (present-day Bangladesh) in which it had survived from ancient times and Nepal, Buddhism was virtually extinct in India by the end of the 19th century. In recent times Buddhism has seen a revival in India due to the influence of Anagarika Dharmapala, Kripasaran Mahasthavir, B. R. Ambedkar and Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama. == Early hardships == The Buddha's period saw not only urbanisation, but also the beginnings of centralized states.〔Richard Gombrich, ''A Global Theory of Intellectual Change.'' Harvard University Press, 2000, page 205. ()〕 The successful expansion of Buddhism depended on the growing economy of the time, together with increased centralised political organisation capable of change.〔Richard Gombrich, ''A Global Theory of Intellectual Change.'' Harvard University Press, 2000, page 184.〕 During the Maurya Empire, during which Ashoka banned Vedic sacrifices as contrary to Buddhist benevolence, Buddhism began its spread outside of its Magadha homeland. The succeeding Shungas reinstated the sacrifices. They also built the large Sanchi stupa next to a Shunga capital. The overall trend of Buddhism's spread across India and state support by various regional regimes continued.〔Randall Collins, ''The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change.'' Harvard University Press, 2000, page 182.〕 The consolidation of monastic organization made Buddhism the center of religious and intellectual life in India.〔Randall Collins, ''The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change.'' Harvard University Press, 2000, page 208.()〕 Pushyamitra the first ruler of the Shunga Dynasty built great Buddhist topes at Sanchi in 188 BCE.〔P. 53 ''History of India'' By Sir Roper Lethbridge〕 The succeeding Kanva Dynasty had four Buddhist Kanva Kings.〔 Pushyamitra Shunga (185 BCE to 151 BCE) has been recorded as being hostile to Buddhism, burning Sūtras, Buddhists shrines and endorsing the massacre of monks.〔Pruthi, R.K., (2004). Buddhism and Indian Civilization, p.83. Discovery Publishing House〕 Although such issues remains disputed, Belgian historian and Hindu scholar Koenraad Elst writes: :The story is in fact given in two near contemporaneous (2nd century AD) Buddhist histories, the Asokâvadâna and the Divyâvadâna; the two narratives are almost verbatim the same and very obviously have a common origin. This non-contemporary story (which surfaces more than three centuries after the alleged facts) about Pushyamitra’s offering money for the heads of Buddhist monks is rendered improbable by external evidence: the well-attested historical fact that he allowed and patronized the construction of monasteries and Buddhist universities in his domains, as well as the still-extant stupa of Sanchi.6 After Ashoka’s lavish sponsorship of Buddhism, it is perfectly possible that Buddhist institutions fell on slightly harder times under the Shungas, but persecution is quite another matter. Buddhist historian Étienne Lamotte has observed: "To judge from the documents, Pushyamitra must be acquitted through lack of proof."〔Étienne Lamotte, Sara Webb-Boin tr., History of Indian Buddhism, 1998, p. 392, cf. p.352〕〔Koenraad Elst, Ayodhya: the case against the temple, Voice of India, 2002, p. 25〕 The gradual expansion in the scope and authority of caste regulations shifted political and economic power to the local arena, reversing the trend of centralisation.〔Randall Collins, ''The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change.'' Harvard University Press, 2000, page 209.〕 The caste system gradually expanded into secular life as a regulative code of social and economic transactions. In ancient times, the four varnas were primarily a categorisation scheme and the Vedas did contain prohibitions regarding intermarriage. There were, however, large numbers of jatis, probably originally tribal lineage groups. According to many scholars, the Shunga kings were seen as more amenable to Buddhism and as having contributed to the building of the stupa at Bharhut〔Akira Hirakawa, Paul Groner, ''A History of Indian Buddhism: From Sakyamuni to Early Mahayan'', Motilal Banarsidass Publ., 1996, ISBN 978-81-208-0955-0, p. 223〕 and an inscription at Bodh Gaya at the Mahabodhi Temple records the construction of the temple as follows, "''The gift of Nagadevi the wife of King Brahmamitra''". Another inscription reads: "''The gift of Kurangi, the mother of living sons and the wife of King Indragnimitra, son of Kosiki. The gift also of Srima of the royal palace shrine''."〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Bodh Gaya: A Good Place for Striving - Bodh Gaya from 500 BCE to 500 CE )〕〔(''Old Buddhist Shrines at Bodh-Gaya Inscriptions'' ) By B.M. Barua, "The Indian Historical Quarterly", Vol. VI, No. 1, MARCH 1930, pp. 1–31〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Decline of Buddhism in India」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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