Dark Ages
From the 13th to the middle of the 19th century, Bengali Buddhism underwent its own "Dark age". In this time, much cross-over between Hinduism and Buddhism occurred, such that Hindu deities such as Shiva, Lakshmi, and Durga were worshipped by Buddhists, as Buddhist deities. This went so far as to include animal sacrifice, at the time an acceptable practice in Hinduism.
Moreover, the rules of the Vinaya began to be re-interpreted and the canonical text itself more or less fell by the wayside. Monks were commonly involved in leading a household life, having families, and even serving as "matchmakers". It was under these conditions that the Sangharaj of Myanmar, Saramitra Mahasthabir, inaugurated his reform movement in the 19th century.
Read more about this topic: Sangharaj Nikaya
Famous quotes related to dark ages:
“This seems a long while ago, and yet it happened since Milton wrote his Paradise Lost. But its antiquity is not the less great for that, for we do not regulate our historical time by the English standard, nor did the English by the Roman, nor the Roman by the Greek.... From this September afternoon, and from between these now cultivated shores, those times seemed more remote than the dark ages.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)