9th CENTURY BUDDHA , History of the archipelago in the era of the Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms

 

The history of the Archipelago in the Era of the Hindu-Buddhist Kingdom developed due to trade relations between the Archipelago and foreign countries, such as India, China, and the Middle East. Hinduism entered Indonesia in the AD period. The Hindu teachings that have developed in several places in the archipelago are called the Waiṣṇawa school, which is a teaching that worships the god Wiṣṇu as the main deity. This teaching was adhered to by community groups at the Kota Kapur Site, Bangka, Cibuaya Site, Karawang Site and Muarakaman Site, Kutai (around the 5th-7th century AD). Evidence for the existence of Hinduism can be seen in the Tuk Mas inscription found in Lebak Village, Grabag District, Magelang, Central Java, on the slopes of Mount Merbabu which is thought to have originated in the mid-7th century.

In Buddhism, it is known that it was embraced by Nusantara community groups, to be precise at the Batujaya Site, the Bukit Siguntang Site in South Sumatra, and the Batu Pait Site in West Kalimantan around the 6th-7th century AD. The process of spreading Buddhism was carried out by Dharmadutas whose job was to spread the Dharma or teachings of the Buddha throughout the world. The spread of Buddhism in Indonesia was carried out by the Indonesian people themselves who studied in India and became monks and then spread their teachings in the archipelago. For the area of the island of Java, Buddhism came in the 5th century which was spread by the prince of Kashmir (named Gunadharma). In the 9th century, the spread of Buddhism was carried out by priests from the Indian region, namely Gaudidwipa (Bengal) and Gujarades (Gujarat). The oldest evidence of Indian Buddhist influence in Indonesia is the discovery of a bronze Buddha statue in Sempaga, South Sulawesi. Between the 4th and 16th centuries in various parts of the archipelago, various Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms existed.

Since the arrival of Hinduism and Buddhism, the prehistoric people of the archipelago who previously had animistic and dynamism beliefs turned to embrace Hinduism and Buddhism.

https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sejarah_Nusantara_pada_era_kerajaan_Hindu-Buddha