Buddhism in foreign lands

 

Buddhism in foreign lands

 

After Agudenba and Donkey left the temple, along the way, Agudenba said to Donkey: After the birth of Hinduism, it encountered two powerful challenges, one from Buddhism and one from Islam.

The challenge to Buddhism came from the time of Ashoka. In fact, Ashoka himself was also an Aryan. It was he who unified India for the first time and created a great cause similar to that of Qin Shihuang. At that time, in order to consolidate his power and contain the Aryan elites, King Asoka vigorously supported Buddhism against traditional Hinduism. Because Gautama Buddha is most likely a native of India. Easterners believe that Sakyamuni was born in the eastern aboriginal area, and that the Aryans went to that area later; Westerners mostly believe that Sakyamuni was an Aryan, and call the Buddhism he founded "Ya". Lean Road".

Agudemba said: From the perspective of King Asoka, in order to establish a unified kingdom and be the king of everyone, it is necessary to support the Indian natives to fight against the old aristocratic group, so the explanation that Sakyamuni is an Indian native is more reasonable. In fact, regardless of whether Gautama Buddha was an Aryan or not, the followers of Buddhism are basically the lower class people of India. Buddhism is an authentic native religion of India, and its idea of "equality of all living beings" is a natural weapon to suppress the caste hierarchy.

Agudemba continued: It’s just that Asoka’s career did not last, because soon after Asoka’s death, India began to divide. Buddhism, which symbolizes India's native sect, gradually declined in the game with Hinduism founded by the Aryans, and was eventually submerged in the dust of history. The Nalando Temple where Tang Sanzang studied for Buddhist scriptures eventually fell.

After the death of Qin Shihuang in ancient China, the Qin Empire perished; but the Han Dynasty inherited the Qin system and continued the system. Indian Buddhism, which traveled far away, spread to Tibet, the Central Plains, and even Southeast Asia.

The process of the decline of Buddhism in India implies the suppression of the conquered lands by the conquerors, that is, the suppression of the indigenous culture and ideology of India by the Aryans. In fact, the competition between Buddhism and Hinduism is equivalent to the competition between local religions and religions created by outsiders. Buddhism lost in India but flourished all over the world.

The donkey listened to Agudengba's narration, but seemed to understand. If playing the piano to a cow is meaningless, then preaching to a donkey is equally meaningless.

Agudemba certainly understands this. But he still said to himself: Looking at the history of world religions, among the larger religions, only Buddhism has been extinguished in its own country. The funny thing is that Indians have forgotten that Buddhism existed in Indian history. The decline of Buddhism in India means that the Indian natives have given up on the idea of "equality" and their spirits have been completely conquered.

Agudenba looked at the donkey who seemed to understand but didn't understand, and sang the popular snowy folk song "Faith":

 

We were once a herd of free buffalo,

We can live freely anywhere,

Our faith is joyful freedom.

 

But when our freedom is ruthlessly taken away,

Our faith has lost its direction,

We are reduced to being slaves to the powerful.

 

Those cows who only know how to work without seeking harvest,

All the hard work will be in vain,

Passion without clear faith cools.

 

What is the faith we should pursue?

Your belief is democracy, freedom and equality,

Money and power will not make the devil immortal.