Bengali Buddhists
Bengali Buddhists (Bengali: বাঙালি বৌদ্ধ) are a religious subgroup of the Bengalis who adhere to or practice the religion of Buddhism. Bengali Buddhist people mainly live in Bangladesh and Indian states West Bengal and Tripura.
বাঙালি বৌদ্ধ (Bangali Bouddho) | |
|---|---|
| Total population | |
| Bangladesh 350,000 India 408,080 (West Bengal (282,898) and Tripura (125,182)) | |
| Languages | |
| Bengali (native), Sanskrit and Pali (liturgical), English and Hindi (secondary language for official purposes) | |
| Religion | |
| Theravada Buddhism | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bengali Muslims, Bengali Hindus, Bengali Christians |
| Part of a series on |
| Buddhism |
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| Bengalis |
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Buddhism has a rich ancient heritage in Bengal. The region was a bastion of the ancient Buddhist Mauryan and Palan empires when the Mahayana and Vajrayana schools flourished. South-Eastern Bengal was ruled by the medieval Buddhist Kingdom of Mrauk U during the 16th and 17th centuries. The British Raj influenced the emergence of the modern community.
Today, Bengali Buddhists are followers of Theravāda Buddhism.
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