Why Buddhism Declined in India: Causes and History
This paper examines the historical decline of Buddhism in India, tracing its origins to the sixth and seventh centuries AD. Drawing on scholarship by Hazra, Goyal, Mitra, and others, the paper identifies and analyzes eight major causes: the moral decline of Buddhist monks and nuns, internal schisms within the Sangha, the corrupting influence of Mahayanism and Hindu ritual elements, Brahmanical hostility, the pessimistic Doctrine of Suffering, royal persecution under rulers such as Pusyamitra Sunga, Islamic persecution by Muslim conquerors, and the eventual withdrawal of royal patronage. The paper concludes that Buddhism's disappearance from India resulted from a combination of internal failures and powerful external pressures.
- Introduction: Overview of Buddhism's decline and main causes
- Moral Decline and Monastic Discipline: Immoral conduct of monks and nuns
- Internal Divisions and the Fragmentation of the Sangha: Schisms and factionalism weakened the Sangha
- Mahayanism, Tantrism, and Hindu Influences: Ritual corruption and Hindu absorption of Buddhism
- Brahmanical Hostility and the Doctrine of Suffering: Brahmin opposition and pessimistic doctrine
- Royal and Islamic Persecution: Rulers and Muslim invaders persecuted Buddhists
- Decline of Patronage: Loss of royal and noble support
- Conclusion: Internal and external factors sealed Buddhism's decline
✍️ How to write this paper — guide, tools & examples ▾
What makes this paper effective
- The paper organizes a complex historical question into clearly delineated causal categories, making a multi-factor argument accessible and easy to follow.
- It consistently supports each cause with direct citations from named scholars (Hazra, Goyal, Mitra, Ahir), lending credibility to each claim.
- The conclusion effectively synthesizes the argument by distinguishing between internal and external causes, demonstrating analytical depth beyond simple listing.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper demonstrates the use of a multi-causal historical argument — rather than attributing a complex historical outcome to a single factor, the author assembles and evaluates several independent causes, showing how they interacted and compounded one another. This technique is well suited to history and religious studies essays where singular explanations are rarely sufficient.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with a brief introduction that previews all major causes, then dedicates one or two paragraphs to each cause in sequence: moral decline, internal schisms, Mahayanism, Brahmanical hostility, the Doctrine of Suffering, royal persecution, Islamic persecution, and loss of patronage. The conclusion revisits each cause in abbreviated form and frames the overall decline as the product of both internal failures and external pressures. A Works Cited list in MLA format closes the paper.
Introduction
Buddhism — the religion founded by Gautama Buddha — has witnessed a steady decline in India, despite the country being among those in which Buddhism was earliest practiced. The accounts of well-known scholars have shown that the waning of Buddhism in India dates back to the 7th century AD. While its decline commenced in the sixth century AD, Buddhism's internal degeneration became evident starting from the following century. Numerous factors are perceived to have had an impact on Buddhism's collapse in India, all having contributed together to guarantee its decline. The principal causes include: the moral decline of leadership, royal persecution, Islamic persecution, and the rise of Mahayanism.
Moral Decline and Monastic Discipline
Scholars argue that one significant reason for Buddhism's decline in India was the moral decline of the leadership and the leniency in monastic discipline. Buddhist monks' and nuns' moral conduct declined, becoming apparent in many parts of India as they displayed very low moral standards (Goyal 393–5). Goyal further explained that monks from contemporary Little Tibet (Balti or Bolor) behaved inappropriately and lacked definite learning. When writing about Sind's Sammitiya monks, Goyal (394) asserted that they were worthless and indolent individuals drawn to debauchery. Despite wearing the attire of monks, they "killed animals, reared cattle and maintained wives and children" (Mitra 33).
Internal Divisions and the Fragmentation of the Sangha
Another significant reason for Buddhism's decline in India was the moral decline of the religion's followers. Rifts in their Sangha (or Samgha — a Buddhist community of nuns, laity, novices, and monks) arose from internal divisions, owing to differences of opinion and belief among Buddhist monks and nuns. These rifts, coupled with disputes among individuals following different factional schools, contributed to weakening the Sangha and led to its deterioration in India. According to Mitra, this internal division, which split the religion into several factional schools, was possibly a major cause of Buddhism's gradual weakening and ultimate collapse in the nation (35).
The dangers of rifts among Buddhist Sangha members were well understood by the Buddha himself, who denounced schism as one of the five deadly sins. Schisms would cause an individual to spend an entire kalpa suffering in hell (Hazra 380). Buddhist texts reveal that, even in the Buddha's time, schism was present in the religion. One of the monasteries located in the ancient city of Pataliputra was shut down for a decade, having been overwhelmed in a dispute with heretics. Following the Buddha's Mahaparinibbana, discord arose among Buddhist nuns and monks (381). The Sangha was suddenly bereft of a supreme leader to guide them all. Consequently, all monks resorted to doing whatever they pleased, and Gautama Buddha's words and teachings were interpreted by every monk according to his own personal convenience. These differences in interpretation caused his teachings to lose their purity (Ahir 27).
Mahayanism, Tantrism, and Hindu Influences
The third cause that led to the deterioration of Buddhism in India was Mahayanism, and the development of Hinduistic tendencies and tantrism in Buddhist worship and rituals. Some 7th-century critics asserted that followers of the Mahayana only worshipped Bodhisattvas and Mahayanasutra readers. This tradition introduced the concepts of prayer, image-worship, rituals, ceremonies, and Mantra chanting into Buddhism (Hazra 383). Gradually, a number of folk beliefs made their way into the religion as well. Joshi (47) claimed that the issue of Buddhism's corruption by Mahayana had been raised by some scholars. He further explained that the religion suffered a huge blow because of the Mahayana's corruptions rather than those of the religion's Hinayana sect. This observation is not without substance. Mahayanism's popularity and growth contributed to a rise in Buddhism's votaries, while simultaneously contributing to a parallel qualitative decay (Ahir 28–9).
Gautama Buddha had always been opposed to the idea of introducing rituals into Buddhism, and for this reason, rituals had no place in the earliest form of the religion. However, in due course they permeated the religion, and progressively, Buddhism came to resemble Hinduism so closely that both religions appeared to lose their own distinctive identities. Lay people found no difference between worshipping Buddha and Vishnu, Parvati and Tara, or Avalokita and Shiva (Hazra 383).
Conclusion
Numerous factors are perceived to have had an impact on Buddhism's collapse in India, all having contributed together to guarantee its decline. The first and probably the primary cause was the leniency in monastic discipline and improper conduct by the monks and nuns. With a lack of commitment, there developed rifts in the Sangha as a result of internal divisions. Mahayanism and Hinduistic tendencies consequently found their way into the Buddhist way of life. Additionally, fierce campaigns and Brahmanical hostility by some Brahmanical philosophers furthered the decline of Buddhism in India. Certain teachings within Buddhism, such as the Doctrine of Suffering, also contributed to the religion's decline. There was also persecution of monks and nuns by the royal class as well as by Muslim invaders. Faced with all these challenges, there was a decline in the nobility accorded to monks and nuns and in patronage by rulers.
Based on these causes, it can be argued that the decline of Buddhism in India resulted from both internal and external factors. While the Buddhist leadership failed to guide their community and ward off internal challenges, some of the external factors were too powerful for the religion to withstand — royal persecution being a prime example — and together these forces brought about the decline of Buddhism in India.
Works Cited
Ahir, D. C. Buddhism Declined in India: How and Why? Delhi: B. R. Publishing, 2005. Print.
Beal, S. (translator). Si-Yu Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World. London: Trubner & Co., 1884; reprint ed., Delhi: Oriental Books Reprint Corporation. Print.
Goyal, S. R. A History of Indian Buddhism. Meerut: Kusumanjali Prakashan, 1987. Print.
Hazra, Kanai Lal. The Rise and Decline of Buddhism in India. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd., 1995. Print.
Joshi, L. M. Brahmanism, Buddhism and Hinduism. The Wheel Publication, 1973. Print.
Mitra, R. C. The Decline of Buddhism in India. Visva-Bharati Research Publication Committee, 1981. Print.
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.