>BD2412 at 20:51, 18 April 2021

2021-04-18T20:51:19Z

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[[Image:Mahaparinirvana.jpg|thumb|300px|Buddha attaining Parinirvana (Final Nirvana, also passing away). Image excavated at the place where Buddha attained Parinirvana; at the Mahaparinirvana Temple in India]]
The only two majority-Buddhist nations in [[South Asia]] are [[Sri Lanka]] and [[Bhutan]]. [[Buddhists]] are also found in [[Nepal]], [[India]] (especially in [[Maharashtra]], [[Ladakh]] and [[Sikkim]]) and [[Bangladesh]] in small minorities. Lord Buddha (Prince Siddhartha Gautam) was born in Lumbini, Nepal.

[[Bhutan]] has the highest Buddhist percentage among the countries of South Asia. Though the exact percentage is uncertain, it is over 75%.<ref>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71439.htm state.gov]</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kingdomofbhutan.com/ |title=kingdomofbhutan.com |access-date=2008-03-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130113012943/http://www.kingdomofbhutan.com/ |archive-date=2013-01-13 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Sri Lanka is 70% Buddhist, where it is the unofficial state religion.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/sri-lanka/ CIA - The World Factbook - Sri Lanka]</ref> [[Buddhism]] is also the most important minority religion in [[Nepal]] (11% of Nepal's population<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5283.htm state.gov], [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/nepal/ The CIA World Factbook]</ref>). India has a Buddhist population of 0.8%, where has been growing rapidly in recent years, due to the conversion of [[Hindu]] [[dalit]]s,<ref>[http://www.censusindia.gov.in/Census_Data_2001/India_at_glance/religion.aspx Census of India - India at a Glance : Religious Compositions]</ref> while [[Theravada Buddhism]] is the third largest religion in [[Bangladesh]] with about 0.7% of the total population being Buddhist.<ref>[http://www.banbeis.gov.bd/bd_pro.htm BANGLADESH: COUNTRY PROFILE] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110706132048/http://www.banbeis.gov.bd/bd_pro.htm |date=2011-07-06 }}</ref><ref>[https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90226.htm Bangladesh]</ref>

The cradle of the [[Indus Valley civilization|Indian civilization]] was in the area of the [[Indus River]] Valley and the Punjab. The earliest members of the [[Indus Valley civilization]] occupied a considerable area of the northwest sometime between 3000 and 1800 B.C. Not much is known about the religious ideas and practices of these people. The civilization was in decline when Indo-Aryan tribes invaded by crossing high mountain passes in the far northwest and settling in the regions nearby [[Punjab region|Punjab]] between 1800 and 1500 B.C. The religion of the Indo-Aryans was a regional variant of Indo-European practices, called either Vedism or Brahmanism. Unlike the peaceful agrarians of the Indus Valley, these people were rough cattle herders. As they acquired political and military power, their religion became classical Hinduism. While it is doubtful whether the office of priest (Brahmana) was hereditary among the early Indo-Aryans, by the time the Buddha taught, only members of the [[Brahmin]] caste ([[Varna (Hinduism)|varna]]) could become priests. It was considered a personal honor to worship. Buddhism later branched off from that same stock, which grew and flourished on the religiously diverse plains of the [[Indus River|Indus]] and [[Ganges]].

==See also==

* [[Buddhism by country]]
* [[Decline of Buddhism in India]]
* [[Index of Buddhism-related articles]]

==References==
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{{Asia in topic|Buddhism in}}
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[[Category:Buddhism in South Asia| ]]
[[Category:Buddhism in Asia by region|South Asia]]

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Buddhism in South Asia - Revision history

>BD2412 at 20:51, 18 April 2021