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Theravāda Buddhism |
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Buddhism is the third-largest religious affiliation and formed about 0.63% of the population of Bangladesh. [1] [2] It is said that Buddha once in his life came to this region of East Bengal to spread his teachings and he was successful in converting the local people to Buddhism, specially in the Chittagong division and later on Pala empire propagate and patronized Buddhist religion throughout the Bengal territory. [3] About 1 million people in Bangladesh adhere to the Theravada school of Buddhism. [4] Over 65% of the Buddhist population is concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region, where it is the predominant faith of the Rakhine, Chakma, Marma, Tanchangya, other Jumma people and the Barua. The remaining 35% are Bengali Buddhists. Buddhist communities are present in the urban centers of Bangladesh, particularly Chittagong and Dhaka.
Legend said that Gautama Buddha came to the region to spread Buddhism, and it was speculated that one or two individuals became monks to follow in his footsteps. However, Buddhism did not gain much support until the reign of Ashoka when Buddhism gained a toehold. The Pala Empire that controlled the Indian subcontinent spread many Buddhist ideologies in modern Bangladesh and built many monasteries such as the Mahasthangarh and the Somapura Mahavihara. During the Pala Dynasty, a famous teacher named Atisha was born in the city of Bikrampur and spread Mahayana Buddhism.
Chandra Dynasty's Puranchandra and Subarnachandra adopted Buddhism, as did their successors Trailokyachandra and Srichandra who ruled Harikel and Chandradwip (Barisal). [5] The Khadga Dynasty was a Buddhist dynasty of kings that carried the surname Bhatt. They made several temples and monasteries. King Rajabhata was for example a very committed Mahayanist Buddhist. [6]
Buddhism in various forms appears to have been prevalent at the time of the Turkic conquest in 1202. [7] The invading armies found numerous monasteries, which they destroyed. With the destruction of centres of Buddhist learning, such as Nalanda University, Buddhism rapidly disintegrated. [8] In subsequent centuries and up through the 1980s nearly all the remaining Buddhists lived in the region around Chittagong, which had not been entirely conquered until the time of the British Raj (1858–1947). During the 19th century, a revival movement developed [9] that led to the development of two orders of Theravada monks, the Sangharaj Nikaya and the Mahasthabir Nikaya.
In the Chittagong Hills, Buddhist tribes formed the majority of the population, and their religion appeared to be a mixture of tribal beliefs and Buddhist doctrines. According to the 1981 census, there were approximately 538,000 Buddhists in Bangladesh, representing less than 1 percent of the population.
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1951 | 294,437 | — |
1961 | 355,634 | +20.8% |
1974 | 428,871 | +20.6% |
1981 | 522,722 | +21.9% |
1991 | 637,893 | +22.0% |
2001 | 862,063 | +35.1% |
2011 | 898,634 | +4.2% |
2022 | 1,007,468 | +12.1% |
Source: Bangladesh government census authority [10] [11] |
Year | Percent | Increase |
---|---|---|
1951 | 0.7% | |
1961 | 0.7% | 0% |
1974 | 0.6% | -0.1% |
1981 | 0.6% | 0% |
1991 | 0.6% | 0% |
2001 | 0.7% | +0.1% |
2011 | 0.6% | -0.1% |
2022 | 0.63% | +0.03% |
As of 2014, followers of Buddhism are mainly people of Baruas living in Chittagong city, the business city of Bangladesh and indigenous Arakanese descent living in the sub-tropical Chittagong Hill Tracts. People who follow Buddhism in Bangladesh belong to the Barua people in majority with the percentage of 65% among the 0.07% population of Bangladesh, Chakma, Chak, Marma, Tanchangya and the Khyang, who had been since time immemorial have practiced Buddhism. Other tribes, notably those who practice Animism, have come under some Buddhist influence, and this is true in the case of the Khumi and the Mru, and to a lesser extent on the other tribes.
Division | Percentage (%) | Buddhist population ( ) | Total population |
---|---|---|---|
Barisal | 0.18% | 14,348 | 8,173,818 |
Chittagong | 7.08% | 1,719,759 | 24,290,384 |
Dhaka | 0.39% | 152,274 | 39,044,716 |
Khulna | 0.68% | 99,995 | 14,705,229 |
Rajshahi | 0.36% | 58,877 | 16,354,723 |
Rangpur | 0.34% | 47,080 | 13,847,150 |
Sylhet | 0.02% | 1,621 | 8,107,766 |
Mymensingh | 0.62% | 27,999 | 11,370,102 |
There are several active monasteries in the Chittagong, and in most Buddhist villages there is a school (kyong) where boys live and learn to read Bengali (national language) and some Pali (an ancient Buddhist scriptural language). [7] It is common for men who have finished their schooling to return at regular intervals for periods of residence in the school. The local Buddhist shrine is often an important center of village life.
Buddhism outside the monastic retreats has absorbed and adapted indigenous popular creeds and beliefs of the regions to which it has spread. [7] In most areas religious ritual focuses on the image of the Buddha, and the major festivals observed by Buddhists in Bangladesh commemorate the important events of his life. Although doctrinal Buddhism rejects the worship of gods and preserves the memory of the Buddha as an enlightened man, popular Buddhism contains a pantheon of gods and lesser deities headed by the Buddha.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs provides assistance for the maintenance of Buddhist places of worship and relics. [7] The ancient monasteries at Paharpur (in Rajshahi Region) and Mainamati (in Comilla Region), dating from the seventh to ninth century A.D., are considered unique for their size and setting and are maintained as state-protected monuments.
List of massacres targeted at Hindus and Buddhists minorities by radical Islamists and Razakar:
Vihāra generally refers to a Buddhist monastery for Buddhist renunciates, mostly in the Indian subcontinent. The concept is ancient and in early Sanskrit and Pali texts, it meant any arrangement of space or facilities for dwellings. The term evolved into an architectural concept wherein it refers to living quarters for monks with an open shared space or courtyard, particularly in Buddhism. The term is also found in Ajivika, Hindu and Jain monastic literature, usually referring to temporary refuge for wandering monks or nuns during the annual Indian monsoons. In modern Jainism, the monks continue to wander from town to town except during the rainy season (chaturmasya), and the term "vihara" refers to their wanderings.
The Marma, also known as Moghs, Mogs or Maghs, are the second-largest ethnic community in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, primarily residing in the Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati Hill Districts. They belong to the same community as the Rakhine people. Many Marmas live in Bangladesh's coastal districts of Cox's Bazar and Patuakhali, while few of them live in Tripura, India and Myanmar. There are about 224,261 Marmas living in Bangladesh and 35,722 of them living in India. Since the 16th century, the Marma have considered the Bengal's Chittagong Hill Tracts their home, where they have established the Bohmong and Mong Circles (chiefdoms).
Naogaon District is a district in northern Bangladesh, part of the Rajshahi Division. It is named after its headquarters, the city of Naogaon in Naogaon Sadar Upazila.
Barua is a Bengali-speaking Indo-Aryan ethnic group native to Chittagong Division in Bangladesh and Rakhine State in Myanmar, where they are known as the Maramagyi or Maramagri or particularly the Magh Barua. According to Arakanese chronology, the Barua Buddhists have lived there for five thousand years. Another derivation of 'Barua' is 'Baru' and 'Arya' meaning great aryan. They are commonly identified by their last name, "Barua". Barua is derived from "Baru" meaning "great" and "ua", meaning "noble rulers". In Myanmar, the Barua is classified as one of the seven groups that make up the Rakhine nation. In West Bengal (India), Barua Magh Buddhist Community are recognized as Scheduled Tribe (ST). The physical characteristics of Barua (Marmagyi) people are unmistakenly Mongolian, their stature is low, the face broad and flat, cheekbones high and wide, nose falt and bridgeless, and eyes small with eyelids obliquely set. Their list of favourite foods invariably includes shnutki machhor dry fish, sea fish and spicy food prepared with lots of oil and chilli. From the different kinds of shnutki an indication of their origin can be identified. For instance, according to multiple respondents the Siddala and Hangor shnutki is liked mainly by Baruas who are closely connected to the Arakanese community. The primary scripture of Barua Magh Tribal Community, the Tripitaka was written in the Pali language. After Barua women marry they wear vermilion and conch-shell bangles as marriage symbols and as a sign of their unavailability to men. The present Barua Buddhists of Chittagong are from Arakan roots. They migrated to Chittagong some four or five hundred years ago. Before getting planted in that country they were from different groups and not from one composite group. And name Magh has been derived as corrupted form of appellation Mang or Meng.Use of name Mang or Meng was widely prevalent in Chittagong among the ancestors of Buddhist communities now using the name Barua.
Somapura Mahavihara or Paharpur Buddhist Vihara in Paharpur, Badalgachhi, Naogaon, Bangladesh is among the best known Buddhist viharas or monasteries in the Indian Subcontinent and is one of the most important archaeological sites in the country. It was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. It is one of the most famous examples of architecture in pre-Islamic Bangladesh. It dates from a period to the nearby Halud Vihara and to the Sitakot Vihara in Nawabganj Upazila of Dinajpur District.
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The Tanchangya people, Tanchangyas or Tonchongyas are an indigenous ethnic group living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh, Indian states of Tripura and Mizoram, and Rakhine state of Myanmar.
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Mahavihara is the Sanskrit and Pali term for a great vihara and is used to describe a monastic complex of viharas.
Prajnananda Mahathera is a socially engaged Buddhist monk in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of Bangladesh.
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The Indian subcontinent has a long history of education and learning from the era of Indus Valley civilization. Important ancient institutions of learning in ancient India are Takshashila, Kashmir Smast, Nalanda, Valabhi University, Sharada Peeth, Pushpagiri Vihara, Odantapuri University, Vikramashila, Somapura Mahavihara, Bikrampur Vihara, Jagaddala Mahavihara.