Before Hinduism or Buddhism staged an entry into Indonesia, the people of the country were the worshippers of nature and its components. Trees, stones and many other such things were believed to have supernatural power. Then, in the 2nd century, Hinduism became the first religion to make inroads into Indonesia. The first two major kingdom of Indonesia - Tarumanegara in Western Java and Kutai in Western Borneo - were Hindu.

A few centuries later, Buddhism emerged on the religious scene of Indonesia and became the second religion of the country. Buddhism reached its zenith during the reign of Sriwijaya's dynasty which at that point of time was the largest Buddhist Kingdom in the South East Asia. This period saw the construction of number of Buddhist colleges and monasteries. Also, renowned Buddhist scholars Dharmapala and Sakyakirti taught in these colleges and monasteries.

In the 8th and the 9th century, another important Buddhist Kingdom, Mataram kingdom ruled by the Sailendra clan, had its influence in Indonesia. Hence, many Buddhist Temples were constructed and Buddhist texts inscribed on the stone tablets at this point of time. The world famous Borobudur Temple was one of the most important temples built during this time.


Buddhism and Hinduism continued to exist peacefully together till the time Islam was introduced by the people of Gujarat, India in the 15th century. Buddhism began to loose its significance and became confined in the areas of Java and Bali.

The year 1934 saw the arrival of the revered missionary monk from Sri Lanka, Narada Thera. Narada Thera was on his mission to propagate Dhamma in Southeast Asia and the local Buddhist monk found in this an opportunity to revive Buddhism in Indonesia. A Bodhi Tree planting ceremony was organised and few upasakas were ordained as monks. The attempt to bring back Buddhism was further accelerated when a monk called Ashin Jinarakkhita commenced a tour across different regions in Indonesia to spread the Dhamma. This was in the year 1955 and since then Theravada Buddhism began to stage a comeback on the religious scene of Indonesia spearheaded by local monks trained in Thailand.

As of today, Buddhism is amongst the five religion recognised by the Indonesian Government, the other four being Islam ( 87%), Christianity (Catholic & Protestant 10 %) and Hinduism (2 %). Buddhists comprise around 1% of the total population as per the official records, however, the actual figure could be much less owing to the fact that the followers of Confucianism and Taoism also recognise themselves as Buddhist. This is so because neither Confucianism nor Taoism are recognised religion in the Constitution.