9.  Religious conditions were similar in Java but politically there was this difference, that there was no one continuous and paramount kingdom.  A considerable number of Hindus must have settled in the island to produce such an effect on its language and architecture but the rulers of the states known to us were hinduized Javanese rather than true Hindus and the language of literature and of most inscriptions was Old Javanese, not Sanskrit, though most of the works written in it were translations or adaptations of Sanskrit originals.  As in Camboja, Sivaism and Buddhism both flourished without mutual hostility and there was less difference in the status of the two creeds.

In all these countries religion seems to have been connected with politics more closely than in India.  The chief shrine was a national cathedral, the living king was semi-divine and dead kings were represented by statues bearing the attributes of their favourite gods.

6. New Forms of Buddhism

In the three or four centuries following Asoka a surprising change came over Indian Buddhism, but though the facts are clear it is hard to connect them with dates and persons.  But the change was clearly posterior to Asoka for though his edicts show a spirit of wide charity it is not crystallized in the form of certain doctrines which subsequently became prominent.

The first of these holds up as the moral ideal not personal perfection or individual salvation but the happiness of all living creatures.  The good man who strives for this should boldly aspire to become a Buddha in some future birth and such aspirants are called Bodhisattvas.  Secondly Buddhas and some Bodhisattvas come to be considered as supernatural beings and practically deities.  The human life of Gotama, though not denied, is regarded as the manifestation of a cosmic force which also reveals itself in countless other Buddhas who are not merely his predecessors or destined successors but the rulers of paradises in other worlds.  Faith in a Buddha, especially in Amitabha, can secure rebirth in his paradise.  The great Bodhisattvas, such as Avalokita and Manjusri, are splendid angels of mercy and knowledge who are theoretically distinguished from Buddhas because they have indefinitely postponed their entry into nirvana in order to alleviate the sufferings of the world.  These new tenets are accompanied by a remarkable development of art and of idealist metaphysics.

This new form of Buddhism is called Mahayana, or the Great Vehicle, as opposed to the Small Vehicle or Hinayana, a somewhat contemptuous name given to the older school.  The idea underlying these phrases is that sects are merely coaches, all travelling on the same road to salvation though some may be quicker than others.  The Mahayana did not suppress the Hinayana but it gradually absorbed the traffic.