Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

is a minor

religion in the Philippines Religion in the Philippines is marked by a majority of people being adherents of the Christian faith. The oldest archeological evidence of Buddhism's presence in the Philippines date back to the 9th century, when

Vajrayana Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

was known as the dominant branch of Buddhism. No early Buddhist written records have yet to be found from this era, likely due to the perishable nature of the writing mediums, which were bamboo and leaves. A few records also note of the historical presence of Buddhism in the islands prior to the arrival of colonizers and East Asian Buddhism. Independent states that comprise the Philippines were known to have Buddhist adherents, although the majority of the population adhered instead to the indigenous Philippine folk religions. Vajrayāna in the Philippines was also linked through the maritime trade routes with its counterparts in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, Sri Lanka, Champa,

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

, China and Japan, to the extent that it is hard to separate them completely and is better to speak of a complex of

esoteric Buddhism Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

in medieval Maritime Asia. In many of the key South Asian port cities that saw the growth of Esoteric Buddhism, the tradition coexisted alongside

Shaivism Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangi ...

. Both the Śrīvijayan empire in Sumatra and the Majapahit empire in

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

were unknown in Western history until 1918, when

George Coedes George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Preside ...

of the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Orient postulated their existence because they had been mentioned in the records of the Chinese Tang and Sung imperial dynasties. Yi Jing, a Chinese monk and scholar, stayed in Sumatra from 687 to 689 on his way to India. He wrote on the Srivijaya's splendour: "Buddhism was flourishing throughout the islands of Southeast Asia. Many of the kings and the chieftains in the islands in the southern seas admire and believe in Buddhism, and their hearts are set on accumulating good action." The Srivijaya empire flourished as a Buddhist cultural centre over 600 years from 650 to 1377 in Palembang, Sumatra. Built as a mandala on a hill from 770 to 825 in central Java, the Borobodur stands today as a living testament of the Srivijaya empire's grandeur. Three generations of the Sailendra kings built the temple that displays a three-dimensional view of the Vajrayāna Buddhist cosmology. Later on, the Javanese Majapahit empire took control over the Srivijaya and became the leading Buddhist cultural centre from 1292 to 1478 in Southeast Asia. Both empires supplemented their otherwise austere practice of Theravāda with the rituals of Vajrayāna in the 7th century. In and of itself not a

school of Buddhism The schools of Buddhism are the various institutional and doctrinal divisions of Buddhism that have existed from ancient times up to the present. The classification and nature of various Doctrine, doctrinal, Buddhist philosophy, philosophical or ...

, Vajrayāna, literally meaning "adamantine" or "diamond vehicle" and also known as Tantric or Mantrayāna Buddhism, is instead practiced as a tradition on top of Theravāda or

Mahāyāna ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing br ...

Buddhism. Ritual practice rather than

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

is the distinguishing mark of Vajrayāna. In addition, its esoteric teachings may only be conveyed through dharma transmission.

Archaeological findings

The Philippines's archaeological finds include a few Buddhist artifacts.Jesus Peralta, "Prehistoric Gold Ornaments CB Philippines," Arts of Asia, 1981, 4:54–60Art Exhibit: Philippines' 'Gold of Ancestors'
in

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

. The style exhibits Vajrayāna influence,Laszlo Legeza, "Tantric Elements in Pre-Hispanic Gold Art," Arts of Asia, 1988, 4:129–133. and most of them dated to the 9th century. The artifacts reflect the iconography of the Śrīvijayan empire's Vajrayāna and its influences on the Philippines's early states. The artifacts' distinct features point to their production in the islands, and they hint at the artisan's or goldsmith's knowledge of Buddhist culture and literature because the artisans have made these unique works of Buddhist art. They imply also the presence of Buddhist believers in the places where these artifacts turned up. These places extended from the Agusan-Surigao area in Mindanao island to

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 16 ...

Palawan Palawan (), officially the Province of Palawan ( cyo, Probinsya i'ang Palawan; tl, Lalawigan ng Palawan), is an archipelagic province of the Philippines that is located in the region of Mimaropa. It is the largest province in the country in t ...

, and Luzon islands. Hence, Vajrayāna ritualism must have spread far and wide throughout the archipelago. In 1225, China's

Zhao Rugua Zhao Rukuo (; 1170–1231), also read as Zhao Rugua, or misread as Zhao Rushi, was a Chinese historian and politician during the Song dynasty. He wrote a two-volume book titled ''Zhu Fan Zhi''. The book deals with the world known to the Chinese in t ...

, a

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of maritime trade in Fukien province wrote the book entitled ''Zhu Fan Zhi'' (), in which he described trade with a country called

Ma-i Ma-i or Maidh (also spelled Ma'I, Mai, Ma-yi or Mayi; Baybayin: ; Hanunoo: ; Hokkien ; Mandarin ) was an ancient sovereign state located in what is now the Philippines. Its existence was first documented in 971 in the Song dynasty documents ...

in the island of Mindoro in Luzon, which was a pre-Hispanic Philippine state. In it he said: The gold statue of the deity Tara is the most significant Buddhist artifact. In the Vajrayāna tradition, Tara symbolizes the Absolute in its emptiness as the wisdom heart's essence that finds its expression through love and through compassion. The Vajrayāna tradition also tells about the outpouring of the human heart's compassion that manifests Tara and about the fascinating story of the Bodhisattva of Compassion shedding a tear out of pity for the suffering of all sentient beings when he hears their cries. The tear creates a lake where a lotus flower emerges. It bears Tara, who relieves their sorrow and their pain.The

Agusan image __NOTOC__ The Agusan image (commonly referred to in the Philippines as the Golden Tara in allusion to its supposed, but disputed, identity as an image of a Buddhist Tara) is a , 21-karat gold statuette, found in 1917 on the banks of the Wawa Ri ...

was discovered in 1918 in Esperanza, Agusan, and it has been kept in the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, Illinois since the 1920s. Henry Otley Beyer, the Philippines' pioneer anthropologist-archaeologist, and some experts have agreed on its identity and have dated it to belong within 900–950 CE, which covers the Sailendra period of the Srivijaya empire. They can not place, however, the Agusan image's provenance because it has distinct features. In the archipelago that was to become the Philippines, the statues of Hindu gods were hidden to prevent destruction during the arrival of Islam, a religion which destroyed all cult images. One statue, a 4-pound gold statue of Hindu-Malayan goddess "Golden Tara", was found in

Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...

in 1917. The statue denoted the Agusan Image and is now in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. The image is that of a Hindu-Malayan female deity, seated cross-legged. It is made of twenty-one carat gold and weighs nearly four pounds. It has a richly ornamented headdress and many ornaments in the arms and other parts of the body. Scholars date it to the late 13th or early 14th century. It was made by local artists, perhaps copying from an imported Javanese model. The gold that was used to craft this statue was from Mindanao, as Javanese miners were known to have been engaged in gold mining in

Butuan Butuan (pronounced ), officially the City of Butuan ( ceb, Dakbayan sa Butuan; Butuanon: ''Dakbayan hong Butuan''; fil, Lungsod ng Butuan), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the region of Caraga, Philippines. It is the ''de facto'' c ...

at this time. The existence of these gold mines, this artifact, and the presence of "foreigners" suggests that there existed some foreign trade, gold being the main element in the barter economy, and of cultural and social contact between the natives and "foreigners". As previously stated, this statue is not in the Philippines. Louise Adriana Wood (whose husband,

Leonard Wood Leonard Wood (October 9, 1860 – August 7, 1927) was a United States Army major general, physician, and public official. He served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Military Governor of Cuba, and Governor-General of the Philipp ...

, was the military-governor of the Moro Province in 1903-1906 and governor general in 1921-1927) raised funds for its purchase by the Chicago Museum of Natural History. It is now on display in the Museum's Gold Room. According to Professor Beyer, considered the "Father of Philippine Anthropology and Archeology", a woman in 1917 found it on the left bank of the Wawa River near Esperanza, Agusan, projecting from the silt in a ravine after a storm and flood. From her hands, it passed into those of Bias Baklagon, a local government official. Shortly after, ownership was passed to the Agusan Coconut Company, to whom Baklagon owed a considerable debt. Wood bought it from the coconut company. A golden statuette of the Hindu-Buddhist goddess Kinnara was also found in an archeological dig in Esperanza,

Agusan del Sur Agusan del Sur, officially the Province of Agusan del Sur ( ceb, Habagatang Agusan; Butuanon: ''Probinsya hong Agusan del Sur''; tl, Timog Agusan), is a province in Caraga region, Mindanao, Philippines. Its capital is the municipality of Pros ...

. The Philippines's archaeological finds include many ancient gold artifacts. Most of them have been dated to belong to the 9th century iconography of the Srivijaya empire. The artifacts' distinct features point to their production in the islands. It is probable that they were made locally because archaeologist Peter Bellwood discovered the existence of an ancient goldsmith's shop that made the 20-centuries-old lingling-o, or omega-shaped gold ornaments in Batanes. Archaeological finds include Buddhist artifacts, the style of which are of Vajrayāna influence. The other finds include the

garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda ...

, a legendary bird-like figure in Buddhism and Hinduism, and several Padmapani images. Padmapani is also known as a manifestation or avatar of Avalokitesvara, the enlightened being or Bodhisattva of Compassion. Surviving Buddhist images and sculptures are primarily found in and at

Tabon Cave The Tabon Caves, dubbed as the ''Philippines' Cradle of Civilization'', are a group of caves located on Lipuun Point, north of Quezon municipality, in the south western part of the province of Palawan on Palawan Island, in the Philippines. The ...

. Recent research conducted by Philip Maise included the discovery of giant sculptures, and he also discovered what he believes to be cave paintings within the burial chambers in the caves depicting the

Journey to the West ''Journey to the West'' () is a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty and attributed to Wu Cheng'en. It is regarded as one of the greatest Classic Chinese Novels, and has been described as arguably the most popul ...

. Scholars such as Milton Osborne emphasize that despite these beliefs being originally from India, they reached the Philippines through Southeast Asian cultures with Austronesian roots. Artifacts reflect the iconography of the Vajrayāna tradition and its influences on the Philippines's early states. * Bronze Lokesvara – This is bronze statue of Lokesvara was found in Isla Puting Bato in

Tondo, Manila Tondo is a district located in Manila, Philippines. It is the largest in terms of area and population of Manila's sixteen districts, with a Census-estimated 631,313 people in 2015 and consists of two congressional districts. It is also the seco ...

.http://www.asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-15-1977/francisco-indian-prespanish-philippines.pdf * Buddha Amithaba bass relief – The Ancient Batangueños were influenced by India as shown in the origin of most languages from Sanskrit and certain ancient potteries. A Buddhist image was reproduced in mould on a clay medallion in bas-relief from the municipality of Calatagan. According to experts, the image in the pot strongly resembles the iconographic portrayal of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

in Siam, India, and

Nepal Nepal (; ne, :ne:नेपाल, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in S ...

. The pot shows Buddha Amithaba in the tribhanga pose inside an oval nimbus. Scholars also noted that there is a strong Mahayanic orientation in the image, since the Boddhisattva Avalokitesvara is also depicted.http://asj.upd.edu.ph/mediabox/archive/ASJ-01-01-1963/Francisco%20Buddhist.pdf * Golden Garuda of Palawan – Another gold artifact, from the Tabon Caves in the island of

, is an image of

Garuda Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda ...

, the bird who is the mount of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

. The discovery of sophisticated Hindu imagery and gold artifacts in Tabon Caves has been linked to those found from Oc Eo, in the Mekong Delta in Southern

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

. * Bronze Ganesha statues – A crude bronze statue of a Hindu Deity Ganesha was found by Henry Otley Beyer in 1921 in an ancient site in Puerto Princesa,

and in

Mactan Mactan is a densely populated island located a few kilometers (~1 mile) east of Cebu Island in the Philippines. The island is part of Cebu province and it is divided into the city of Lapu-Lapu and the municipality of Cordova. The island is sep ...

.The crude bronze statue indicates its local reproduction. * Mactan Alokitesvara – Excavated in 1921 in

by H.O.Beyer, the statue is bronze and may be of Siva-Buddhist blend rather than "pure Buddhist". * The

Golden Tara __NOTOC__ The Agusan image (commonly referred to in the Philippines as the Golden Tara in allusion to its supposed, but disputed, identity as an image of a Buddhist Tara) is a , 21-karat gold statuette, found in 1917 on the banks of the Wawa Ri ...

* Golden Kinnari * Padmapani and Nandi images – Padmapani is also known as a manifestation of Avalokitesvara, the wisdom being or Bodhisattva of Compassion. Golden jewelry found so far include rings, some surmounted by images of Nandi – the sacred bull, linked chains, inscribed gold sheets, gold plaques decorated with repoussé images of Hindu deities.Anna T. N. Bennett (2009)
Gold in early Southeast Asia
ArcheoSciences, Volume 33, pp 99–107 * The

Laguna Copperplate Inscription The Laguna copperplate inscription ( tl, Inskripsyon sa binatbat na tanso ng Laguna, literal translation: ''Inscription on flattened copper of Laguna'') is an official acquittance inscribed onto a copper plate in the Shaka year 822 (Gregorian ...

– Found in 1989, it suggests Indian cultural influence in the Philippines by 9th century AD, likely through

Hinduism in Indonesia Hinduism in Indonesia, as of the 2018 census, is practised by about 1.74% of the total population, and almost 87% of the population in Bali. Hinduism is one of the six official religions of Indonesia. Hinduism came to Indonesia in the 1st-cent ...

, prior to the arrival of European colonial empires in the 16th century.

Butuan

Evidence indicates that Butuan was in contact with the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

of China by at least 1001 CE. The Chinese annal ''Song Shih'' recorded the first appearance of a Butuan tributary mission (Li Yui-han 李竾罕 and Jiaminan) at the Chinese Imperial Court on March 17, 1001 CE and it described Butuan (''P'u-tuan'') as a small Hindu country with a Buddhist monarchy in the sea that had a regular connection with the Champa kingdom and intermittent contact with China under the

Rajah ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in South Asia and Southeast Asia, being attested fr ...

named Kiling. The rajah sent an envoy under I-hsu-han, with a formal memorial requesting equal status in court protocol with the Champa envoy. The request was denied later by the Imperial court, mainly because of favoritism over Champa.

Mindoro

In 1225, China's

, a superintendent of maritime trade in Fukien province, wrote the book titled ''Account of the Various Barbarians'' (), in which he described trade with a country called

in the island of Mindoro in Luzon, which was a pre-Hispanic Philippine state. The book describes the presence of metal images of

s of unknown origin scattered about in the tangled wilds. The gentleness of Tagalog customs that the first Spaniards found, were very different from those of other provinces of the same race and in Luzon itself, can very well be the effect of Buddhism.Prehispanic Source Materials: for the study of Philippine History" (Published by New Day Publishers, Copyright 1984) Written by William Henry Scott, Page 68. Right side of Tabon Cave

Palawan

In the 13th century,

and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

were introduced to the people of

through the Srivijaya and Majapahit .Camperspoint: History of Palawan
. Accessed August 27, 2008. Surviving Buddhist images and sculptures are primarily found in and at

.Camperspoint: History of Palawan
. Accessed August 27, 2008. Recent research conducted by Philip Maise has included the discovery of giant sculptures and cave paintings within the burial chambers in the caves depicting the

Tondo

A relic of a bronze statue of Lokesvara was found in Isla Puting Bato in

, and the

, which specifically points to an Indian cultural (linguistic) influence in Tondo, does not explicitly discuss religious practices. However, some contemporary Buddhist practitioners believe that its mention of the Hindu calendar month of

Vaisakha Vaisakha; hi, बैसाख, Baisākh; pa, ਵਿਸਾਖ/وساکھ , te, వైశాఖ, kn, ವೈಶಾಖ, Vaiśākha; ml, വൈശാഖം, Vaiśākham; mr, वैशाख, Vaiśākh; ta, வைகாசி, Vaikāci; ne, � ...

(which corresponds to April/May in the Gregorian Calendar) implies a familiarity with the Hindu sacred days celebrated during that month.

Present day

Both extant schools of Buddhism are present in the Philippines.Hessler, Z. (2020, December 26). Burmese Theravada in a Catholic land (28) udio podcast episode In ''Insight Myanmar''. https://www.insightmyanmar.org/complete-shows/2020/12/25/episode-28-voices-burmese-theravada-in-a-catholic-land-part-2 There are

monasteries, temples, lay organizations, meditation centers and groups, such as

Fo Guang Shan Fo Guang Shan (FGS) () is an international Chinese Mahāyāna Buddhist organization and monastic order based in Taiwan that practices Humanistic Buddhism. The headquarters, Fo Guang Shan Monastery is located in Dashu District, Kaohsiung, and ...

Soka Gakkai International Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is an international Nichiren Buddhist organisation founded in 1975 by Daisaku Ikeda, as an umbrella organization of Soka Gakkai, which declares approximately 12 million adherents in 192 countries and territorie ...

, and an international Nichiren Buddhist organization founded in Japan. The Maha Bodhi Society's Zen circle was founded in October 1998. Fo Guang Shan Manila is the main branch of the

Buddhist Order in the Philippines, which has several temples across the country. Despite being located in Southeast Asia, the Theravāda school has but a marginal presence. The Philippine Theravāda Buddhist Fellowship regularly holds fellowship meetings and promotes Theravāda Buddhism in the country. There also exists a nonsectarian S. N. Goenka ''

vipassanā ''Samatha'' ( Pāli; sa, शमथ ''śamatha''; ), "calm," "serenity," "tranquillity of awareness," and ''vipassanā'' ( Pāli; Sanskrit ''vipaśyanā''), literally "special, super (''vi-''), seeing (''-passanā'')", are two qualities of t ...

'' meditation centre in Quezon.

Incorporation of folk religion

The Tagalog and Visayan belief system was more or less anchored on the idea that the world is inhabited by spirits and supernatural entities, both good and bad, and that respect must be accorded to them through worship. The elements of Buddhist and Hindu beliefs have been syncretistically adapted or incorporated in the indigenous folk religions. In the Philippine mythology, a ''

diwata ''Anito'', also spelled ''anitu'', refers to ancestor spirits, nature spirits, and deities in the indigenous Philippine folk religions from the precolonial age to the present, although the term itself may have other meanings and associa ...

'' (derived from

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

'' devata'' देवता; ''encantada'' in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

) is a type of deity or spirit. The term "diwata" has taken on levels of meaning since its assimilation into the mythology of the pre-colonial Filipinos. The term is traditionally used in the Visayas, Palawan, and Mindanao regions, while the term ''anito'' is used in parts of Luzon region. Both terms are used in Bicol, Marinduque,

Romblon Romblon ( , ), officially the Province of Romblon, is an archipelagic province of the Philippines located in the Mimaropa region. Its main islands include Tablas, the largest, which covers nine municipalities; Sibuyan with its three towns; as w ...

, and Mindoro, signifying a 'buffer zone' area for the two terms. While the spelling of the name ''"Bathala"'' given by

Pedro Chirino Pedro Chirino (1557 – 16 September 1635) was a Spanish priest and historian who served as a Jesuit missionary in the Philippines. He is most remembered for his work, ''Relación de las Islas Filipinas'' (1604), one of the earliest works about the ...

in ''"Relación de las Islas Filipinas"'' (1595–1602) was perhaps a combination of two different spellings of the name from older documents such as ''"Badhala"'' in ''"Relacion de las Costumbres de Los Tagalos"'' (1589, Juan de Plasencia) and ''"Batala"'' in ''"Relacion de las Yslas Filipinas"'' (1582, Miguel de Loarca), the latter was supposedly the correct spelling in Tagalog since the letter "h" was silent in

. Bathala or Batala was apparently derived from

"bhattara" (noble lord), which appeared as the sixteenth-century title "batara" in the southern Philippines and

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...

. In the

Indonesian language Indonesian ( ) is the official and national language of Indonesia. It is a standardized variety of Malay, an Austronesian language that has been used as a lingua franca in the multilingual Indonesian archipelago for centuries. Indonesia ...

, "batara" means "god", its feminine counterpart was "batari". It is worth noting that in Malay, "betara" means holy, and was applied to the greater

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

gods in

, and was also assumed by the ruler of Majapahit.

Influence on Philippine languages

and, to a lesser extent,

Pāli Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhi ...

have left lasting marks on the vocabulary of almost every indigenous language of the Philippines.Virgilio S. Almario, UP Diksunaryong Filipino

On Kapampangan

* kalma "fate" from Sanskrit ''karma'' * damla "divine law" from Sanskrit ''dharma'' * mantala "magic formulas" from Sanskrit ''

mantra A mantra ( Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ...

'' * upaia "power" from Sanskrit or Pāli ''upāya'' * lupa "face" from Sanskrit ''rūpa'' * sabla "every" from Sanskrit ''sarva'' * lau "eclipse" from Sanskrit ''rāhu'' * galura "giant eagle (a surname)" from Sanskrit ''

Garuḍa Garuda (Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garuda is ...

'' * laksina "south (a surname)" from Sanskrit ''dakṣiṇa'' * laksamana "admiral (a surname)" from Sanskrit ''lakṣmaṇa''

On Tagalog

* budhi "conscience" from

''bodhi'' * dalita "suffering" from Sanskrit ''dalita'' * diwa "Spirit; Soul" from Sanskrit ''jīva'' * dukha "one who suffers" from

''dukkha'' *

"deity, nymph" from Pāli ''deva'' * guro "teacher" from Sanskrit ''guru'' * sampalataya "faith" from Sanskrit ''sampratyaya'' * mukha "face" from Pāli ''mukha'' * laho "eclipse" from Sanskrit ''rāhu'' * tala "star" from Sanskrit ''

tārā Tara may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tara'' (1992 film), an Indian film directed by Bijaya Jena * ''Tara'' (2001 film), an American film, also known as ''Hood Rat'', directed by Leslie Small * ''Tara'' (2010 film), a ...

References

Sources

* Almario, Virgilio S. ed., : UP Diksiyonaryong Filipino. Pasig: 2001. * Concepcion, Samnak P.J., ''Quest of Zen: Awakening the Wisdom Heart''. Bloomington, IN: Xlibris, 2010. * Legeza, Laszlo, "Tantric Elements in Pre-Hispanic Philippines Gold Art," ''Arts of Asia'', July–August 1988, pp. 129–136. * Munoz, Paul Michel, ''Early Kingdoms of the Indonesian Archipelago and Malay Peninsula''. Singapore: Editions Didier Millet: 2006. *Peralta, Jesus, "Prehistoric Gold Ornaments CB Philippines," ''Arts of Asia'', 1981, 4:54–60. * Religious Demographic Profile, The PEW Forum on Religion and Public Life. Retrieved 2008. * Scott, William Henry, ''Prehispanic Source Material for the Study of Philippine History''. Quezon City: New Day Publishers, 1984. * Thomas, Edward J., ''The Life of the Buddha: As Legend and History''. India: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 2003.

External links

Theravāda

Dhammaphala
Goenka meditation centre
Philippine Inisght-Meditation Community

Mahāyāna

Mabuhay Temple
Fóguāngshān temple
Ocean Sky Chán Monastery

Tzu Chi Philippines

Palyul Tibetan Buddhist Temple
{{India-related topics in Philippines