The Fall of Buddhism in India

 

The decline and demise of Buddhism in India is, as with many other social-cultural phenomena, a complex subject-matter and in all likelihood, numerous social, political, economic and other factors came into play for it. The decline of Indian Buddhism began as early as about the 5th and the 8th centuries (if we believe the reports written by ancient Chinese monks and scholars who traveled to India), and one noteworthy thing about the process is that it went in parallel with the rise and dominance of Tantric Buddhism within Indian Buddhist circles (refer to this and this for some introductory info of Tantric Buddhism).

 

Then, what kind of Buddhism was it anyway? It has many distinctive features, most of which are in stark contrast with the traditional, mainstream Buddhism as we know it (in fact, to the point of virtually being antithetical to the conventional, mainstream Buddhism). And one feature of it you can never fail to notice is its outright, blatant feminization, sexual liberation and vagina worship. The following are quotes from Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition by Paul Williams (Routledge, 2000) and you will get some idea what I mean by feminization, sexual liberation and vagina worship of Tantric Buddhism which appeared in the last stage of the fall of Indian Buddhism.

 

Sexual liberation and vagina worship in Indian Tantric Buddhism

 

From approximately the beginning of the eighth century, tantric techniques and approaches increasingly dominated Buddhist practice in India. (...) In the later phases of tantric Buddhism female deities become increasingly prominent, either at the centre of the mandala as sole principal deity, or as the (wild and dancing) attendants of the central figure or figures. In scriptures women are given high status, and regarded as the embodiment and source of wisdom. In the milieu of tantric practice there is evidence that women functioned both as practitioners and teachers.

Of the passions, it is sexual craving and pleasure that tend to be placed in the foreground, sexual bliss being homologised with the great bliss of awakening. In a general discussion of tantric religion, André Padoux (1987:273) cites the French Indologist Madeleine Biardeau’s summary of tantric doctrine as ‘an attempt to place kama, desire, in every meaning of the word, in the service of liberation’.

The sexual elements in initiation rituals and post-initiatory practice were not the only aspects of the Vajrayana that had the potential to shock. The existence of a transgressive dimension as a feature of tantric Buddhism has been noted, as has the use of impure or forbidden substances as a characteristic of Mahayoga tantras.

 

Consumption of impure substances is also emphasised in descriptions of individual post-initiatory observance. As a part of yogic practice with his female partner, the practitioner is enjoined (among other things) to ‘drink her mouth-wash and wash-water of her Lotus’, and to ‘wash his mouth with the wash-water of her anus’

The introduction to this chapter suggested that the high status and crucial roles given to women and to female deities could be counted as one of tantric Buddhism’s distinctive features.

 

There is no question as to the high status accorded to female figures in the Yogini texts

Women are heaven, women are the teaching (dharma)

Women indeed are the highest austerity (tapas)

Women are the Buddha, women are the Sangha

Women are the Perfection of Wisdom. (Candamaharosana Tantra viii:29–30)

 

This same text warns (in Chapter 6) that those who slander women will be tortured in hell for three aeons. Rather, women should be honoured and respected as embodiments of female deities.

 

Conclusion

 

So what does all of these vagina worship in Indian Tantric Buddhism mean? What is the lesson?

It does not necessarily mean that the vagina worship cited above was one of the direct causes of the demise of Indian Buddhism, as correlation does not imply causation. However, it indicates that vagina worship and overly feminization is possibly a symptom of deep rooted problem and corruption, to say the least. Thus when you see it, be in Buddhism or somewhere else like modern western world, you have to suspect something seriously wrong is going on.

 

Trivia: One thing Modern Korean Buddhism is doing right.

 

Korean Buddhism, as an organized religion, suffers from all the same problems, more or less, all the other organized religions have. But there is one thing it is doing very right. It suppresses toxic femininity. Here is a testimony American Buddhist nun who was trained and ordained in Korean Buddhism.

(Youtube vod 1:49:20 - Korea In Depth: Inside the Gate: An American Nun's Training Within Korean Buddhism )

(In Korean Buddhism) when men are ordained they do not lose masculinity, socially. They are still recognized as men, societally. When women are ordained, we lose our femininity. And we become a kind of neuter. And this brings in some other powers because you are no longer in feminine paradigm, female paradigm, but then you also lose the power women do have.