Indians 5, Nalanda and the Decline of Buddhism

In the fifth episode of this series Namit Arora looks at the rise of the great Buddhist universities in the north-east of the continent; what life was like in these universities, and what led to their decline, and the decline of Buddhism in general. This has always been a rather controversial subject, both for Buddhists and for Indians, but I find Namit’s suggestions that many things played into the decline quite convincing.

There had been from the beginning a hostility between Brahminsim and Buddhism that wouldn’t go away; Brahminism succeeded in synchronising with the local folk religions much better than Buddhism; Royal Patronage, while seemingly leading to Buddhist success, in fact cut them off from the lay people, who were no longer needed; and on top of this the Turkic invasions dealt a finishing blow.

I would add that the increased influence of Tantrism would also have alienated many key supporters, who were attracted by the earlier religion because of its conservatism and austerity. Namit also considers the reports given by the Chinese pilgrims in the 5th–7th centuries, and how they saw the land.

This is the last of the films I will be showing from this series. The others are worthwhile seeing also, but concern matters other than Buddhism. I have made a playlist for the full series here.