Great Religions of the Silk Road: Buddhism
Summary
TLDRThis lecture explores the spread of Buddhism along the Silk Road, emphasizing the transmission of narratives and biographies over dogmatic beliefs. It discusses the diverse forms of Buddha's depiction and the shared stories among different Buddhist cultures. The talk also challenges the stereotype of Islam's role in Buddhism's decline, highlighting the lack of evidence for violent conflict and suggesting economic and cultural shifts contributed to Buddhism's attrition in the region.
Takeaways
- 📚 The study of Buddhism along the Silk Road is approached through narratives and biographies rather than through a unified doctrine.
- 🌏 Buddhism's spread is characterized by a diversity of stories and depictions of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas, varying across different regions in Asia.
- 🎭 The life of the Buddha is a powerful narrative shared among Buddhists, despite variations in the details of the story across different cultures.
- 👶 The story of the Buddha traditionally begins with his mother's dreams and miraculous birth, emphasizing his destined greatness.
- 🏰 Siddhartha Gautama, who later became the Buddha, was born into luxury and was shielded from the realities of aging, sickness, and death by his family.
- 🚶♂️ Siddhartha's encounters with an old man, a sick man, and a dead man led to his realization of the inevitability of suffering and his decision to seek enlightenment.
- 🧘 Siddhartha's spiritual journey involved renouncing his wealth and worldly life, practicing asceticism, and eventually achieving enlightenment under the Bodhi tree.
- 🌟 The concept of 'anatta' or 'no-self' is central to Buddhist teachings, emphasizing the illusory nature of the self and the interconnectedness of all beings.
- 🎨 Buddhist art and literature flourished between the 1st and 5th centuries CE, particularly in regions like Gandhara, reflecting a cosmopolitan blend of cultural influences.
- 🔍 The decline of Buddhism in the Silk Road region was not due to violent conflict with Muslims but rather a gradual process involving social, economic, and cultural shifts.
- 🤝 There is evidence of cooperation and exchange between Buddhists and Muslims, including in intellectual, economic, and even military spheres.
Q & A
What is the speaker's approach to studying Buddhism along the Silk Road?
-The speaker approaches the study of Buddhism along the Silk Road by focusing on the spread of narratives and biographies rather than beliefs, emphasizing the similarities in stories told by Buddhists from different regions.
Why is it considered ridiculous to claim to have the true story of the Buddha's life?
-It is considered ridiculous because there are many biographies of the Buddha in various forms, and Buddhists generally do not claim any single narrative as the definitive account of the Buddha's life.
What is the significance of the biographies of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas in Buddhism?
-The biographies of the Buddha and Bodhisattvas are significant as they are the stories that are repeatedly told across different cultures and regions, forming a common ground for Buddhists despite their doctrinal differences.
Why did Buddhism flourish in areas like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Tarim Basin early on?
-Buddhism flourished in these areas due to their strategic location along the Silk Road, rich cultural exchange, and the cosmopolitan nature of the region, which allowed for the religion to develop and spread.
What is the historical context of the Buddha's life and the spread of Buddhism?
-The Buddha was born in what is now southern Nepal, and his teachings were primarily in North India. However, the earliest flourishing of Buddhism occurred in regions like Gandhara, which was a significant cultural and trade hub along the Silk Road.
How did the rise of Islam impact Buddhism along the Silk Road?
-Contrary to the stereotype that Muslims destroyed Buddhism, the speaker suggests that there is little evidence of violent conflict between the two. Instead, Buddhism declined due to a lack of patronage, the rise of other sects, and the ease with which the religion could move to other regions like China.
What is the importance of the Gandhara region in the history of Buddhism?
-The Gandhara region is important because it was a center for the flourishing of Buddhism, where Buddhist art and literature developed significantly between the 1st and 5th centuries CE, influenced by a mix of Greek, Parthian, and Indian cultures.
What are the Jataka tales and why are they significant in Buddhist literature?
-The Jataka tales are stories about the Buddha's previous births, and they are significant because they emphasize different aspects of his life, teachings, and moral lessons, contributing to the rich narrative tradition in Buddhism.
How did the speaker describe the Buddha's enlightenment experience?
-The speaker described the Buddha's enlightenment as a process that occurred over nine hours, during which he gained insight into his past lives and the interconnectedness of all beings, leading to the realization of the non-existence of a permanent self.
What is the common misconception about the decline of Buddhism along the Silk Road?
-The common misconception is that the decline of Buddhism was due to violent conflict with the rise of Islam. However, the speaker suggests that the decline was more due to socio-economic factors, lack of patronage, and the religion's nomadic nature that allowed it to move to other regions.
What evidence is there of Buddhist and Muslim collaboration in the past?
-There is evidence of Buddhist and Muslim collaboration in various fields such as economics, architecture, and astrology. They worked together intellectually and sometimes even militarily, indicating a level of mutual respect and cooperation.
Outlines
🌟 Approaching Buddhism through Narratives and Biographies
The speaker begins by discussing the study of Buddhism along the Silk Road, emphasizing the importance of narratives and biographies over doctrine. They highlight the diversity of beliefs among Buddhists from different regions and the prevalence of similar stories about the Buddha and Bodhisattvas. The speaker mentions that these stories were adapted and retold in various forms, reflecting the spread of Buddhism as a cultural phenomenon rather than a unified religious doctrine. The talk also touches on the early flourishing of Buddhism in regions like Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran, contrary to common misconceptions about the religion's origins and spread.
👶 The Life of Buddha: Birth and Early Years
This paragraph delves into the life of Buddha, starting from his birth in Lumbini, Nepal, around the 5th century BCE. It describes the affluent Shakya clan into which Buddha was born and the various omens and dreams surrounding his birth. The narrative includes the story of a white elephant entering his mother's side, symbolizing the conception of a great being. As a child, Buddha is portrayed as exceptionally gifted and privileged, growing up in luxury and shielded from the realities of the outside world. His parents' attempts to keep him from experiencing suffering are also discussed, along with his eventual curiosity about the world beyond his estate.
🚶♂️ Buddha's Encounters with Suffering and Enlightenment
The speaker recounts Buddha's first encounters with the realities of life, such as aging, illness, and death, which were hidden from him by his father. These experiences deeply affected Buddha and led to his depression and questioning of the purpose of life. The paragraph describes Buddha's interactions with a sick man, the sight of a dead body, and his subsequent realization of the impermanence of life. It also details his meeting with an ascetic, which inspired him to seek a path of spiritual enlightenment beyond the material world.
🌱 The Journey to Enlightenment and Buddha's Teachings
This section narrates Buddha's quest for enlightenment, including his six-year journey of asceticism and eventual realization under the Bodhi tree. The speaker explains Buddha's insight into the nature of self and interconnectedness with all beings, as well as the concept of karma and the importance of overcoming ego. The paragraph also covers Buddha's 45 years of teaching, emphasizing the core message of his teachings, and concludes with his simple and unremarkable death due to food poisoning.
🎨 Artistic Depictions and Cultural Exchange Along the Silk Road
The speaker explores the rich artistic and cultural expressions of Buddhism along the Silk Road, particularly in Gandhara, where Buddhist art flourished between 200 BCE and 200 CE. The paragraph discusses the cosmopolitan nature of the art, reflecting influences from Greece, Parthia, and North India. It highlights the depiction of the Buddha's life, the Jataka stories, and the unique artistic styles that emerged from this cultural exchange, including Greco-Buddhist elements and the 32 marks of an enlightened being.
🏛 The Spread and Decline of Buddhism in Historical Context
This paragraph examines the spread of Buddhism in ancient cultures and its decline along the Silk Road. The speaker challenges common misconceptions about the disappearance of Buddhism, noting that it predated Islam in many regions and was not solely due to Muslim conquests. Instead, the decline was attributed to a lack of patronage, the rise of other sects, and the nomadic nature of Buddhism, which allowed it to move with shifting patronage. The speaker also emphasizes the collaboration between Buddhists and Muslims in various fields, including economics, architecture, and astrology.
🤔 Questioning the Reliability of Buddhist Texts and Practices
In the final paragraph, the speaker addresses questions about the inclusion of Hinduism in the discussion, the role of Buddhists in various professions, and the reliability of Buddhist texts compared to archaeological evidence. The speaker acknowledges the discrepancies between textual accounts and historical realities, emphasizing the importance of considering both sources of information. They also touch on the cultural practices of Buddhists, such as the significance of the six senses and the adaptation of these practices in different cultural contexts.
📚 Intermission and Further Inquiry
The script concludes with an announcement of a 15-minute intermission, providing an opportunity for attendees to ask questions or engage in discussions with the speakers. The paragraph invites participants to explore further topics and hints at the continuation of the conversation after the break.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Buddhism
💡Silk Road
💡Biography
💡Bodhisattva
💡Gandhara
💡Jataka Tales
💡Bamiyan
💡Enlightenment
💡Asceticism
💡Anatta
💡Dharma
Highlights
The study of Buddhism along the Silk Road is approached through narratives and biographies rather than traditional religious beliefs.
Buddhism's spread is characterized by the retelling of stories and biographies that vary across different regions, reflecting a lack of uniform doctrine.
The concept of multiple biographies of the Buddha, including the Jataka tales, emphasizes different aspects of his life, indicating a rich and diverse tradition.
Buddhism flourished in regions such as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran, and the Tarim Basin, contrary to the common belief that it only spread from India.
The rise of Islam on the Silk Road did not lead to the destruction of Buddhism, challenging the stereotype of religious conflict.
Buddhist narratives were first written down between the 1st century BCE to the 1st century CE, marking a significant period in Buddhist literature.
The life of the Buddha, as told by different Buddhist schools, shares a compelling story that has been influential in spreading Buddhism.
The story of the Buddha's birth involves symbolic events and dreams, reflecting the importance of narrative in understanding his life.
Gautama's life of luxury and his eventual encounter with the realities of aging, sickness, and death led to his spiritual quest for enlightenment.
The Buddha's enlightenment under the Bodhi tree and his subsequent teachings emphasize the concept of non-self and the interconnectedness of all beings.
Buddhism's decline along the Silk Road was not due to violent conflict with Islam but rather a gradual process influenced by various factors.
The destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas in 2001 by the Taliban is often misunderstood as representative of the decline of Buddhism, but the actual reasons are more complex.
Archaeological evidence suggests a cosmopolitan Buddhist culture along the Silk Road, with influences from Greek, Parthian, and Indian cultures.
Buddhist art and manuscripts from the Gandhara region provide insights into the early development and spread of Buddhist narratives.
The Buddhist concept of the 'Six Marks' reflects the holistic understanding of human senses and existence, which is significant in Buddhist philosophy.
The interaction between Buddhist and Muslim scholars in fields such as mathematics and astrology shows a history of intellectual exchange.
The reliability of ancient Buddhist scriptures is questioned, suggesting a need to balance textual analysis with archaeological findings.
Transcripts
okay I want to start today by talking
about approaching the study of Buddhism
in along the Silk Road and not
approaching it through the way we often
think about religion approaching it
through belief approaching it through
doctor I tend to see the spread of
Buddhism as a spread of narratives and
biography and when you talk to a
Buddhist about their religion it will
often not agree you talk to say shingo
and Buddha's in Japan you talk to a tear
about Buddhist and Laos and you talk to
my and Buddhist in central China they
might not agree at all or doctrine in
almost any way but they will generally
be able to tell you very similar stories
and very similar biographies of famous
Buddhist
which I'll show some through these great
biographies of great Bodhisattvas and
great Buddhists and you find the story
of the Buddha and the stories of very
famous Bodhisattvas told over and over
and over again in different forms and
you find the Buddha depicted in many
different forms along the Silk Road and
in other places in Asia there are many
many biographies of the Buddha and many
biographies of Bodhisattvas so to say
that all I have the true story of the
life of the Buddha is ridiculous no one
no Buddhist generally claims that either
either when even when new biographies of
the Buddha were being composed in
Sanskrit or poly or Chinese or Tibetan
it wasn't that another biography was
trashed or it was but dad was said that
this were filling in the story and some
of these like the Buddhist Rita
Lanza these biographies of the Buddha or
the Madonna emphasize different points
about his life so some really
concentrate on his mother some
concentrate on his youth some
concentrate on only his preaching and
the places he travels some concentrated
on his life before he was a Buddha the
previous and these my other fees he was
in a world culture and they started to
be written down first century BCE to the
first century CE II around this time and
then between the 1st and the 4th century
CE we find them the Aspire grafite
starting to be depicted in art I'll show
some ease and where this art really
flourished and where this literature
really flourished was this area of
Pakistan Afghanistan Iran and the tearin
basin in the earliest parts of Buddhist
history even though the Buddha was born
in what was nowadays southern Nepal and
his most of his preaching was in North
India the Buddha never traveled to these
areas this is where Buddhism really
flourished early on and it's also
interesting talking about how the Islam
rise into prominence on Silk Road
talking about how Buddhism was a primary
religion it went down and it wasn't
because of Muslims which is generally
the stereotype that Muslims destroy
Buddhism we actually have almost no
evidence of that at all many of the
early translators of Buddhist texts in
the Sanskrit Sanskrit into Chinese were
from this region of ashame etosha on G
cow and traveled in this region and also
the other great path of Buddhism through
a song into North Vietnam in that area
but today I'm not going to be talking
about mostly so four people are not
familiar with Buddhism I'm going to give
you a very quick I'm going to try to
limit myself to to ten minutes
life of the Buddha and so you understand
the power of this biography and I think
you know we can look at other religions
the life of Muhammad the life of Jesus
these are powerful stories that people
tell and even if they're not learning
scholars is that they can always relate
this story and relating these stories
they often had and subtract different
details I'm going to tell you the story
that most Buddhists most Buddhist
schools agree on and also the one that
mine when I was a month my attic kind of
the basic one he's he told to me and
it's quite a compelling story and then
we'll see how that gets played out hit
mark on the Silk Road
so most stories of the life of the
Buddha begin before he was born
there are many previous Buddha's
sometimes five previous Buddha's are
talked about sometimes five hundred and
thirty eight thousand previous Buddhists
are talked about
we have long lists of Buddhist names of
the buddha in sanskrit and pali texts
from from india and then again from this
region of Pakistan and Afghanistan along
present-day Pakistan Afghanistan Iran so
we hear about these previous Buddha's
and each of the previous Buddhist says
kind of predicts the next one eventually
we come to the historical period and the
Buddha was probably born well probably
born 568 BCE
maybe a hundred years later so around
the fourth or fifth centuries
in the area of lumbini and southern
Nepal near the cities of modern-day
cities of a four hours south of
Kathmandu and maybe ten hours north of
of one lemon not that far north of
Banaras or Varanasi so at this time
period there was a very rich family
okay known as the shock yes and the
shock a plant still survives today
there's many monks names have the shocky
and last name and there's a there's a
group in Katmandu that claims of their
descendants of this tribe the shock you
try and the psyches were really rich the
Buddha's often talked as if he was a
prince or a king he was and he was just
super rich okay there was a lot of super
rich guys around at this time and they
had big estates and they had their own
small armies and it was said that the
buddha was born into this family but
before he was born his mother had a
series of trains and this was what we
would call a hindu family although
that's kind of an improper term for her
at this time that's and his mother had a
series of dreams one dream is that she
was standing in a forest and a floating
white elephant came through the sky and
slammed into her side and she woke up
and she went to her Brahman astrologers
and she said could this mean it means
that a seed of a great being is now
inside of you she had another dream
about the kings of the four corners of
the earth and queens of the four corners
either visiting her at different times
and bowing down to her again this was
interpreted that you have a great being
inside of you so eventually she is
pregnant ten months later ten months is
important if you were if you just ate
for ten months that's this good sign of
enlightenment so ask your mothers where
you laid if you were late that was good
and unfortunately I was born in a
snowstorm in a cab actually they were
moving me from a cab to a police car in
a snowstorm in West Philadelphia
and I was born two weeks early so I am
about as unlikely as possible so like if
you just think long and even if your mom
says I don't remember tell yourself that
on a bad day so he was born after 10
months and he comes out of his mother's
womb and it's a it's there's no virgin
birth it's a normal part she's holding a
tree I'll show you a picture of this in
a second or a manuscript that does fix
this and she comes out walking and
talking and seven magic lotuses appear
in the ground and the Buddha walks in
the seven low seven Lotus gets to the
last but he points his finger to the
earth like we see here this is the
depiction of it as a child clothes for
some reason and says I will become
enlightened then all of a sudden he
turns back into an infant falls to the
ground and can't speak and so this was
seen as something very strange as a
child she grows up in a life of luxury
real luxury I mean go to my senses
nameless a little Gautama was was was
just really the kid get heated you know
is the kid down the street who had the
big house that you really didn't like he
got everything he had the new Xbox for
Christmas or the new playing all the
time and it was a real jerk and he was
presented that when these biographies
that he you know he was he got
everything he didn't have to work for
anything and he was he was described as
Godot he was cut as Blair was long skin
was gold and he was good at poetry good
archery I mean he was just wondering
what happened I mean there's always that
kid in high school right you just seem
to be good at everything like there's a
kid in my high school who was like the
star of the basketball team you got 1550
on his SATs I mean he just wanted to
punch on things and it's out and his
name is Michael Jordan and even at a
good
and so he he was everybody loved to hate
him and he got everything he wanted he
is he has an arranged marriage he has a
son everything's going great but the one
thing is he's never allowed to leave his
estate okay is a very large estate in a
very large home
and his parents would never let him
leave so he could play in The Pleasure
Gardens he could to sport with
concubines he could eat whatever he
wants he but he couldn't leave the
grounds of this estate
okay it was a walled estate and so he
started to have questions about where
did his servants go at night and where
did they come from the morning you know
they're always there but he didn't know
where they came from
and you know he thought it was kind of
strange and he wanted to go out and kind
of see what was going on outside where
these people were coming from and he
goes to his father and he says dad I
would like to go out absolutely not not
there's nothing to see there you have
everything you need
did I introduce you the new concubine
did I show you this plate a mutton you
know what I mean like you know there's
there's nothing to see and so Goodwin
put it out of his mind but it's kind of
bothering him he kept bothering him so
you went to his charioteer China and he
said I want to go now I want to go and
see the world chants it absolutely not
absolutely not your father would have to
kill because well really I'm your boss
so you got to let me go yes absolutely
please don't get me in trouble he goes
listen China I need to go out and you
need to listen to me China said okay we
will go before dawn when everything's
quiet we'll sneak out the back entrance
or back gate we'll go out real quick and
we'll get back before the Sun rises
the Buddha said go to me wasn't
hopefully yeah
so they go out and he is going on the
road is pretty boring he sees people
starting to wake up people starting them
all around on the paths and the fields
outside of his estate and he sees this
man walking in this Chinese so painting
depicts these these scenes he sees he
sees an old man with a cane but Gautama
didn't know the word jhana he didn't
know the word old his father had never
let him see anybody hold if anybody
servant got old he immediately had been
fired the Buddha spoke go to his
father's always kind of oiled his hair
slicked back his hair he always made
sure he was popular he didn't want his
son to ever know about age he didn't
want his son to be depressed that you
get old and so he hid him from anything
that was old and so the hood is like who
why is that man walking so funny he was
in the Buddha jumped off the charity
walk thought this is a great walk I'm
gonna read these biographies it's really
energetic wait does is China is pulling
back you this what are you doing what
are you doing don't make fun of him
that's not very nice he goes no I just
like his silly walking it's not silly
Wong he's done he's old old means he's
lived a full life and his body is
physically breaking down and he's having
trouble walking what you don't know I
don't know I think it's turn - this is
boring let's go back home you're right
there's nothing to see out here and he
goes back home a couple weeks go by and
he's sitting around his palace and he's
looking in ponds he's looking this face
and he's trying to see and he talks of
China more about old and he goes trying
to tell me more about this age and he
goes you know do you look slightly
different now at 29 though it's my was
29 you look slightly different than you
looked at 17 don't you well sure yes I'm
much better looking I'm awesome and and
he goes yeah but you look different
and he goes doesn't ya so dark does your
father nothing look a little bit
different I guess so and this started to
really depressed is that you mean I'm
gonna start looking like
like my father I mean he's still looking
but yeah it's a little different for me
and he says let me what's collide again
Johnny said no absolutely not no we
gotta go gotta go down in a boom they go
out they go out and he sees a man on the
side of the road wood now he doesn't
realize it's the same man you saw before
but this man is on the side of the road
he's like great detail and he's got
sores on his back and he goes that's
hilarious let's let me do that he gets
down he starts copying because this is
great you're not married and China comes
to him he said he's sick what do you
mean sick what do you mean the sec I've
never heard this word before
stupid Gautama let's go back home he
goes explaining never you know sometimes
you eat too much button and you feel
kind of weird yeah I guess so that's it
you ever you know notice that some of
your servants don't show up because your
father woman that come well they're not
showing up because they're sick
sometimes
you remember Rob Lowe your son he kept
coughing and coughing and sneezing at
that one night yeah he's right though
was that they're really silly no he
wasn't acting silly he couldn't help
himself he was sick everybody gets old
and everybody gets sick that man got old
and now he is sick why I don't
understand it I really bother him I
really got in the pressed he's very
depressed man he says China I need to
see something you guys need to see
something different let's go out no no
no no back and forth let me go they go
out and you sees this crab on the side
of the road and the crowd is women are
pulling their hair pulling the shirts
open this is a very common way of
describing in India morning and people
are screaming and he thinks that they're
looking at something really entertaining
because all they must be playing cards
then he jumps off the charity goes oh I
want to play I want to play too and he
starts acting out like what are we
looking at what are we looking at China
pulls it back yes that person's dying he
looks over the crowd and there's a man
lying on the ground
what's on and in the Buddhist we go to
my starts poking him with a stick do it
again I want to see what everybody was
entertained by toy man's dead man Anna
we did never heard that word before he
never witness anybody dying the Buddha's
mother actually died soon after birth he
was raised by by a stepmom
but he didn't remember his mother and he
had never heard of death before now he
was really depressed trying to say get
old he gets sick and you die everyone
gets all vegan six and done any news
really depressed and so you just walked
around the palace for weeks after net
sad depressed couldn't get entertained
by one why are people laughing why are
people playing music if they just know
they're gonna die why why do anything if
this is what end up Syd I just don't
understand the point of all of this
anymore and then he started being
disgusted by his son and his and his
wife and his servants and his father
it's like how can you go on knowing this
but he kept it to himself but he was
very depressed and finally goes one more
time one more time police of justice
it's the last time they go out and he
sees on side of the road a man with a
shaved head in simple robes but he had a
smile on his face he had no shoes he had
nothing this is a seminar or what we
might call a month nowadays okay this
was very common at the time of the
Buddha's birth there was lots of a set
of tribes around practicing spiritual
standards
um and she says how could that man be so
content the look on his face is so can't
anybody think that Buddha's smiling for
sure how could it be like this and he
said I want to be like that man
have the peace of mind that man has so
you go escape take me home and he goes
home I know was the morning after a kind
of a particularly large party and she
walks and he sees his servants kind of
sleeping off the night of drunkenness
and he goes pulls back the screen of his
bed and that time it depends I'll slept
together in the same bed he saw his son
his wife sleeping on the bed and sure
she's drooling and her hair's messed up
his son was drooling like this and he's
disgusted he's disgusted by everything
he sees disgusted by the excess
disgusted by this kind of going through
life non deliberately without reflecting
upon these things and reflecting them on
your life and he says I'm leaving and
China's tongue says no no please only
because you have to leave this is your
last act on I will never ask you again
for anything else and they go out this
is trying to leave him leaving and they
go out and they go to very very far away
and they go to an edge of a lake and
it's a fulmen they've traveled all day
long and it goes into the night and so
full moon at night at midnight and he
stops and it gives everything that he
owns to he's naked gives everything you
know no way to China because his trying
to leave me well before you come give me
your sword so gives him a sword cuts his
long hair off and this is a very famous
scene in Buddhism the victim mark the
cutting of the hair and she goes off and
he wanders for six years and he meets
many ascetics along the way I won't talk
about these aesthetics but they train
him in different things but he's never
satisfied by this deep asceticism the
starving of yourself is torturing me of
yourself this denial or so and he just
sees it as weakening the body but he's
not getting any more content and then he
walks away from the last ascetic he
works with six years later and he's he's
emaciated he's lived a life of poverty
and of starvation and austerities and he
stumbles at the base of the tree the saw
tippecanoe buddhist art it's a beautiful
kind of sitting peacefully as a tree but
in the Texas Exes party's almost
collapses and he collapsed there and he
starts he basically gives up he says
that I don't want spiritual
enlightenment anymore
I don't want to go home
I want to go forward I don't want to
learn I am simply one to be and it
starts the cycle of enlightenment and it
says it takes nine hours three watches
of the nights and in those three watches
he sees his past lives he sees the past
lives of all other beings in the
universe he sees himself as a an ant in
a cow and a servant and King and warrior
and merchants and sees everyone else
like this is that a simply ways of
rising and falling that we're in and
then finally his Karma is exhibit common
Pali it is exhausted and he achieves in
life and I won't go into what that
actually means
but achieves the idea that myself
doesn't exist is that I only have a
sense of self and since I don't really
have a true self I am one with everyone
else in the universe and the problem is
the ego the problem is putting yourself
as something special about others and
you can see how this would be very
different than Islam and Christianity of
course he wanders for 45 years preaching
about this message usually inviting and
he dies of eating bad pork in the town
of kusinara he gets food poisoning um
and I was just reading with some of my
graduate students the death of of the
Buddha a very simple death and a very
kind of out-of-the-way town along the
dusty road not important at all and he
simply has a bad meal and he gets sick
and he's gonna die and he gives us says
a few things different things at the end
but not a very glorious death in a very
small tale this story was extremely
compelling along the Silk Road we had
this story told over and over again we
have textual fragmented people artistic
depictions in paintings which came later
of course in sculpture which I'll show
you in a few minutes in relief and
illuminated manuscripts a little bit
later and so this story was told over
and over again this is the Buddha's
mother depicted in Tibet near Western
Tibet on your
Kashmir we have manuscripts depicting
you see the seven lotuses right here go
to my young Gautama coming out this is
the Buddha when he was meditating in the
forest it was raining one day and a
magical Naga snake five headed snake
came and gave me an umbrella for him and
protected him this is Kashmir e so along
the Silk Road between about 200 BC and
200 CE there is an area called Gandhara
okay this is the Peschel art of holi and
at some times this was a very large
kingdom that spread out especially under
the the Koosh Koosh Ana's at the
cushions
sometimes it was quite small and out of
the way but the important part of this
town is if we think about that mat it's
kind of right in the center of that Silk
Road between Beijing and Istanbul
okay and right before the Terramax basin
right before you kind of have to make
this long-distance trek into China okay
above or behind if you matters how you
think of geography the Himalayas okay
and this is also an incredibly important
place not only because it was kind of a
rich Valley but it's also near the
headwaters of the Ganges or what would
eventually become the Ganges and the
Indus River and so in this area Buddhism
flourished and so Buddhists you know
preachers which traveled with merchants
largely the oldest Buddha image in the
world is on a coin for example and so
the Buddhist monks and nuns traveled
with these merchants and this was a
great training area okay and in in this
area we see the culture of Buddhism
especially between say the first century
CE in the 5th century CE really
flourishing ok so long before Islam was
there so this idea but I'll talk about
that a second
and so really flourishing and you see a
very cosmopolitan style as you see in
this image here depict it picked up from
in
was from from Greece influence from the
Parthians
and influence from North India so in the
areas of Bamiyan which is probably the
area most know well from the to Buddha
images that were destroyed there by the
Taliban I mentioned that more than a
second eras of hada we have a
flourishing Buddhist art and a lot of
this art biographies a lot of this are
stories and a lot of the artistic
depictions there are from the Jatakas or
the stories of the Buddha before he was
over so his preview the stories of his
previous birth the 551 or 553 stories
depending on on how what you can and so
in this area we have a lot of
biographies being produced a lot of are
about the life of the Buddha and in this
area we really do see the cosmopolitan
Eicher of the Silk Road in Indo printing
columns I mean it's really you have
commonly you would think you can find in
Greece and sometimes with a Buddha
depicted sending in a center of a leaf
on it we have robe Styles toga style
roles that are very different from
Indian style robes in the way they live
and the way the shoulders are covered
and that that are similar to he major
name in Greece we have the poses of
course that are different we have the
introduction probably if the halo or
rain Nimbus at this time of the Buddhist
art but we also have the influence of
Buddhist art on greco-bactrian art here
in this area we have the 32 marks of an
enlightened being back it was dead it
marks on the bottom of the feet marks on
the chest often a swastika on the
transmitting kind of glory or a kind of
honor you have long earlobes side of
link again among earlobes good thing
sign of enlightenment until these marks
were showing up you have atlas depicted
on Buddha's are atlas kind of holding up
Buddha altars here and so you really
have this great mixture of our along the
Silk Road and Buddhism was flourishing
in this area in Afghanistan northern
Iran Pakistan long before it really did
in China and long before it was
flourishing and even places like we
think you know the most Buddhist country
on Earth will be time lands about 96%
Buddhist this is this is a good seven
eight hundred years before we really
have Buddhism established in a place
like Thailand
um Sri Lanka had Buddhism about this
time too and that's considered often the
oldest Buddhist culture but this is
really um ancient Buddhist cultures and
of course long before we of Buddhism
ever in Japan and so if you really want
to study early Buddhist history you have
to go to areas that are not today not
hardly Buddhist at all I mean it'd be
very hard to find a Buddhist today a
Buddhist community well-established
Buddhist community there although we
have Buddhist pilgrims from Southeast
Asia and Japan still going there today
to visit some of these sites the origins
of Buddhist writing are all this
evidences from this area of the Silk
Road is Wellington Gandhara area near
Peschel are near the Kashmir in south of
sogdia and east of Iran our present-day
Iran and the oldies are all in dispute
texts that were discovered in this in
this region and you can see there are
the scrolls that are being broken apart
my friend Paul and Shane are are this is
the work of putting these things two
together and they're trying to
reconstruct this literature again a lot
of stories of the lives of Bodhisattvas
and Buddha's are we finding them on the
oldest Buddhist manuscripts from about
first century BCE is about but a little
bit later even though Buddhism was an
oral culture about five hundred years
before that other pieces of evidence
from this region manuscripts that we're
finding a little bit later from here and
then Tibetan style manuscripts as well
starting to be
on paper so this is the Bamiyan Valley
okay and you can see the two areas of
where the giant Bamiyan Buddhas Blair
words were destroyed in 2001 and this
was something I think if anybody follows
history or archeology or this region you
you knew about it and it was all in the
papers of course at this time and I
think a lot of people I wanted to leave
with this and end the talk there's a lot
of people when they think about well why
did Buddhism disappear along the Silk
Road when it was such a thriving
religion in this area and such and this
was really the golden period of
Buddhists our early Buddhists are so why
did it disappear and I think this image
of the destruction of a buddha image by
or one of the largest in the world by
the Taliban kind of sons sums up with a
lot of people's stereotypes about this
are however this is this is if we
studied this over oh this isn't true
okay we have very little evidence that
there was actually a violent conflict
between Muslims booters we have a little
bit but very very little and what
happened is is that most people don't
ask why didn't ISM disappear but they
don't ask well why didn't go to some
Buddhist art survived so long I mean
this was 2001 you had hustling cultures
living in this area for 700 years or
more that didn't touch action more that
didn't touch this image and why and it
was controversial among Muslims that
this was destroyed
you had Buddhist cities and Buddhist
institutions have survived without being
harassed and destroyed what happens
Buddha says disappears and it actually
kind of declined long before Islam got
into this region at all there's a lack
of popular patrons it Hinduism different
intercepts especially Shia bite sects
were growing in much more popularity at
the time and we find generally not a
top-down destruction not kind of
the kind of order destruction what kind
of a slow attrition of Buddhism through
lack of donations through lack of energy
and also the ease of moving to China and
the ease of getting out of this area and
patronage in China Buddhism is a nomadic
religion it was a nomadic religion from
the get-go it doesn't have a whole
demanda doesn't have a Vatican things
like this and it was easily moved out of
this area so if a patron was better 300
miles away or 500 miles away why not
move some Islamic leaders actively
supported Buddhist communities we have
evidence of this we have the survival of
Buddhist institutions and we also have
evidence of Buddhist and Muslim off to
work together not only intellectually
work together but also sometimes
militarily work together to fight
against Hindus and so I wanted to leave
you with the ideas that Buddhism spread
through stories but I don't want you to
take away the common story told about
how Buddhism disappeared thank you very
much
well I mean I think you could include me
into a problem you teacher yes you would
ask me why Hindu wasn't wasn't included
in our program today it could have
easily been included however we don't
have a throught Hindu cultures were
thriving much farther side of the Silk
Road and across the municipality there
certainly were many Kenyans and
especially the dull men in this valley
and of course Vedic cultures pre Hindu
they could even say it was new it wasn't
until the British came along and we have
a lot of things that we call he was put
under that umbrella that that were
surviving but they weren't certainly
certainly certainly a major so but I
mean
the confidence as economies well I'm not
an expert in that but there were many
Buddhist who were working or basically
hired to work in Iran and drive as
economists and also we have evidence for
architects and especially astrologers
mistis astrologers and mathematicians
there's a great lack of study of the
history of mathematics in this region
and ministry of architecture where we
find a lot of Buddhists and Muslims
working together
Muslims were giving to Buddhists certain
ideas like the idea of zero and certain
mathematical concepts and Buddhists were
giving lots of information especially
about astrology the workings of the
cosmos in time and so yes there's a lots
and lots of evidence of Muslims and
Buddhists working together in terms of
economists I've heard that but I don't
that's on my field so but you're into
logical guess lots of working yeah it's
not not really related but you know in
China
honestly Buddhist practice with the Shah
Massoud what the monks shave their head
and wasn't quite purpose of them putting
the six box with a head and when they
burned themselves an incense what is
that well I'm not an expert on China but
in terms of six marks I have to get a
tattoo of six marks as well that is the
it your senses the five senses plus the
sixth sense okay and it's
as any taste and touch and feel but what
your whole being is constructed of its
five and then the sixth is an
understanding of that so six is a very
common work but also there's six
traditional levels of the universe which
I can't go 6 is a big number needs to
pick number two underneath this big
number so yeah that is a that is related
to that and then you have colours on Sri
Lankan dark flag with like that too so
it's the right principle one final
question yeah recently reading the
article and stones bones and Buddhists
British Opens - yeah and he was the
introduction was talking about the
pathetic of the traditional Pali
Buddhist texts of the terrible form of
Buddhism he was arguing that some of the
archaeological data does not reflect
what it taught there is that here with
the argument he was saying that
Westerners were kind of looking at it
from a Protestant point of view of the
worst if their holy book says that it
hadn't been that way right
but we found evidence monks were
supposed to before but yet there were
monks donating buildings I thought how
much can we trust the to pineco the the
ancient Buddhist scriptures as opposed
to well first of all Greg Greg and I are
friends and yeah I do i do who he was
arguing and so and he's absolutely right
but I think it's the same with any
religion is that if you want to look at
a religious text of whether it the Old
Testament of the Quran or the Pali Canon
or the Vedas or whatever historically
that's fine you can mine historical data
out of it and then some of it is
mythological some of it is because
you're writing against your enemy you're
right you're purposely putting them down
and horrifying yourself and you have to
operated with archaeological evidence
and so if the texts inform the
archeology or vice versa that's helpful
but you can't take as one a superior
type of knowledge over the other
absolutely right in terms of monks and
nuns they were coming from generally the
upper classes and we're before they
ordain we're donating massive things and
then there are some evidence and
afterwards even their families were and
they were donating these things and
that's what led to a lot of this clergy
and the culture of building the soup and
satchels yeah okay at this point we will
take a 15-minute intermission and
reconvene here at 2:40 there is a cafe
upstairs where you can even copy and
some other things and feel free to ask
our speakers is formally professions
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