BUDDHISM IN SRIVIJAYA
influenced the arts, culture of srivijaya
- grew quickly in 7th century
1. Buddhism in srivijaya was so prevalent and strong that Buddhist monks from other countries came to Srivijaya to learn Buddhism
".... many of kings and rulers in the islands of southern seas adore and believed in lord Buddha, in their hearts has flourished (the seeds of) good deeds. Within the walls of Srivijaya capital city lived 1000 buddhist monks, they have studied diligently and performed (the noble teachings) very well.... If a Chinese monk wished to travel to India and seeks the (Buddha's) teachings, it will be better for them to stay here first for a year or two, to deepening their knowledge before continued their study to India.".
— Description of Srivijaya according to I-tsing.
these theories of Buddhism could have been spread to Srivijaya by the theory of Vaishyas. I think that buddhism became so widespread in Srivijaya due to their many interactions with buddhist people. Interactions could have spread the culture.
(photo of I-tsing, a chinese monk)
2. Buddhist themes had indigenous traditions which provided a common set of ideas for the people of the Srivijaya empire
It provided a common set of mind for the people and this could have brought them closer together.
3. Srivijayan rulers used some profits to build Buddhist temples to spread buddhism across the empire.
this could be to place importance over having a common set of mind for all people. An example of this is completing the building of Borobudur, Muaro Jambi, Muara Takus and Biaro Bahal
(this is the image of a ship on Borobudur bas relief this could show that shipping was of great importance to srivijaya which could be because of their trade. This would further strengthen the theory of vasishyas)
By 10th -11th century, empire was building temples all over its territory on request of their maharaja. For example, the building of Muara Takus. Muara Takus is one of the largest and most well-preserved ancient temple in Sumatra. Its architecture and design indicates that they are of Mahayana Buddhist origin. There are some evidence which suggest that Temples at Muara Takus underwent major renovations in 12th century. It shows us that Buddhism existed before the 12th century.
(photo of Muara Takus retrieved from here)
4. the art of Srivijaya was greatly influenced by Indian art.
The first example of this is the bronze Maitreya statue. It depicts Maitreya, which is believed to be a bodhissattva who is in Buddhist transition on Earth to achieve enlightenment and to teach pure dharma. This shows that buddhism is prevalent in the Srivijaya empire and this could have been spread through Indianisation.
(picture from here)
(picture from here)
Another example is the Buddha Seguntang Palembang. It is a statue of Buddha in Amaravati style, which is 277cm tall made from granite stone. Amaravati style flourished in Southern India around 2-5th century and this style was copied during Srivijaya era to build many statues. This is an example of it. This shows that India did influence how art in Srivijaya as we can see that they the style was adapted.
5. Indianisation caused syncretism in the Srivijayan times.
People believed in both buddhism and indigenous worship of water realm and the cognition of importance of maritime trade maintained. Their indigenous worship of water realm was carried out at the harbour of Palembang, where ruler would throw a gold bar in every day to show repay its debts for the water which gave the empire wealth through trade on sea. There was a mix of these both religions for the people of the Srivijauan times.
Therefore, from this, we can see that Indianisation did leave an impact on the society of Srivijaya. Firstly, with Indianisation, there was a spread of Buddhism throughout the empire. With this came many monks who were interested in the Buddhism in Srivijaya. The arrival of monks could have caused an even bigger spread of Buddhism throughout the empire.
Buddhist themes provided people with a common set of mind and this could have brought them closer together. There was an adoption of style due to indianisation and this could be seen from the copying of the Amaravati style to build the statue of the buddha.
Despite the spread of buddhism, the people still retained their worship for the sea and the prospects the sea provided them with. Therefore, with buddhism came syncretism as there was a mix of buddhism and worship for the sea for the people.
