Buddhism had a huge impact on Indian culture. Buddhism left its indelible mark on almost every area of Indian culture. Although today the influence of Buddhism has diminished considerably in India, its influence is still there on Indian culture. Buddhism taught Indians non-violence, tolerance, charity, feeling of compassion, feeling of human welfare, opposition to caste system etc. In the sixth century BC, many evils and complexities had crept into Brahmin religion. At that time people were feeling the need for such a religion which could provide them religious satisfaction by taking them away from these complexities. Then Gautam Buddha established Buddhism and provided them religious satisfaction.
Buddhism has the following contributions to Indian culture
1. Literary contribution:- From the literary point of view, Buddhism has a great contribution to Indian culture. The Buddhist Sangha, Buddhist Viharas and the ancient universities established by the Buddhists were the main centers of education. Many Buddhist literatures were composed at these centers of education, which inspired Indian culture. Jatakas written in Pali language throw extensive light on the economic, social and religious conditions of the Indian society of that time. Apart from Pali language, many literatures were also composed in Sanskrit language. The main literatures include Divyavadana, Buddhacharitra, Sundarananda, Sariputra Prakarana, Saddharma-Pundarik, Manjushri Moolakalp, Lalit Vistar, Amarkosh, Milindapanho, Mahavastu and Lankavatara-Sutra. These literatures have not only literary importance but also historical importance.
2. Philosophical contribution:- Buddhism emphasized independent thinking right from the beginning. Due to this, many independent thinker philosophers were born. These philosophers created many philosophical literatures due to which philosophy and logic progressed. Nahar, influenced by Buddhist philosophy, has written that the religious literature of Buddhists is not only abundant and rich but also thought-provoking. Due to intellectual and freedom of thought, many philosophical ideologies like Pratitya-Samutpada, Shunyavada, Yogachara, Sarvastivada, Sautrantika, Vigyanavada and Anityavada were born in Buddhism. Today, no person can become a teacher of Indian philosophy without studying Buddhist philosophical works.
3. Contribution of Art:- The biggest impact of Buddhism was on the field of art. The beauty and skill of the artworks made by Buddhist art is quite amazing. Even today, many beautiful examples of Buddhist art are present in India. Many historians believe that sculpture and craft art originated from Buddhism. Cave temples, stupas etc. are the contribution of Buddhism. The stupas of Sanchi, Bharhul, Amaravati, Emperor Ashoka's inscriptions and the Karli Buddhist caves are the gifts of Buddhist art. The excellent artworks in the caves of Ajanta, Ellora, Barbara and Bagh are the gifts of Buddhist architecture and painting. Apart from this, the clear influence of Buddhist art can be seen in Gandhara art and Mathura art.
4. Establishment of Sanghas:- The credit of establishing the Sangha system in India goes to Buddhism. Before this, the Sangha system did not exist in India. First of all, Mahatma Buddha formed an organization for the monks. This organization was called the Buddhist Sangha. Its purpose was to inspire the monks to live an organized life. In the Buddhist Sangha, the monks were taught the teachings of a disciplined life. After this, they were sent to various places to propagate Buddhism. The Buddhist Sangha awakened democratic feelings among the common people.
5. Propagation of Indian culture:- Buddhists traveled to China, Sri Lanka, Japan, Tibet, Burma, Java, Cambodia and many other countries to propagate Buddhism. Due to this, Indian culture was widely propagated in foreign countries. The result was that a large number of foreign scholars started coming to India to study Indian culture. Although today the spread of Buddhism is very less in India, but due to the propagation of Buddhism by Indians, this religion has become the main religion of countries like Sri Lanka, China, Tibet, Myanmar, hence due to Buddhism, Indian culture spread to foreign countries.
6. Political and social impact:- In the sixth century BC, Brahmin religion had become the root of all evils and bad customs. At such a time, Buddhism freed people from the bondage of religious complexities and social evils and provided religious and social simplicity to the people. Buddhism taught people non-violence, love and goodwill. This increased the feeling of mutual love and social unity among people. People started living together by abandoning the bondage of caste, class and high and low. While Buddhism established love and mutual harmony among people, it also had many adverse effects. Due to the non-violent teachings of Buddhism, many kings stopped fighting wars. Due to this, they failed to protect their empire from foreign invaders. Apart from this, a large number of men and women abandoned their household life and became monks. This had a very bad effect on the society.
7. Religious contribution:- Seeing the increasing popularity of Buddhism in the sixth century BC, the Brahmins had to introspect on their religion. They realized that the main reason for a large number of people abandoning Brahminism was the evils and religious complexities prevalent in Brahminism. After this, they tried to simplify the complex rituals of their religion and tried to remove all the evils from their religion. After this, people started leaning towards Brahminism again. Now gradually animal sacrifice, complex rituals, religious evils, violent yagnas etc. started disappearing from Brahminism. Idol worship developed due to the influence of Buddhism.
It is clear from the above points that Buddhism has a huge contribution in the development of Indian culture. It freed the common people from the complex rituals of Brahmin religion and inspired them to live a simple life. It also established political and social unity in India. Apart from this, it took Indian religion and culture to distant countries. The literature of Buddhism also played a very important role in increasing Indian literary knowledge.