Indonesia

Few would relate the biggest Southeast Asian nation with Buddhism, but before the arrival of Islam most of western Indonesia, particularly the three islands of Bali, Java and Sumatra, were Hindu and Buddhist, mostly of the Mahayanist persuasion. In fact, against all odds, Bali has managed to retain its Hindu faith, while only traces of the old religions are to be found in the other areas, especially in Java and particularly in its traditional culture (for example, in its delicate dances and the wayang kulit, the shadow puppet theatre, with its stories taken from the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata). Only about one percent of Indonesians are Buddhist – with the religion restricted mainly to the Chinese Indonesian population – but some Buddhism can also be found among certain other ethnic groups, like the Sasak of Lombok, the island east of Bali. Remarkably, in spite of the low numbers of believers, Buddhism is one of Indonesia’s official religions. Besides, a few Buddhist historical monuments survive to this day, the most stupendous being Borobudur – the largest Buddhist monument in the world – situated 42 kilometres from Yogyakarta.

There are Buddhas in Bali, too!