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Buddhism in Indonesia

Buddhism has a long history in Indonesia, and it is one of the six recognized religions in the country, along with Islam, Christianity (Protestantism and Catholicism), Hinduism and Confucianism. According to 2023 estimates roughly 0.71% of the total citizens of Indonesia were Buddhists, numbering around 2 million. Most Buddhists are concentrated in Jakarta, Riau, Riau Islands, Bangka Belitung, North Sumatra, and West Kalimantan. These totals, however, are probably inflated, as practitioners of Taoism and Chinese folk religion, which are not considered official religions of Indonesia, likely declared themselves as Buddhists on the most recent census.[3] Today, the majority of Buddhists in Indonesia are Chinese and other East Asians, but small communities of native Buddhists (such as Javanese and Sasak) also exist.

Literature[edit]

The oldest extant esoteric Buddhist Mantranaya (largely a synonym of Mantrayana, Vajrayana and Buddhist Tantra) literature in Old Javanese, a language significantly influenced by Sanskrit, is enshrined in the Sang Kyang Kamahayanan Mantranaya.[12]


The Lalitavistara Sutra was known to the Mantranaya stonemasons of Borobudur, refer: The birth of Buddha (Lalitavistara). 'Mantranaya' is not a corruption or misspelling of 'mantrayana' even though it is largely synonymous. Mantranaya is the term for the esoteric tradition on mantra, a particular lineage of Vajrayana and Tantra, in Indonesia. The clearly Sanskrit sounding 'Mantranaya' is evident in Old Javanese tantric literature, particularly as documented in the oldest esoteric Buddhist tantric text in Old Javanese, the Sang Kyang Kamahayanan Mantranaya refer Kazuko Ishii (1992).[13]

Waisak Day

Ashin Jinarakkhita

Narada Maha Thera

Parwati Soepangat

Metta Sutta

Mangala Sutta

Lumbini Natural Park

Vihara Buddhagaya Watugong

Borobodur

Dharmakīrtiśrī

Lalitavistara Sūtra

Candi of Indonesia

Sanghyang Adi Buddha

Indonesian Esoteric Buddhism

A Record of Buddhist Practices Sent Home from the Southern Sea

Buddhism in Southeast Asia

Kimura B. (2003).: In Memory of Bhikkhu Ashin Jinarakkhita Mahasthavira, Nagoya Studies in Indian Culture and Buddhism: Sambhasa 23, 53–72

Present Situation of Indonesian Buddhism