Group in Buddhist Studies; Dissertations; Religious History
摘要
This is a study of religious conditions, especially of Buddhism, in ancient Southeast Asia before the eleventh century. A history of Buddhism in this area is yet to be written. Buddhism is usually mentioned in a passing manner in books on general history of Southeast Asia. Its early history in the region is assumed by scholars as beginning with the spread of Hinayana schools, followed by Mahayana and culminating in the ascendency of Theravada Buddhism starting from the eleventh century. However, the data, both epigraphical and archaeological, show that this was not the case. Religious conditions in Southeast Asia should be divided into two zones; the western one comprising the Pyu, Mon and Dvaravati traditions, and the eastern zone comprising the Khmer, Cham and Javanese traditions. The former one appears to have been Buddhist, especially of the Theravada tradition since an early date, around the fourth century A.D. The latter appears to have been much influenced by Brahmanism and Mahayana Buddhism, but not without traces of Hinayana schools. Inscriptions and archaeological remains also reveal that peoples of Southeast Asia accepted and practiced numerous creeds concurrently without conflict, even though nowadays we denote Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand as strictly Theravada Buddhist countries. People do not restrict themselves to "Theravada Buddhism" in order to express their religiosity, and the same situation seems to have been true in ancient times. "Theravada Buddhism" is always presented by scholars as having attained its supremacy in these countries only after the eleventh century; in fact it has been the most important creed in the western zone of mainland Southeast Asia since the fourth century. Therefore, the assertion that the conversion to "Theravada Buddhism" of King Aniruddha and King Ramkhamhaeng was the principal reason for the ascendency of Theravada Buddhism should be reconsidered.
