Asian Art

Buddhism in Southeast Asia

Buddhism in Southeast Asia includes a variety of traditions of Buddhism including two main traditions: Mahāyāna Buddhism and Theravāda Buddhism. Historically, Mahāyāna had a prominent position in the region, but in modern times, most countries follow the Theravāda tradition. Southeast Asian countries with a Theravāda Buddhist majority are Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, all of them mainland countries. Vietnam continues to have a Mahāyān majority due to Chinese influence. Indonesia was Theravāda Buddhist since the time of the Sailendra and Srivijaya empires, but Mahāyāna Buddhism in Indonesia is now largely practiced by the Chinese diaspora, as in Singapore and Malaysia. Mahāyāna Buddhism is the predominant religion of Chinese communities in Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia.

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See also

• ▸Edmé Samson
• ▸Adult diaper
• ▸Kōjirō Yoshikawa

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Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.