Buddhism in India

Characteristics

Nikaya

Theravada is the single remaining representative of the eighteen (or twenty) Nikaya schools of Indian Buddhism, which are sometimes referred to by the controversial term Hinayana. Theravada is now practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.
Another prominent Nikaya school, was the Sarvastivada, much of the doctrine of which was incorporated into Tibetan Buddhism. It included one of the main branches of Indian Abhidharma that was instrumental in the creation of Yogacara doctrine. Its system of monastic rules Vinaya is still used in Tibetan Buddhism and is also somewhat influential in monastic Chinese Buddhism.

Mahayana

For a full discussion of Mahayana Buddhism, please see Mahayana.

Madhyamaka (Middle Way), of which the most significant thinker is Nagarjuna
Yogacara founded by Asanga and Vasubandhu. Also known as Cittamatra, Vijnanavada (Mind Only, Consciousness-Mind Only).
Tathagatagarbha A tenet of Indian and East Asian Buddhist thought based on the third turning of the wheel of dharma and central to Yogacara.

Vajrayana

A form of Indian Buddhism that emerged in roughly the 7th century AD and later became widespread in Tibet, and also found in Japan. For a full discussion, please see Vajrayana.

History

For a full account of the spread of Buddhism in India and beyond, see the History of Buddhism and the Decline of Buddhism in India.

Modern revival

The number of Indian Buddhists remains quite small; under 10,000,000 persons (excluding refugees from elsewhere) in a country of over 1,000,000,000. Revival movements have been attempted with limited success. See Neo-Buddhism for a full account.

Neo-Buddhism A 20th century revivalist movement among bahujan caste and untouchable Indians, initiated in 1956 by Dr. B. R. Ambedkar.

Friends of the Western Buddhist Order (FWBO) is a Buddhist movement that was founded in the UK by Sangharakshita (formerly Dennis Lingwood) in 1967, followed by the Western Buddhist Order in 1968. In 1978 Indian wing of the FWBO founded. Known as the Trailokya Bauddha Mahasangha Sahayaka Gana