Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

The Sanjaya-based Medang Kingdom and the royal family supported the construction of the candis in Central Java. They believed that the 'Dharma', the essence of the royal family, dwelled in the statue of a god. Therefore they wanted to secure the authority of the royal family by erecting a statue. This is also confirmed by Jayavarman II and his successors, who fled from Śailendra and established the Khmer Empire in Cambodia. The kings of the Khmer Empire also built temples and enshrined sculptures for generations based on the 'deva-raja' concept that the king would unite with the god after death. King Indra of Śailendra sought the unity of the king and the Buddha, but it was not common to declare the unity between the king and the Buddha under the 'deva-raja' concept. In Southeast Asia, where wars over territory and conflicts for the succession to the throne were frequent, Hindu temples are established more actively than Buddhist temples. Hinduism was more useful to show off the dignity and power of the king to the people rather than peaceful Buddhist ideology and belief. In Central Java, it was befitting to have faith in Buddhism and offer monasteries and villages to the monks for good karma. Conjecting from the copper plate discovered from Nalanda, the kings of Śailendra were friendly to Buddhism enough to build monasteries in Nalanda. It is no wonder that Vajrayana Buddhism was introduced earlier than we thought to Central Java, which had a constant relationship with India. Regarded as one of the later esoteric Buddhist scriptures, Sang Hyang Kamahāyānikan discovered in the early 20th century reveals an aspect of Central Javanese Buddhist beliefs. However, it is difficult to ascertain whether the Esoteric Buddhism has established itself as a systematic and organized Buddhist sect as it did in Nepal or Tibet. Judging from the related texts and the scriptures written on the Lontar leaves, Vajrayana Buddhism was likely accepted mainly by some scholar monks. Like the Khmer Empire, the collusion of Hinduism and the sovereign power in Indonesia seems to have accelerated after the Central Java period. This also resulted in strong royal support being concentrated on Hinduism than Buddhism.