In the third century BC, Emperor Ashoka was in power. He was from the Mauryan Empire. His empire touched the Himalayas in the north and came close to Sri Lanka in the south.
When Emperor Ashoka embraced Buddhism, it was a huge boost for the religion. Buddhism received State patronage. Ashoka sent missions to spread Buddhism. One of these missions was sent to Myanmar. He sent Buddhist monks and scriptures to Myanmar and people became followers of Buddhism. Even to date, nearly 90% of the population of Myanmar are Buddhists.
Another more defined mission was sent to Sri Lanka. This mission was led by the Emperor’s own son Arahat Mahinda and his colleagues. Mahinda met the Sri Lankan King Devanampiya Tissa on a Poson Poya day in Mihintale, close to Anuradhapura, and delivered a sermon. The King embraced Buddhism and invited Ashoka’s mission to his capital and provided State patronage.
Thus, Buddhism had taken roots in Sri Lanka by the second century BC. Even to date, 72% of the Sri Lankan population are Buddhists. Later, Ashoka sent his daughter with a sapling from the original Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, where the Buddha attained enlightenment, and to establish an order of nuns on the island. Incidentally, the Bodhi tree in Sri Lanka is the oldest recorded tree in the world since the original Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya has since died.
When Emperor Ashoka died, his empire crumbled and Buddhism lost its top support in India. Thereafter, King Kanishka of the Kushan dynasty ruled a large empire including parts of Central Asia, Afghanistan, and northwest India. He supported a different school of Buddhism – Gandhara Buddhism, which had more influence from Greece and Persia. This is how Buddhism flourished in Central Asia and took a leap to China.
The Chinese Han Emperor then sent a mission to India. It collected Buddhist texts and took them back to China. Buddhism also spread to Eurasia and other parts of Asia through the ancient silk route. Buddhism then spread to Korea, Vietnam, and Japan.
Buddhism’s arrival in Indonesia through Sri Lanka
An Indian monk took Buddhism to Indonesia. His name was Gunavarman. He was born into a Kashmiri royal family. He travelled down south to Sri Lanka and the country had embraced Buddhism already.
Gunavarman became an adviser to the Sri Lankan King. With the King’s help, he set sail first to Sumatra and then to Java in Indonesia. This was in the fourth century and Java was ruled by a Hindu King named Vadakha.
As per the legend, Vadakha’s mother had a dream of a holy person coming by sea in a flying boat. When Gunavarman reached Java, Vadakha’s mother embraced Buddhism and convinced her son to do the same.
Revival of Buddhism in Indonesia post-WWII
Buddhism enjoyed a vibrant environment after the Second World War (WWII). As many Asian regions became independent states, the status of religions vis-à-vis the state became more stable and their adherents gained prominence.
The Sri Lankan State highlighted the ‘greatness’ of Buddhism in 1956 by establishing the ‘Buddha Jayanti,’ a commemoration of the 2,500th year of Buddhism, which became an international event celebrated by Buddhists across Asia, including those in Indonesia.
This decade also witnessed what is often referred to as the institutionalisation of Buddhism across Asia. It was marked by the establishment of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) in 1950 in Sri Lanka as a platform “to unite and coordinate all important Buddhist activity throughout the world”.
The institutionalisation of Buddhism in this decade not only focused on forming the WFB’s organisation and showcasing Buddhist events. It also focused on institutionalising Buddhist material culture and symbols. For example, the WFB adopted the Buddhist flag to be the international symbol of Buddhists in 1952 during its second General Conference, which was held in Japan.
Buddhist activism in Indonesia grew after WWII. At that time, the Buddhists in the country were seeking an identity which was in accordance with that of the new State. For example, Buddhists in Indonesia wanted to adopt Buddhist practices dating from the Majapahit Kingdom such as ‘upasampada’ (ordination into monkhood).
However, Buddhism in Indonesia experienced turbulence regarding definitions and symbols, and its status in the newly-independent country. Both Hindu and Buddhist leaders sought international legitimisation and support in order to maintain their status as religions in the eyes of the State as well as to avoid persecution.
Additionally, in the 1950s, Buddhists in Indonesia were introduced to the elements of Theravada or Southern Buddhism that typically organised the Buddha’s teachings into three parts, namely, the Vinaya Pitaka (monks’ rules of conduct), Sutta Pitaka (the Buddha’s sermons), and Abhidhamma Pitaka (analysis of basic natural principles that govern mental and physical processes).
Bhikkhu Narada Maha Thera of Sri Lanka and revival of Buddhism in Indonesia
Bhikkhu Narada from Sri Lanka was the first Buddhist monk to visit Indonesia in the 1930s when Buddhism was at a very low level in the latter country. Narada Thera visited Indonesia a few times and even planted a bo sapling brought from Sri Lanka in a temple near Borobudur.
There were no Buddhist monks in Indonesia at that time. Bhikkhu Narada did not ordain any novice monks but only taught Buddhism. Buddhists who wanted to become monks obtained ordination from Thailand. The 1950s saw the building of new connections with the Southern/Theravada Buddhist world that further restructured Indonesian Buddhism.
In the early twentieth century, the Buddhist world was dominated by males. Bhikkhu Narada was highly impressed by the demeanour and spirit of activism of an Indonesian Buddhist lady named Visakha Gunadharma. He acknowledged that on one occasion, during his visit to Jakarta, Gunadharma had acted as a translator for him and that she was the first woman to do so during his time as a missionary in 1934.
This acknowledgement demonstrates a shift in the perspective of men regarding the role of women as Buddhist intellectuals and activists. It also helped women to attain upper-level positions within Southern Buddhist circles.
Continued engagement of Indonesia and Sri Lanka through Buddhism
The very first international engagement with leaders from other Buddhist countries happened in Indonesia during the 1952 Vesak celebration. Apart from being attended by the Indonesian Deputy Minister of Religious Affairs, the event was also attended by the Ambassadors of Sri Lanka and India and representatives from the Government of Burma, which made the occasion both national and international in nature. Aside from being the first international Buddhist event to be held in post-colonial Indonesia, it was also the first Dhammic connection with Southern Buddhism since WWII
The first Indonesian Bhikkhu Ashin Jinarakkhita’s full ordination as a Southern/Theravada monk in 1954 proved crucial to the development of Buddhism in Indonesia for several reasons. First, despite his former status as a ‘samanera’ in the Mahayana tradition, Ashin Jinarakkhita sought knowledge of Buddhism from the Southern/Theravada tradition in Burma because he was unable to travel to mainland China. The ordination of Ashin Jinarakkhita was special in that it was witnessed by two prominent monks, Ven. Balangoda Ananda Maitreya Thera from Sri Lanka and Ven. Chaokun Bimoldam from Wat Mahathat, Thailand.
Another important connection established by Indonesian Buddhists occurred during the 1956 celebration of the ‘Buddha Jayanti’. The organising committee of the ‘Buddha Jayanti’ in Indonesia invited heads of state and Buddhist leaders to the event. Among them were Indian Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, G.P. Malalasekera from Sri Lanka, and the President of the WFB. The event also received attention from Union of Burma Prime Minister U Nu and Ceylon’s Prime Minister Sir John Kotelawala, both of whom sent congratulatory messages to the Committee of the ‘Buddha Jayanti’.
Indonesia’s religious policy and regulations explain why Indonesian Buddhist leaders invited political leaders to the 1956 ‘Buddha Jayanti’ celebration. The Indonesian Buddhist leaders were not only concerned about renewing past international Dhammic connections; they were also concerned about the uncertain position of Buddhism in the new nation state.
The progress of Buddhism in the 1950s was driven by the connection with Southern/Theravada Buddhism, which had been established in the previous generation. Bhikkhu Narada visited Java for the first time after independence in 1955. However, the visit was very brief due to the Indonesian Government’s refusal to allow him to deliver sermons.
He returned to Indonesia in 1958 and was received with great enthusiasm by Indonesian Buddhists. During that visit, he revisited Borobudur. The positive situation of Buddhists in Indonesia led him to visit other places outside Java. One of these places was the Vihara Buddhagaya in Semarang, a centre for Buddhist learning.
Later, accompanied by Ashin Jinarakkhita, Bhikkhu Narada visited Bali where he preached, and most importantly, presented the relic of the Buddha to Balinese Buddhist priests. Several prominent Southern Buddhist monks from South and Southeast Asia attended the occasion and performed ordinations. Many of them were prominent monks, such as Bhikkhu Narada, Bhikkhu Mahanama, and Ven. Piyadassi Thera.
Buddhist connection at present
The Sri Lankan Embassy in Indonesia has worked diligently to promote the revival of the Indonesia-Sri Lanka linkage through Theravada Buddhism. The embassy, together with the Association of Sri Lankans in Indonesia, organised Vesak celebrations in May 2023 and invited all the leading Buddhist organisations to participate. It has also organised two Buddhist groups to visit Sri Lanka together with a web influencer and is planning a third one in June.
These tours were led by Wanita Theravada Indonesia (Wandani) Chairperson Wenny Lo, a devout Theravada Buddhist lady who is working very closely with the Sri Lankan Embassy to promote Buddhist linkage. The embassy has also partnered with Miwa Pattern Fashion Designer Mira Hoeng to launch a designer collection depicting the Sri Lankan National Flower, the blue water lily and colours of the Buddhist flag. Of the earnings, 25% was donated to help Dharmaraja Vidyalaya in Trincomalee.
The Sri Lankan Embassy has also participated in major Buddhist events in Indonesia, including in Borobudur, which is the largest Buddhist site in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A visit has been scheduled to Muaro Jambi, one of the biggest Buddhist temple complexes in the world, located in Jambi province in Sumatra, Indonesia. This complex is supposed to be bigger than Nalanda in India and Taxila in Pakistan. The Ambassador is expected to deliver a talk focusing on the value of Sri Lanka as a Theravada Buddhist country.
The embassy has also organised a temple-to-temple diplomacy programme, and four Sri Lankan Buddhist monks visited and stayed in Indonesia for two weeks to experience its religious culture. This programme is being continued.
(This article was first published in April in the 19th edition of ‘Anchor,’ the first electronic magazine of the Sri Lanka Naval Association)
(The writer is the Ambassador of Sri Lanka for Indonesia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations [ASEAN])