Buddhist Monks and Christian Friars: Religious and Cultural Exchange in the Making of Buddhism

Abstract

There is a global consensus that various traditions practised throughout parts of Asia can all be linked to one cohesive religion called ‘Buddhism’. However, there is a long history as to how the West came to that consensus. Prior to the Iberian exploration, it was common to divide the religious world into four categories: Christianity, Judaism, Islam and all others under various permutations of superstition, heathenism or paganism. This article explores the rich encounter and exchange between Iberian friars and Buddhist monks, particularly in Siam (modern-day Thailand) that catalysed the identification of a common tradition in Asia thought to be centred on the person of the Buddha. It argues that one important part of the history of the identification of Buddhism as a single and bona fide religion begins with the encounter in the sixteenth century of Spanish friars with Buddhism. The social and political strength of institutional Buddhism in Siam, coupled with recognition of similar religious life and appreciation of ascetic values between monks and friars, triggers the identification by the friars of a distinct religion across Asia. The friars made the case that they were witnessing people with their own religion, distinguishable from undifferentiated superstition or idolatry. The consensus of the friars introduced an ideational core for the idea of Buddhism, based on one founder common to traditions in East and South-east Asia. These arguments set a foundation for Buddhism as a religion thought to closely mirror Christianity.