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What influence did Indian religion have on Southeast Asian culture?

India is one of the birthplaces of world religions . Until now, the vast majority of Indians are still deeply religious. Religion is closely related to Indian society, political economy and culture, and it penetrates into every aspect of the lives of the vast majority of Indians.

In India, it can be said that there are temples everywhere, and there are pools of gods in every village. In some areas, when pedestrians on the street pass a temple, they will stop, turn around and step into the temple gate, raise their hands and strike the small bronze bell hanging a few times, then put some money in a container, then put their hands together and close the door. Close your eyes and pray for a moment. Then continue on your way. If you encounter another temple in front of you, you will repeat it again.

During the day, in the temples at the crossroads of the streets or in the temples on the side of the road, there are always many believers sitting barefoot and cross-legged on the ground, listening intently to the priests telling them various mythological stories.

Since India is a country where religion is prevalent, religion plays a very important role in people’s lives. For Indians, religion is very important, and there is no life without religion, and this kind of thinking is reflected in all aspects of people’s lives.

Therefore, people believe in religion and act according to religious teachings. The vast majority of people, from morning to night, from birth to death, are connected with religion in their every move.

After thousands of years of development, Indian religion has been deeply rooted in the soil of Southeast Asia. It has not only become one of the most important religions, but also changed the lives of Southeast Asians, especially in terms of culture.

A considerable part of Southeast Asian literature is derived from Indian religious legends, such as the Brahman mythical epic “Ramayana”, which is widely known to Southeast Asians along with the spread of religion. Who doesn’t like heroic characters, or are these mythical epic tales more appealing than relatively dry, complex doctrines, scriptures, or these mythical epics?

Their stories are talked about by people, even those who are not Brahmins can tell a thing or two. As early as around the 10th century AD, these Brahmin stories became popular in Java. People who don’t know it will think that they were written by Javanese, but in fact they just acted as translators.

These stories originate from India, and inevitably describe the society, life and habits of Indians, and also let Southeast Asians learn from the past, and finally branded Indian society.

In addition, Buddhist literature in Southeast Asia is also very prosperous, which depends on the “careful tactics” of the monks. As with the spread of Brahman epics, no one can read a sutra with fascination from the very beginning. What attracts most people is the ups and downs and the clear-cut stories.

The monks took a different approach. Instead of compiling a few epic stories like Brahmanism, they wrote the scriptures themselves more interesting than the stories. They use lively language to write Buddhist concepts into stories, poems or literary articles, which attract people of all ages to read and develop believers.

Therefore, these literary works often appear in various forms, and the content is not boring preaching, but reflects how Buddhist thought solves problems and views the world. No wonder the monks in the past were a very high-educated class, and they really couldn’t complete this task without a bottle or two of ink in their stomachs.

Looking closely at the literary history of Southeast Asia, we can see many shadows of Indian religion, and the same is true of the architectural history of Southeast Asia. Kings are loyal religious believers, and naturally they cannot let the gods they believe in live too “shabby”, so they often devote their whole country to building construction, building temples and sacrificial palaces for gods.

Therefore, many of the existing World Heritage-level buildings in Southeast Asia are related to religion. Whether it is the Borobudur that once disappeared in history, or the Borobudur in front of people’s eyes, the Ruidaguang Pagoda that has been meticulously maintained and shining, or the Angkor Temple that has become the essence of the disappeared dynasty culture, it all explains this truth.

Indian religion has a far-reaching influence on Southeast Asia, and people’s customs, social life and even political culture are deeply affected. I believe everyone is familiar with this.