Why did Buddhism decline in India, its birthplace?

In January 1891, one hundred years ago, Dharmapala, the father of the revival of Buddhism in modern India, was in his prime. He came to India from Ceylon and paid homage to Bodhgaya for the first time. yeah. When he saw the local Buddhist temple and the Buddha statues in the temple, he couldn't help but burst into tears.

Unfortunately, the Indian nation has never paid attention to historical records and the lack of historical data has led to divergent opinions on the cause of the demise of Indian Buddhism. Based on the information at hand, I would like to briefly introduce the opinions of each school as follows:

1. Vedicization of Buddhism

Buddhism was founded as an anti-Vedic culture, but it perished by integrating Vedic culture.

"Since the eighth century of Buddhism, the revival of Hinduism outside Buddhism has greatly persecuted Buddhism with its anti-Vedic tradition. Internally, it is based on the principles of 'idealism', 'truth', 'perfect harmony', The proliferation of ideas of 'other power', 'mystery', 'sudden realization' and 'sudden enlightenment' has led to the assimilation of the Brahma God. Fortunately, thanks to the upbringing of the Pālo dynasty, Buddhism has enjoyed a long period of peace. However, Buddhism in this final period, The theoretical affairs are discussed in trivial and mysterious ways for the enjoyment of a small number of people; in practice, they are superstitious, obscene, and despicable! It is said to be unhelpful to the body and mind, and unhelpful to the nation. According to the original meaning of Buddhism, almost all of them are anti-Buddhist!"

"The destruction of the enemy is not enough to harm Buddhism, but the influence of Vedic culture will be fatal to Buddhism." "The disease of perfection has penetrated deeply into Buddhism, or it may be used as the light of Buddhism, but I am ashamed of it. Or if you use this as non-attachment, you will slander the Buddha!"

Obviously, Master Yinshun believes that the revival of Indian Religion and the invasion and persecution of Muslims are not the reasons for the demise of Indian Buddhism. The main reason is mainly due to the "Sanskritization of Buddhism".

2. Hatred of Hindus

In his article "The Rise and Decline of Buddhism in India", Master Yimo believes that the main reason for the demise of Buddhism in India is hatred of Hindus.

"However, why did Buddhism suffer from decline and even destruction? There are many reasons. The main reason is the hatred of Hinduism. Hinduism is the name of the later resurrection of Brahmanism. When Buddhism flourished, Brahmanism They did not lose their potential, and there were still many Brahmans in the government, so the power of revival was bound to be strong. At the same time, the Buddhists themselves were also discouraged, and Brahmanism eventually became corrupt and led to the rise of Buddhism. The situation is almost the same. The wealthy temples in India are becoming corrupt day by day, losing the faith of society. In addition, in the fifth and sixth centuries, foreign tribes were willing to accept the leadership of Hinduism, so that Buddhism It lost its religious status in India. In the eighth century, the Brahmin master Kumarabhadra was the last person to fight against Buddhism and Jainism. At the same time, Brahmanism imitated the form of Buddhism everywhere for the sake of revival. Due to the popularity of Tantric Buddhism, which became a metamorphosis of Mahayana Buddhism, some scholars mixed a lot of Indian teachings into Buddhism. After the metamorphosis of Buddhism, and at the end of the 12th century, due to the invasion of Islam, Buddhists were killed and Buddhist temples were destroyed. Many people were burned, and Buddhism, which arose in India, was finally declared extinct in a special environment.”

But the author believes that Buddhism is only nominally extinct in India, but it actually still exists in India. Among people.

3. Esotericism tends to be decadent

Although Master Yinshun and Master Yimo both believe that the rise of Esotericism coincides with the end of Indian Buddhism, they do not believe that Esotericism is responsible for the demise of Indian Buddhism. Main reason. However, Ui Hakushou believes that the decadence of Esoteric Buddhism is the main reason for the demise of Buddhism in India:

"...Chaoam Temple...is a specialized place for Esoteric Buddhism, and most of what is said is leftist sect. Leftist sect is derived from Hinduism It evolved from the Shakta sect, which regards lust as the Tao, does not pay attention to the practical practice of understanding words, and contains many vulgar and low-level elements. The Tantra has adopted Hinduism and has almost absorbed Hinduism in its long-term expansion of its scope. Some of the rituals of all the gods created a Dandara literature that was almost mixed with obscenity. In the esoteric religion, the practice of Buddhism is called Vajrayana and Mahayana, and many of the practices of the leftist sect are decadent and decadent... Tantric Buddhism gradually prospered, and as Buddhism in various parts of India declined, Buddhism was probably completely submerged in Hinduism... In 1203 AD, the Muslim general Baghuna Kriji burned the Chaoyan Temple. They persecuted and killed all Buddhists, and some of them hid, returned to secular life, and fled to borders such as Nepal. From then on, the form of Buddhism was completely lost. "The Tantric religion in India has incorporated the undesirable elements of Hinduism, and it has also fallen into the inherent weaknesses of human nature. And it led to the demise of Buddhism... Therefore, the demise of Indian Buddhism is believed to be the remote cause of the tendency of the Madhyamaka and Yogacara schools to focus on academic theory, and the proximal cause of Tantra's tendency to be decadent. It is the opposite reality. Most of the emphasis is on faith and conduct, which is a common phenomenon in this era."

Professor Yang Baiyi also said similarly:

"They (esoteric Buddhism) have said many things. Buddhas and Bodhisattvas, including many enlightened kings and pagan gods who have never been mentioned in Buddhism, also believe that it is the incarnation of the Great Sun Tathagata. They also adopt many folk beliefs and think that it is not necessary to use the big mandala to formalize it. In order to practice the six paramitas of Mahayana Buddhism, all sentient beings already have the Buddha-nature, and can easily achieve it by reciting the Buddha's teachings, chanting Dharani, and performing tantric rituals. Therefore, Tantric Buddhism recognizes that one can become a Buddha in one's body. Happiness in this world advocates that the troubles and desires in the world cannot be overcome and suppressed but should be respected, as long as impure desires can be elevated to compassion for all sentient beings.