Philippine Esoteric Buddhism

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Filipino Esoteric Buddhism refers to the traditions of Esoteric Buddhism found in Philippine islands as well as in Maritime Southeast Asia which emerged in the 7th century along the maritime trade routes and port cities of the Indonesian islands of Java and Sumatra as well as in Malaysia. [1] Loanwords with Buddhist context appear in languages of the Philippines. [2] [3]

Vajrayāna (वज्रयान), Mantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Tantric Buddhism and Esoteric Buddhism are terms referring to the various Buddhist traditions of Tantra and "Secret Mantra", which developed in medieval India and spread to Tibet, Bhutan, and East Asia. In Tibet, Buddhist Tantra is termed Vajrayāna, while in China it is generally known as Tángmì Hanmi 漢密 or Mìzōng (密宗, "Esoteric Sect"), in Pali it is known as Pyitsayãna (ပစ္စယာန), and in Japan it is known as Mikkyō.

Maritime Southeast Asia The maritime region of Southeast Asia as opposed to the mainland continental portion of Southeast Asia

Maritime Southeast Asia is the maritime region of Southeast Asia and comprises the countries of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and East Timor. Maritime Southeast Asia is sometimes also referred to as Island Southeast Asia, Insular Southeast Asia or Oceanic Southeast Asia. The 16th-century term "East Indies" and the later 19th-century term "Malay Archipelago" are also used to refer to maritime Southeast Asia.

Indonesia Republic in Southeast Asia

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia, between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is the world's largest island country, with more than seventeen thousand islands, and at 1,904,569 square kilometres, the 14th largest by land area and 7th in the combined sea and land area. With over 261 million people, it is the world's 4th most populous country as well as the most populous Muslim-majority country. Java, the world's most populous island, is home to more than half of the country's population.

Contents

This tradition was also linked by the maritime trade routes with Indian Vajrayana, Tantric Buddhism in Sinhala, Cham and Khmer lands and in China and Japan, to the extent that it is hard to separate them completely and it is better to speak of a complex of "Esoteric Buddhism of Medieval Maritime Asia." In many of the key South Asian port cities that saw the growth of Esoteric Buddhism, the tradition coexisted alongside Shaivism. [4]

Sinhala Kingdom

The Sinhala Kingdom or Sinhalese Kingdom refers to the successive Sinhalese Aryan kingdoms that existed in what is today Sri Lanka., the Sinhala Kingdom existed as successive kingdoms known by the city at which its administrative centre was located. These are in chronological order: the kingdoms of Tambapanni, Upatissa Nuwara, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa, Dambadeniya, Gampola, Kotte, Sitawaka and Kandy. The Sinhala Kingdom ceased to exist by 1815. While Sinhala Kingdom existed from 543 BC to 1815 CE, other political entities co-existed in Sri Lanka spanning certain partial periods, including the Jaffna kingdom, Vanni chieftaincies and the Portuguese and Dutch colonies. During these partial periods of time, these political entities were not part of the Sinhala Kingdom.

Chams ethnic group in Southeast Asia

The Chams or Cham people are an ethnic group of Austronesian origin in Southeast Asia. Their contemporary population is concentrated between the Kampong Cham Province in Cambodia and Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm, Phan Thiết, Ho Chi Minh City and An Giang Province in Southern Vietnam. Including the diaspora, their total is about 400,000. An additional 4,000 Chams live in Bangkok, Thailand, who had migrated during Rama I's reign. Recent immigrants to Thailand are mainly students and workers, who preferably seek work and education in the southern Islamic Pattani, Narathiwat, Yala and Songkhla provinces. A large Cham diaspora also established in Malaysia following the turbulence during the Pol Pot regime, where they were quickly assimilated with the local Malay population. Cham people represent the core of the Muslim communities in both Cambodia and Vietnam.

Khmer Empire Empire extending over large parts of Southeast Asia

The Khmer Empire, officially the Angkor Empire, the predecessor state to modern Cambodia, was a Hindu-Buddhist empire in Southeast Asia. The empire, which grew out of the former kingdoms of Funan and Chenla, at times ruled over and/or vassalised most of mainland Southeast Asia and parts of Southern China, stretching from the tip of the Indochinese Peninsula northward to modern Yunnan province, China, and from Vietnam westward to Myanmar.

Background

The Golden Tara at the collections of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, one of the significant examples of buddhist iconography in the Philippines. Filippine, provincia di agusan, immagine hindu, statuetta in oro massiccio, xiii secolo.jpg
The Golden Tara at the collections of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, one of the significant examples of buddhist iconography in the Philippines.
Example of what Maise believes to be a cave painting depicting Manjusri, in Tabon Caves in Palawan. Right side of Tabon Cave.JPG
Example of what Maise believes to be a cave painting depicting Manjusri, in Tabon Caves in Palawan.

Although no written record exists about early Buddhism in the Philippines, the recent archaeological discoveries and the few scant references in the other nations historical records tell about the existence of Buddhism from the 9th century onward in the islands. The Philippines's archaeological finds include a few Buddhist artifacts. [5] [6] [7] [1]

Buddhism World religion, founded by the Buddha

Buddhism is the world's fourth-largest religion with over 520 million followers, or over 7% of the global population, known as Buddhists. Buddhism encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on original teachings attributed to the Buddha and resulting interpreted philosophies. Buddhism originated in ancient India as a Sramana tradition sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, spreading through much of Asia. Two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognised by scholars: Theravada and Mahayana.

Philippines Republic in Southeast Asia

The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south: Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City, both part of Metro Manila. Bounded by the South China Sea on the west, the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the southwest, the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north, Japan to the northeast, Vietnam to the west, Palau to the east, and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south.

Batangas

The ancient Batangueños were influenced by India, as shown in the origin of most languages from Sanskrit and certain ancient potteries. A Buddhist image was reproduced in mould on a clay medallion in bas-relief from the municipality of Calatagan.

India Country in South Asia

India is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west; China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north; and Bangladesh and Myanmar to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; its Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

According to experts, the image in the pot strongly resembles the iconographic portrayal of Buddha in Siam, India, and Nepal. The pot shows Buddha Amithaba in the tribhanga [8] pose inside an oval nimbus. Scholars also noted that there is a strong Mahayanic orientation in the image since the Boddhisattva Avalokitesvara was also depicted. [9]

Nepal A landlocked country in the Himalayas

Nepal, officially Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is located mainly in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. With an estimated population of 26.4 million, it is 48th largest country by population and 93rd largest country by area. It borders China in the north and India in the south, east and west while Bangladesh is located within only 27 km (17 mi) of its southeastern tip and Bhutan is separated from it by the Indian state of Sikkim. Nepal has a diverse geography, including fertile plains, subalpine forested hills, and eight of the world's ten tallest mountains, including Mount Everest, the highest point on Earth. Kathmandu is the capital and the largest city. Nepal is a multiethnic country with Nepali as the official language.

Tribhanga art of sculpture

Tribhaṅga or Tribunga is a standing body position or stance used in the traditional Indian sculpture, art and Indian classical dance forms like the Odissi. As compared with the contrapposto pose Tribhanga, literally meaning three parts break, consists of three bends in the body; at the neck, waist and knee, hence the body is oppositely curved at waist and neck which gives it a gentle "S" shape and is considered the most graceful and sensual of the Odissi positions. It has been closely associated with the Hindu deity Krishna who is often portrayed in this posture.

Mahayana Branch of Buddhism

Mahāyāna is one of two main existing branches of Buddhism and a term for classification of Buddhist philosophies and practice. This movement added a further set of discourses, and although it was initially small in India, it had long-term historical significance. The Buddhist tradition of Vajrayana is sometimes classified as a part of Mahāyāna Buddhism, but some scholars consider it to be a different branch altogether.

Batanes

Archaeologist Peter Bellwood discovered the existence of an ancient goldsmith's shop that made the 20-centuries-old ngling-o, or omega-shaped gold ornaments in Batanes. [10] Archaeological finds include Buddhist artifacts. [11] [12]

Peter Stafford Bellwood is Emeritus Professor of Archaeology at the School of Archaeology and Anthropology of the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. He received his PhD from King's College in Cambridge in 1980. His areas of specialization include the prehistory of Southeast Asia and the Pacific from archaeological, linguistic and biological perspectives; origins of agriculture and resulting cultural, linguistic and biological developments (worldwide); interdisciplinary connections between archaeology, linguistics and human biology. He is currently involved in archaeological fieldwork projects in the Philippines and Vietnam.

Batanes Province in Cagayan Valley, Philippines

Batanes is an archipelagic province in the Philippines situated in the Cagayan Valley region. It is the northernmost province in the country, and also the smallest, both in population and land area. Its capital is Basco located on the island of Batan.

Butuan

Evidence indicates that Butuan was in contact with the Song dynasty of China by at least 1001 AD. The Chinese annal Song Shih recorded the first appearance of a Butuan tributary mission (Li Yui-han 李竾罕 and Jiaminan) at the Chinese Imperial Court on March 17, 1001 AD and it described Butuan (P'u-tuan) as a small Hindu country with a Buddhist monarchy in the sea that had a regular connection with the Champa kingdom and intermittent contact with China under the Rajah named Kiling. [13] The rajah sent an envoy under I-hsu-han, with a formal memorial requesting equal status in court protocol with the Champa envoy. The request was denied later by the Imperial court, mainly because of favoritism over Champa. [14]

A golden statuette of the Hindu-Buddhist goddesses Tara in Agusan river and the Kinnara was found in an archaeological dig in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur. The Philippines's archaeological finds include many ancient gold artifacts. It is probable that they were made locally because archaeologist Peter Bellwood discovered the existence of an ancient goldsmith's shop. [10] Archaeological finds also include Buddhist artifacts. [11] [12]

Mindoro

In 1225, China's Zhao Rugua, a superintendent of maritime trade in Fukien province, wrote the book titled Account of the Various Barbarians (Chinese :諸番志) in which he described trade with a country called Ma-i in the island of Mindoro in Luzon, (pronounced "Ma-yi") which was a pre-Hispanic Philippine state. The book describes the presence of metal images of Buddhas of unknown origin scattered about in the tangled wilds. The gentleness of Tagalog customs that the first Spaniards found, were very different from those of other provinces of the same race and in Luzon itself, can very well be the effect of Buddhism. [15] [16]

Palawan

In the 13th century, Buddhism and Hinduism was introduced to the people of Palawan through the Srivijaya and Majapahit . [17] The other finds are the garuda, the mythical bird that has been common to Buddhism and Hinduism, and several Padmapani images. Padmapani has been also known as Avalokitesvara, the enlightened being or Bodhisattva of Compassion. Surviving Buddhist images and sculptures are primarily found in and at Tabon Cave. [18] Recent research conducted by Philip Maise has included the discovery of giant sculptures and cave paintings within the burial chambers in the caves depicting the Journey to the West. [19]

Tondo

A relic of a bronze statue of Lokesvara was found in Isla Puting Bato in Tondo, Manila. [20] and the Laguna Copperplate Inscription, which is the artifact that specifically points to an Indian cultural (linguistic) influence in Tondo, does not explicitly discuss religious practices. However, some contemporary Buddhist practitioners believe that its mention of the Hindu calendar month of Vaisakha (which corresponds to April/May in the Gregorian Calendar) implies a familiarity with the Hindu sacred days celebrated during that month. [21]

Terminology and linguistics

The linguistic influence left its most lasting marks on every Philippine language throughout the archipelago with the following Buddhist and Hindu concepts directly from the original Sanskrit: [22] [2] [3]

From Tagalog

From Kapampangan

Archeological findings

The Philippines's archaeological finds include a few of Buddhist artifacts.

In 1225, China's Zhao Rugua, a superintendent of maritime trade in Fukien province wrote the book entitled Zhu Fan Zhi (Chinese :諸番志; literally: '"Account of the Various Barbarians"') in which he described trade with a country called Ma-i in the island of Mindoro in Luzon,(pronounced "Ma-yi") which was a prehispanic Philippine state. In it he said:

The country of Mai is to the north of Borneo. The natives live in large villages on the opposite banks of a stream and cover themselves with a cloth like a sheet or hide their bodies with a loin cloth. There are metal images of Buddhas of unknown origin scattered about in the tangled wilds.

. [15]

"The gentleness of Tagalog customs that the first Spaniards found, very lfferent from those of other provinces of the same race and in Luzon itself, can very well be the effect of Buddhism "There are copper Buddha's" images.

[16]

In the archipelago that was to become the Philippines, the statues of the Hindu gods were hidden to prevent their destruction by a religion which destroyed all cult images.[ which? ] One statue, a "Golden Tara", a 4-pound gold statue of a Hindu-Malayan goddess, was found in Mindanao in 1917. The statue denoted the Agusan Image and is now in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. The image is that of a Hindu-Malayan female deity, seated cross-legged. It is made of twenty-one carat gold and weighs nearly four pounds. It has a richly ornamented headdress and many ornaments in the arms and other parts of the body. Scholars date it to the late 13th or early 14th century. It was made by local artists, perhaps copying from an imported Javanese model. The gold that was used was from this area, since Javanese miners were known to have been engaged in gold mining in Butuan at this time. The existence of these gold mines, this artifact and the presence of "foreigners" proves the existence of some foreign trade, gold as the main element in the barter economy, and of cultural and social contact between the natives and "foreigners."

As previously stated, this statue is not in the Philippines. Louise Adriana Wood (whose husband, Leonard Wood, was the military-governor of the Moro Province in 1903-1906 and governor general in 1921-1927) raised funds for its purchase by the Chicago Museum of Natural History. It is now on display in that museum's Gold Room. According to Prof. Beyer, considered the "Father of Philippine Anthropology and Archeology", a woman in 1917 found it on the left bank of the Wawa River near Esperanza, Agusan, projecting from the silt in a ravine after a storm and flood.

From her hands, it passed into those of Bias Baklagon, a local government official. Shortly after, ownership passed to the Agusan Coconut Company, to whom Baklagon owed a considerable debt. Mrs. Wood bought it from the coconut company. A golden statuette of the Hindu-Buddhist goddess Kinnara found in an archaeological dig in Esperanza, Agusan del Sur.

The Philippines's archaeological finds include many ancient gold artifacts. Most of them have been dated to belong to the 9th century iconography of the Srivijaya empire. The artifacts's distinct features point to their production in the islands. It is probable that they were made locally because archaeologist Peter Bellwood discovered the existence of an ancient goldsmith's shop that made the 20-centuries-old lingling-o, or omega-shaped gold ornaments in Batanes. [10] Archaeological finds include Buddhist artifacts. [23] [12] The style are of Vajrayana influence. [24] [25] Surviving Buddhist images and sculptures are primarily found in and at Tabon Cave. [18] Recent research conducted by Philip Maise has included the discovery of giant sculptures and cave paintings within the burial chambers in the caves depicting the Journey to the West. [19] Scholars such as Milton Osborne emphasize that despite these beliefs being originally from India, they reached the Philippines through Southeast Asian cultures with Austronesian roots. [26] Artifacts[ verification needed ] reflect the iconography of the Vajrayana Buddhism and its influences on the Philippines's early states. [27]

List of Esoteric Buddhist iconography

Incorporation of beliefs to Anitism (Folk religion)

The Tagalog and Visayan belief system was more or less anchored on the idea that the world is inhabited by spirits and supernatural entities, both good and bad, and that respect must be accorded to them through worship. [33] The elements of Buddhist and Hindu beliefs has been syncretistically adapted or incorporated in the indigenous folk religions. [34] In the Philippine mythology, a diwata (derived from Sanskrit devata देवता; [35] encantada in Spanish) is a type of deity or spirit. The term "diwata" has taken on levels of meaning since its assimilation into the mythology of the pre-colonial Filipinos. The term is traditionally used in the Visayas, Palawan, and Mindanao regions, while the term anito is used in parts of Luzon region. Both terms are used in Bicol, Marinduque, Romblon, and Mindoro, signifying a 'buffer zone' area for the two terms. while the spelling of the name "Bathala" given by Pedro Chirino in "Relación de las Islas Filipinas" (1595–1602) was perhaps a combination of two different spellings of the name from older documents such as "Badhala" in "Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos" (1589, Juan de Plasencia) and "Batala" in "Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas" (1582, Miguel de Loarca), the latter was supposedly the correct spelling in Tagalog since the letter "h" was silent in Spanish. Bathala or Batala was apparently derived from Sanskrit "bhattara" (noble lord) which appeared as the sixteenth-century title "batara" in the southern Philippines and Borneo. In Indonesian language, "batara" means "god", its feminine counterpart was "batari". It may be worth noting that in Malay, "betara" means holy, and was applied to the greater Hindu gods in Java, and was also assumed by the ruler of Majapahit.

See also

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