History of Buddhism 6,000 monasteries in Tibet along with their art and books, an attempt to wipe out the Tibetan Buddhist culture. After 1980, Chinese repression of Tibetan Buddhism has decreased and the situation has improved with the reprinting of the Tibetan Canon and some artistic restoration. In the nearby countries of Bhutan, and Nepal, Vajrayana Buddhism continues to flourish as a major religion. In Mongolia, which also has Tibetan Buddhism as its main religion, soviet dominance (between 1924-1990) saw much repression of Buddhism. However, Buddhism is now undergoing a revival in post communist Mongolia, with more ordained monks and nuns, and 284
History of Buddhism well as criticism and competition from Christianity. Modern wars, communism, the growth of capitalism, science and regional political instability are also influential pressures on modern Buddhism. In Sri Lanka under the British, Christian missionaries ran all the state approved schools and strongly criticized Buddhism. By 1865, Buddhist monks began a counter movement against Christian attacks, printing pamphlets and debating Christians in public, such as at the famous Panadura debate in 1873, which saw the monk Gunananda win a debate in front of a crowd of 10,000. During this period a new form of Buddhism began to take shape, termed Buddhist