Ancient Monastery Witnesses Bangladesh’s Buddhist Heritage

The Buddhist Channel, 14 Jan 2023

COX’S BAZAAR, Bangladesh -- Rangkut Banasram, nestled in the forest of Cox’s Bazaar, stands as Bangladesh’s oldest monastery, reflecting the country’s historical Buddhist roots.

Approximately 1 million Buddhists reside in Bangladesh, a primarily Muslim nation of 170 million. Most Buddhist practitioners inhabit the coastal southeast, believed to be chosen by Buddha as a teaching center.

Around 600 B.C., Gautama Buddha, accompanied by his main disciple Ananda Bhikkhu, visited the site where Rangkut Banasram stands today during his journey from India to Arakan (now Myanmar).

“Gautama Buddha rested here on the Rangkut hill for one night. During that visit, Buddha mentioned that a pagoda would be built here with a bone from his chest,” shared the monastery’s caretaker, Jyoti Sen Mahathero.

While the initial visit did not establish a foothold for Buddhism, Buddha's prophecy came to pass during the reign of Ashoka the Great, the third Mauryan Emperor of Magadha, whose empire spanned a significant portion of the Indian subcontinent.

“In 268 B.C., Emperor Ashoka initiated the construction of 84,000 pagodas in various parts of the region, symbolizing Buddha's 84,000 speeches. Rangkut Banasram is one of them,” Mahathero explained.

“At the pinnacle of the pagoda, a piece of Buddha’s chest bone was installed at that time.”

Situated approximately 12 km from Cox’s Bazar, the monastery sits on a hillock surrounded by 17 other hills. The name, deriving from Sanskrit and Arakanese, denotes the chest bone (rang) and hilltop (kut), as the monastery preserves Buddha's chest bone.

The monastery, also visited by the Chinese Buddhist monk Hiuen Tsang in the seventh century, features a 1,400-year-old banyan tree believed to be planted by Tsang. The Chinese Embassy contributed to the installation of a statue of Tsang in connection with this historical link.

Presently, around 50 monks reside in the monastery, but during its prime, Rangkut attracted hundreds and served as a significant educational center.

“It’s the oldest monastery in this region, and the business and cultural activities of this area were developed centering this monastery,” Mahathero added.

Rangkut Monastery stands as the oldest in Bangladesh, situated in the broader coastal region of Chittagong, where Buddhism thrived until the last century. A series of demographic changes during British colonial rule and post-1947 partition shifted the religious landscape.

“Around 150 Buddhist structures are scattered in different parts of Cox’s Bazar district,” Mahathero noted.

“There are around 50,000 Buddhists in this district area, while the district’s population is around 600,000. Buddhists were the majority of the population here 100 years ago.”