Buddhism in Southeast Asia

- by Wes Kawato

Pagodas, pagodas everywhere! That's what a visitor sees while traveling in just about any country of Southeast Asia. A pagoda is a place of worship to Buddha. Buddhism has influenced Southeast Asia to the same degree that Christianity has influenced Europe and North America. Christians serious about reaching this part of the world with the message of salvation need to understand the impact Buddhism has had on Southeast Asia.

A Brief History of Buddhism
It wasn't always like this. At one time most of the people groups of Southeast Asia were Hindus, worshipping thousands of gods. Buddhism began in northern India, when an Indian prince named Siddharta Gautama went on a search for spiritual meaning. While meditating, Gautama discovered that for him the key to happiness was the elimination of all personal desires. He made that discovery during the 6th century B.C.

In the 2nd century B.C. a doctrinal split divided Buddhism into two sects. Fearing persecution, the minority Theravada sect fled to Sri Lanka. The Theravada sect believed that only a devotee's own good works could get him to Nirvana, the Buddhist equivalent of heaven. They rejected the idea of saints who could help people reach Nirvana, a doctrine adopted by the majority Mahayana sect.

How Did Buddhism Get to Southeast Asia?
Around 90 B.C., Theravada missionaries from Sri Lanka began spreading their form of Buddhism to the countries of Southeast Asia. They followed the same trade routes that had originally brought Hinduism to this part of the world. At first the spread of the new religion was slow, because Buddhism didn't require new devotees to stop worshipping other gods. Many people simply added the worship of Buddha to the worship of the Hindu gods they had already been worshipping. Some of these new devotees also mixed in traditional beliefs in ghosts and spirits, called Animism, with their worship of Buddha. Even today most people in Southeast Asia practice Animism along with Buddhism.

At first Buddhism was only a religion of the common people. Most of Southeast Asia's royal families continued to practice Hinduism. That didn't change until after A.D. 400. In many countries the conversion of a king or a crown prince led to that country adopting Buddhism as a state religion. After his conversion, the king or prince would often send for Buddhist monks to teach the newly adopted religion to the rest of the royal court. These monks usually came from India and brought with them a purer form of Buddhism, one that didn't tolerate the worship of other gods. From Myanmar to Cambodia and from Laos to Indonesia, that's how Buddhism became the dominant religion of Southeast Asia. Vietnam was the exception to the rule. That country received the Mahayana form of Buddhism from China, during one of the many times China conquered that country.

Islamic Challenge to Buddhism in Southeast Asia
Not all regions converted to Buddhism remained Buddhist. After A.D. 1200, Muslim traders from Arabia brought Islam to Southeast Asia, and by 1500 Malaysia and Indonesia had large Muslim populations. Today both of these countries have Muslim majorities. One may wonder why this didn't also happen further north, in countries like Cambodia and Myanmar. One reason may be that Malaysia and Indonesia never fully converted to Buddhism. Even after A.D. 1000 these countries still had large Hindu minorities. Also, Arab immigrants settled in Malaysia and Indonesia, something they didn't do in the countries further north. These immigrants often intermarried with the local population. The children of such mixed marriages tended to be Muslim, not Hindu or Buddhist.

Buddhism in the Colonial Era
After A.D. 1800 the European powers began colonizing Southeast Asia. France took control of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Britain took control of Myanmar and Malaysia. European control opened the door for Christian missionaries to reach out to the people groups of Southeast Asia. Most missionaries won few converts because they didn't know how to preach the gospel in a culturally sensitive way.

One of the few exceptions was the Karen people group in Myanmar. American missionary Adonirom Judson was the first to reach out to the Karens. Judson found the Karens open to the gospel because the Buddhist Burmese people group was oppressing them. The Karens were looking for a way to make themselves different from the Burmese.

Unlike Christians, Buddhists don't believe that humanity has a sin nature. They believe a person can earn his way to Nirvana by earning merit. Buddhists also believe in reincarnation, which contrasts sharply with the Christian belief in one life followed by a day of judgment after death. Buddhists also don't believe in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Some Buddhists in the West may acknowledge that Jesus was a historical figure and a good teacher, but not the Son of God who alone could save them from their sins. Many Buddhists in Southeast Asia know nothing about the character or the life-changing power of Jesus Christ.

Challenges to Reaching Buddhists
For a Buddhist one of the goals on the road to Nirvana is the elimination of all personal desires. Buddhist people groups are often dominated by group thinking. Often the idea of making a personal decision to receive salvation is unthinkable for someone from such a people group. Missionaries need to reach the leaders of such people groups or they will get nowhere.

Buddhists also don't believe in an absolute standard of morality. In a Buddhist culture a person is considered righteous if his culture doesn't consider him to be a criminal. Many of these people groups speak languages where it is impossible to call a person a sinner without also calling him a criminal. Many Buddhists are deeply offended by the Christian doctrine of universal sinfulness.

Prayer is the Key!
Pray that new outreach methods will be developed to reach the Buddhist people groups of Southeast Asia for Christ. Pray for the development of a way of explaining the doctrine of universal sinfulness in a culturally sensitive way to Buddhists.

Pray also for the success of missionaries currently reaching out to the Buddhists of Southeast Asia. Those working among the Cambodian survivors of dictator Pol Pot's genocide have won many people to Christ. Campus workers in countries like Japan and South Korea have also won Buddhists for Christ. Their methods may be applicable in Southeast Asia. Since Buddhists don't believe in human individuality, countries with Buddhist majorities often have a higher than average number of disaffected youth.

But we need to remember that this is a spiritual battle. The best outreach methods in the world won't have any effect unless the demons and spiritual powers that control Buddhism are defeated. These demons need to be bound in the name of Jesus Christ. Many Buddhists in Southeast Asia also mix ancestor worship and spiritism into their religious practices. The demons that control these false belief systems also need to be bound in the Name of Jesus Christ. The battle to bring the gospel to these people groups will be long and hard, but it will be won when workers use God's methods to spread God's message.

 
Theme issues for this next cycle! Here are the topics that we will cover from this month through May of next year. If you would like to order extra copies for the issue on Israel or Canada, for example, contact us at: dan.eddy@uscwm.org, or call us at: (626) 398-2249

• June, 08-Buddhists of SE Asia
• July, 08-Youth in NE Asia
• August, 08-Business in South Asia
• September, 08-Dalits
• October, 08-Nomads of South Asia
• November, 08-Current Events in Central Asia
• December, 08-Israel, Land of Christ's Birth
• January, 09-Health Issues in East/Southern Africa
• February, 09-Corruption in West and Central Africa
• March,, 09-Muslims of Russia
• April, 09-Students in Western Europe
• May, 09-Canada's Remaining Unreached Peoples