With the collapse of the Pala dynasty in the 12th century, Indian Buddhism suffered yet another setback, from which it did not recover. Although small pockets of influence remained, the Buddhist presence in India became negligible.

Scholars do not know all the factors that contributed to Buddhism’s demise in its homeland. Some have maintained that it was so tolerant of other faiths that it was simply reabsorbed by a revitalized Hindu tradition. This did occur, though Indian Mahayanists were occasionally hostile toward bhakti and toward Hinduism in general. Another factor, however, was probably much more important. Indian Buddhism, having become primarily a monastic movement, seems to have lost touch with its lay supporters. Many monasteries had become very wealthy, so much so that they were able to employ indentured slaves and paid labourers to care for the monks and to tend the lands they owned. Thus, after the Muslim invaders sacked the Indian monasteries in the 12th and 13th centuries, the Buddhist laity showed little interest in a resurgence.

Contemporary revival

In the 19th century Buddhism was virtually extinct in India. In far eastern Bengal and Assam, a few Buddhists preserved a tradition that dated back to pre-Muslim times, and some of them experienced a Theravada-oriented reform that was initiated by a Burmese monk who visited the area in the mid-19th century. By the end of that century, a very small number of Indian intellectuals had become interested in Buddhism through Western scholarship or through the activities of the Theosophical Society, one of whose leaders was the American Henry Olcott. The Sinhalese reformer Anagarika Dharmapala also exerted some influence, particularly through his work as one of the founders of the Mahabodhi Society, which focused its initial efforts on restoring Buddhist control of the pilgrimage site at Bodh Gaya, the presumed site of the Buddha’s enlightenment.

Beginning in the early 20th century, a few Indian intellectuals became increasingly interested in Buddhism as a more rational and egalitarian alternative to Hinduism. Although this interest remained limited to a very tiny segment of the intellectual elite, a small Buddhist movement with a broader constituency developed in South India. Even as late as 1950, however, an official government census identified fewer than 200,000 Buddhists in the country, most of them residing in east Bengal and Assam.

Since 1950 the number of Buddhists in India has increased dramatically. One very small factor in this increase was the flood of Buddhist refugees from Tibet following the Chinese invasion of that country in 1959. The centre of the Tibetan refugee community, both in India and around the world, was established in Dharmshala, but many Tibetan refugees settled in other areas of the subcontinent as well. Another very small factor was the incorporation of Sikkim—a region with a predominantly Buddhist population now in the northeastern part of India—into the Republic of India in 1975.

The most important cause of the contemporary revival of Buddhism in India was the mass conversion, in 1956, of hundreds of thousands of Hindus living primarily in Maharashtra state who had previously been members of the so-called Scheduled Castes (also called Dalits; formerly called untouchables). This conversion was initiated by Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, a leader of the Scheduled Castes who was also a major figure in the Indian independence movement, a critic of the caste policies of Mohandas K. Gandhi, a framer of India’s constitution, and a member of India’s first independent government. As early as 1935 Ambedkar decided to lead his people away from Hinduism in favour of a religion that did not recognize caste distinctions. After a delay of more than 20 years, he determined that Buddhism was the appropriate choice. He also decided that 1956—the year in which Theravada Buddhists were celebrating the 2,500th year of the death of the Buddha—was the appropriate time. A dramatic conversion ceremony, held in Nagpur, was attended by hundreds of thousands of people. Since 1956 several million persons have joined the new Buddhist community.

The Buddhism of Ambedkar’s community is based on the teachings found in the ancient Pali texts and has much in common with the Theravada Buddhist communities of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. There are important differences that distinguish the new group, however. They include the community’s reliance on Ambedkar’s own interpretations, which are presented in his book The Buddha and His Dhamma; the community’s emphasis on a mythology concerning the Buddhist and aristocratic character of the Mahar (the largest of the Scheduled Castes); and its recognition of Ambedkar himself as a saviour figure who is often considered to be a bodhisattva (buddha-to-be). Another distinguishing characteristic of the Mahar Buddhists is the absence of a strong monastic community, which has allowed laypersons to assume the primary leadership roles. During the last several decades, the group has produced its own corpus of Buddhist songs and many vernacular books and pamphlets that deal with various aspects of Buddhist doctrine, practice, and community life.

Sri Lanka

According to Sinhalese tradition, Buddhism took root in Sri Lanka soon after the arrival of Ashoka’s son, the monk Mahinda, and six companions. These monks converted King Devanampiya Tissa and much of the nobility. King Tissa built the Mahavihara monastery, which became the main centre of the version of Theravada Buddhism that was ultimately dominant in Sri Lanka. After Tissa’s death (c. 207 bce), Sri Lanka was ruled by kings from South India until the time of Dutthagamani (101–77 bce), a descendant of Tissa, who overthrew King Elara. Dutthagamani’s association with Buddhism clearly strengthened the religion’s ties with Sri Lankan political institutions.

In the post-Dutthagamani period, the Mahavihara tradition developed along with other Sri Lankan monastic traditions. The Sinhalese chronicles report that, in the last half of the 1st century bce, King Vattagamani called a Buddhist council (the fourth in the Sinhalese reckoning) at which the Pali oral tradition of the Buddha’s teachings was committed to writing. The same king is said to have sponsored the construction of the Abhayagiri monastery, which eventually included Hinayana, Mahayana, and even Vajrayana monks. Although these cosmopolitan tendencies were resisted by the Mahavihara monks, they were openly supported by King Mahasena (276–303 ce). Under Mahasena’s son, Shri Meghavanna, the “tooth of the Buddha” was taken to the Abhayagiri, where it was subsequently maintained and venerated at the royal palladium.

During the 1st millennium ce the Theravada tradition in Sri Lanka coexisted with various forms of Hinduism, Mahayana Buddhism, and Vajrayana Buddhism. As Buddhism declined in India, it underwent a major revival and reform in Sri Lanka, where the Theravada traditions of the Mahavihara became especially prominent. Sri Lanka became a Theravada kingdom with a sangha that was unified under Mahavihara leadership and ruled by a monarch who legitimated his rule in Theravada terms. This newly constituted Theravada tradition subsequently spread from Sri Lanka into Southeast Asia, where it exerted a powerful influence.

In early modern times Sri Lanka fell prey to Western colonial powers. The Portuguese (1505–1658) and the Dutch (1658–1796) seized control of the coastal areas, and later the British (1794–1947) took over the entire island. Buddhism suffered considerable disruption under Portuguese and Dutch rule, and the higher ordination lineage lapsed. In the 18th century, however, King Kittisiri Rajasiah (1747–81), who ruled in the upland regions, invited monks from Siam (Thailand) to reform Buddhism and restore the higher ordination lineages.

During the late 18th and 19th centuries, the monastic community in Sri Lanka was divided into three major bodies. The Siam Nikaya, founded during the reform of the late 18th century, was a conservative and wealthy sect that admitted only members of the Goyigama, the highest Sinhalese caste. The Amarapura sect, founded in the early 19th century, opened its ranks to members of lower castes. The third division, the Ramanya sect, is a small modernist group that emerged in the 19th century. In addition, several reform groups were established among the laity. These groups include the important Sarvodaya community, which was founded by A.T. Ariyaratne. This group has established religious, economic, and social development programs that have had a significant impact on Sinhalese village life.

Since Sri Lanka gained its independence from the British in 1947, the country has been increasingly drawn into a conflict between the Sinhalese Buddhist majority and the Tamil Hindu minority. In the late 20th century this conflict escalated into a vicious civil war. Many Sinhalese, including a significant number of monks, closely associated their Buddhist religion with the political agenda and anti-Tamil violence of the more militant Sinhalese nationalists. Other Buddhist leaders, however, tried to adopt a more moderate position and to encourage a negotiated solution that would reestablish the kind of peaceful coexistence that had characterized Sri Lankan politics through the greater part of the island’s long history. But a cease-fire signed in 2002 did not have the hoped-for effect, and it was abandoned a few years later. The Tamil Tigers ultimately were defeated in 2009.