PPT ON BODH

RELIGION IN
SIKKIM
BY Saatvik Sharma ,10A ,14
 HISTORY OF SIKKIM’S BUDDHIST
HERITAGE

Before the arrival of Tibetan immigrants the indigenous Lepchas practiced ‘Mun’, a
shamanist/animist religion. When the Tibetans from the Kham district came to
Sikkim, Buddhism of the Nyngma-order in the 15th century also began to spread
amongst the Lepchas as well. The Lepcha’s Mun-religion easily blended or co-
existed with the practices of Buddhist Nyngma-traditions and rituals. The saint and
great tantric teacher Padmasambava, also known as 'Guru Rimpoche' who
introduced the tantric Vajrayana-Buddhism to Tibet traversed Sikkim several times
on his journeys between India and Tibet in the 9th century. He referred to Sikkim as
“Bay-Yol-Dre-Ma-Jong " – "hidden land of treasures, fruits and flowers" and
declared it to be the holiest of all holy lands he visited. His interaction with the
Lepcha people in Sikkim is also mentioned in the Lepcha historical records. Guru
Padmasambhava is said to have meditated in Sikkim’s various different caves and
by lakes while blessing the land. He predicted that in this land the teachings of
Buddhism would revive after having been destroyed by dark forces in Tibet. Today
Sikkim with its sacred sites is a favorite destination for Buddhists and spiritual
people from around the world .
 SIKKIM
RELIGION
The Sikkimese are highly devout people and religions play a
major role in Sikkim. Buddhism and Hinduism are the two
major religions of Sikkim. Perhaps, Buddhism comes into view
as the predominant religious practice in Sikkim. Though,
Hinduism is the actual religion that is followed by the majority
of people. Buddhism is practiced by most of the Tibetans and
the Bhutias. Unlike them, the Nepalese follow the preaching of
Hinduism. Besides Buddhism and Hinduism, other religions
like Christianity, Islam, etc. also thrive here because the
Sikkimese people are tolerant. This tolerance and mutual
understanding have allowed people with distinct religious
affiliations to peacefully subsist together.
 SPREAD OF BUDDHISM IN SIKKIM

The Buddhist saint Padmasambhava, also known as

Guru Rinpoche, is said to have passed through the
land in the 8th century. The Guru is reported to have
blessed the land, introduced Buddhism, and foretold
the era of monarchy that would arrive
in Sikkim centuries later. Buddhism spread to
countries outside its homeland in India and became
specially deeply rooted in Tibet. As the time passed,
its was classified into many sects. The Bhutiyas
of Sikkim are said to have migrated to Sikkim from
Tibet sometime in the seventeenth century. They arc
 BUDDHISM
Buddhism is the main religion in Sikkim. In its early
years, migrants from Tibet brought this religion to
Sikkim and dominated a major part of the state. Sikkim
boasts of innumerable monasteries that are assigned to
the practice and preaching of Buddhism. It is also said
that Guru Rinpoche established Buddhism in the state.
Whosoever be the originator, Buddhism is widespread
in Sikkim and followed mainly by the Tibetans and the
Bhutias.
In the seventeenth century, three Tibetan lamas Lhatsun Chenpo, Karthok Rikzin Chenpo and Ngadak
Sempa Chenpo arrived in Sikkim from three different directions and met at Norbugang Yuksom.
They decided to establish a Buddhist monastery in the state. In 1642 they crowned Phuntsog
Namgyal as the first monarch of Sikkim and gave him the title of Chogyal, or Dharma Raja.
The Chogyal worked to establish a Buddhist kingdom as the three monks worked to set up
monasteries all across Sikkim. The first monasteries were built at Dubdi and Sanga Choling in west
Sikkim. As the faith became popular through its royal patronage soon many villages had their own
monastery. Today Sikkim has over 200 monasteries and the Buddhist faith is an important part of the
life of the people.
 THE SCHOOLS OF BUDDHISM

The Buddha laid the foundation of a monastic order that he

called Sangha and established monasteries where monks
stayed and meditated and worked for the welfare of people.
In the scripture called Vinaya Pitaka he laid down very
precise rules for the life and purpose of the monks. The
monks lived a life of scholarship, meditation and as teachers
their purpose in life was to help people. They lived very
simple, austere lives, begging for their daily food and had no
possessions beyond the basics for their daily needs.

Over the centuries many schools of Buddhist thought began with great teachers
and monks and among them the three most important schools are – Theravada,
Mahayana and Vajrayana. In Sikkim, where Buddhism only arrived in the
seventeenth century, from Tibet, all the monasteries belong to Vajrayana School,
or the Thunderbolt Vehicle. At times called the Diamond vehicle, Vajrayayana
Buddhism is also practiced in Ladakh and Bhutan.
 THERAVADA BUDDHISM

The oldest and most orthodox Buddhist order is the Theravada

school and it is practiced in countries like Sri Lanka and
Thailand. It follows strictly the teachings of the Buddha that is
based on the oldest Buddhist scriptures called Tripitaka. This
consists of three books the Vinaya Pitaka, the Sutta Pitaka and
the Abhidhamma Pitaka. These scriptures collected the teachings
of Gautama Buddha soon after his nirvana from the memories
and records of his disciples. In the beginning the teachings were
not written down but they were memorized and recited by
teachers to disciples. Then in later centuries they were written
down in the ancient Pali language.

The Buddha always said that he was a mortal and he never claimed to be divine or to possess magical powers. As a matter
of fact he opposed the worship of gods, the caste system or performing meaningless religious rituals. What is even more
interesting is that he remained enigmatically silent about the existence of any supreme being. He was concerned with our
lives on earth and for that he said we have to strive to live an ethical and generous life. The Buddha was a practical and
deeply compassionate philosopher who was interested in making our lives better.
So in Theravada the Buddha is considered to be a great teacher and a great man and it is his teachings that are given
prominence. Initially even his image was not worshipped but symbols of his teachings like the Bodhi tree, his feet and
stupas that held his ashes like the one at Sanchi in Madhya Pradesh.
 MAHAYANA BUDDHISM

Later a new school of Buddhist thought rose in India that

came to be called Mahayana. This school wanted to make
the faith popular and was influenced by the religious
practices of Hindus and began the worship images of the
Buddha. Now temples called chaityas were built where
images of the Buddha were placed on an altar and
devotees prayed and performed religious rituals with
lamps, flowers and incense before the image. It was the
Mahayana philosophy that would travel to China, Japan
Korea where it would developand
in many different ways like the Zen school in Japan.
By the early centuries of the first millennium Indian Buddhists in India had
become followers of the Mahayana school and for a while it was the most popular
religion in India with monasteries across the subcontinent from Kashmir to
Kanchipuram. Then by the eighth century there was a revival of Hinduism
followed by the arrival of Islam in the twelfth century and Buddhism lost its
popularity and was gradually forgotten in India. It would return to the country only
in the twentieth century with the revival of the Sarnath monastery by the
 VAJRAYANA BUDDHISM

The third school of Buddhism is called Vajrayana or the

Thunderbolt vehicle. This philosophy was developed over a
thousand years after the death of the Buddha, in the eighth
century. It began in the monasteries of eastern India like
Vikramshila and Nalanda and it was greatly influenced by the
mystic and occult practices of Tantra. The Hindu Tantric
school worships Shiva and Shakti and these Hindu deities and
esoteric rituals also entered the Vajrayana religious practices.
As Tibet became Buddhist a huge programme was initiated by the kings to translate sacred
Buddhist texts in Sanskrit into Tibetan. By the twelfth century Buddhism had vanished from
India, famous libraries like those at Nalanda University had been destroyed by Muslim invaders
and these precious Buddhist manuscripts were believed to be lost. Then in the nineteenth
century British scholars of the Asiatic Society discovered them in Tibetan and Sri Lankan
monasteries and the teachings of the Buddha were once again revived in India.
Today the most famous head of the Vajrayana order is the Dalai Lama who lives in exile in
India. Other religious leaders from Tibet are the Panchen Lama and the Karmapa. From Tibet
the religion reached Sikkim much later in the seventeenth century with the arrival of three
Tibetan monks.
 THANK YOU

MADE BY SAATVIK SHARMA

CLASS-10A
Roll NO-14