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Buddhist monasticism is one of the earliest surviving forms of organized monasticism and one of the fundamental institutions of Buddhism. Monks and nuns, called bhikkhu ( Pali , Skt. bhikshu ) and bhikkhuni (Skt. bhikshuni ), are responsible for the preservation and dissemination of the Buddha's teaching and the guidance of Buddhist lay people.
The role of Greek Buddhist monks in the development of the Buddhist faith under the patronage of Emperor Ashoka around 260 BCE and subsequently during the reign of the Indo-Greek king Menander (r. 165/155–130 BCE) is described in the Mahavamsa, an important non-canonical Theravada Buddhist historical text compiled in Sri Lanka in the 6th century in the Pali language.
Like in other Southeast Asian countries, medieval Buddhism in Laos included Mahāyāna Buddhism, Tantric Buddhism and Theravāda Buddhism. [76] The political influence of Southeast Asian Theravāda helped make it the main religion of the Laotian kingdom of Lan Xang (1353–1707), which had close ties to the Thai and Khmer realms. [ 77 ]
In other religions, monasticism is generally criticized and not practiced, as in Islam and Zoroastrianism, or plays a marginal role, as in modern Judaism. Many monastics live in abbeys , convents , monasteries , or priories to separate themselves from the secular world, unless they are in mendicant or missionary orders .
India Early Sangha Early Buddhist schools Mahāyāna Vajrayāna Sri Lanka & Southeast Asia Theravāda Tibetan Buddhism Nyingma Kadam Kagyu Dagpo Sakya Jonang East Asia Early Buddhist schools and Mahāyāna (via the silk road to China, and ocean contact from India to Vietnam) Tangmi Nara (Rokushū) Shingon Chan Thiền, Seon Zen Tiantai / Jìngtǔ Tendai Nichiren Jōdo-shū Central Asia & Tarim ...
[30] [31] Religion scholars specialized in the academic study of Western esotericism recognize that Theravada Buddhism had been influential on the philosophical and religious thought of the English occultist and ceremonial magician Aleister Crowley, [32] although he eventually distanced himself from Theravada Buddhist teachings and founded his ...
The prevailing view of decline of Buddhism in India is summed by A. L. Basham's classic study which argues that the main cause was the rise of an ancient Hindu religion again, "Hinduism", which focused on the worship of deities like Shiva and Vishnu and became more popular among the common people while Buddhism, being focused on monastery life ...
Buddhist eschatology, like many facets of modern Buddhist practice and belief, came into existence during its development in China, and, through the blending of Buddhist cosmological understanding and Daoist eschatological views, created a complex canon of apocalyptic beliefs.