The History of Persecution of the Buddhist Faith

  
 Korean Minjok Leadership Academy
International Program
Son, Bo Kyung
Term Paper, Medieval History Class, June 2011



Table of Contents

I. Introduction
II. Purpose of study and places researched
II.1 Purpose of study
II.2 Places researched
III. History of the Persecution of Buddhism by Nation
III.1 India
III.1.1 2nd century BCE
III.1.2 Early 4th century CE
III.1.3 470 - early 7th century CE
III.1.4 Early 8th - mid 16th century CE
III.1.5 1658 - 1707 CE
III.2 Sri Lanka
III.2.1 237 - 215 BCE
III.2.2 103 - 89 BCE
III.2.3 Early 7th century - mid 11th century CE
III.2.4 Late 12th century - 1232 CE
III.2.5 Mid 16th century - 1658 CE
III.2.6 1658 - 1798 CE
III.2.7 1798 - mid 20th century CE
III.3 China
III.3.1 Basis of pre-modern persecutions of Buddhism
III.3.2 Mid 5th century CE
III.3.3 567 - 577 CE
III.3.4 Early 7th century CE
III.3.5 842 - 845 CE: The Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution
III.3.6 955 CE
III.3.7 Later 10th century - 12th century CE
III.3.8 Mid 15th century CE
III.3.9 Mid - Later 16th century CE
III.3.10 Early 18th century CE
III.3.11 1926 - 1930s CE: Under Kuomintang rule
III.3.12 1920s CE - the present: Under Communist rule
III.4 Tibet
III.4.1 838 - 842 CE
III.4.2 Early 1930s CE
III.4.3 1950 CE - the present
III.5 Japan
III.5.1 Mid 16th century - mid 19th century CE
III.5.2 1868 - 1870s CE
III.6 Vietnam
III.6.1 Late 14th century - 17th century CE
III.6.2 1955 - 1963 CE
III.6.3 1975 CE - the present
IV. Analysis
IV.1 Types of persecution by purpose
IV.1.1 India
IV.1.2 Sri Lanka
IV.1.3 China
IV.1.4 Tibet
IV.1.5 Japan
IV.1.6 Vietnam
IV.2 Distinctions between places researched: Finding the pattern
IV.2.1 Amalgamation
IV.2.2 In China and Japan: Why most secular?
V. Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography



I. Introduction
            Most religions have gone through persecutions throughout their history, Buddhism among those. In places where the faith has survived under persecution often becomes dominant the religion; is this the case for Buddhism in current Buddhist nations ? Has Buddhism in each country 'survived' from numerous challenges or has it run in the groove ? How did one persecution differ from another and in what country ? Why were there fewer persecutions in one period than another ? These are all questions that can lead to a deeper understanding of the current status of Buddhism and non-Buddhist religions in some nations where Buddhism has or had existed.

II. Purpose of study and places researched

Purpose of study
            This paper provides an overview of the history of noticeable persecutions of Buddhism in nations where Buddhism has or had existed; some are Buddhist nations until now, some are not. Then we figure out what type each persecution was by looking at its purpose; this is to look at which type took place the most in each researched country, which can further help analyze some noticeable patterns of persecutions in each nation and make comparisons and contrasts with each other.
            Persecutions by non-Buddhist forces are only included in this paper. Denominational conflicts will not be covered.

II.2 Places researched
            Sri Lanka, Tibet, and Vietnam are nations that are Buddhist until present days; India is covered since it is the place of origin and has a longer history of persecution of Buddhism than any other countries, thus could provide useful information for this paper; and finally, Buddhism has been an important element in East Asian countries, which are China and Japan in this paper. This makes the following list of places researched: India, Sri Lanka, China, Tibet, Japan, and Vietnam.

III. History of the Persecution of Buddhism, by Nation

III.1 India

III.1.1 2nd century BCE
            Buddhism was on its high before 185 BCE: early Buddhism became widespread under the Mauryan Emperor Asoka (273-232 BCE), reaching various countries such as modern Sri Lanka, Burma and some Greek kingdoms including the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom. Stupas were built, the 3rd Buddhist Council was held in 250 BCE, and many missionaries were sent. The Maurya Empire being the world's first major Buddhist state, the religion flourished until before the Empire's demise in 2c BCE.

            After assassinating the last Mauryan Emperor Brhadrata in 185 BCE, military commander-in-chief Pusyamitra Sunga founded the Sunga Empire which controlled the Magadha and neighboring territories including Narmada, Jalandhar, Sialkot, and the city of Ujjain. Sunga kings were orthodox Brahmins, thus were known to have patronized Brahminism at the expense of other religions and persecuted Buddhism which had previously flourished during the Mauryan Empire. Buddhist texts such as Asokavadana and Divyavadana write that Pusyamitra (185-149 BCE) destroyed 84,000 Buddhist stupas which had been built by Asoka and offered 100 dinars(gold coins) per each monk head. (1) Pusyamitra also allegedly converted viharas (Buddhist monasteries) to Hindu temples in places such as Nalanda, Bodhgaya, Sarnath, and Mathura. (2) The texts accuse later kings as well to have remained hostile to Buddhists.

            However, some scholars refute these traditional Buddhist accounts. Etienne Lamotte and Romila Thapar stress out that there is no evidence of active prosecution under Pusyamitra's reign, claiming that the texts are merely hyperbolic portraits of Pusyamitra's attack of the Mauyras and reflect the frustration religious figures had when they faced the declined importance of their religion under the Sungas. (3) Kings after Pusyamitra were seen as more tolerant to Buddhism that they contributed to the construction of stupas at Bharhut. There is also an inscription at the Mahabodhi Temple accounting the building of the temple to be "The gift of Nagadevi the wife of Emperor Brahmamitra" (4), which indicates that the Sunga kings supported Buddhism in some degree.

III.1.2 Early 4th century CE
            The Pallava dynasty in Southern India ruled the northern Tamil Nadu region and the southern Andhra Pradesh region from 275 CE to late 13th century. The Pallavas were followers of Hinduism but were generally tolerant to other faiths. However, at least two attempts of overt persecution of Buddhism took place. Simhavarma, known to be the father of Naravarma who reigned from 404 CE, and (Trilochana are known to have destroyed Buddhist stupas and have had Hindu temples built over them. (5)
            Nonetheless, it will be inaccurate to say that the two kings' persecution of Buddhism played a big role in making the downfall of the religion; it was rather the general popularity of Hinduism, especially Vaishnavite Hinduism, in the region that led to a sharp decline of Buddhism and had sanghas greatly diminished.

III.1.3 470 - Early 7th century CE
            Prior to this period, Buddhism flourished under the Gupta Empire. There was great development of Hinduism, but Buddhism was still prominently practiced in the Ganges Plain.
            However, this was the period when Hindus, especially Shaivites, took aggressive action against Buddhism. At least two kings, the Hephthalite king Miharakula in the early 6th century and the Bengal king Sasanka in the early 7th century reportedly have persecuted Buddhism.

            Skandagupta died in 470 and was followed by weak rulers, which allowed the Hephthalites or by the Sanskrit name, the Huna, make fresh incursions of the northwestern frontier of the Gupta Empire. Attacked by Toramana and his successor Mihirakula, the Gupta Empire disintegrated. Toramana is said to have destroyed the Ghositarama Buddhist monastery at Kausambi. On top of that, in Gandhara and the northwestern part of India ruled by the Hunas, Mihirakula, who is recorded in Buddhist tradition as uncouth and extremely cruel, (6) started his role of a determined enemy of Buddhism and a systematic destroyer of monasteries. A patron of Shaivism, he is known to have virtually annihilated the religious communities of the Kabul valley and Northern India, destructing Buddhist temples and monasteries as far as Kaushambi (around modern Allahabad).

In fact, Hsuan Tsang writes that he have found most of the stupas and monasteries in ruin as he visited the holy sites a century later from Mihirakula's actions. Later, Mihirakula was engaged in wars against Narashima Gupta, in which he was defeated; many historians account this struggle to be not merely political but also strongly religious, (7) which means anti-Buddhist activities done by Mihirakula intensified the conflict between the Gupta and the Huna. Later in 528 CE, Mihirakula esacped to Kashmir after he was defeated by a confederation of monarchs of central India and the Deccan, and he continued to establish a reign of terror over the Buddhists. Here, the Kashmiri rulers including Kalasa Kshemagupta and Harsha (not to be mistaken for Harshavardhana of Harsha Empire, a great patron of Buddhism) were notorious for being brutal to Buddhists.

            The anti-Buddhist policy was reversed by Mihirakula's son, and the emperors of the Second Gupta Period (late 6th century-750) strove to repair the damage done by Mihirakula. According to the pilgrims Sung-Yuen and Hui-Sheng who visited Udyana and Gandhara during the time of Huna domination, the Hephtalite persecution failed to completely destroy the faith in northwestern India; they wrote that the population of Gandhara still had a great respect for Buddhism. (8) Hsuen-Tsang also found Buddhism still flourishing in places around Magadha, Nalanda, Mahabodhi, and Kashmir.

            Sasanka of the Gauda Kingdom of central Bengal in the early 7th century also worshipped Shiva and endeavored to extirpate the Buddhists from his dominions. Having murdered Rajyavardhana, a Buddhist king of Thanesar, he have put thousands of Buddhist monks to death, particularly all those in the area around Kushinagar were known to be slaughtered. (9) He also cut down the holy bodhi tree at Bodh Gaya, the act for which Hsuen-Tsang maligned the king, and managed to break the stone carved with the footprints of the Buddha at Pataliputra in about 600 CE, (10) Nevertheless, Buddhism survived from Sasanka's persecution as the Emperor Harshavardhana of Harsha Empire, a great patron of Buddhism, defeated Sasanka and saved Buddhism.

            However, before and after the persecution of the faith by Shaivite kings, Buddhism could not be the top religion that could outdo all competitors; pilgrims such as Fahien, Sung Yun, Hui-Sheng, I-Ching, and the monk Hsuan-Tsing reported that Buddhism was on its decline between 400-700 CE. In fact, Hsuan-Tsang wrote that he had witnessed a much greater numbers of non-Buddhists such as Jains and Shaivites than Buddhists in places such as Prayag, Sravasti, and Varanasi, where previously Buddhism was dominant. (11)

            Shaivism and Vaishnavism flourished also in central and southern parts of India where the Chalukya dynasty ruled from the 6th century. In contrary to previous Andhra and Pallava Dynasties that were Hindu but sympathetic to Buddhism, the Chalukyans were known to have ruined and deserted Buddhist temples.

III.1.4 Early 8th - mid 16th century CE
            There always had been hatred Brahmins had against Buddhists, which was well expressed in Brahminical texts, literature, and works of Brahmin philosophers that included fierce strictures against Buddhists: Manu Smriti has a verse that "If a person touches a Buddhist or a flower of Pachupat, Lokayata, Nastika and Mahapataki, he shall purify himself by a bath." (12) The same doctrine is preached in Aparaka's Smriti and Vradha Harit, and even dramas and puranas written by Brahmins contained anti-Buddhist propaganda such as entering the house of a Buddhist or conversing with Buddhists should be a principal sin. Udayanacarva, the tarkika, in Bauddhadhikaram, criticized Buddhism for its denial of Isvara, the creator of the universe.

            Kumarila Bhatta in the early 8th century (roughly 700 CE) and Shankaracharya in 788-820 CE were two important Hindu philosophers who added to the malignity against Buddhism. At their time of life, Hinduism was increasing its influence in India at the expense of Buddhism and Jainism; they additionally weakened Buddhist theories and caused a noticeable increase in discrimination and persecution toward Buddhists in most regions in India but Bihar and Bengal where the Pala dynasty patronized Buddhism. Kumarila, the mimamsaka, in his Tarkapadam, attacked Buddhism for its refusal to accept vedic rituals. He publicly debated Jain and Buddhist teachers and attempted to stop the expansion of those two religions in South India. His work was taken up by Shankara who continued to have public debates with Buddhists and was triumphant each time. (13)

Although he adopted several ideas from Buddhist teachings such as non-dualism that was radical to contemporary Hinduism, he managed to attack certain Buddhist doctrines in his Bhagavatpada: the doctrine of the aggregates, the chain of causation, the doctrine of momentaries, the budd definition of space (aakaa'sa), and the theory that origin comes only from destruction. (14) He also persuaded the rulers and wealthy laity to withdraw their patronage of Buddhist monasteries, describing the Buddha as an enemy of the people. (15) Anti-Buddhist propaganda was reaching its peak during the 8th century when Shankara modeled his monastic order after the Buddhist sangha. (16) He is determined to have played a leading role in the later forceful takeover of the Buddhist temples by Hindus: Amarnath in Kashmir, Kedarnath and Badrinath in the Himalayas. (17)

            Not only Hindus but also Muslims persecuted Buddhists; in fact, it was Islam that struck a critical blow at Buddhism to virtual extinction in India. From 712, Muhammad bin Qasim at Sindh (now part of Pakistan) made non-Muslims including Hindus and Buddhists who were not willing to convert into Islam pay Jizyah, a fixed tribute. This made Hindus and Buddhists flee to other regions than Sindh in order to maintain the faith of their ancestors and their property.

            Mahmud of Ghazni, Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire in 997-1030, was depicted to be an iconoclast who destroyed the most delicately carved and highly expressive images of the Buddha and treasures of the Buddha art. He reportedly had looted and burned down a great multitude of monasteries, and he also killed a huge number of Buddhist scholars, making many Buddhist monks take refuge in Tibet. (18) Mahmud of Ghazni ended Buddhist self-governance across the Punjab region.
            The Ghaznavid rule in North India was overthrown by the Ghurids under Muhammad Ghuri (1162-1206). The Ghurids invaded north India, and successfully had the region from Khyber Pass to Bengal under their control. In order to secure their hold on power they followed the age-old Muslim custom of temple destruction, destroying at least 80 Hindu and Buddhist temples during this period, albeit considering that the records of destruction are vastly inflated in Muslim conquest literature as well as Hindu and Buddhist histories. (19) Among the destroyed temples, 2/3 were Buddhists, and this was critical to Buddhism's ability to remain as a formal religion because they had already lost all but a few institutions in Nalanda, Odantapuri, and Vikramasila, over the previous centuries. (20)
            The Nalanda University, a great Buddhist center of learning, was raided by Turkic Muslim invaders under Bakhtiyar Khalji, a general of the Turkish commander Qutb-ud-din Aybak, in 1193. He committed documented executions, harassed and tortured erudite monks, killing 15,000 scholars and 200 faculty of the University. (21) The campus and invaluable works of art including the images of the Buddha were destroyed and the enormous manuscript library of the University was burned down. He also destroyed the monasteries in Vikramshila, which were in modern Bihar, as well as many monasteries in Odantapuri in 1197. As he persecuted Buddhism, he supported Muslim missionaries and made the biggest number of converts to Islam under his reign. (22) By the end of the 12th century, many Buddhist monks retreated to Nepal, Sikkim, Tibet and Southern India. (23)

            Persecution of Buddhism was accelerated in this period by Brahmin revivalists who kicked the Buddhist monks out of Buddhist monasteries and temples in order to transform the places into Hindu institutions; they were seeking protection from Muslim invasions by facilitating the installation of Brahmin gods. (24) No less than 1000 Buddhist temples were appropriated by Hindus, (25) particularly in Ayodhya, Sabarimala, Tirupati, Badrinath, and Puri. The Mahabodhi Vihara at Bodh Gaya and the cremation stupa of the Buddha at Kushingar were converted into Hindu temples as well. This trend went on until the 16th century, with Buddhist monuments and Buddha's images being further destroyed; Kolatheri Sankara Menon says that all over Kerala Brahminism made a bonfire of the rich treasure of rare Buddhist books. (26)

            The Delhi Sultanate and the Mughal Empire until Akbar the Great's reign in 1556 are also reported to have destroyed Buddhist shrines.
            Likewise, with Hinduism absorbing Buddhism since the 4th century, continued persecution of Buddhists by Hindus and Muslims made Buddhism in India hardly exist outside the monastic institutions by the 12th century, (27) and as a formal religion almost disappeared by the 13th century except for in several regions: in Kashmir valley, it survived mainly until the introduction of Islam in 1323 and into the 15th century when King Zain ul Abidin's minister was a Buddhist. In Tamil Nadu and Kerala, there were Buddhist icons remaining and the religion survived until the 15-16th century, and in some southern regions, it might had survived longer, (28) but undeniably, remained weak.

III.1.5 1658 - 1707 CE
            From 1556 to 1605, Akbar the Great was the Mughal emperor whose religious policy was tolerant to non-Muslims that he abolished the Jizyah. Although his policy's main target were Hindus and Jains rather than Buddhists since Buddhists were no more a main force in India at that time, his religious liberalism should benefited all religions.
            However, Aurangzeb, the Mughal emperor from 1658 to 1707, was an Orthodox Muslim and was staunch to his religion. He was reported to be particularly brutal toward non-Muslims. He revived the Jizyah, destroyed tens of thousands of temples, and built mosques on their foundations in numerous instances; his primary target was the Brahmins but also a few Buddhist were among those.

III.2 Sri Lanka

III.2.1 237 - 215 BCE
            Since the introduction of the religion to the Anuradhapura Kingdom, the first established kingdom in ancient Sri Lanka, by the zealous follower king Devaanampiya Tissa, Buddhism had been protected and sponsored by the Sinhalese rulers. However, brief rules of non-Buddhist Tamil usurpers of the Kingdom retarded the progress of the religion. According to the Mahavamsa, a chronicle of the early Sinhalese-Buddhist royalty on the Sri Lankan island, the two Tamil horse dealers, Sena and Guttika, usurped the throne and marked the first period of the retardation from 237 to 215 BCE.
            However, it is inaccurate to generalize that the periods of Tamil reign of the kingdom exactly coincides with the periods of persecution of Buddhism; Elara the Chola prince who ruled the Anuradhapura Kingdom from 205 to 161 BCE, is one exception. Although Elara was a Saivite Hindu, he is described in the chronicles as a just ruler who had even patronized Buddhism, giving alms to Buddhist monks at the palace to win the acceptance of the people. (29) Later, Anikanga (1209) and Parakrama Pandu (1212) were also welcomed and accepted. A number of Tamil monarchs showed deference to the native faith, Buddhism, and refrained from destroying Buddhist assets and harassing the followers.

III.2.2 103 - 89 BCE
            King Dutthagaamani who defeated Elara and restored the Sinhalese rule, was a pious monarch that the religion of the Sinhalese during his period was entirely Buddhist. The religion flourished until the period of Vattagaamani Abhaya, the fourth successor of Dutthagaamani.

            The sudden turn took place in 103 BCE when a brahmin named Tissa from Rohana, South Lanka, revolted against Vattagaamani, only to be vanquished by a Tamil army led by 7 Tamil chiefs who landed at Mahaatittha and waged war against the king. Vattagaamani was defeated by the Tamil in a [[|battle at Kolambalaka]], then lay in hiding for 14 years. Buddhism suffered under these 14 years of Tamil reign, as the Tamil rulers lacked interest in the Buddhist faith and vandalized the supporters. What exacerbated the situation was an unprecedented famine that made things worse. Monasteries were deserted and thousands of monks and laymen died of starvation; 12,000 arahants from the Tissamahaaraama and another 12,000 from the Cittalapabata-vihara are recorded to be dead due to lack of food. (30) Survivors left the country and went to India. As a result, the Mahavihara, the earliest celebrated center of the Buddhist region, was abandoned. Despite the death and flee of most of the learned monks of the country, this disaster did not lead to a complete discontinuation of the Buddhist tradition; as the oral tradition of passing the Buddhist Tipitaka came under danger, the remaining monks gathered at Aluvihara in order to recite and scribe the Tipitaka. In this way, Buddhist scriptures survived in the form of Pali Tipitaka.

III.2.3 Early 7th century - mid 11th century CE
            Starting from the 7th century, local chiefs and kings brought Tamil soldiers from South India to fight against their own rival claimants or foreign invaders, only to see the Tamil troop gain power and form their own villages and Hindu temples. The conquests by Pallava King Simhavishnu (537-590) and Narasimhavarman (630-668) also led to the erection of several Kovils- Dravidian Hindu temples- in the northeastern part of Sri Lanka.

            Such political unrest made some Sinhalese rulers neglect and exploit the Buddhist monasteries: King Aggabodhi III (632, 633-643) financed the military operations by robbing the gold images and valuables that were stored in Buddhist monasteries, and King Daathopatissa I (643-650) also took valuables from the relic chambers of stuupas, including the gold final of the Thuupaaraama and the gem-studded umbrella of the cetiya. (31) Nevertheless, most Sinhalese rulers still supported Buddhist practices that being a defender of the Buddhist faith was concerned as a qualification and the duty of the king of Sri Lanka; the Jetavanarama Slab Inscription of Mahinda IV (956-972) declared that a ksatriya becomes a king for the purpose of defending the alms-bowl and the robe of the Buddha. King Kirti Nissankamalla (1187-1196) wrote in his inscriptions that non-Buddhists are not eligible to be a king of Sri Lanka as the country belonged to Buddhism. (32)

            Later, the Tamil became the main body of deliberately ransacking the Buddhist monasteries. Starting from the Tamil soldiers who burned down the Sacred Tooth Relic Temple, the Pandya and Chola invaders exacerbated the situation, especially from the year 993 to 1070 when Sri Lanka was a part of the Chola Empire. It was after 1070 when Buddhism was set free from Tamil influence, under several kings from Vijayabaahu I (1070-1100) to Parakramabahu I the Great (1153-1186).

III.2.4 Late 12th century - 1232 CE
            Internal political unrest caused by rival claimers to the throne and foreign invaders started again after the death of Parakramabahu I the Great. Rulers were frequently changed especially after the death of King Nissankamalla (1187-1196) that 11 rulers in succession were on the throne in 20 years (1196-1215). Finally Magha (1215-1232), also known as Magha the Tyrant, usurped the throne from Kalinga in Eastern India. Remembered for his tyrannical and oppressive rule, (33) he refused to accommodate the faith of native Sinhalese population, which was Buddhism. Magha's army destroyed many of Rajarata's most sacred sites including Thuparama, the oldest Rajaratan dagoba, and Ruwanveliseya. He also demolished the temples of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, tortured and enslaved the Rajaratan natives, forced them have a different faith than Buddhism, and burned several libraries that contained valuable texts.
            After the decline of Kalinga dynasty with the end of Magha's reign, kings of Dambadeniya (1232-1351) and Gambola (1344-1408) Dynasties put effort to have the Buddhist faith recover from Magha's deadly impact, yet not fully.

III.2.5 Mid 16th century - 1658 CE
            The greatest persecution on Sri Lankan Buddhism throughout history began with the arrival of the Portuguese who had the motto of ¡°God, Glory and Gold¡±, (34) in other words, greatly interested in propagating their own faith, Roman Catholicism. There were 3 kingdoms in the Island while the Portuguese had power: the Kotte (1408-1557) along the southwest coastline, the Tamil Sitawaka (1521-1593) in the North, and the Kandy (1591-1815) in the central mountainous region. Among those, the Kotte Kingdom was the first and major target of the Portuguese and therefore, the place where the degree of persecution of Buddhists was the highest. The Portuguese influence on the kingdom began under Bhuvanaikabahu VII (1521-1543)'s reign, who sought help from the Portuguese in order to keep his power against the other two kingdoms, and its influence on Buddhism got into stride when Dharmapala (1543-1657) came to the throne. Raised by Portuguese Franciscan monks, Dharmapala was a Catholic king and allowed Franciscan monks propagate Catholicism and build Christian communities in the maritime provinces.

The Tooth Relic, the most sacred object and the symbol of authority for Buddhists, was smuggled out to the city of Ratnapura. Local people were enticed and forced to convert into Christianity, and this policy was reinforced since 1557 when the Portuguese took formal possession of the Kotte Kingdom after Dharmapala's death. People who seeked for high offices under the Portuguese quickly converted into Catholics and had new Biblical names. For the remaining locals who were not enticed into the new faith by temporal favors, the Portuguese used extreme violence that Buddhists indeed were under the darkest period throughout the Sri Lankan history; men were thrown into rivers to be eaten by crocodiles, women were tortured to death, babies were stabbed with pikes or crushed between millstones before the eyes of their parents, and Buddhist monks worshipping in public or wearing the yellow robe were put to death. (35) Libraries were set on fire, Buddhist monasteries were destroyed and looted, and the landholdings of temples were seized and given to the Church. The survivors fled to the Kandy Kingdom. In this way, Buddhist practices became limited to the Kandy Kingdom which the Sinhalese, not the Portuguese, controlled.
            The Sitawaka Kingdom was also independent from the Portuguese, but Buddhism here was also severely persecuted under Rajainha I (1581-1593)'s reign. Came to the throne after killing his father King Mayadunne (1521-1581) and unwilling to stand the Buddhist monks' blame on his misdeed, he became a Saivite. What made situation worse was that some monks were revealed while conspiring with the king's enemies to rise a revolt. Infuriated at the events, the king had the chief monk stoned to death and other monks buried neck-deep to have their heads cut off. (36) Buddhist monasteries and scriptures were burned, and some temples including the Sri Pada, the place where was believed to have an imprint of the Buddha's foot, were diverted to Saivite temples.

            As Vimala Dharmasuriya I (1591-1604), the king of the Kandy Kingdom, defeated Rajainha I, Rajainha's days had ended and Buddhism which had been devastated revived under great patronage of King Vimala Dharmasuriya I and King Senerat, in succession. New buildings including one for the Tooth Relic were constructed, and a mission to Arakan in Burma was made so that an ordination ceremony to revive the Sangha could be held with the help of Burmese monks.

III.2.6 1658 - 1798 CE
            In 1658, the Dutch drove the Portuguese out of Sri Lanka, starting the period of a markedly different policy regarding Buddhism than what the Portuguese had had. For the Dutch, Sri Lanka was first and foremost a place of commerce; specifically, a base for their cinnamon trade. In other words, the Dutch were in need of a smooth relationship with the Sinhalese; unlike the Portuguese, they refrained from being cruel and brutal in eager to convert the locals into their own faith, which was Protestant Christianity.
            However, while it is true that Buddhism was free from explicit persecution under the Dutch rule, discrimination between Protestant Christians and Buddhists existed in career and social lives; only baptized Christians could be landowners and government officials, a nd schoolchildren had to learn and believe in Christianity in their schools. Such policy increased the number of Christians among Sinhalese people, but the people who changed their religious faith mostly remained Buddhists inwardly and became Christians only nominally.

            Nonetheless, kings of the Kandy Kingdom, Sri Viraparakrama Narendrasinha (1707-1739), Sri Vijaya Rajasinha (1739-1747), Kirti Sri Rajasinha (1747-1763), and Sri Rajadhi Rajasinha (1782-1798) in succession, were able to practice Buddhism as a devout follower and patron under the professedly religious-tolerant Dutch: they sent missions to Burma to bring monks in to revitalize the Sangha, the latter even with help of the Dutch seeking for smooth relations with the Sinhalese. Shrines in Kandy and the coastal areas were built, Buddhism as a result enjoying stability again despite some degree of discrimination against it by the colonial power.

III.2.7 1798 - mid 20th century CE
            The last king of the Kandy Kingdom, Sri Vikrama Rajasinha (1798-1815), was reportedly brutal and uninterested in non-political religious affairs, unlike his predecessors. He did not support the Sasana and even seized and appropriated the Sangha's valuables for his own use.

            The British formally came into rule of Kandy from 1815 after signing the Kandyan Convention in which it was written that "the religion of the Budhoo professed by the chiefs and inhabitants of these provinces is declared inviolable and its rites, ministers and places of wordship are to be maintained and protected." (37) In the early years, the British administrators adhered to the treaty: governors took part in the annual ceremonies of the Tooth Relic and appointed the chief monks when necessary. However, politicians in the British homeland as well as Christian missionaries who were already working in the coastal areas of Sri Lanka since the late 18th century (Baptists) or the early 19th century (Wesleyan Methodists, Americans, Church of England) urged the British authorities to withdraw all support for Buddhism which they considered heathenism. Starting from the colonial Governor Robert Brownrigg who assured the British Parliament that the propagation of Christianity was his greatest desire, (38) discrimination against Buddhism went on a rise.

            In 1829 the law guaranteeing the freedom of worship of all Christian denominations was passed, which boosted missionary activities supported by the British administration. The Western education system was established by Christian and European institutions as one of the colonial and anti-Buddhist policies. The British administrators' need for the 'new elite' increased in order to work with their vast bureaucracy and lower the status of the traditional elite based on caste and lineage; by carrying out reforms abolishing feudal service obligations and land tenure in the early 19th century, social mobility became a social context of the time. Missionary schools, financed with public funds, provided education of Western languages and for jobs in civil service; these schools soon became popular among the new elite who desired to gain success in commerce or government. Students had to participate in Christian religious services, and indeed a huge portion of the English-educated elite converted into Christianity. Most schools had active anti-Buddhist policies as well: Buddhism was portrayed as idolatry and inferior, plus its practices were criticized. The traditional Sinhalese education was destroyed, and consequently Buddhist monks who were used to control the education in temple schools and monastic colleges (pirivenas) received less respect and enjoyed a lower prestige than before. Statistics say that in 1886 there were only 12 assisted schools which were Buddhist among 848 in total; (39) this data shows that the traditional Buddhist elite indeed had limited power to influence the leaders of the country. The Sangha was alienated from the laity, the rituals held by the monks were discredited, and the monks- typical traditional elites- were deprived of the overall prestige they had had enjoyed.
            Buddhist monasteries were financially attacked as well. Prior to the British administration, Buddhist temples had collected extensive landholdings donated by the kings and laymen. The British took away this source of wealth by withdrawing support for monastic ceremonies and not administering Buddhist temporalities. They also seized some land that belonged to monasteries, on which they expanded their coffee and tea estates. (40)
            Non-Christians could not marry legally nor register the birth of a child. They could not work in any government offices. Buddhism was constantly denounced through pamphlets that the Christian missionaries printed since around 1820 and distributed to the locals.
            The monks petitioned for the revival of their faith, only to confront with indifference of the British administration. They also acquired a printing press in 1862 which was funded by the Thai King Mongkut, made their own pamphlets propagating Buddhism, which also failed to come out with positive results. Finally, two Buddhists Mohottiwatte Gunananda and Hikkaduve Sumangala had three public debates with three Christian representatives. These debates held in 1865, 1871, and 1873 ended with the Buddhist triumph and restored the self-esteem of Buddhists. Despite the remaining government policies against Buddhists, the Buddhist renaissance movement continued, led by Colonel Olcott and Anagarika Dharmapala. Olcott established the Buddhist Theosophical Society in which prominent Buddhists and laymen could gather together, and worked for reestablishing the Buddhist education that the number of Buddhist schools increased to 429 by 1940. Dharmapala founded Buddhist organizations such as the Young Men's Buddhist Association, and also built hospitals and schools to spread the Buddhist faith. Dharmapala's speeches and articles also evoked a great response among Buddhists. Many stupas and the Temple of the Tooth were restored, the entire Tipitaka was translated to Sinhalese and English, and a new and comprehensive Buddhist encyclopedia was also made, (41) through which Buddhism revived to the present.

III.3 China

III.3.1 Basis of pre-modern persecutions of Buddhism
            Analyzing the pre-modern persecutions of Buddhism, we can figure out that they were mostly based on three ideas: 1) Chinese nationalistic resentment against Buddhism as a foreign religion, 2) Confucian concerns about Buddhist doctrines that advocated the renunciation of Confucian doctrines those were to maintain socioeconomic order, and 3) the view that Buddhist institutions were economically unproductive. Buddhism had spread to China via Central Asia from the 1st century CE. Since then it was greatly acknowledged, however not immediately embraced by the Confucian Chinese society. In the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE), Confucianism was dominant and controlled the state. The philosophy emphasized the value of the family, especially the basic parent-son relationship and filial piety as the basis of the ruler-subject relationship and people's loyalty to their community and the authoritarian state. The practical and economic usefulness of citizens was also highly accounted. However, Buddhism undermined of all worldly ties that it required its followers to leave their families and stay unmarried, which ran counter to Confucian teachings. Most Buddhist monks were not engaged in active economic pursuits as well and instead subsisted on food and donations from the laymen. Donations to schools of Buddhism also reduced the tax base. For Confucian scholars, this was viewed a loss in the nation's productivity and in Government revenue. (42)

III.3.2 Mid 5th century CE
            The Southern and Northern Dynasties Period (420-589) saw a great development of Buddhism that eventually embedded itself in Chinese soil, but not from its initial times. In the North, the invasions of barbarian tribes briefly hindered Buddhism from progressing through the region; the literati, cultured officials, and foreign monks fled to the south. (43) Still later, an anti-Buddhist edict was made in Northern Wei; image making and the building of temples were prohibited, the Three Jewels, books and brass images of Buddha- a foreign divinity- were destroyed, priests were put to death, and people were told not to provide monks with shelter. (44) Such persecution was done by Emperor Taiwu, specifically in 445-446; he claimed that the Buddhist faith had caused failure in government operation, disintegrated disciplines of social conduct, and led people to disregard the laws. (45) His anti-Buddhist policies were relaxed after his death in 452 CE, since when Buddhist temples were erected in each city and the number of priests increased by an edict. The rulers of the Northern Wei were not Chinese, so they fervently patronized Buddhism. Monks worked as scribes, political and military advisors, and court magicians using prayers and spells for prosperity and military victories. The Buddhist art flourished as well in caves at Dun-huang, Yun-gang and Long-men. In fact, there was one more restriction on Buddhism after Taiwu's death, when a conspiracy of which the chief was a Buddhist priest against the Emperor was detected in 458. An edict was made which required the authorities to examine the conduct of the monks who might have done mischief under the advantages of religious characters. (46) The guilty were put to death, and the nuns could not enter the palace. Nonetheless, except for the event, Buddhism was well supported that pilgrimages to Gandhara were made and many sutras from other Buddhist places were copied and studied in Chinese.
            The pattern in the Southern dynasties was the same from the North. Buddhism was denounced for being non-Chinese, by a Taoist scholar named Gu-Huan (420-483): in his writing Yixia Lun, he attacked Buddhist customs such as cutting hair, burning or throwing bodies of the dead into water, and 'sitting like foxes and standing like dogs'. (47) However, most of the Southern rulers were pious Buddhists and established numerous temples, had monks translate, lecture and make commentaries on Buddhist texts from Central Asia and India, organized talks on Buddhist doctrines and took part in Buddhist rituals. Buddhism was successfully embraced by the elite and philosophers so that the Buddhist clergy became powerful within the state. It is recorded that in the North and South altogether, there were tens of thousands of Buddhist temples, monasteries and pagodas, and more than 2 million monks and nuns. (48)

III.3.3 567 - 577 CE
            In 567, the former Buddhist priest Wei Yuansong presented a memorial to Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou dynasty, in which he called for the abolishment of Buddhism. (49) Believing that the Buddhists were too powerful and rich and were making conflict with the practice of filial piety, in 574 and 577, he carried out the request made in the memorial. The Emperor had thousands of monks killed and made the rest returned to lay life or conscripted into military service. T'an-ch'ien and other eminent monks fled South. Buddhist pagodas and monasteries were destroyed, the Shaolin monastery was closed, land of temples were confiscated and distributed to soldiers. Statues were burned, melted down or broke down to pieces which the refugees took along with them to the South, Korea and Japan.

III.3.4 Early 7th century CE
            During the Sui dynasty (581-618) and Tang dynasty (618-907), Buddhism served as a unifying mechanism and continuously received imperial patronage. The faith was accepted by millions of people that the Tang period is frequently referred to as the golden age of Chinese Buddhism, due to the state's internationalism. The Sangha and monasteries flourished that they accumulated huge power and wealth through landowning and tax-exempt advantages. This caused many people to enter the Sangha in order to escape military service and tax duty, which the ruling elite and Confucian intellectuals were concerned about. In their manifests, Confucians charged Buddhism of destroying the social order, especially corroding the father-son and ruler-subject relationships, as mentioned in III.4.1. The most famous among those of the early 7th century was made by Fu-Yi. In 624, Kao-tsu (also spelled Gaozu), founder of the Tang Dynasty, deplored Buddhism of being barbarian. Calling the Buddha a barbarian deity, (50) he accused Buddhists were disloyal to the emperor and did not respect their parents. He also attacked then existing more than 100,000 monks and nuns that they do not give birth to children and avoid paying taxes; he claimed that the Buddhist clergy should be returned to lay life so that they form families and give birth to a new generation that could be a plus to the society in economic ways.
            Kao-tsu's anti-foreign and anti-Buddhist policies were reversed by his son Tai-tsung (also spelled Taizong) who seized the throne in a coup supported by Buddhist priests.

III.3.5 842 - 845 CE : The Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution
            In 819, the famed Confucian Han Yu also wrote an essay against the welcoming of Buddha's finger bone; he claimed that in order to restore the Buddhist barbarians into human living, the state should burn Buddhist texts and convert its buildings to other institutions, human dwellings for example. (51) His basis for denunciation against Buddhism was the same with what Confucians worried about Buddhism - 'barbaric' renunciations of communal relationship.
            Following the Confucian's negative attitudes toward Buddhism, from 842 to 845, the Buddhist faith was severely persecuted than any other period throughout Chinese history that it is called the 'Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution'. The great suppression was conducted by Emperor Wuzong of Tang, and he had several reasons to lead such a great persecution: 1) Confucian supremacy over the 'society-eroding' Buddhism had to be asserted, 2) the country almost went bankrupt for fighting against the Uyghur tribes in 843, so he needed to find source of wealth, 3) he was a Taoist and an iconoclast, and 4) he intended to drive foreign influences from China, foreign religions among those. Already have expressed his displeasure toward Buddhism by preferring Taoist clergy as government posts than Buddhists, in 842, he embarked on secularizing Buddhist priests and confiscating their properties, but without the aim to totally eradicate Buddhism. He ordered undesirable monks and nuns who intended to or had avoided military service and tax payment, practiced forbidden magic, or failed to follow the monastic rule to leave the monasteries. Private possessions of the members of monastic communities were confiscated except for those given to poverty; if they wanted to keep their possessions, they had to return to secular lives. This made many monks and nuns go back to lay lives, but Buddhism was yet to be ordered to be 'destroyed' in this period. It was from 844 to 845 when the Emperor zealously ordered the destruction of the faith. It is recorded that 4,600 big and over 40,000 small monasteries and temples were destroyed, millions of acres of landed property of Buddhist institutions were confiscated, 265,000 monks and nuns under the age of 40 (later 50) were forced to be defrocked and pay double tax, and 150,000 slaves were taken over to become subject of double tax as well. (52) Even though the persecution lasted for only 2 years until the death of the Emperor, Buddhism as monastic institutions and movements was demolished; only 2 temples with 30 monks each were permitted to stand in Changan and Loyang. 1 temple with 10 monks each was permitted to stay in only the capital cities of the only 'first-grade' prefectures, out of total 228 in the empire. (53) All but very few Buddhist art pieces survived the persecution; most images of bronze, silver or gold were to be handed over to the government. (54) The Emperor also required the Bureau of Affairs of Foreigners to govern the affairs of monks and nuns, in order to clearly show that they belong to the religion of the barbarians. (55)
            The disastrous results of the Great Persecution were not only confined to Buddhists; Non-Chinese religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Manichaeanism, and Zoroastrianism were persecuted as well. When it comes to Buddhism, only the Zen school survived, into which other movements were absorbed during the period of the stormy suppression; this was probably because the Zen was active mainly in the South and in the countryside, while the most attacked places were in the Northern provinces and cities around the capital Changan. The Zen priests also did cultivation by their own, which might have alleviated the blame that Buddhists were unproductive and of no use. Probably the result of the iconoclastic persecution, the two greatest Zen teachers immediately after the persecution- Hsuan Chien of Teshan and I-hsuan of Linchi- were iconoclasts. (56) One thing to notice is that the attack was focused on professional priests and not the laity; although the ruling class was concerned with the bureaucratic exams and Confucian essays and poetry, Buddhism was still prosperous and played a strong role in local villages; events such as funerals, weddings, and praying for rains were done through rituals, chants, and spells of Buddhist priests, however not only drawn from Buddhism alone but mingled Buddhism with popular Taoism and Confucianism.

III.3.6 955 CE
            In 955, another persecution on Buddhism took place in the Later Zhou Dynasty. In need for copper to make coins, Emperor Shizong made an edict to destroy Buddha statues made of copper. This edict was relentlessly exerted; illegal possession of more than 5 jin of copper was subject to death, and lesser weights for lesser penalties. (57) The Emperor also reportedly destroyed 3,336 of 6,030 Buddhist temples at that time, but whether there was suppression on Buddhist doctrines or not is on debate. (58)

III.3.7 Later 10th century - 12th century CE
            In the Sung Dynasty (960-1279), Neo-Confucianism was on its high as the orthodoxy. While tolerating Buddhism, any popular religious movement that might have threatened the dominance of the orthodoxy was regulated. (59)
            During the Neo-Confucian reformer Wang Anshi's period in his Prime-Ministry position, social welfare services such as hospitals, cemeteries, public orphanages, reserve granaries, and hospices were done by the state, which were previously provided by Buddhist monasteries; (60) such policy reduced the Buddhist role in local communities.
            After the Great Persecution, it was a popular practice to combine Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism altogether under the same monastery roof. However, in 1106, Emperor Hui Tsung ordered Confucianism, the orthodox, to be clearly separated from the other unorthodox religions: he ordered the academy halls take the images of Confucius, and temples or monasteries take the images of Buddha and Lao-Tzu. A then common altar array of Buddha at the center, Lao-Tzu on the left, and Confucius on the right in several temples was to be abandoned, because the state disliked the Buddha taking the center (or dominant) position. (61)

III.3.8 Mid 15th century CE
            Emperor Xuande had an eye to the increasing property of Buddhist monasteries. He curbed Buddhism by ordering those who wished to become monks to be examined. In 1450, the upper limit of 60 meu (6,000 feet square) of land was set for each monastery to possess. The poor cultivated the extra land and paid taxes to the imperial. (62)

III.3.9 Mid - Later 16th century CE
            Emperor Chia-ching (1521-1567) of the Ming Dynasty was a Taoist and was reportedly cruel. In 1536, he ordered the Buddhist temple in the palace to be dismantled. He also allowed 1,300 ounces of gold to be scraped from the gold surfaces of Buddhist statues, (63) and over 3,000 catties of Buddhist relics to be burned. (64) His second successor Emperor Wan-li (1572-1620) patronized Buddhism as most of his predecessors did, so soon stopped the persecution done by Chia-ching.
            Roman Catholic missionaries and Mohammedans came in and made protests against idolatry in the later Ming period. Matteo Ricci was one figure who had a controversy with a noted Buddhist priest residing at Hang-Cheu, and wrote a short track titled P'i-shih-shi-chu-wang (The Errors of the Buddhists Exposed), which discussed and condemned the principal doctrines of Buddhism. (65)

III.3.10 Early 18th century CE
            Emperor Kangxi of Qing, in his later life, had aversion to all non-Confucian religions. The Sacred Edict had records of his repugnance against Buddhism, which opinion were approved by then common people. The Edict cited the Sung philosopher Chu Hi's blame on Buddhism that the religion did not care about heaven or Earth and fabricated groundless tales of future happiness or misery. (66)

III.3.11 1926 - 1930s CE: Under Kuomintang rule
            Anti-religion (anti-superstition) campaign with anti-foreignism and anti-imperialism was the motto of the Kuomintang Muslim general Bai Chongxi during the Northern Expedition. In Guangxi, his army destroyed superstitious idols and converted almost all monasteries and temples into schools and KMT headquarters. (67) Later, Huang Shaoxiong also led an anti-religion campaign which was sanctioned by all KMT members in Guangxi.

III.3.12 1920s CE - the present : Under Communist rule
            Under the Communists' control, Buddhism was severely restricted and destroyed. Since 1927, Mao Zedong blamed religion for enslaving the peasants. The atheist Chinese Communist Party concentrated on controlling religious beliefs, lest citizens could pay a higher loyalty to religious institutions (especially those overseas) than to the party. The Party created nationalistic associations for each main religion, Buddhist among those, and put them under the control of the Bureau of Religious Affairs. From the 1950s, Buddhism was actively destructed and criticized with other religions. Religion was considered 'opium of the masses' and followers were called as 'backward elements'. In 1951, the Party confiscated most of the monastic lands, which deprived wealth necessary for elaborate religious rituals. (68) Buddhist monks and nuns were considered as parasites, (69) so returned to the lay life. The Chinese Buddhist Association put Buddhism under complete government control, and scattered local persecution on Buddhism also took place even without orders from the central authorities. In border provinces such as Hsinkiang (Xinjiang), Tsinghai (Qinghai), and Kansu (Gansu) where the religious beliefs supported and controlled the whole old local social system, attacks by masses on Lamaist Buddhists were greater than the inner parts where organized religion was weaker. (70) Many Buddhist priests were forced up to platforms to be derided by the mobs, speak against their religion, and destroy religious books, scriptures, and relics. Campaigns such as the Red Guard Movement aggravated the situation, finally leading to the Cultural Revolution in 1966-1976 when Buddhism was almost demolished: not only professional priests but also ordinary believers were accused at meetings as 'monsters and demons', (71) temples and monasteries were closed down and converted to secular uses such as building factories, Buddhist texts were burnt, statues of Buddha were smashed and thrown away, and tens of thousands of monks and nuns were killed.
            Recently, the Constitution states the freedom of religion, however religious practices restricted to Government sanctioned organizations. After the Cultural Revolution, Buddhism has revived that many monasteries and temples have been rebuilt and there are a lot of followers. Although Government does not explicitly persecute it or behave anti-religiously, it still regulates the religious groups not to pose a threat against the Government and the Chinese Communist Party.

III.4 Tibet

III.4.1 838 - 842 CE
            King Trisu Detsan (815-836) was a fanatic follower of Buddhism. He gave lavish financial support and privileges to Buddhist monks, which invoked great discontent among the ministers and non-Buddhists (follower of the Bon religion). Under his reign, a Buddhist monk named Ben Chanbobeigyiyongdain was appointed the minister of religion, who infringed on the power of other ministers by interfering in political and military affairs. Some Buddhist monks became landlords with vast farmland granted by the King. He also forced households to form a group of seven households to support every single monk each, even though the households were not interested in Buddhism or followers of the Bon religion conflicting with Buddhism. Staring angrily at monks, pointing at monks in hostile manner, stealing from monks or monasteries, expressing opposition to Buddhism, or despising monks were punished by gouging eyes out, chopping hands off, fined 80 times of the property value of the stolen object, etc. (72) Such fanatic policies had some ministers kill the King.
            King Lang Dharma (838-842) then came to the throne, who was bitterly opposed to Buddhism and Tritsu Detsan's policies. Devoted to the Bon religion, he led the biggest persecution of Buddhism in Tibetan history before the Chinese Communism came in. He and other anti-Buddhist ministers removed the royal protection and political privileges that Buddhist priests had enjoyed. Temples and monasteries were ordered to be closed, including the famous Jokhang, Rampoche, and Samye Monasteries. (73) Buddhist texts and images were destroyed: the statues of Buddha Absibhya Vajra in Jokhang and Sakyamuni in Rampoche were buried underground, while others were smashed or thrown into water. All Buddhist objects in temples were destroyed and buried with mud. (74) Cultural contacts with India were all halted. Monks and nuns were defrocked, forced to leave monasteries and even ordered to either slaughter cows and sheep, or hunt in the mountains. (75) People who have refused were executed, so many monks had to flee to other places or go back to secular lives. Finally the King was killed by a monk named Lhalung Palgye Dorje, whose assassination was rather portrayed in traditional sources as 'liberation' of the religion from being wiped out and the King from creating more amounts of karma. (76)
            Buddhism virtually disappeared for 70-80 years after Lang Dharma's persecution in Central and Near Eastern Tibet, where the power of the throne had greatest influence. However, Extreme Eastern (Amdo) and Western (Ngari) Tibet were free from the persecution and sustained cultural contacts with their neighboring Buddhist civilizations, the Xixia with the Amdo and North Indian princely states with the Ngari. (77) Gusileo Kingdom and Guge Kingdom, both Buddhist kingdoms, were established in Amdo and Ngari respectively. In Central Tibet, still there were a large number of individual followers among the commoners under the local and decentralized authorities after the collapse of the Tubo Kingdom as Lang Dharma died, but monastic Buddhism as an institution revived in the mid 10th century and was able to flourish again from the late 10th - 11th century.

III.4.2 Early 1930s CE
            Ma Bufang, a Muslim general of Kuomintang, sought to bring Tibet back into the Republic of China during the KMT's pacification of Qinghai. Persecution on Tibetan Buddhism was therefore conducted as a means to control Tibet. His Muslim troops defeated the 13th Dalai Lama's Tibetan armies with the Han Chinese general Liu Wenhui. (78)

III.4.3 1950 CE - the present
            The Chinese Communists invaded Tibet and occupied the region in 1950, trying to secure its borders. They suppressed the monastic orders that had been for many centuries in Tibet; until before the 1959 upheaval of the Tibetans, more than 1.2 million Tibetans were killed, (79). In March 10, 1959, Tibetans made a revolt against the Chinese, only to fail and face an even harsher policy designed to completely eradicate Tibetan Buddhism. Temples and monasteries were looted and razed, Buddhist treasures of jewels, gold, silver, statues and holy items were took to China and sold there, scriptures were burnt, monks and nuns were imprisoned or killed. About 100,000 refugees escaped to India and other surrounding countries. (80) The Dalai Lama also had to flee to India and establish a government-in-exile there, as he and his followers were denounced to be enemies of the state. (81) During the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, the more than 6,200 monasteries in Tibet were destroyed. (82) The scholarly institutes were severely destructed that in the 1980s only few scholar monk teachers were alive, and an entire generation did not have the chance to receive Buddhist scholastic training. (83)
            In the early 1980s, the rhetoric of Cultural Revolution started to fade away from Tibet. Attempts to reestablish local monastic orders have been made, Tibetan monasteries by Tibetan exiles were reconstructed in the Indian Subcontinent since the 1960s and in the People's Republic of China since the 1980s, Lamas have received patronage from the outside world- especially the Western communities, and Buddhist practices in Tibet is tolerated unless it displayed anti-Chinese propaganda.
            Recently, since 1995, the argument for suppression of Tibetan religion and ethnic traditions for integration has gained power again. (84) In 2007, the Chinese passed a law prohibiting any reincarnation without Government permission; the act is blamed for limiting the authority of the Dalai Lama who is believed to reincarnate after death. Tibetan Buddhism is still in the confines of Chinese power.

III.5 Japan

III.5.1 Mid 16th century - mid 19th century CE
            Oda Nobunaga waged war against Buddhists who disobeyed him. In 1571, he attacked the Mt. Hiei, the home of all leading Buddhist sects. The Enryaku-ji monastery was one of the major targets, in which the anti-Nobunaga warrior monks were. Although an important monastery of Japanese Buddhism, he burnt it down, and did the same for the 3,000 monasteries in the Mountain. (85) During the extermination of the monasteries, between 3,000 and 4,000 people were killed. (86) It was a fatal blow that Buddhism was not to ever reach again the glory it had enjoyed in the 12-13th century, the Great Period of Religious Awakening. Toyotomi Hideyoshi continued Nobunaga's work in reducing the military power of Buddhist monasteries, yet less harshly than what Nobunaga had done.
            In the time of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the situation changed that Buddhism was granted privileges for their role of spying out suspected Christians. To stop the propagation of Christianity, the Danka system was introduced, which was to oblige every family to be associated with one of the Buddhist temples. They had to make donations by law, which was a great financial burden since there were 100,000 temples in the country of 30 million people; (87) calculation leads to that 300 people per temple had to give funds for operation. Such burden provoked discontent within the commoners. Modernizers also blamed Buddhism for being unproductive and draining the national economy for their tax-exempt and landowning privileges.
            Since the Tokugawa period, Buddhism had been under not only financial and political but also intellectual attack from various sectors including the Neo-Confucians, Kokugaku-school of Japanese philology and philosophy-scholars, Shintoists, and Nativists. (Toju Nakae, Kumazawa Banzan, Yamaga Soko, Ito Jinsai, Ogyu Sorai, Norinaga Motoori, and Hirata Atsutane were some leading figures of the anti-Buddhist rhetoric of the early modern age.) The anti-Buddhist quarters had two traits in common: they were 1) pro-Emperor (anti-Shogunate), and 2) anti-foreign. The Neo-Confucians were loyal to the Emperor, the Kokugaku students in the 19th century fought against the Shogunate and supported the Emperor who they believe to be the only divine being authorized to rule Japan, and the Shintoists believed that the Imperial Household descended from the Sun Goddess Amaterasu. Since Buddhism was deeply involved with the Shogunate through the Danka system, it was attacked by the pro-Emperor quarters. Although firmly embedded in the Japanese soil, Buddhism still had the impression of a foreign importation compared to indigenous Shinto; the xenophobic Neo-Confucians, Kokugaku scholars and Nativists altogether criticized this point with the religio-patriotic Shintoists. Buddhism was denounced as the 'evil heresy', and was considered something to be eliminated. (88)
            Anti-Buddhism was strongly exercised in Okayama, Mito, and Yodo Domains. In the 1660s for example, Tokugawa Mitsukuni, the Daimyo of Mito, forced a thousand temples to be closed. (89) In 1854, the bells in temples were confiscated, melted and refashioned into cannon and rifles, as many pragmatists had advised the Ministry of State.

III.5.2 1868 - 1870s CE
            Buddhism was briefly but harshly persecuted in the early Meiji period. The Government aimed at creating a united state with the divine Emperor at its center; elevating the Shinto to the level of the state religion was the means they embarked on, while lowering the authority of Buddhism. From 1868 to 1873, a number of edicts separating Shinto and Buddhism were established. For the previous centuries Shinto existed in a form absorbed to Buddhism, hidden behind it; separating the two was the way to strengthen Shinto as the true religion of the Japanese and weaken Buddhism.
            In April 1868, the Separation Edict (shinbutsu bunri) was made. The Jingijimuka was to defrock monks performing Buddhist rites at Shinto shrines. The Dijokan forbade veneration of Buddhist statues in Shinto shrines. Mixing the terminologies of two religions was prohibited, for example, the Buddhist Nichiren Sect could not refer to its deities as 'kami', the word for deities of Shinto. Buddhist statuary could not be used as an image of kami as well. (90) The Charter Oath was made in the same year, in which is written that all ancient evils shall be wiped clean, including Buddhism. (91) Department of Shinto was re-established as well. Moreover, in 1872, Order No.33 from the Ministry of State stated that: monks might eat meat, marry, cut their hair, wear commoner's clothing, or take on a family name. This was a contrary to the law of Tokugawa period, which was to punish priests who violate the Buddhist precepts; the Order No.33 was to separate the Buddhist law from public law, reducing the influence of Buddhists and their precepts over the political arena. (92) The two figures most responsible for the drafting of the edict were Kamei Koremi, lord of the Tsuwano Domain and vice-minister of the Office of Rites, and Fukuba Bisei, secretary of the Office of Rites and an instructor of the Meiji Emperor of Shinto ceremonial. (93) Both were devout Nativists who referred Buddhism as heretical and evil.
            The Separation Edict resulted in a furious anti-Buddhist movement called haibutsu kishaku, literally translated to 'abolish Buddhism and destroy Shakyamuni'. (94) The movement was indeed a fatal blow to the Buddhist institutions throughout the nation. In Satsuma, all Buddhist institutions were exterminated between 1868 and 1870. Satsuman temples had landholdings that were worth several hundred thousand ryo and made 15,000 koku of income, which were all confiscated by the Government. (95) Priests were forced to return to secular life, especially those between the age 18-45 were sent to the new conscription army and over 45 worked as teachers in schools, contributing to the labor force of domains. Temple buildings were used as places for soldiers, and metal structures in temples were converted to cannon and rifles. All large temples of the Nara city were destroyed, including the famous Kofuku-ji of which the priests were forced to become Shinto priests. The Hiyoshi Shrine at Mt. Hiei was also a well-known example of the victim of haibutsu kishaku; every statue, bell, sutra, tapestry, scroll, and article of clothing were removed and burnt, buried, thrown into river, etc. Heads of statues were used for kickball games. (96) According to some estimates, 18,000 temples disappeared between 1868 and 1874. (97)
            In fact, the Government nominally claimed that the Separation Edict did not mean to demolish Buddhism; however, looking at the people who made the Edict and the anti-Buddhist attitude prevalent among the nationalistic bureaucrats at that time, we can conclude that the Edict did intend to persecute the Buddhist faith. Even if not, it is still true that the Edict was actually used by the local authorities who were in need of some legislative means for restoring public finances at the Buddhists' expense; seizing the landholdings of temples and collecting taxes from defrocked priests.
            Although devastated, the Japanese people were still in need of Buddhism for services such as funerals, graves, and ancestral rites. (98) While the anti-Buddhist movement was evading, Buddhism was modernized: for example, Higashi Honganji sent 2 monks to England to embrace modern Western intellectual modes, the Rinzai allowed laity to take part in clerical practices, and several Buddhist organizations founded universities on the Western world. (99) With modernization, Buddhism revived and has been continually practiced until today with Shinto.

III.6 Vietnam

III.6.1 Late 14th century - 17th century CE
            Until before the 15th century, the Buddhist clergy were active in both religious and political life, regardless of whether the official favor was of Buddhism or Confucianism. (For example, although the years of Emperor Ly Nhan Tong (1072-1127) and the later years of Emperor Ly-Thai-ton (1028-1054) of the Ly Dynasty officially favored Confucianism, Buddhist clergy continued to exert power on the Confucian bureaucrats. (100)
            However, since the late 14th century when Confucianism replaced the Buddhist's State position as the court religion, pro-Confucianism became equivalent to persecuting or rigidly controlling Buddhism. During the Ming Domination in Vietnam from 1407 to 1427, classical Vietnamese culture including Vietnamese Buddhism was suppressed. Many Chinese Confucian writings such as the I-Ching were brought in, while the Vietnamese Buddhist writings were confiscated or destroyed. Although brief, many pagodas were looted and destructed in this period, including the Bao Minh. Even after independence in 1428, the Later Le Dynasty of Dai Viet continued to be Confucian and suppressed Buddhism. Previously it was Buddhism but now Confucianism that became the court religion. In 1429, Emperor Le Thai-to (1428-1433) ordered all undesirable Buddhist and Taoist monks to be ferreted and sent back to lay life. Erection of new temples without authorization was banned. (101) Although later being protectors of Buddhism, the early Trinh Lord Trinh-Tac suppressed non-Confucian religions that in 1662, all Taoist, Buddhist and Christian books were banned in Tonkin. The chance of Buddhist scholastic training was significantly reduced that most monks of the time were poorly educated. (102) The Nguyen lords also adhered to Confucianism, under whom the Buddhists and Taoists were discriminated against. Lord Gia-Long made edicts of punishment: officials whose wives or daughters go to the Buddhist or Taoist temples were to be flogged forty times, and eighty times for those who shave or wear Taoist headdress without permission. (103)

III.6.2 1955 - 1963 CE
            Buddhists in South Vietnam were discriminated by Catholics when Ngo Dinh Diem, the first President of South Vietnam and a Roman Catholic, was in office. Although Buddhists comprised 80% of the then 15 million citizens and there were only 1.5 million Catholics in the country, (104) Diem favored Catholics in the office as he believed that Catholics were more solid anti-Communists and, himself was a Catholic too. Mostly Catholics were assigned to high positions in the military and civil service that even half of the 123 members of the National Assembly were Catholic. (105) Firearms for self-defense against Vietcong guerillas were distributed only to Catholics, (106) and Catholic majority villages had priority to Buddhists when receiving public spending. They also owned vast lands which were exempt from land reform, and were also virtually exempt from the corvee labor for the Government. While Catholics were enjoying privileges granted by the Diem Government, Buddhists had to receive government permits to hold large meetings, (107) and their pagodas were looted and bombarded by the Catholic priests and their private militias. What is more, in 1959, President Diem dedicated the country to the Virgin Mary. (108)
            The conflict between Buddhists and the Government finally burst in the Buddhist Crisis in 1963, a civil resistance of Buddhists against the repressive policies. It was provoked by Decree no.10 prohibiting the display of religious flags; though Catholics used Vatican flags at the government-sponsored celebration of the Catholic Archbishop Ngo Dinh Thuc's birthday, Buddhists were forbidden to use their flags at the Vesak celebration (Buddha's birthday). As the police tore down the Buddhist flags, the monks led the people in political demonstrations and clashed with government troops. 8 people were shot and dead, (109) so mast protests at the National Assembly, Xa Loi Pagoda in Saigon, the city of Hue, etc. followed, including a nationwide 48-hours hunger strike and the self-burning of a Buddhist monk named Thich Quang Duc. However, the Government refused to take responsibility of the incident, with the backing of the U.S. Ambassador Frederick Nolting who claimed the Government actions as "objective, accurate and fair". (110) Diem banned further protests, raided various Buddhist pagodas in the major cities, and tried to arrest people who were attending the demonstrations. Finally, the army poured chemicals on the heads of protestors in Hue, injuring 67 people. (111)
            During the continued attacks, the United States' policy on Vietnam has changed, which turned to blaming Diem for the crisis. Finally, the Buddhist crisis ended with a coup by the Army of the Republic of Vietnam. President Diem was assassinated without any aid or defense from the US. After 1963, Buddhists regained their powerful political status with the establishment of an umbrella organization: the Unified Buddhist Church (UBC) in which the Theravada and Mahayana sects were unified.

III.6.3 1975 CE - the present
            The Communist regime was built in the unified Vietnam in 1975, since when highly restrictive policies on religious organizations have begun. Many Buddhist clergy were imprisoned or sent to re-education camps held by the Government. (112) In 1981, the UBC was officially banned from operation, and nearly all of the Church's senior leaders came under detention or house arrest after 1995. Several monks such as Thich Huyen Quang had protests against the Church's dissolution, only to be ignored by the government which arrested perceived supporters of them. (113) Although in the late 1980s and early 1990s the government showed a relaxation in its religious intolerance, the repression of Buddhism and other religions altogether is still continued and blamed by human rights organizations. Although Vietnam's 1992 Constitution states the "freedom to believe or not to believe in a religious faith" in Article 70, (114) the right is not properly guaranteed.

IV. Analysis

IV.1 Types of persecution by purpose
            The purposes of persecutions mentioned in this paper could be divided into 5 groups, as follows:
            1) Non-Buddhist: A non-Buddhist religion or religions persecuting Buddhism more for pure religious desires than seeking for political gains.
            2) Anti-Religious: Buddhism and all other religions altogether persecuted by anti-religious forces, e.g. Communist regime.
            3) Secular-Political: Political persecution primarily on 'people who are, in chance, Buddhist' and the political force where they belong to, not on 'Buddhism' itself. The fact that the persecuted is Buddhist is just a secondary reference fact for persecutors. In other words, the main cause of a political situation that the persecutor wants to fight off is not solely and directly caused by the Buddhist faith.
            4) Religious-Political: The main purpose of persecution of this type is political, but the reason for such political persecution is rooted from religious elements. For example, in China, Buddhism was denounced for causing social disorder, so persecution on it was to re-establish the (Confucian) social discipline that was allegedly destroyed by the Buddhist doctrines that renounce secular social relations, etc. In other words, unlike type 3, political actions would not be made unless the targets are Buddhists, because the Buddhist faith is the sole cause of the political situation that the persecutors want to correct.
            5) Financial: Financial gains in the process of persecution were aimed at.

IV.1.1 India
            Type (1): Pusyamitra Sunga, Simhavarma, Naravama, Toramana, Miharakula, Sasanka, Kalasa Kshemagupta, Harsha, and the Chalukyans were Hindus in power. Kumarila Bhatta and Shankaracharya were also Hindu intellectuals who represented the anti-Buddhism propaganda by the Brahmins. Muhammad bin Qasim, Mahmud of Ghazni, Muhammad Ghuri, and Bakhtiyar Khalji were Muslims in power. Brahmin revivalists seeked protection from the Muslims at the Buddhists' expense. The Delhi Sultanate, the Mughal Empire before Akbar the Great, and Aurangzeb of the post-Akbar the Great-Mughal Empire were again Muslims persecuting Buddhism. All prosecutions that took place within the present Indian territories belong to type (1): those were either Hinduism versus Buddhism or Islam versus Buddhism.

IV.1.2 Sri Lanka
            Type (1): The Tamil chiefs including Sena and Guttika, the Tamil soldiers, Kalinga Magha, and Rajainha I were Hindus in power. The Portuguese and Dutch were also type (1) as their main goal was to convert followers of non-Christian religions to respectively Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. They also intended to take a leading role in the spice trade for the European market, so their targets of domination were strategic points for trades; they did not intended to do the whole territorial conquest, (115), so their actions were rather type (1) than (3) or (4).
            Types (1) and (4): Different from the Portuguese and Dutch were the British, as they were colonists who intended the actually rule the Sri Lankan territory. Of course they were interested in propagation of Christianity, so their actions are type (1), but not limited to; the reasons for making converts were not only to disseminate the religion, but also to make locals to assimilate to Western ideas and feel eager to support their colonial policies. However, this is not type (3) but (4) as the locals persecuted were persecuted not just because they were people of the colony, but because they were not Christians. Therefore, persecutions done by the British were both (1) and (4).
            Type (5): Aggabodhi III, Daathopatissa I, and Sri Vikrama Rajasinha appropriated the wealth of Buddhist monasteries for financial purposes, e.g., to finance the military. Their actions were merely robbing the monasteries; they did not kill or maltreated Buddhists since it must had been purposeless to implement such additional violence, as there was no financial gain that could be earned through it.

IV.1.3 China
            Type (1): Blame on Buddhism made by the Taoist scholar Gu-Huan, the Taoist Emperor Chia-ching of the Ming Dynasty, Roman Catholic missionaries and Mohammedans in the later Ming period, and the KMT Muslim general Bai Chongxi were type (1). Persecutions led by Neo-Confucians in the Sung Dynasty and Emperor Hui Tusng were also (1) that aimed to keep the Orthodox uninvaded by other religions.
            Type (2): KMT general Huang Shaoxing led an anti-religious movement, therefore definitely falls under this group.
            Type (3): The persecution on the conspiracy against the king that took place in the year of 458 is in this group, because they are persecuted for their anti-king plots and not for their Buddhist faith.
            Type (4): Emperor Taiwu persecuted Buddhism as he viewed Buddhists causing social disorder because of its doctrines not paying order to social relationships and discipline. Such was a popular accusation on Buddhists by the Confucians.
            Type (5): Emperor Shizong's persecution was aimed at earning copper. The curbs made in the mid 15th century also targeted the accumulated wealth of Buddhist monasteries, especially the land they owned.
            Types (1) and (4): Emperor Kangxi had repugnance to all religions other than Confucianism, and accused Buddhists of disturbing the society.
            Types (2) and (3): The Chinese Communist Party started its persecution on Buddhists for its anti-religious ideology, so type (2), but nowadays it has been closer to (3) as it tolerates religions unless they pose a political threat to the Party.
            Types (4) and (5): Memorials of Fu-Yi and Han-Yu were type (4) as they blamed Buddhists to be 'barbarians' that caused social disorder, and also type (5) as they accused Buddhists to have accumulated huge wealth. Types (1), (3), and (5): The Great Persecution by Emperor Wuzong: he was a Taoist, iconoclast, and had to show that Confucianism is superior than Buddhism; he persecuted not only Buddhist but also other non-indigenous religions because he tried to drive out foreign influences from his country; he also tried to settle the bankruptcy by looting monasteries.
            Types (1), (4), and (5): The Taoist Tang Emperor Kao-tsu blamed Buddhism for being barbaric, and forced the monks to give birth to children and pay taxes.
            Types (3), (4), and (5): Emperor Wu blamed Buddhists of their renunciation on ordinary life, believed that Buddhists were on a political position too powerful, and tried to take back the wealth of Buddhists.

IV.1.4 Tibet
            Type (1): The KMT Muslim general Ma Bufang.
            Types (1) and (3): Persecution by King Lang Dharma, as he was a devout follower of the Bon Religion, and his hatred toward Trisu Detsan made him persecute Buddhism because Trisu Detsan had supported it.
            Types (2) and (3): Communism is basically anti-religious. Plus, Tibetans are greatly persecuted for their Buddhist faith, but for their anti-Chinese propaganda for independence.

IV.1.5 Japan
            Type (3): Oda Nobunaga curbed the warriors who were politically antagonistic to him.
            Type (1), (4) and (5): Attacks on Buddhism in the Tokugawa and early Meiji period. Shinto made an attempt to dominate over Buddhism and become the state religion, so (1); Buddhism was blamed by nationalists as it was a foreign religion and its doctrines were less pro-Emperor than the Shintoist ones, so (4); collecting taxes and confiscating landholdings were also important reasons for defrocking Buddhist priests, so (5).

IV.1.6 Vietnam
            Type (1): The Confucian rulers of Le Dynasty such as Le Thai-to, Trinh-Tac and Gia-Long persecuted non-Confucian religions.
            Type (2): The Communist regime started its persecution on followers of religions for its anti-religious ideologies.
            Type (3): During the Ming Domination, things those were not Chinese were suppressed, Vietnamese Buddhism among those.
            Types (1) and (3): The Diem Government had pro-Catholic policies because the President himself was a Catholic, and he believed that Catholics could be more anti-Communist.

IV.2 Distinctions between places researched: Finding the pattern

IV.2.1 Amalgamation
            As listed in IV.1, type (1) persecutions dominated in India and Sri Lanka. Constant influx of systematic non-Buddhist religions- Hinduism(Shaivism and Vaishnavism), Islam, and Christianity(Roman Catholic, Protestantism, Methodism, Church of England, etc.) - that were able to practically gain political power over the Buddhist locals definitely was the cause. As a matter of fact, also in Tibet, the only type (1) persecution of significant progress took place in the 7th century (the one led by King Lang Dharma); it was the time when the Bon Tradition could have competed with the newly introduced Buddhism, and as the Bon lost power and no other powerful non-Buddhist religion had existed in the region, afterwards there has been no trace of any significant type (1) persecution.
            However looking at the details of the history of Buddhism, we can easily figure out that the introduction of various religions to a country does not necessarily indicate a high level of type (1) persecution, but why ? : I now argue that the amalgamation of the existing different religions could be an answer.
            In India, we can find out one supporting example. As mentioned in III.1.3, although Hinduism had greatly developed in the Gupta Empire, Buddhism was still popular and even patronized by the Hindu rulers and wealthy laymen in the Ganges Plain. This was because they regarded Buddha as one of the ten avatars of Vishnu, which was a trend started since the 4th century CE. However, before the amalgamation could firmly take root and be broadly spread, the Shaivite Hephthalites invaded and started the era of persecution of the Buddhist faith by the Hindus. Since then, Buddhists were clearly denounced in many Brahminical texts as mentioned in III.1.4, much diminishing the possibility of the two religions be mingled together. Persecutions of Buddhism by Islam were also frequent in India, while in Sri Lanka Christianity had that position. Since Islam and Christianity are monotheistic and have doctrines that are very different from Buddhism, the two religions must have had no point to be mingled with Buddhism, and definitely have faced the need to persecute Buddhism.
            Vietnam also shows the correlation between religious amalgamation and the absence of overt persecution. In Vietnam, Buddhism was mixed with Taoism and native animistic beliefs since around the 11th century. Some monks were engaged in the study of Taoist magic and animistic sorcery, some were interested in the elixir of immortality (which is a Taoist idea), and some were reported to have had famed with their supernatural powers. (116) The spirits and deities of two religions were in flexible format as well. (117) The introduction of Lamaism from Tibet added to this syncretism. This phenomenon must have satisfied the formalistic and spiritual demands of the Vietnamese people, for its various ideas practiced altogether in a unified ritual; Taoism did not have conflict with Buddhism. During and after the persecution led by Confucianism between late 14th century and 17th century, Buddhism fused with Confucianism and Taoism, partially to avoid further suppression. (118) Finally Vietnamese Buddhism became a common folk religion, absorbing many beliefs and rites.
            The Separation Edict (shinbutsu bunri) made in the Meiji period in Japan clearly substantiates my point. With its details written in III.6.2, the Edict's purpose was to clearly separate Shinto from Buddhism to which it had been amalgamated, so that the Japanese citizens could recognize Shinto as an independent religion from Buddhism, and finally understand and sympathize with the anti-Buddhist points that the Shintoist elites had made. Actually, Buddhism nowadays is popular in its form again mixed with Shinto, with the vast majority of Japanese people who take part in Shinto rituals also practicing Buddhist ancestor worship.
            China in the times of Emperor Hui Tsung of Sung Dynasty has a similar case to the Japanese Separation Edict. As mentioned in III.4.6, after a considerable period of practicing Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism in a mixed form, the Emperor restarted the period of Confucianism occupying the position of the Orthodox religion and discriminating against non-Confucian beliefs, Buddhism among those, by ordering a distinct separation of Confucianism from other beliefs.
            It is true that the amalgamation of Buddhism with other religions could have contributed to the weakening of Buddhism, especially in India and in China of the Ming (when Buddhism was largely fused with Taoism and the powerful Confucianism); still it did work in some periods and regions to keep the religion from being overtly and harshly persecuted (and probably also from going to a permanent decline or extinction).

IV.2.2 In China and Japan : Why most secular ?
            One more thing that catches our eyes is that in China and Japan, purely religious types of persecution (type (1) and (2)) were uncommon; most of the persecutions were combined with secular purposes.
            In China, such is because Confucianism was the main force of persecuting Buddhism. Its main grounds of denouncing the Buddhist faith was that its doctrines disrupted the social order (which Confucians put great and probably the biggest importance on), as mentioned in III.4.1. For notice, Confucianism is not just a religion but also political philosophy interested in operating the society.
            Unlike other nations such as India, Sri Lanka or Vietnam where politics were determined by religions in most cases, i.e., different religions existed first and then the persecution was carried out as a result of religious disparity, in the Tokugawa and Meiji periods, political needs determined the fate of religions. It was the time of nationalism, which triggered the need of a nationalistic and anti-foreign movement, the rise of Shinto- Japanese indigenous religion (that had been previously hidden under Buddhism for a long time)- and the oppression of a less nationalistic and non-Shinto religion, which was Buddhism.

V. Conclusion
            Although now Buddhist and with a long history of Buddhist domination, not all Buddhist countries were free from persecutions led by non-Buddhist forces.
            In this paper, we figured out one possible element that explains the disparity of the frequency of persecutions with rather 'religious' intentions (type (1)): whether Buddhism was amalgamated with other religions that were potential persecutors, or not.
            Moreover, it is also not true that all persecutions on Buddhism had 'religious' purposes; as noted in IV.1, a great number of suppressions had secular purposes as well. IV.2.2 shows that especially in China and Japan, a great majority of persecutions on Buddhism had political and financial intentions than based on sheer religious ardor. Looking at these points, we can confirm the well-known fact that religious histories are deeply correlated with political histories.

Notes
           
(1) Berzin 2007
(2) Chandra 2008
(3) Article: History of Buddhism from Wikipedia
(4) Baura 1930
(5) Article: Decline of Buddhism in India from Wikipedia
(6) Article: Hun from Britannica Online Encyclopedia
(7) Somers 1977, p.63
(8) Eliot 2007, p.80
(9) All World Religion : Adi Shankara was the Real Founder of Hinduism in the 8th century
(10) Sadasivan 2000, p.206
(11) Hsuan-Tsang
(12) Ambedkar
(13) Ingalls 1954
(14) ibid.
(15) Harvey 1990, p.140
(16) Wink 2004
(17) Article: Hinduism from Britannica Online Encyclopedia
(18) Sadasivan 2000, p.209
(19) Elverskog 2010, p.131
(20) ibid.
(21) Article: Ikhtiyar Uddin Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khilji from Wikipedia
(22) Arnold 1896, pp. 227-228
(23) Nafziger and Walton 2003, p.226
(24) Sadasivan 2000, p.210
(25) ibid.
(26) ibid., p.326
(27) Wink 2004, p.334
(28) Article: Decline of Buddhism in India from Wikipedia
(29) Rawee 2008
(30) Perera 2007
(31) ibid.
(32) Manjushri Buddhist Community : Sri Lankan Buddhism
(33) Article: Kalinga Magha from Wikipedia
(34) Lee 2010, p.39
(35) Bond 1992, p.19
(36) ibid., p.21
(37) Perera 2007
(38) Bond 1992, p.20
(39) Perera 2007
(40) Bond 1992, p.20
(41) Lee 2010, p.63
(42) Yang 1970, p.199
(43) Oort 1986, p.4
(44) Edkins 1968, p.83
(45) Yang 1970, p.199
(46) Edkins 1968, p.85
(47) Chen 2007, p.23
(48) Oort 1986, p.4
(49) Article: Four Buddhist Persecutions in China from Wikipedia
(50) Chen 2007, p.23
(51) Shih 1953
(52) ibid.
(53) ibid.
(54) Article: The Great Anti-Buddhist Persecution from Wikipedia
(55) Shih 1953
(56) ibid.
(57) Article: Four Buddhist Persecutions in China from Wikipedia
(58) ibid.
(59) Yang 1970, p.192
(60) Beck
(61) Yang 1970, p.197
(62) History of Chinese Buddhism, from Hindu Website
(63) Fairbank 1998, p.928
(64) Association for Asian Studies, Ming Biographical History Project Committee, Goodrich, and Fang, p.321
(65) History of Chinese Buddhism, from Hindu Website
(66) ibid.

(67) Article: Persecution of Buddhists from Wikipedia
(68) Hutchings 2003, p.358
(69) Hawkins 1999, p.93
(70) Yang 1970, p.392
(71) Boyle and Sheen 1997, p.180
(72) Gazangjia 2003, p.55
(73) ibid., p.57
(74) ibid.
(75) ibid.
(76) Powers 2007, p.154
(77) Norbu 2001, p.41
(78) Article: Ma Bufang from Wikipedia
(79) Wangu and Palmer 2009, p.130
(80) Woodhead, Kawanam, and Fletcher 2004, p.66
(81) Rainey
(82) Wangu and Palmer 2009, p.130
(83) Woodhead, Kawanam, and Fletcher 2004, p.68
(84) ibid. p.66
(85) Reischauer 2004, p.137
(86) Article: Oda Nobunaga from Wikipedia
(87) Article: Shinbutsu Bunri from Wikipedia
(88) Snodgrass 2003, p.117
(89) Article: Shinbutsu Bunri from Wikipedia
(90) Ketelaar 1993
(91) Kitagawa 1987, p.78
(92) Ketelaar 1993 p.6
(93) ibid., p.8
(94) Article: Haibutsu Kishaku from Wikipedia
(95) Article: Shinbutsu Bunri from Wikipedia
(96) Ketelaar 1993 p.9
(97) Kitagawa 1987
(98) Article: Shinbutsu Bunri from Wikipedia
(99) Graham 2007, p.178
(100) US Department of Navy 1967, p.36
(101) ibid., p.110
(102) ibid., p.39
(103) ibid., p.41
(104) Time Magazine June 14 1963
(105) Article: Persecution of Buddhists from Wikipedia
(106) Article: Buddhist Crisis from Wikipedia
(107) Article: Persecution of Buddhists from Wikipedia
(108) Jacobs 2006, p.91
(109) ibid., p.143
(110) ibid., pp.142-143
(111) Article: Hue Chemical Attacks from Wikipedia
(112) Boobbyer, Spooner, and O'Tailan 2008, p.234
(113) Human Rights Watch 1995
(114) Vietnam Constitution of 1992
(115) De Fonseca - a Family on the Web
(116) ibid., p.37
(117) ibid.
(118) ibid., p.39


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Sri Lanka
42. Bond, George D., The Buddhist Revival in Sri Lanka, Motilal Banarsidass Publication, 1992
43. Lee, T.Y., Island of Light, 2010, on Web. http://www.scribd.com/doc/51357639/8/buddhism-and-the-dutch
44. Lyons, Elizabeth, Heather Peters, and Ch'eng-mei Chang, Buddhism: History and Diversity of a Great Tradition, UPenn Museum of Archaeology, 1985.
45. Harris, Elizabeth June, Theravada Buddhism and the British Encounter, Taylor & Francis, 2006.
46. Perera, H.R., "Buddhism in Sri Lanka: A Short History", Buddhist Publication Society, June 2007. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/perera/wheel100.html
47. 48. Manjushri Buddhist Community, "Sri Lankan Buddhism", http://www.manjushri.com/teachings/lanka2.html
49. "Buddhism in Sri Lanka", posted on BuddhaNet, http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/lanka-txt.htm
50. Rawee, "What is not said of Elara - Dutugamunu War", Sri Lanka Guardian, February 17 2008 http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2008/02/what-is-not-said-of-elara-dutugamunu.html
51. Devananda, "The Tamil Buddhists of the Past and the Future", http://www.articlesbase.com/culture-articles/the-tamil-buddhists-of-the-past-and-the-future-3402500.html
52. "Dynasties, Kings, and Queens of Sri Lanka", http://resources.triratna.info/Sri-Lanka-Dynasties.html
53. Article "Kalinga Magha", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalinga_Magha
54. Article : "Elara (monarch)", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elara_(monarch)
55. Article : "Dutthagamani of Sri Lanka", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutthagamani
56. Article : "Sri Lankan Tamil People", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamil_Sri_Lanka

China
57. Chen, Huaiyu, The Revival of Buddhist Monasticism in Medieval China, Peter Lang, 2007.
59. Oort, Henri Albert van, Iconography of Religions, Brill, 1986.
60. Hodus, Lewis, Buddhism and Buddhists in China, NuVision Publications, LLC., 2006.
61. Buswell, Robert E., Chinese Buddhist Apocrypha, University of Hawaii Press, 1990
62. Hutchings, Graham, Modern China: A Guide to a Century of Change, Harvard University Press, 2003.
63. Pratt, James Bissett, The Pilgrimage of Buddhism and a Buddhist Pilgrimage, Asian Educational Services, 1996.
64. Yang, C.K., Religion in Chinese Society, University of California Press, 1970.
65. Boyle, Kevin and Juliet Sheen, Freedom of Religion and Belief, Routledge, 1997.
66. Dumoulin, Heinrich, James W. Heisig, and Paul F. Knitter, Zen Buddhism: A History: India and China, World Wisdom Inc., 2005.
67. Edkins, Joseph, Chinese Buddhism, Forgotten Books, 1968.
68. Hawkins, Bradley K., Buddhism, Routledge, 1999.
69. Fairbank, John King and Denis Crispin Twitchett, The Cambridge History of China, Cambridge University Press, 1998.
70. Association for Asian Studies, Ming Biographical History Project Committee, Luther Carrington Goodrich, and Zhaoying Fang, Dictionary of Ming Biography: 1368-1644, Columbia University Press, 1976.
71. Article : "Four Buddhist Persecutions in China", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Four_Buddhist_Persecutions_in_China
72. Article : "Persecution of Buddhists", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Buddhists
73. Article : "Great Anti-Buddhism Persecution", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Anti-Buddhist_Persecution
74. Rainey, Todd, "Buddhism and Islam in China", http://www.suite101.com/content/buddhism-and-islam-in-china-a113092
75. Shih, Hu, "Ch'an Buddhism in China: Its History and Method", Philosophy East and West, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp.3-24, University of Hawaii Press, January 1953. On Web. http://www.thezensite.com/ZenEssays/HistoricalZen/Chan_in_China.html
76. Sanderson Beck, "China 7 BC To 1279", http://www.san.beck.org/AB3-China.html#5
77. "The Spread of Buddhism Among the Chinese", posted on BuddhaNet, http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/china-txt.htm
78. Sketch of the History of Buddhism in China", posted on HinduWebsite, http://www.hinduwebsite.com/buddhism/history/historychinesebuddhism.asp

Tibet
79. Wangu, Madhu Bazaz and Martin Palmer, Buddhism, Infobase Publishing, 2009.
80. Powers, John, Introduction to Tibetan Buddhism, Snow Lion Publications, 2007.
81. Woodhead, Linda, Kawanam, and Fletcher, Religions in the Modern World, Routledge, 2004.
82. Gazangjia, Tibetan Religions, , 2003.
83. Murthy, K. Krishna, Buddhism in Tibet, Sundeep Prakashan, 1989
84. Thondup, Buddhist Civilization in Tibet, Taylor & Francis, 1987
85. Norbu, Dawa, China's Tibet Policy, Routledge, 2001
86. Article: "Ma Bufang", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Bufang
87. "Buddhism and Marxism", http://kwelos.tripod.com/marxism.htm

Japan
88. Kitagawa, Joseph Mitsuo, On Understanding Japanese Religion, Princeton University Press, 1987.
90. Snodgrass, Judith, Presenting Japanese Buddhism to the West, UNC Press Books, 2003.
91. Graham, Patricia Jane, Faith and Power in Japanese Buddhist Art, 1600-2005, University of Hawaii Press, 2007.
92. Reischauer, August Karl, Studies in Japanese Buddhism, Kessinger Publishing, 2004.
93. Covell, Stephen Grover, Japanese Temple Buddhism, University of Hawaii Press, 2005.
94. Ketelaar, James Edward, Of Heretics and Martyrs in Meiji Japan, Princeton University Press, 1993.
95. Article : "Shinbutsui Bunri", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinbutsu_bunri
96. Article : "Haibutsu Kishaku", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haibutsu_kishaku
97. Article : "Oda Nobunaga", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oda_Nobunaga

Vietnam
98. Clarke, Peter Bernard, New Religions in Global Perspective, Routledge, 2006.
99. Cantwell, Cathy, Buddhism: The Basics, Taylor & Francis, 2009.
100. Boobbyer, Claire, Andrew Spooner, and Jock O'Tailan, Vietnam, Cambodia & Laos, Footprint Travel Guides, 2008
101. Bailey, Lee Worth and Emily Taitz, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006.
102. US Department of Navy, The Religions of South Vietnam in Faith and Fact. 1967 On Web. http://books.google.co.kr/books?id=GrXJ1GPbiB4C&dq=vietnam+buddhism+persecution&source=gbs_navlinks_s
103. Queen, Christopher S., Engaged Buddhism in the West, Wisdom Publications, 2000.
104. Jacobs, Seth, Cold War Mandarin: Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America's War in Vietnam, 1950-1963, Rowman & Littlefield, 2006.
105. Article : "Buddhist Crisis", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_crisis
106. Article : "Hue Phat Dan Shootings", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hue_Vesak_shootings
107. Article : "Hue Chemical Attacks", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hue_chemical_attacks
108. Article : "Xa Loi Pagoda Raids", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xa_Loi_Pagoda_raids
109. Article : "Le Dynasty", from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%AA_Dynasty
110. History of Vietnam and the Advent of Communism, http://hubpages.com/hub/History-of-Vietnam-and-the-Advent-of-Communism
111. A Vietnamese Persecution of Vietnamese Buddhism, http://www.tunh.com/a698851-a-vietnamese-persecution-of-vietnamese-buddhism.cfm
112. Human Rights Watch, Vietnam: The Suppression of the Unified Buddhist Church, March 1995. On Web. http://www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/1995/Vietnam.htm
113. "Sri Lanka History - The Portuguese Period", from De Fonseca, a Family on the Web, http://www.defonseka.com/k08.htm

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