180-543: Buddhism ( Burmese : ဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ ), specifically Theravāda Buddhism ( Burmese : ထေရဝါဒဗုဒ္ဓဘာသာ ), is the official and state religion of Myanmar since 1961, and practiced by nearly 90% of the population. It is the most religious Buddhist country in terms of the proportion of monks in the population and proportion of income spent on religion. Adherents are most likely found among the dominant Bamar people , Shan , Rakhine , Mon , Karen , and Chinese who are well integrated into Burmese society. Monks , collectively known as
360-572: A schism . The schism lasted two centuries before the old order finally died out. Later kings continued to support Theravada Buddhism and its mainly Mon scholarly elite. In the 13th century, the Bamar kings and elites built countless Buddhist stupas and temples, especially around the capital city of Bagan . These acts of generosity were a way to gain merit ( puñña ) and to show that one had phun (glory, spiritual power). Bagan kings presented themselves as bodhisattvas, who saw themselves as responsible for
540-464: A Pyu state.) To be sure, the Pyu and their culture did not disappear just because 3000 of them were taken away. The size of the Pyu realm and its many walled cities throughout the land indicates a population many times over. Indeed, no firm indications at Sri Ksetra or at any other Pyu site exist to suggest a violent overthrow. It is more likely that these raids significantly weakened the Pyu states, enabling
720-644: A body of teachings incorporating esoteric tantric techniques, may be viewed as a separate branch or tradition within Mahāyāna. The Theravāda branch has a widespread following in Sri Lanka as well as in Southeast Asia, namely Myanmar , Thailand , Laos , and Cambodia . The Mahāyāna branch—which includes the East Asian traditions of Tiantai , Chan , Pure Land , Zen , Nichiren , and Tendai
900-408: A canal, thought to be contemporary to the city, though no scientific dating has confirmed it. Excavations—the first of which was carried out in 1979—have unearthed many artefacts, including jewellery, silver coins, and funerary urns. Many of the artefacts such as the coins and funerary urns are virtually identical to those found Beikthano and Binnaka. Binnaka ( ဘိန္နက [bèɪɰ̃nəka̰] ) too
1080-622: A great translator of various Abhidhamma works into Burmese (including the Patthana and the Dhammasangani ). His Taungoo successors also promoted learning and further construction projects for the sangha. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Theravada practices became more regionally uniform, and the hill regions were drawn into closer contact with the basin. The consistent royal support of the Mahavihara Theravada tradition and
1260-864: A growth in the interest of Abhidhamma study and the translation of various classic works of Abhidhamma into the Burmese language, including the Atthasalini and the Abhidhammatthasangaha . This made the Abhidhamma more accessible to a much wider audience which probably included lay people . At the same time, the Ari "Forest dweller" sect with their large landed estates virtually disappeared in this period due to various economic and political pressures. However, in spite of these changes and reforms, some animist and esoteric practices like nat worship and
1440-637: A major power in the region through the conquest of the Irrawaddy river valley, which included the Mon city of Thaton . During his reign, Mon Buddhist culture, architecture and writing came to be largely assimilated into the Bamar culture. Though later historical chronicles (like the Sāsanavaṃsa ) state that Anawrahta conquered Thaton in order to obtain the Buddhist scriptures and that a "pure Theravada Buddhism"
1620-633: A major role in Asian culture and spirituality, eventually spreading to the West in the 20th century. According to tradition, the Buddha instructed his followers in a path of development which leads to awakening and full liberation from dukkha ( lit. ' suffering or unease ' ). He regarded this path as a Middle Way between extremes such as asceticism or sensual indulgence. Teaching that dukkha arises alongside attachment or clinging ,
1800-522: A monarch, rather than a feudal lord. Its absence in the Bagan Kingdom 's fourth period records also indicates that the city likely fell into ruin well before the 11th century AD. However, more evidence and investigation is required to analyze the ancient artifacts found in the site. Finds from another site nearby include paleolithic tools and fossilized footprints, indicate that the overall area may be older than other Pyu sites. The New History of
1980-537: A phenomenon known as Greco-Buddhism . An example of this is evidenced in Chinese and Pali Buddhist records, such as Milindapanha and the Greco-Buddhist art of Gandhāra . The Milindapanha describes a conversation between a Buddhist monk and the 2nd-century BCE Greek king Menander , after which Menander abdicates and himself goes into monastic life in the pursuit of nirvana. Some scholars have questioned
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#17327724524672160-548: A powerful belief system in the elaborate provision of the dead”. In that article, the author adds upon his research in other's article, they also recorded old photo of founded place which is already surveyed in nine major burial terraces outside the southern city walls, old Buddhist monuments including the complex at "Beikthano" city and the queen "Panhtwar" cemetery. Archaeological surveys have actually so far unearthed 12 walled cities, including five large walled cities, and several smaller non-fortified settlements, located at or near
2340-531: A script that dates towards the third century BC, and the architectural similarities to other Pyu sites, particularly a site in Shwedaung , Bago Region further up the Irrawaddy River. The ancient site itself was built symmetrically on a mountain ridge designed around stupas and water features. Based on its scale and the administrative societal structures of the Pyu period, the city would have been built by
2520-496: A way to attract and appease the population and gradually have them accept the new Buddhist religion. Therefore, the spread and dominance of Theravāda in Burma was a gradual process taking centuries (and only really completed in around the 19th century). Hinduism, Ari Buddhism and nat worship remained influential forces in Burma at least until the 13th century, though the royal court generally favored Theravada. The Ari practices included
2700-572: Is also known as a great temple builder. Some of his main achievements include the Shwezigon Pagoda and the Shwesandaw Pagoda . However, Anawrahta did not attempt to remove all non-Theravāda elements from his kingdom. Indeed, Anawrahta continued to support some Mahayana practices. He allowed and even promoted the worship of the traditional Burmese nat spirits and allowed their worship in Buddhist temples and pagodas, presumably as
2880-870: Is an esoteric system of occult practices (such as recitation of spells, samatha and alchemy) believed to lead to life as a weizza ( Burmese : ဝိဇ္ဇာ Pali : vijjā ), a semi-immortal and supernatural being who awaits the appearance of the future Buddha , Maitreya (Arimeitaya). The early history of Buddhism in Burma is hard to decipher. Pali historical chronicles state that Ashoka sent two bhikkhus , Sona and Uttara, to Suvaṇṇabhūmi ("The Golden Land") around 228 BCE with other monks and sacred texts as part of his effort to spread Buddhism. The area has been recognized as being somewhere in ancient Southeast Asia , possibly in Thaton in lower Burma or Nakon Pathom in Thailand . An Andhra Ikshvaku inscription from about
3060-531: Is dated from the mid 5th to mid 6th century, is written on solid gold plaques. The similarity of the script used in these plates with that of the Andhra - Kuntala - Pallava region indicates that Theravada in Burma first arrived from this part of South India. According to Skilling the Pyu and Mon realms "were flourishing centres of Buddhist culture in their own right, on an equal footing with contemporary centres like Anuradhapura." These Mon-Pyu Buddhist traditions were
3240-533: Is insufficient to conclude however that the Pyu had administrative and military control over these upper Tenasserim coastal towns.) The ports connected the overland trade route to China via present-day Yunnan . The trading area of the Pyu states spanned across the present-day Southeast Asia, South Asia and China. Artifacts from the 2nd century northwest India to Java and the Philippines have been found at Beikthano. Likewise, Pyu artefacts have been found along
3420-633: Is predominantly practised in Nepal , Bhutan , China , Malaysia , Vietnam , Taiwan , Korea , and Japan . Tibetan Buddhism , a form of Vajrayāna , is practised in the Himalayan states as well as in Mongolia and Russian Kalmykia . Japanese Shingon also preserves the Vajrayana tradition as transmitted to China . Historically, until the early 2nd millennium , Buddhism was widely practiced in
3600-410: Is recorded as being located next to the sea. Unlike many other small Pyu sites, the city is speculated to be large in size located downstream from Sri Ksetra. Some archaeologists believe that ruins near Ingapu , Ayeyarwady Region may be the location of Pinle Pyu. Historian Phone Tint Kyaw led a team to study the area in 2009 and concluded the site may be a Pyu site based on the use of Brahmi script ,
3780-400: Is scholarly disagreement on whether insight was seen as liberating in early Buddhism or whether it was a later addition to the practice of the four jhānas . Scholars such as Bronkhorst also think that the four noble truths may not have been formulated in earliest Buddhism, and did not serve in earliest Buddhism as a description of "liberating insight". According to Vetter, the description of
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#17327724524673960-550: Is seen by the presence of Anuradhapura style "moonstones" discovered at Beikthano and Halin. By perhaps the 7th century, tall cylindrical stupas such as the Bawbawgyi, Payagyi and Payama had emerged at Sri Ksetra. The Pyu architecture greatly influenced later Burmese Buddhist temple designs. For example, temples at Sri Ksetra such as the Bebe and Lemyethna were prototypes for the later hollow ( gu ) temples of Pagan. The floor plan of
4140-640: Is shown by a large increase in epigraphic and manuscript evidence in this period. However, it still remained a minority in comparison to other Buddhist schools. Mahāyāna Buddhist institutions continued to grow in influence during the following centuries, with large monastic university complexes such as Nalanda (established by the 5th-century CE Gupta emperor, Kumaragupta I ) and Vikramashila (established under Dharmapala c. 783 to 820) becoming quite powerful and influential. During this period of Late Mahāyāna, four major types of thought developed: Mādhyamaka, Yogācāra, Buddha-nature ( Tathāgatagarbha ), and
4320-593: Is similar in size and cluster positions to other Pyu vessels but is otherwise very different to those further south. This may indicate a degree of influence from other sources or that it is markedly different from the central Pyu culture. The significance of Tagaung is due to the fact that the Burmese chronicles identify Tagaung as the home of the first Burmese kingdom. Aside from Beikthano and Sri Ksetra, most Pyu sites have not seen extensive or any excavation. The lost city described as Pinle Pyu ( ပင်လယ်ပျူ [pɪ̀ɰ̃.lɛ̀ pjù] , lit. ' Sea Pyu ' )
4500-577: Is the largest Pyu site discovered thus far. (Only Beikthano and Sri Ksetra have been extensively excavated. Other important Pyu cities as Maingmaw and Binnaka could yield more artefacts with more extensive excavations.) It occupied a larger area than that of the 11th century Pagan or 19th century Mandalay. Circular in design, Sri Ksetra was more than 13 km (8.1 mi) in circumference and three to four km across, or about 1400 hectares of occupied area. The city's brick walls were 4.5 metres (15 ft) high, and had 12 gates with huge devas (deities) guarding
4680-467: Is the minting and use of silver coinage. Originated in the Pegu area, these coins date from the 5th century and were the model for most first millennium coinage in mainland Southeast Asia. The earliest type of these coins is not inscribed and depicts a conch on one side and a Srivatsa on the other. Many of the coins had a small hole along the perimeter, and may have also been used as amulets. Remarkably, after
4860-489: Is the most common path undertaken by Burmese Buddhists. This path involves the observance of the Five precepts and accumulation of good merit through charity ( dana , often to monks) and good deeds to obtain a favorable rebirth . The meditation path, which has gained ground since the early 1900s, is a form of Buddhist meditation which is seen as leading to awakening and can involve intense meditation retreats . The weizza path
5040-461: Is the oldest urban site so far discovered and scientifically excavated site. Its remains—the structures, pottery, artefacts, and human skeletons—date from 200 BCE to 100 CE. Named after the Hindu god Vishnu , the city may be the first capital of a culturally and perhaps even politically uniform state in the history of Burma. It was a large fortified settlement, measuring approximately 300 hectares inside
5220-474: Is vast, with many different textual collections in different languages (such as Sanskrit , Pali , Tibetan , and Chinese ). Buddhist schools vary in their interpretation of the paths to liberation ( mārga ) as well as the relative importance and "canonicity" assigned to various Buddhist texts , and their specific teachings and practices. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars: Theravāda ( lit. ' School of
5400-539: The Abhidhammatthavibhavani, and his Manidipa, a commentary on the Atthasalini. He also wrote some works in Burmese, and thus was one of the first pioneers to write Buddhist works in that language. In Lower Burma the Mon people were dominant. The most powerful of the Mon kingdoms was Hanthawaddy (a.k.a. Ramaññadesa ), founded by Wareru . He was a patron of Theravada Buddhism, and also led
5580-691: The Burmese language . The millennium-old civilisation came crashing down in the 9th century when the city-states were destroyed by repeated invasions from the Kingdom of Nanzhao . The Bamar people set up a garrison town at Bagan (Pagan) at the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers. Pyu settlements remained in Upper Burma for the next three centuries but the Pyu gradually were absorbed into
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5760-759: The Dharma of the Buddha , fójiào in Chinese, bukkyō in Japanese, nang pa sangs rgyas pa'i chos in Tibetan, buddhadharma in Sanskrit, buddhaśāsana in Pali. Pyu city-states The Pyu city-states ( Burmese : ပျူ မြို့ပြ နိုင်ငံများ ) were a group of city-states that existed from about the 2nd century BCE to the mid-11th century in present-day Upper Myanmar (Burma). The city-states were founded as part of
5940-838: The Dharmaguptaka school. The Islamic conquest of the Iranian Plateau in the 7th-century, followed by the Muslim conquests of Afghanistan and the later establishment of the Ghaznavid kingdom with Islam as the state religion in Central Asia between the 10th- and 12th-century led to the decline and disappearance of Buddhism from most of these regions. The origins of Mahāyāna ("Great Vehicle") Buddhism are not well understood and there are various competing theories about how and where this movement arose. Theories include
6120-699: The Mahavihara tradition . He also purified the sangha of undisciplined monks, such as monks who owned land or other forms of material wealth. The invitation of Sinhalese monks and ordination lineages as a way to reform the sangha was also adopted in Mrauk-U, Ava, Toungoo, and Prome. These Sinhalese Theravada lineages spread throughout the mainland through the different trade routes, reaching the Shan realm, Thailand and Laos. They brought with them Theravada texts, rituals, lowland alphabets and calendars. These changes paved
6300-639: The Milindapanha version, expressing doubts whether Menander was Buddhist or just favourably disposed to Buddhist monks. The Kushan empire (30–375 CE) came to control the Silk Road trade through Central and South Asia, which brought them to interact with Gandharan Buddhism and the Buddhist institutions of these regions. The Kushans patronised Buddhism throughout their lands, and many Buddhist centres were built or renovated (the Sarvastivada school
6480-539: The Mu River Valley , the Kyaukse plains and Minbu region , around the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers . Five major walled cities- Beikthano , Maingmaw, Binnaka , Hanlin , and Sri Ksetra - and several smaller towns have been excavated throughout the Irrawaddy River basin. Halin, founded in the 1st century AD, was the largest and most important city until around the 7th or 8th century when it
6660-469: The Pali canon . The history of Indian Buddhism may be divided into five periods: Early Buddhism (occasionally called pre-sectarian Buddhism ), Nikaya Buddhism or Sectarian Buddhism (the period of the early Buddhist schools), Early Mahayana Buddhism , Late Mahayana, and the era of Vajrayana or the "Tantric Age". According to Lambert Schmithausen Pre-sectarian Buddhism is "the canonical period prior to
6840-595: The Pyu script , and various kinds of acid-etched onyx beads along with others made of amber and jade. Also excavated are distinctive silver coins identical to those found at Beikthano and Binnaka, stone moulds for casting silver and gold ornamental flowers, a gold armlet in association with a silver bowl that has Pyu writing on it, and funerary urns virtually identical to those found Beikthano and Binnaka. Both Maingmaw and Binnaka may have been contemporary of Beikthano. The chronicles, which do not mention Beikthano at all, do mention
7020-682: The Tarim Basin . The first documented Buddhist texts translated into Chinese are those of the Parthian An Shigao (148–180 CE). The first known Mahāyāna scriptural texts are translations into Chinese by the Kushan monk Lokakṣema in Luoyang , between 178 and 189 CE. From China, Buddhism was introduced into its neighbours Korea (4th century), Japan (6th–7th centuries), and Vietnam ( c. 1st –2nd centuries). During
7200-565: The Theravada tradition had not established any deities, but were epistemologically cautious rather than directly atheist . Later Buddhist traditions were more influenced by the critique of deities within Hinduism and therefore more committed to a strongly atheist stance. These developments were historic and epistemological as documented in verses from Śāntideva 's Bodhicaryāvatāra , and supplemented by reference to suttas and jātakas from
7380-589: The Tibeto-Burman -speaking Pyu people began to enter the Irrawaddy River Valley from present-day Yunnan using the Taping and Shweli Rivers . The original home of the Pyu is reconstructed to be Qinghai Lake , which is located in the present-day provinces of Qinghai and Gansu . The Pyu, the earliest inhabitants of Burma of whom records are extant, went on to found settlements throughout
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7560-589: The Weikza remained popular throughout Burma. During the reign of King Sanay (1673–1714), a great controversy swept the sangha over whether it was acceptable to wear the monk's robe so as to leave one shoulder exposed. This dispute would consume the sangha for almost a century. In the mid-18th century, King Alaungpaya (1714–1760) established the Konbaung dynasty (1752–1885) after a short period of rebellion and warfare. His son, Bodawpaya (1745–1819), arbitrated
7740-589: The epistemological tradition of Dignaga and Dharmakirti . According to Dan Lusthaus , Mādhyamaka and Yogācāra have a great deal in common, and the commonality stems from early Buddhism. During the Gupta period (4th–6th centuries) and the empire of Harṣavardana ( c. 590 –647 CE), Buddhism continued to be influential in India, and large Buddhist learning institutions such as Nalanda and Valabahi Universities were at their peak. Buddhism also flourished under
7920-493: The sangha (community), are venerated members of Burmese society. Among many ethnic groups in Myanmar, including the Bamar and Shan, Theravada Buddhism is practiced in conjunction with the worship of nats , which are spirits who can intercede in worldly affairs. Regarding the practice of Buddhism, two popular practices stand out: merit-making and vipassanā meditation . There is also the less popular weizza path. Merit-making
8100-598: The Śramaṇa traditions. New ideas developed both in the Vedic tradition in the form of the Upanishads, and outside of the Vedic tradition through the Śramaṇa movements. The term Śramaṇa refers to several Indian religious movements parallel to but separate from the historical Vedic religion , including Buddhism, Jainism and others such as Ājīvika . Several Śramaṇa movements are known to have existed in India before
8280-438: The 10th century, according to radiocarbon dating of Pagan's walls.) The size of population of the Pyu realm was probably a few hundred thousand, given that the 17th and 18th century Burma (about the size of present-day Myanmar) only had about 2 million people. The Pyu settlements were ruled by independent chiefs. The chiefs at larger city-states later styled themselves as kings, and established courts largely modelled after
8460-515: The 1200s. The Silk Road transmission of Buddhism to China is most commonly thought to have started in the late 2nd or the 1st century CE, though the literary sources are all open to question. The first documented translation efforts by foreign Buddhist monks in China were in the 2nd century CE, probably as a consequence of the expansion of the Kushan Empire into the Chinese territory of
8640-634: The 13th century Somingyi Monastery at Pagan was largely identical to that of a 4th-century monastery at Beikthano. The solid stupas of Sri Ksetra were in turn prototypes for Pagan's such as the Shwezigon , Shwehsandaw , and Mingalazedi , and ultimately, the Shwedagon in modern Yangon. The city-states were mainly populated by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu people , who like their cousins Burmans are believed to have migrated from
8820-494: The 13th century, the Pyu had assumed the Burman ethnicity and disappeared into history. Of the 12 walled cities excavated thus far, five are the remains of largest Pyu states: Beikthano, Maingmaw, Binnaka, Halin and Sri Ksetra. Beikthano ( Burmese : ဗိဿနိုး [beɪʔθənó] ) situated in the irrigated Minbu region (near present-day Taungdwingyi ) with direct land access to the well-watered Kyaukse plains to its northeast,
9000-518: The 3rd century CE refers to the conversion of the Kiratas (Cilatas) to Buddhism. These may have been the Mon-Khmer speaking peoples of ancient Arakan and Lower Burma (i.e. the Pyu states and Mon kingdoms). 3rd century Chinese texts speak of a "Kingdom of Liu-Yang," where people worshiped the Buddha, and there were "several thousand sramanas". This kingdom has been located in central Burma. By
9180-429: The 4th century, most of Pyu had become predominantly Buddhist, though archaeological finds prove that their pre-Buddhist practices also remained firmly entrenched in the following centuries. According to the excavated texts, as well as the Chinese records, the predominant religion of the Pyu was Theravāda Buddhism . Peter Skilling concludes that there is firm epigraphical evidence for the dominant presence of Theravāda in
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#17327724524679360-561: The 6th century BCE (pre-Buddha, pre- Mahavira ), and these influenced both the āstika and nāstika traditions of Indian philosophy . According to Martin Wilshire, the Śramaṇa tradition evolved in India over two phases, namely Paccekabuddha and Savaka phases, the former being the tradition of individual ascetic and the latter of disciples, and that Buddhism and Jainism ultimately emerged from these. Brahmanical and non-Brahmanical ascetic groups shared and used several similar ideas, but
9540-650: The Bagan era were Acariya Dhammasenapati, Aggavamsa Thera, Capata (Saddhammajotipala), Saddhammasiri, Vimalabuddhi, Aggapandita and Dhammadassi. Their work focused on the intricacies of Pali grammar as well as on Theravada Abhidhamma . Another key figure of Bagan Buddhism was the Mon Buddhist monk Shin Uttarajīva . He was a leading religious leader during the reigns of Narathu (1167–1171), Naratheinkha (1171–74) and Narapatisithu (1167–1191). Uttarajiva presided over
9720-683: The Bhairava Vidyapitha tantras. Ronald M. Davidson meanwhile, argues that Sanderson's claims for direct influence from Shaiva Vidyapitha texts are problematic because "the chronology of the Vidyapitha tantras is by no means so well established" and that the Shaiva tradition also appropriated non-Hindu deities, texts and traditions. Thus while "there can be no question that the Buddhist tantras were heavily influenced by Kapalika and other Saiva movements" argues Davidson, "the influence
9900-406: The Buddha , a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE . It is the world's fourth-largest religion , with over 520 million followers, known as Buddhists , who comprise seven percent of the global population. It arose in the eastern Gangetic plain as a śramaṇa movement in the 5th century BCE, and gradually spread throughout much of Asia. Buddhism has subsequently played
10080-435: The Buddha advised meditation practices and ethical precepts rooted in non-harming . Widely observed teachings include the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path , and the doctrines of dependent origination , karma , and the three marks of existence . Other commonly observed elements include the Triple Gem , the taking of monastic vows , and the cultivation of perfections ( pāramitā ). The Buddhist canon
10260-484: The Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term "the middle way". In time, this short description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path. According to numerous Buddhist scriptures, soon after the parinirvāṇa (from Sanskrit: "highest extinguishment") of Gautama Buddha, the first Buddhist council was held to collectively recite the teachings to ensure that no errors occurred in oral transmission. Many modern scholars question
10440-399: The Buddhist temples put increasing economic strain on the kingdom. To recover some of this wealth in an acceptable manner, kings often saw fit to "purify" or reform the Buddhist sangha (monastic community). However, in the 13th century, no Burmese kings were strong enough to manage and reform the increasingly rich and powerful sangha. The situation was also compounded by drier weather during
10620-437: The Buddhist traditions of India, some of which included the teachings of Mahāyāna Buddhism and the use of the Sanskrit language. In the 7th century, Yijing noted in his travels that in Southeast Asia, all major sects of Indian Buddhism flourished. Archaeological finds have also established the presence of Vajrayana , Mahayana and Hinduism in Burma. In Sri Ksetra, Pegu and other regions of ancient Burma, Brahmanical Hinduism
10800-437: The Burmans to move into Pyu territories. At any rate, evidence shows that the actual pace of Burman migration into the Pyu realm was gradual. Radiocarbon dating shows that human activity existed until c. 870 at Halin, the subject of the 832 Nanzhao raid. The Burmese chronicles claim the Burmans founded the fortified city of Pagan (Bagan) in 849 but the oldest radiocarbon dated evidence at Pagan (old walls) points to 980 CE while
10980-403: The Chinese Tang dynasty (618–907), Chinese Esoteric Buddhism was introduced from India and Chan Buddhism (Zen) became a major religion. Chan continued to grow in the Song dynasty (960–1279) and it was during this era that it strongly influenced Korean Buddhism and Japanese Buddhism. Pure Land Buddhism also became popular during this period and was often practised together with Chan. It
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#173277245246711160-495: The Elders ' ) and Mahāyāna ( lit. ' Great Vehicle ' ). The Theravada tradition emphasizes the attainment of nirvāṇa ( lit. ' extinguishing ' ) as a means of transcending the individual self and ending the cycle of death and rebirth ( saṃsāra ), while the Mahayana tradition emphasizes the Bodhisattva ideal , in which one works for the liberation of all sentient beings. Additionally, Vajrayāna ( lit. ' Indestructible Vehicle ' ),
11340-435: The Indian (Hindu) concepts of monarchy. Not all Hindu concepts such as divine kingship were fully adopted due to the presence of Theravada Buddhism. It is not clear if a vassalage-overlord relationship existed between the larger city-states and smaller towns. The Burmese chronicles mention alliances between the states such as one between Beikthano and Sri Ksetra. By and large, each Pyu city-state appeared to have controlled just
11520-502: The Indian subcontinent before declining there ; it also had a foothold to some extent elsewhere in Asia, namely Afghanistan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , and Tajikistan . The names Buddha Dharma and Bauddha Dharma come from Sanskrit : बुद्ध धर्म and बौद्ध धर्म respectively ("doctrine of the Enlightened One" and "doctrine of Buddhists"). The term Dharmavinaya comes from Sanskrit: धर्मविनय , literally meaning "doctrines [and] disciplines". The Buddha ("the Awakened One")
11700-400: The Irrawaddy valley and its periphery in the following centuries. ) The Pyu grew rice , perhaps of the Japonica variety. The Pyu realm was an important trading centre between China and India in the first millennium CE. Two main trading routes passed through the Pyu states. As early as 128 BCE, an overland trade route between China and India existed across the northern Burma. An embassy from
11880-403: The Irrawaddy. The Anyathian , Burma's Stone Age, existed around the same time as the lower and middle Paleolithic eras in Europe. Three caves located near Taunggyi at the foothills of the Shan Hills have yielded Neolithic artefacts dated to 10,000–6000 BCE. About 1500 BCE, people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice, and domesticating chickens and pigs; they were among
12060-454: The Kyaukse region, was circular in shape, and has tentatively been dated to the first millennium BCE. It is also sometimes called Pinle after the village near its modern site in Myittha Township and should not the confused with Pinle Pyu, a speculated Pyu city in Southern Myanmar. At 2.5 km (1.6 mi) in diameter and 222 hectares, Maingmaw is one of the largest ancient cities on the entire Kyaukse plains. It has two inner enclosure walls,
12240-549: The Mahavihara Theravada tradition (the Sinhala Sangha). During the First Toungoo Empire , a reform movement led by the Taungoo kings took place, which attempted to standardize the Buddhism of Upper Burma and the Shan region in line with the Mahavihara tradition. These reforms were modeled after those of Dhammazedi. Before the reform, the Buddhism of the Shan realm and Upper Burma was still heavily influenced by animism, Ari Buddhism and pre-Buddhist ritualism (which included animal and human sacrifice). Even in Lower Burma, where Theravada
12420-428: The Mu valley, one of the largest irrigated regions of precolonial Burma, is the northernmost Pyu city so far discovered. The earliest artefacts of Halin—city's wooden gates—are radiocarbon dated to 70 CE. The city was rectangular but with curved corners, and brick-walled. Excavated walls are approximately 3.2 km (2.0 mi) long on the north–south axis and 1.6 km (0.99 mi) on the east–west. At 664 hectares,
12600-443: The Nanzhao king Ko-lo-feng had conquered the upper Irrawaddy Valley. Nanzhao raids intensified in the 9th century, with the Nanzhao raiding in 800–802, and again in 808–809. Finally, according to the Chinese, in 832, the Nanzhao warriors overran the Pyu country, and took away 3000 Pyu prisoners from Halin. (In 835, the Chinese records say the Nanzhao also raided a state, generally identified by some but not universally accepted to be
12780-514: The Nawin River Valley at Sri Ksetra, because they proved their skills of water control using irrigation systems depended on their good knowledge of the conditions in each locality and area. According to Stargardt in “From the Iron Age to early cities at Srikestra and Beikthano, Myanmar” Journal of Southeast Asian Studies, all the archaeology found a lot of major inscriptions on stone in phy language survive at Sri Kestra (Pyu), Hanlin and near Pinle (Hmainmaw), and Pagan (Bagan). They have strong evidence on
12960-641: The Pagan) iconography scene. Various Hindu Brahman iconography ranging from the Hindu trinity, Brahma , Vishnu and Shiva , to Garuda and Lakshmi have been found, especially in Lower Burma. Non-Theravada practices such as ceremonial cattle sacrifice and alcohol consumption were main stays of the Pyu life. Likewise, the greater prominence of nuns and female students than in the later eras may point to pre-Buddhist notions of female autonomy. In melding of their pre-Buddhist practices to Buddhist ones, they placed
13140-630: The Pyu Kingdom of Sriksetra and the Mon kingdom of Dvaravati , "from about the 5th century CE onwards", though he adds that evidence shows that Mahāyāna was also present. The epigraphical evidence comes from Pali inscriptions which have been found in these areas. They use a variant of the South Indian Pallava script . Indeed, the oldest surviving Buddhist texts in the Pāli language come from Pyu city-state of Sri Ksetra. The text, which
13320-552: The Pyu also imported science and astronomical expertise from India. The Chinese records also report that the Pyu knew how to make astronomical calculations. The Pyu calendar was based on the Buddhist calendar . There were two eras in use. The first was the Sakra Era, which was adopted in the Pyu realm in 80 CE, just two years after the new era had come into use in India. A second calendar was adopted at Sri Ksetra in 638, superseding
13500-417: The Pyu and Mon civilizations. Initially, Burmese Buddhism was dominated by an eclectic Buddhism called Ari Buddhism , which included Mahayana and Vajrayana elements as well animist practices like nat worship and influences from Brahmanism . The Bamar adoption of Buddhism accelerated in the 11th century during the reign of king Anawrahta (Pali: Aniruddha, 1044–1077) who transformed the Bagan Kingdom into
13680-416: The Pyu as a humane and peaceful people to whom war was virtually unknown and who wore silk cotton instead of actually silk so that they would not have to kill silk worms, and that many Pyu boys entered the monastic life at seven to the age of 20. To be sure, this peaceful description by the Chinese was a snapshot of the Pyu realm, and may not represent the life in the city-states in general. The Pyu language
13860-464: The Pyu era and the Pagan era. (Burmans likely introduced new water management methods, especially the canal building techniques which became the prevailing method of irrigation in the Pagan era.) The Pyu city plans, consisted of square/rectangles and circles, were a mix of indigenous and Indian designs. It is believed that circular patterns inside the cities were Pyu while the rectangle or square shape of
14040-478: The Pyu realm and China. Trade with India brought deep cultural contacts. Sri Ksetra has yielded the most extensive remains of Theravada Buddhism . Religious art suggests several distinct occupations with earlier influences stemming from Southeast India and later influences from Southwest India while 9th century influences include those from the Nanzhao Kingdom. Much of the Chinese account of the Pyu states
14220-479: The Pyu script, based on the Brahmi script , may have been the source of the Burmese script used to write the Burmese language . The Pyu sites have yielded a wide variety of Indian scripts from King Ashoka 's edicts written in north Indian Brahmi and Tamil Brahmi , both dated to the 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, to the Gupta script and Kannada script dated to the 4th to 6th centuries CE. In addition to religion,
14400-481: The Roman Empire to China passed through this route in 97 CE and again in 120 CE. But the majority of the trade was conducted by sea through the southern Pyu states, which at the time were located not far from the sea as much of the Irrawaddy delta had not yet been formed, and as far south as upper Tenasserim coast towns such as Winga, Hsindat-Myindat, Sanpannagon and Mudon where Pyu artefacts have been found. (It
14580-473: The Sakra Era. The calendar, the first day of which was 22 March 638, later became the Burmese calendar , and is still in use in present-day Myanmar. (The existence of two Pyu calendars has been cause for dispute among scholars trying interpret the dates on the finds.) The Pyu-era architectural practices greatly influenced later Pagan and Burmese architecture. The techniques of building dams, canals and weirs found in pre-colonial Upper Burma trace their origins to
14760-502: The Shan realm never wielded political power as they did in the Burmese regions. In the 14th century, the Buddhist sangha continued to receive patronage from regional Shan kings like Thihathu and scholarly activities continued under their reigns. Meanwhile, Arakan was ruled by the kingdom of Mrauk-u , who also patronized Theravada Buddhism. The main power in the Upper Burma region was the Kingdom of Ava (founded in 1365), which
14940-602: The Shan realm. During his reign, there were great scholars such as Saddhammalamkara, Dhammabuddha and Ananda (known for his commentary on the Dhammasanghani's Abhidhammamatika). Bayinnaung's reforms were continued by the monarchs of the Restored Toungoo dynasty, who spent much of their efforts in religious projects. An important later king was Thalun (1584–1648), known for building a number of monasteries and chedis in Upper Burma and other acts of donation to
15120-651: The Tang states the kingdom of Mi-ch'en sent an embassy to China in 805, and was attacked by Nanchao in 835. Many Pyu settlements have been found across Upper Burma in Myinmu Township , near the mouth of the Mu river. One notable site is Ayadawkye Ywa in the Mu valley west of Halin lies south of another recently discovered Bronze Age site called Nyaunggan. Further south in Myingyan Township , west of Maingmaw,
15300-605: The Tantric Mahayana Ari monks (also called "Samanakuttakas") and their unorthodox ways. Burmese historical chronicles state that Anawrahta was converted by a Mon bhikkhu , Shin Arahan , to Theravāda Buddhism. The king may have been worried about the influence of the forest dwelling Ari Buddhist monks and sought a way to subvert their power. The Ari monks, who ate evening meals, drank liquor, and presided over animal sacrifices and sexual rites, were considered heretical by
15480-609: The Theravada Majjhima Nikaya and Sarvastivada Madhyama Agama contain mostly the same major doctrines. Richard Salomon , in his study of the Gandharan texts (which are the earliest manuscripts containing early discourses), has confirmed that their teachings are "consistent with non-Mahayana Buddhism, which survives today in the Theravada school of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, but which in ancient times
15660-513: The Theravada pantheon. Thus, the worship of Lokanatha was accepted in Burmese Theravada as well as the worship of a list of 37 Nats that were royally sanctioned. The influence of these various religions is still felt in folk Burmese Buddhism today, which contains several elements of nat worship, esotericism, Mahayana and Hinduism. The Weikza tradition is particularly influenced by these unorthodox elements. It seems that Bagan Theravāda
15840-529: The Vinaya (monastic rule), and this caused a split with the conservatives who rejected this change, they were called Mahāsāṃghikas . While most scholars accept that this happened at some point, there is no agreement on the dating, especially if it dates to before or after the reign of Ashoka. Buddhism may have spread only slowly throughout India until the time of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka (304–232 BCE), who
16020-542: The Wati site (also spelled Wa Tee) is the remnants of a circular walled city. There were also Pyu settlements in Lower Burma that may have been ignored or overlooked by the historical records aimed at legitimizing Upper Burmese kings' lineage. The Sagara (Thagara) site in Dawei is one such site comparable to Tagaung. Archaeological excavations in 2001 revealed several artifacts including terracotta urns in rice fields southeast of
16200-456: The admiration of Sinhalese experts. Besides religious texts, Pagan’s monks read works in a variety of languages on prosody, phonology, grammar, astrology, alchemy, and medicine, and developed an independent school of legal studies. Most students, and probably the leading monks and nuns, came from aristocratic families. The Burmese chronicles give a long list of monastic scholars (and their works) who worked during this era. Some important scholars of
16380-464: The age of 80 in Kushinagar , India. The Buddha's teachings were propagated by his followers, which in the last centuries of the 1st millennium BCE became various Buddhist schools of thought , each with its own basket of texts containing different interpretations and authentic teachings of the Buddha; these over time evolved into many traditions of which the more well known and widespread in
16560-759: The ancient religion Jainism , is also claimed to be ksatriya by his early followers. ) According to early texts such as the Pali Ariyapariyesanā-sutta ("The discourse on the noble quest", MN 26) and its Chinese parallel at MĀ 204, Gautama was moved by the suffering ( dukkha ) of life and death, and its endless repetition due to rebirth . He thus set out on a quest to find liberation from suffering (also known as " nirvana "). Early texts and biographies state that Gautama first studied under two teachers of meditation, namely Āḷāra Kālāma (Sanskrit: Arada Kalama) and Uddaka Ramaputta (Sanskrit: Udraka Ramaputra), learning meditation and philosophy, particularly
16740-457: The city itself. The large size of the Pyu cities (660 to 1400 hectares) vis-a-vis Pagan (only 140 hectares) suggests that much of the population resided within the walls, as corroborated by the Chinese records. Archaeology in Pagan produced Pyu artefacts across a number of the settlements in the enclosed complex dating to the first millennium, until approximately 1100 C.E. when a shift to a monument-rich state and diffusion beyond walled boundaries
16920-499: The city was nearly twice the size of Beikthano. It has four main gates at the cardinal points, and a total of 12 gates, based on the zodiac. A river or canal ran through the city. Traces of a moat exist on all sides except the south, where it was probably not needed, as land was dammed there to create reservoirs. This design of the city influenced the city planning of later Burmese cities and the Siamese city of Sukhothai . For example,
17100-404: The coasts of Arakan , Lower Burma, and as far east as Óc Eo (in present-day southern Vietnam ). The Pyu also conducted trade and diplomatic relations with China. In 800 and 801–802, Sri Ksetra sent a formal embassy, along with 35 musicians to the Tang court. According to the Chinese, the Pyu used gold and silver coinage. But only silver coins have survived. A notable feature of the Pyu states
17280-491: The compilation of the Wareru Dhammasattha , an influential code of law patterned on Bagan customary law and influenced by Buddhism. In spite of their support for Theravada Buddhism, many of the people in Burma during this era continued to practice animist and other non-Buddhist religious rites. Shan, Burmese and Mon elites often practiced animal sacrifice and worshiped nat spirits during this period. Meanwhile,
17460-649: The confluence of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin rivers: Halin in the Mu valley, Maingmaw and Binnaka in the Kyaukse plains, finally Beikthano and Sri Ksetra at or near the Minbu district. (The irrigation projects of the Pyu were later picked up by the Burmans. King Anawrahta of Pagan would build irrigation projects in these three regions in the 1050s to turn them into the main rice granaries of Upper Burma. They would give Upper Burma an enduring economic base from which to dominate
17640-509: The design of city's temples influenced the 11th to 13th century temples at Pagan. Excavated artefacts point to Halin's Pyu script to be the earliest writing in the Pyu realm (and in Burma). It was based on an earlier version of the Brahmi script (Mauryan and Guptan). Inscriptions at Sri Ksetra show a later version of the same script. Known for the production of salt , a highly prized commodity in
17820-467: The development of different schools with their different positions". The early Buddhist Texts include the four principal Pali Nikāyas (and their parallel Agamas found in the Chinese canon) together with the main body of monastic rules, which survive in the various versions of the patimokkha . However, these texts were revised over time, and it is unclear what constitutes the earliest layer of Buddhist teachings. One method to obtain information on
18000-487: The dispute concerning the correct way of wearing the monk robes by ruling in favour of covering both shoulders and the sangha was then unified under the Sudhammā Nikāya . Buddhism Buddhism ( / ˈ b ʊ d ɪ z əm / BUUD -ih-zəm , US also / ˈ b uː d -/ BOOD - ), also known as Buddha Dharma , is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to
18180-575: The drinking of alcohol in public ceremonies with pickled tea. The royalty also often promoted orthodoxy and Buddhist reform. The greatest of the Hanthawaddy kings, Dhammazedi (Dhammaceti), was a former Mon bhikkhu who ruled from 1471 to 1492. According to the Kalyani Inscriptions , Dhammazedi carried out an extensive reform of the Buddhist sangha by sending thousands of Buddhist monks to Sri Lanka to receive ordination and training in
18360-625: The earliest Mahāyāna sūtras to include the first versions of the Prajnaparamita series, along with texts concerning Akṣobhya , which were probably composed in the 1st century BCE in the south of India. There is no evidence that Mahāyāna ever referred to a separate formal school or sect of Buddhism, with a separate monastic code (Vinaya), but rather that it existed as a certain set of ideals, and later doctrines, for bodhisattvas. Records written by Chinese monks visiting India indicate that both Mahāyāna and non-Mahāyāna monks could be found in
18540-590: The earliest people in Southeast Asia to welcome in and adapt to Brahmic scripts in order to record their tonal language, inventing tonal markers. The Pyu shared a type of urbanism on a wide variety of scales. They had walled spaces with one side sealed by a water tank or a tank outside of the walls. In late prehistory, the Pyu settled for quite some time in Beikthano in the Yin River Valley than
18720-738: The early texts, which has led most scholars to conclude that Gautama Buddha must have taught something similar to the Four Noble Truths , the Noble Eightfold Path , Nirvana , the three marks of existence , the five aggregates , dependent origination , karma and rebirth . According to N. Ross Reat, all of these doctrines are shared by the Theravada Pali texts and the Mahasamghika school's Śālistamba Sūtra . A recent study by Bhikkhu Analayo concludes that
18900-506: The ending of the mental defilements ( asavas ), the ending of suffering, and the end of rebirth in saṃsāra . This event also brought certainty about the Middle Way as the right path of spiritual practice to end suffering. As a fully enlightened Buddha , he attracted followers and founded a Sangha (monastic order). He spent the rest of his life teaching the Dharma he had discovered, and then died, achieving " final nirvana ", at
19080-463: The entrances and a pagoda at each of the four corners. It also has curving gateways, such as those found at Halin and Beikthano. In the centre of the city was what most scholars think represented the rectangular palace site, 518 by 343 metres (1,699 ft × 1,125 ft), symbolising both a mandala and a zata (horoscope), like in Maingmaw. Only the southern half of the city was taken up by
19260-406: The expanding Pagan Kingdom . The Pyu language still existed until the late 12th century. By the 13th century, the Pyu had assumed the Burman ethnicity. The histories and legends of the Pyu were also incorporated to those of the Bamar. Based on limited archaeological evidence, it is inferred that the earliest cultures existed in Burma as early as 11,000 BCE, mainly in the central dry zone close to
19440-610: The first millennium, Halin was superseded by Sri Ksetra as the premier Pyu city-state circa 7th century. By the Chinese accounts, Halin remained an important Pyu centre until the 9th century when the Pyu realm came under repeated attacks from the Nanzhao Kingdom . The Chinese records state that the city was destroyed by the Nanzhao warriors in 832 CE, with 3000 of its inhabitants taken away. However, radiocarbon dating reveals human activity to about 870 CE, nearly four decades after
19620-408: The first people in the world to do so. By 500 BCE, iron-working settlements emerged in an area south of present-day Mandalay . Bronze-decorated coffins and burial sites filled with earthenware remains have been excavated. Archaeological evidence at Samon River Valley south of Mandalay suggests rice-growing settlements that traded with China between 500 BCE and 200 CE. In about the 2nd century BCE,
19800-500: The following centuries. According to the excavated texts, as well as the Chinese records, the predominant religion of the Pyu was Theravada Buddhism . The Theravada school prevalent in the Pyu realm was probably derived from the Andhra region in southeast India, associated with the famous Theravada Buddhist scholar, Buddhagosa . It was the predominant Theravada school in Burma until the late 12th century when Shin Uttarajiva led
19980-490: The forefathers of the latter-day Burmese city and palace designs down to the 19th century Mandalay. From the 4th century onward, the Pyu built many Buddhist stupas and other religious buildings. The styles, ground plans, even the brick size and construction techniques of these buildings point to the Andhra region, particularly Amaravati and Nagarjunakonda in present-day southeastern India. Some evidence of Ceylonese contact
20160-429: The forest dwelling Ari monks continued to practice rites in which alcohol was imbibed and animals were sacrificed. However, there were also more orthodox Buddhist movements and tendencies in this era, such as a teetotal movement which was influential from the 14th century onwards, as can be seen from surviving inscriptions of the era. By the 16th and 17th centuries, this movement seemed to have been successful in replacing
20340-497: The historicity of this event. However, Richard Gombrich states that the monastic assembly recitations of the Buddha's teaching likely began during Buddha's lifetime, and they served a similar role of codifying the teachings. The so called Second Buddhist council resulted in the first schism in the Sangha . Modern scholars believe that this was probably caused when a group of reformists called Sthaviras ("elders") sought to modify
20520-421: The histories and legends of the Pyu as their own. The Burman kings of Pagan claimed descent from the kings of Sri Ksetra and Tagaung as far back as 850 BCE—a claim dismissed by most modern scholars. Pyu settlements remained in Upper Burma for the next three centuries but the Pyu gradually were absorbed and assimilated into the expanding Pagan Empire. The Pyu language still existed until the late 12th century but by
20700-434: The idea that it began as various groups venerating certain texts or that it arose as a strict forest ascetic movement. The first Mahāyāna works were written sometime between the 1st century BCE and the 2nd century CE. Much of the early extant evidence for the origins of Mahāyāna comes from early Chinese translations of Mahāyāna texts, mainly those of Lokakṣema . (2nd century CE). Some scholars have traditionally considered
20880-718: The late 13th century and the 14th century (the Medieval Warm period ), which lowered crop yields. Because of this, the state was weak and divided. It was unable to resist the invasion of new enemies like the Mongols, Hanthawaddy and the Shans. The invasions by neighboring Shan and Mon states as well as the Mongol invasions of Burma (13th century) brought the Bagan Empire to its end (the capital fell in 1287). This era saw
21060-535: The main walls point to circa 1020 CE, just 24 years earlier than the beginning of the reign of Anawrahta , the founder of Pagan Empire. At any rate, the Burmans had overtaken the leadership of the Pyu realm by the late 10th century, and went on to found the Pagan Empire in the middle of the 11th century, unifying the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery for the first time. Nonetheless, the Pyu had left an indelible mark on Pagan whose Burman rulers would incorporate
21240-621: The maintenance of a political state during succession and wars to resist invasion. During the Middle Ages, Buddhism slowly declined in India, while it vanished from Persia and Central Asia as Islam became the state religion. The Theravada school arrived in Sri Lanka sometime in the 3rd century BCE. Sri Lanka became a base for its later spread to Southeast Asia after the 5th century CE ( Myanmar , Malaysia , Indonesia , Thailand , Cambodia and coastal Vietnam ). Theravada Buddhism
21420-412: The meditative attainment of "the sphere of nothingness" from the former, and "the sphere of neither perception nor non-perception" from the latter. Finding these teachings to be insufficient to attain his goal, he turned to the practice of severe asceticism , which included a strict fasting regime and various forms of breath control . This too fell short of attaining his goal, and then he turned to
21600-587: The meditative practice of dhyana . He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree—now called the Bodhi Tree —in the town of Bodh Gaya and attained "Awakening" ( Bodhi ). According to various early texts like the Mahāsaccaka-sutta, and the Samaññaphala Sutta , on awakening, the Buddha gained insight into the workings of karma and his former lives, as well as achieving
21780-484: The modern era are Theravada , Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Historically, the roots of Buddhism lie in the religious thought of Iron Age India around the middle of the first millennium BCE. This was a period of great intellectual ferment and socio-cultural change known as the "Second urbanisation" , marked by the growth of towns and trade, the composition of the Upanishads and the historical emergence of
21960-479: The more orthodox Theravāda circles of monks like Shin Arahan. Anawrahta banished many Ari priests who refused to conform and many of them fled to Popa Hill and the Shan Hills . Anawrahta also invited Theravāda scholars from the Mon lands, Sri Lanka and India to Bagan. Their scholarship helped revitalize a more orthodox form of Theravāda Buddhism, with a focus on Pali learning and Abhidhamma philosophy. Anawrahta
22140-485: The number of gates and configuration was also found in subsequent major Burmese capitals such as the 11th century Pagan and 19th century Mandalay. The city's configuration was also found at other contemporary cities such as Maingmaw and Beikthano in the Pyu realm and Danyawaddy and Wethali in Arakan as well as later cities such as Sukhothai, which emerged over a millennium later. Structural remains of temples at Halin show that
22320-596: The oldest core of Buddhism is to compare the oldest extant versions of the Theravadin Pāli Canon and other texts. The reliability of the early sources, and the possibility to draw out a core of oldest teachings, is a matter of dispute. According to Vetter, inconsistencies remain, and other methods must be applied to resolve those inconsistencies. According to Schmithausen, three positions held by scholars of Buddhism can be distinguished: According to Mitchell, certain basic teachings appear in many places throughout
22500-627: The origins of early Vajrayana has been taken up by various scholars. David Seyfort Ruegg has suggested that Buddhist tantra employed various elements of a "pan-Indian religious substrate" which is not specifically Buddhist, Shaiva or Vaishnava. According to Indologist Alexis Sanderson , various classes of Vajrayana literature developed as a result of royal courts sponsoring both Buddhism and Saivism . Sanderson has argued that Buddhist tantras can be shown to have borrowed practices, terms, rituals and more form Shaiva tantras. He argues that Buddhist texts even directly copied various Shaiva tantras, especially
22680-409: The outer of which is square while the inner one is circular. The plan of a circle within a square suggest a zodiac sign which represents a view of the heavens from the perspective of the sun, the manner in which 19th century Mandalay was also conceptualised. At almost dead centre, a 19th-century temple called Nandawya Paya, which was probably built upon the ruins of an ancient one. The city is bisected by
22860-467: The outer walls and the use of 12 gates were Indian in origin. According to historian Cooler, "the adoption of Indian concepts of city planning incorporated a belief in the efficacy of the world axis that connects the centermost point in a properly constructed Mandala city with the city of the Gods above ( Tavatimsa heaven) in order to assure prosperity throughout the kingdom below". Pyu-era city practices were
23040-522: The pacification of the Shan hill region led to the growth of rural monasteries ( kyaungs ), which became a near universal feature of Burmese village life. The rural monasteries were the main center of education and by the 18th century the large majority of village males were learning to read and write in these monasteries. As literacy became more common (over 50 percent among males), the cost of transcribing and writing Buddhist texts decreased and they thus became more commonly available. The 17th century saw
23220-496: The palace, monasteries and houses; the entire northern half consisted of rice fields. Together with the moats and walls, this arrangement ensured that the city could withstand a long siege by enemies. Sri Ksetra was an important entrepôt between China and India. It was located on the Irrawaddy, not far from the sea as the Irrawaddy delta had not yet been formed. Ships from the Indian Ocean could come up to Prome to trade with
23400-533: The people were living in that century between the third-fourth and fifth-sixth centuries CE. All the record was nominated by World Heritage UNESCO and other historians. In this article, it mentioned and written also "Pyu" were among the earlies people in Southeast Asia. As Stargardt acknowledges in that article, "Sri Kestra" contained fields, irrigation canals, water tanks and iron-working sites, as well as monuments, markets (and elusive habitation areas) both inside and outside walls, all these halls also provide evidence of
23580-487: The plains region centred on the confluence of the Irrawaddy and Chindwin Rivers that has been inhabited since the Paleolithic . The Pyu realm was longer than wide, stretching from Sri Ksetra in the south to Halin in the north, Binnaka and Maingmaw to the east and probably Ayadawkye to the west. The Tang dynasty 's records report 18 Pyu states, nine of which were walled cities, covering 298 districts. The Pyu were
23760-656: The precise dates are uncertain, although the 5th century BCE seems to be the best estimate. Early texts have the Buddha's family name as "Gautama" (Pali: Gotama), while some texts give Siddhartha as his surname. He was born in Lumbini , present-day Nepal and grew up in Kapilavastu , a town in the Ganges Plain , near the modern Nepal–India border, and he spent his life in what is now modern Bihar and Uttar Pradesh . Some hagiographic legends state that his father
23940-541: The predominant form of Buddhism in Burma until the late 12th century when Shin Uttarajiva led the reform which imported the Sri Lankan Mahavihara school to Burma. From the 8th to the 12th centuries Indian Buddhist traditions increasingly spread to Southeast Asia via the Bay of Bengal trade network. Because of this, before the 12th century, the areas of Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia were influenced by
24120-560: The premier Pyu city by the 7th or 8th century, and retained that status until the Mranma arrived in the 9th century. The city was home to at least two dynasties, and maybe three. The first dynasty, called the Vikrama Dynasty, is believed to have launched the Pyu calendar, which later became the Burmese calendar, on 22 March 638. The second dynasty was founded by King Duttabaung on 25 March 739 (11th waxing of Tagu 101 ME). Sri Ksetra
24300-482: The present Qinghai and Gansu provinces in north-central China, via Yunnan . Extensive external trade attracted sizeable communities of Indians and the Mon , especially in the south. In the north, trickles of Burmans may have entered the Pyu realm from Yunnan as early as the 7th century. (Modern scholarship however holds that Burmans did not arrive in large numbers until the mid-to-late 9th century, and perhaps as late as
24480-595: The realignment of Burmese Buddhism with the Mahavihara school of Sri Lanka, moving away from the Conjeveram - Thaton school of Shin Arahan . Even though the kings supported the reform and sent numerous monks to Sri Lanka to re-ordain, various Burmese monks of the old order (known as the Maramma Sangha) refused to ordain in the new Burmese Sri Lankan based order (the Sinhala Sangha), and this led to
24660-468: The realignment with Ceylon's Mahavihara school. The archaeological finds also indicate a widespread presence of Tantric Buddhism , Mahayana Buddhism and Hinduism . Avalokiteśvara (Lokanatha) (called Lawkanat in Burmese; လောကနတ် [lɔ́ka̰ naʔ] ), Tara , Manusi Buddhas, Vaiśravaṇa , and Hayagriva , all prominent in Mahayana Buddhism, were very much part of Pyu (and later
24840-530: The rectangular (3 km × 1 km (1.86 mi × 0.62 mi)) walls. The walls and fortifications along it measured 6 metres (20 ft) thick, and are radiocarbon dated to a period between 180 BCE and 610 CE. Like most subsequent cities, the main entrance of the walls led to the palace, which faced east. Stupas and monastic buildings have also been excavated within the city walls. Maingmaw ( မိုင်းမော [máɪɰ̃ mɔ́] ), also called Mong Mao (not to be confused with Mong Mao ), located in
25020-417: The remains of their cremated dead in pottery and stone urns and buried them in or near isolated stupas , a practice consistent with early Buddhist practices of interring the remains of holy personages in stupas. Though their religious beliefs was a syncretic mix of many backgrounds, probably like in the early Pagan period, the outlook of the Pyu reportedly was largely peaceful. Tang Chinese records describe
25200-741: The reported sack of the city. Sri Ksetra or Thaye Khittaya ( သရေခေတ္တရာ [θəjè kʰɪʔtəjà] ; lit., "Field of Fortune" or "Field of Glory" ), located 8 km (5.0 mi) southeast of Prome (Pyay) at present-day Hmawza village, was the last and southernmost Pyu capital. The city was founded between the 5th and 7th centuries, although during two of the recent excavations, January to February 2015 and December 2015 to February 2016, led by Janice Stargardt in Yahanda mound at Sri Ksetra, sherds stamped with Buddhist motifs were found, dated from c. 340 +/- 30 CE. and Pyu culture cremation burials around 270 +/- 30 CE. Sri Ksetra likely overtook Halin as
25380-590: The rise of the "classical kingdoms" of Southeast Asia in the second millennium CE. It was a long-lasting civilisation that lasted nearly a millennium to the early 9th century until a new group of "swift horsemen" from the north, the ( Mranma ) (Burmans) of the Nanzhao Kingdom entered the upper Irrawaddy valley through a series of raids. According to the Tang Dynasty chronicles, the Nanzhao began their raids of Upper Burma starting as early as 754 or 760. By 763,
25560-524: The rise of various fragmented warring kingdoms (Burmese, Shan and Mon) all vying for power. During this period, the western mainland remained divided between four main regional political-ethnic zones. In the Shan Realm, the Shan people established a loose confederation of valley kingdoms . The Shan kingdoms supported Theravada Buddhism in imitation of the Burmese elites, though the Buddhist institutions in
25740-402: The same monasteries, with the difference that Mahāyāna monks worshipped figures of Bodhisattvas, while non-Mahayana monks did not. Mahāyāna initially seems to have remained a small minority movement that was in tension with other Buddhist groups, struggling for wider acceptance. However, during the fifth and sixth centuries CE, there seems to have been a rapid growth of Mahāyāna Buddhism, which
25920-410: The sangha, one infamous ruler, Thohanbwa is known as a king who pillaged and destroyed many monasteries and temples and massacred numerous monks. In spite of the political weakness of the kingdom, Buddhist scholarship flourished during this time, with prominent scholars like Ariyavamsa, Silavamsa and Ratthasara composing numerous works. Ariyavamsa is known for his Manisaramañjusa , a sub-commentary on
26100-584: The sangha. He also patronized various learned elders of his era, such as Tipitakalamkara, Ariyalamkara and Jambudhaja. Tipitakalamkara is the author of the Vinayalamkara and a commentary to the Atthasalini, while Jambhudhaja composed a commentary on the Vinayatthakatha. Thalun's successor Pindale (1648–1661) also followed in his father's footsteps, building monasteries and patronizing Buddhist scholarship by figures such as Aggadhammalamkara,
26280-603: The schisms, each Saṅgha started to accumulate their own version of Tripiṭaka (triple basket of texts). In their Tripiṭaka, each school included the Suttas of the Buddha, a Vinaya basket (disciplinary code) and some schools also added an Abhidharma basket which were texts on detailed scholastic classification, summary and interpretation of the Suttas. The doctrine details in the Abhidharmas of various Buddhist schools differ significantly, and these were composed starting about
26460-467: The society he grew up in may have been invented and interpolated at a later time into the Buddhist texts. Various details about the Buddha's background are contested in modern scholarship. For example, Buddhist texts assert that Buddha described himself as a kshatriya (warrior class), but Gombrich writes that little is known about his father and there is no proof that his father even knew the term kshatriya . ( Mahavira , whose teachings helped establish
26640-548: The southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman -speaking Pyu people, the earliest inhabitants of Burma of whom records are extant. The thousand-year period, often referred to as the Pyu millennium , linked the Bronze Age to the beginning of the classical states period when the Pagan Kingdom emerged in the late 9th century. The major Pyu city-states were all located in the three main irrigated regions of Upper Burma:
26820-479: The spiritual merit of their subjects. They also saw themselves as Dharma kings ( Dhammaraja ) who were protectors and promoters of the Buddhist religion. Bagan kings also promoted themselves as manifestations of the god Sakka . The scale of state donations to Buddhist temples grew throughout the 13th century and many of these temples were also given arable land grants which were tax exempt as well as slaves . Over time, this flow of wealth and agricultural capacity to
27000-651: The support of the Pāla Empire (8th–12th centuries). Under the Guptas and Palas, Tantric Buddhism or Vajrayana developed and rose to prominence. It promoted new practices such as the use of mantras , dharanis , mudras , mandalas and the visualization of deities and Buddhas and developed a new class of literature, the Buddhist Tantras . This new esoteric form of Buddhism can be traced back to groups of wandering yogi magicians called mahasiddhas . The question of
27180-692: The third century BCE and through the 1st millennium CE. According to the edicts of Aśoka , the Mauryan emperor sent emissaries to various countries west of India to spread "Dharma", particularly in eastern provinces of the neighbouring Seleucid Empire , and even farther to Hellenistic kingdoms of the Mediterranean. It is a matter of disagreement among scholars whether or not these emissaries were accompanied by Buddhist missionaries. In central and west Asia, Buddhist influence grew, through Greek-speaking Buddhist monarchs and ancient Asian trade routes,
27360-410: The three Vedic sacrificial fires, reinterpreting and explaining them as ethical conduct. The Śramaṇa religions challenged and broke with the Brahmanic tradition on core assumptions such as Atman (soul, self), Brahman , the nature of afterlife, and they rejected the authority of the Vedas and Upanishads . Buddhism was one among several Indian religions that did so. Early Buddhist positions in
27540-461: The three most important irrigated regions of precolonial Burma: the Mu River Valley in the north, the Kyaukse plains in centre, and the Minbu region in the south and west of the former two. The city-states were contemporaries of the Kingdom of Funan (Cambodia) and (perhaps) Champa (southern Vietnam), Dvaravati (Thailand), Tambralinga and Takuapa near the Kra Isthmus , and Srivijaya (southeast Sumatra ). All these statelets foreshadowed
27720-421: The two, though not specifically as Pyu cities. The chronicles state that the ruler of Binnaka was responsible for the fall of Tagaung, the city identified by the chronicles as the original home of Burmese speakers. Binnaka was inhabited until about the 19th century, according to a Konbaung era palm-leaf sittan (record) discovered there. Halin or Halingyi ( ဟန်လင်းကြီး [həlɪ́ɰ̃dʑí] ), located in
27900-523: The use of coins ceased at the end of Pyu period in the late 9th century, coins did not reappear in the Burmese kingdoms until the 19th century. The culture of Pyu city states was heavily influenced by India . Indian culture was most visible in the southern Pyu realm through which most trade with India was conducted by sea. The names of southernmost cities were in Pali or Sanskrit derived like Sri Ksetra (Thaye Khittaya) and Vishnu (Beikthano). The kings at Sri Ksetra titled themselves as Varmans and Varma. It
28080-443: The walled site. Near Sagara, the site of Mokti has also revealed similar artifacts. The stupa in Sagara and votive tablets found at the site of Mokti are considered to have many 'Pyu' cultural traits but other artifacts show evidence of many cultural influences. The economy of the Pyu city states was based on agriculture and trade. All important Pyu settlements were located in the three main irrigated regions of Upper Burma, centred on
28260-433: The way for the standardizing Theravada reforms of the first Taungoo dynasty in the mid-16th century. In the 16th century, the Burmese Taungoo dynasty unified all of Burma under energetic leaders like Tabinshwehti (r.1531–1550) and Bayinnaung (r.1551–1581). Taungoo exploited the higher population of upper Burma along with European style firearms to create the largest empire in Southeast Asia. Taungoo monarchs patronised
28440-435: The worship of Mahayana figures like Avalokiteśvara ( Lawka nat ), Tara and Manjushri . The worship of Brahmanical deities, especially Narayana , Vishnu, Ganesha and Brahma , as well as the nats, also remained popular. These gods were worshiped in their own temples (such as Vaisnava Nathlaung Kyaung ) as well as at Buddhist temples. Burmese Theravada did not ignore these practices, and in some cases incorporated them into
28620-509: The Śramaṇa traditions also drew upon already established Brahmanical concepts and philosophical roots, states Wiltshire, to formulate their own doctrines. Brahmanical motifs can be found in the oldest Buddhist texts, using them to introduce and explain Buddhist ideas. For example, prior to Buddhist developments, the Brahmanical tradition internalised and variously reinterpreted the three Vedic sacrificial fires as concepts such as Truth, Rite, Tranquility or Restraint. Buddhist texts also refer to
28800-461: Was a Tibeto-Burman language , related to Old Burmese . But it apparently co-existed with Sanskrit and Pali as the court language. The Chinese records state that the 35 musicians that accompanied the Pyu embassy to the Tang court in 800–802 played music and sang in the Fan (Sanskrit) language. Many of the important inscriptions were written in Sanskrit and/or Pali, alongside the Pyu script . Recent scholarship, though yet not settled, suggests that
28980-545: Was a Śramaṇa who lived in South Asia c. 6th or 5th century BCE. Followers of Buddhism, called Buddhists in English, referred to themselves as Sakyan -s 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. Details of the Buddha's life are mentioned in many Early Buddhist Texts but are inconsistent. His social background and life details are difficult to prove, and
29160-420: Was a king named Suddhodana , his mother was Queen Maya. Scholars such as Richard Gombrich consider this a dubious claim because a combination of evidence suggests he was born in the Shakya community, which was governed by a small oligarchy or republic-like council where there were no ranks but where seniority mattered instead. Some of the stories about the Buddha, his life, his teachings, and claims about
29340-450: Was a public supporter of the religion. The support of Aśoka and his descendants led to the construction of more stūpas (such as at Sanchi and Bharhut ), temples (such as the Mahabodhi Temple ) and to its spread throughout the Maurya Empire and into neighbouring lands such as Central Asia and to the island of Sri Lanka . During and after the Mauryan period (322–180 BCE), the Sthavira community gave rise to several schools, one of which
29520-480: Was also a strong rival to Buddhism and was often in competition with it. This is attested in the Burmese historical chronicles. Prominent Mahayana figures such as Avalokiteśvara , Tara , Vaiśravaṇa , and Hayagriva , were included in Pyu (and later Bagan) iconography. Brahmanical deities such as Brahma , Vishnu , Shiva , Garuda and Lakshmi have been found, especially in Lower Burma. The Bamar people (Burmese) also adopted Buddhism as they came into contact with
29700-444: Was also during the Song that the entire Chinese canon was printed using over 130,000 wooden printing blocks. During the Indian period of Esoteric Buddhism (from the 8th century onwards), Buddhism spread from India to Tibet and Mongolia . Johannes Bronkhorst states that the esoteric form was attractive because it allowed both a secluded monastic community as well as the social rites and rituals important to laypersons and to kings for
29880-601: Was apparently mutual". Already during this later era, Buddhism was losing state support in other regions of India, including the lands of the Karkotas , the Pratiharas , the Rashtrakutas , the Pandyas and the Pallavas . This loss of support in favor of Hindu faiths like Vaishnavism and Shaivism , is the beginning of the long and complex period of the Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent . The Islamic invasions and conquest of India (10th to 12th century), further damaged and destroyed many Buddhist institutions, leading to its eventual near disappearance from India by
30060-400: Was established during his reign, it is likely that Theravada was known in Bagan before the 11th century. Furthermore, Bagan Theravāda was never truly "pure" as it included local animist rites, Naga worship and Brahmanical rites associated with Vishnu officiated by Brahmin priests. Anawrahta implemented a series of religious reforms throughout his kingdom, attempting to weaken the power of
30240-423: Was heavily influenced by trade with India, importing Buddhism as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts, which would have an enduring influence on the political organisation and culture of Burma . The Pyu calendar, based on the Buddhist calendar , later became the Burmese calendar . The Pyu script , based on the Brahmi script , may have been the source of the Burmese script used to write
30420-402: Was located in the Kyaukse region, and virtually identical to its neighbour Maingmaw in numerous ways. Its brick structures shared the same floor plan as those found at Beikthano and other Pyu sites. Excavations have recovered pre-Buddhist artefacts, gold necklaces, precious stone images of elephants, turtles and lions, distinctive Pyu pottery, terracotta tablets with writing that strongly resembled
30600-662: Was mainly supported by elite city dwellers, with over 90 percent of religious gifts being given by royalty, aristocrats, military officers and temple artisans. Meanwhile, the peasants in the countryside tended to be more associated with the animistic nat based religion. At its height, the Bagan Kingdom became an important center of Theravāda scholarship. According to Lieberman: At the great capital itself and some provincial centers, Buddhist temples supported an increasingly sophisticated Pali scholarship, part of an international tradition, which specialized in grammar and philosophical-psychological ( abhidhamma ) studies and which reportedly won
30780-404: Was more dominant, nat worship and Ari Buddhist practices also remained influential. Bayinnaung attempted to bring the religious practice of his empire more in line with the orthodox Sri Lankan Mahavihara tradition (i.e. the Sinhala Sangha). Bayinnaung distributed copies of the Pali scriptures, promoted scholarship and built pagodas throughout his empire. One of the main temples built in his reign
30960-443: Was not just a southern phenomenon. To varying degrees, northern Pyu cities and towns also became under the sway of Indian culture. The Burmese chronicles claim that the founding kings of Tagaung were descended from no less than the Sakya clan of the Buddha himself. By the 4th century, most of the Pyu had become predominantly Buddhist, though archaeological finds prove that their pre-Buddhist practices remained firmly entrenched in
31140-420: Was particularly favored), especially by Emperor Kanishka (128–151 CE). Kushan support helped Buddhism to expand into a world religion through their trade routes. Buddhism spread to Khotan , the Tarim Basin , and China, eventually to other parts of the far east. Some of the earliest written documents of the Buddhist faith are the Gandharan Buddhist texts , dating from about the 1st century CE, and connected to
31320-478: Was represented by eighteen separate schools." However, some scholars argue that critical analysis reveals discrepancies among the various doctrines found in these early texts, which point to alternative possibilities for early Buddhism. The authenticity of certain teachings and doctrines have been questioned. For example, some scholars think that karma was not central to the teaching of the historical Buddha, while other disagree with this position. Likewise, there
31500-430: Was still the most populous region in the western mainland, despite all the sociopolitical disorder of the era. However, this kingdom was severely weakened economically (lacking coastal trade access), and continued to suffer from the Pagan era issue of tax free religious estates. The leaders of Buddhist institutions grew in power during this era, assuming administrative and even military offices. While most Ava kings supported
31680-466: Was superseded by Sri Ksetra (near modern Pyay ) at the southern edge of the Pyu Realm. Twice as large as Halin, Sri Ksetra was eventually the largest and most influential Pyu centre. Only the city-states of Halin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra are designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites , where the other sites can be added in the future for an extension nomination. The Pyu realm was part of an overland trade route between China and India . The Pyu culture
31860-417: Was the Mahazedi Pagoda at Pegu. Bayinnaung also promoted mass ordinations into the Sinhala Sangha at the Kalyani Ordination Hall in the name of purifying the religion. He also prohibited all human and animal sacrifices throughout the kingdom. In particular, he forbade the Shan practice of killing the slaves and animals belonging to a saopha at his funeral. He also sent Burmese Theravada monks to preach in
32040-476: Was the Theravada school which tended to congregate in the south and another which was the Sarvāstivāda school, which was mainly in north India. Likewise, the Mahāsāṃghika groups also eventually split into different Sanghas. Originally, these schisms were caused by disputes over monastic disciplinary codes of various fraternities, but eventually, by about 100 CE if not earlier, schisms were being caused by doctrinal disagreements too. Following (or leading up to)
32220-403: Was the dominant religion in Burma during the Mon Hanthawaddy Kingdom (1287–1552). It also became dominant in the Khmer Empire during the 13th and 14th centuries and in the Thai Sukhothai Kingdom during the reign of Ram Khamhaeng (1237/1247–1298). The term "Buddhism" is an occidental neologism, commonly (and "rather roughly" according to Donald S. Lopez Jr. ) used as a translation for
32400-502: Was through Sri Ksetra. Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang in 648 and Yijing in 675 mentioned Sri Ksetra in their accounts of Buddhist kingdoms of Southeast Asia. The Tang histories mention the arrival at the court of an embassy from the Pyu capital in 801. A small but politically significant Pyu site is Tagaung ( တကောင်း [dəɡáʊɰ̃] ) located in Tagaung , Mandalay Region (about 200-km north of Mandalay ) where Pyu artefacts including funerary urns have been excavated. Tagaung pottery
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