Most Southeast Asian countries have a Buddhist culture. Why was the Philippines left out?

Question

After the Buddha passed away, Buddhism was brought from India to China, Japan, Korea and most of Southeast Asia. As a result, strong Buddhist cultures were established there to this day. Buddhism did not reach the Philippines during that time.

Answer 1

Long before Magellan and Western Colonialism in Southeast Asia, the Asia-Pacific region was penetrated by many cultural and political influences such as Chinese, Buddhism, and Islam.

The extent to which Buddhism penetrated into Southeast Asia depended on the extent to which the Chinese penetrated into the region. The same is with Islam, and how Islam has penetrated into the Southern Phillippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, but has not penetrated strongly into the Northern islands of the Philippines.

It also has to be remembered that the Philippines consists geographically of 7,000 islands, in which many of the islands still retain a strong indigenous presence well after Spanish colonisation and American domination.

If you take a look at a map of Southeast Asia, most of the region is connected by the landmass to China and India - ie Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore. Being an island nation, the Philippines would have been relatively isolated from Chinese influence from the mainland SE Asia, except for along the trade routes in the South.

This isolation is demonstrated in the continued existence of indigenous tribes throughout the Philippines, that have evaded Spanish colonial domination. Example - Near Mount Pinatubo - which is 2 hours drive north of Manila, there are still indigenous tribes which live on the volcano.

If the Chinese and Spanish could not dominate culturally on Central Luzon only 2 hours north of the Capital Manila, they were very unlikely to succeed in establishing control or influence in over 7,000 islands.

Also you find that with Islam in the Southern Philippines was along the traditional spice trade routes, in which Islamic traders made their way south to Malaysia and Indonesia. The Chinese were never successful in penetrating as far south as Philippines and establishing permanent Buddhist influences.

Answer 2

I'll answer this briefly.
The Philippines is an archipelago of 7,100 islands, making it hard for buddhists to reach the islands. Islam and paganism was prominent at those times. Then the country was for 333 years under the colonial rule of Spain, which prohibited other religions except for Roman Catholicism. "Frailocracy" ruled the islands, and even the top colonial officials were said to be lower in rank than a church cook, but still Islam remianed in the southern islands of Mindanao.

Answer 3

The Philippines has a strong Spanish background; the islands themselves were named after King Phillip II of Spain. Spanish colonization in the 16th century allowed Roman Catholic missionaries to convert many inhabitants of the Philippines to Catholicism. Filipino's had no choice but to embrace Catholicism at that time, Spanish conquistadors fought off Filipino rebellion and those that survived had to accept the new religion.

I, myself, was born in the Philippines, and now live in California. I have a Spanish last name and go to a Catholic mass on Sunday's.

Answer 4

The Spanish Influence.

Also, notice that the nations that surround the Philippines are Muslim (Malaysia, Indonesia...), not Buddhist . Muslim was actually the predominant religion of the Philippines before Christianity (and in Southern Mindanao, Muslim is still predominant).

Answer 5

Spanish influence brought Catholicism. Islam, however, is prominent in the southern Philippine Islands.
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Answer 6

because of it's stategic position western nations have dominated the philippines since that catholic magellen in the 1500s

Answer 7

maybe the spanish influence

Answer 8

Hmm I heard PHilippines arn't techically asian any more.

Answer 9

Because Buddha was against anyone eating lumpia.