World of Buddha Dhamma:India to Greece and More

06-30-2005, 11:56 AM

Subject: World of Buddha Dhamma: continuum from India to Greece,
India to Japan, Thailand
Published 3/7/05

Buddhism in the Hellenistic World

The interaction between Hellenistic Greece and Buddhism started when
Alexander the Great conquered Asia Minor and Central Asia in 334 BCE,
going as far as the Indus, thus establishing direct contact with
India, the birthplace of Buddhism.

Alexander founded several cities in his new territories in the areas
of the Oxus and Bactria, and Greek settlements further extended to the
Khyber Pass, Gandhara (see Taxila) and the Punjab. These regions
correspond to a unique geographical passageway between the Himalayas
and the Hindu Kush mountains, through which most of the interaction
between India and Central Asia took place, generating intense cultural
exchange and trade.

Following Alexander's death on June 10, 323 BCE, his Diadochi
(generals) founded their own kingdoms in Asia Minor and Central Asia.
General Seleucus set up the Seleucid Kingdom, which extended as far as
India. Later, the Eastern part of the Seleucid Kingdom broke away to
form the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom (3rd–2nd century BCE), followed by the
Indo-Greek Kingdom (2nd–1st century BCE), and later still by the
Kushan Empire (1st–3rd century CE). The interaction of Greek and
Buddhist cultures operated over several centuries until it ended in
the 5th century CE with the invasions of the White Huns, and later the
expansion of Islam.

Some of the Edicts of Asoka describe the efforts made by Asoka to
propagate the Buddhist faith throughout the Hellenistic world, which
at that time formed an uninterrupted continuum from the borders of
India to Greece. The Edicts indicate a clear understanding of the
political organization in Hellenistic territories: the names and
location of the main Greek monarchs of the

Buddhist missions at the time of Asoka (260–218 BCE).
time are identified, and they are claimed as recipients of Buddhist
proselytism: Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid Kingdom (261–246 BCE),
Ptolemy II Philadelphos of Egypt (285–247 B.C.), Antigonus Gonatas of
Macedonia (276–239 BCE), Magas of Cyrene (288–258 BCE), and Alexander
of Epirus (272–255 BCE).

"The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even
six hundred yojanas (4,000 miles) away, where the Greek king Antiochos
rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos,
Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the
Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni." (Edicts of Asoka, 13th Rock Edict,
S. Dhammika)
Furthermore, according to Pali sources, some of Asoka's emissaries
were Greek Buddhist monks, indicating close religious exchanges
between the two cultures:
"When the elder Moggaliputta, the illuminator of the religion of the
Conqueror (Asoka), had brought the third council to an end (...) he
sent forth elders, one here and one there: ... and to Aparantaka (the
"Western countries" corresponding to Gujarat and Sindh) he sent the
Greek (Yona) named Dhammarakkhita." (Mahavamsa XII).

It is not clear how much these interactions may have been influential,
but some authors have commented that some level of syncretism between
Hellenist thought and Buddhism may have started in Hellenic lands at
that time. They have pointed to the presence of Buddhist communities
in the Hellenistic world around that period, in particular in
Alexandria (mentioned by Clement of Alexandria), and to the
pre-Christian monastic order of the Therapeutae (possibly a
deformation of the Pali word "Theravada"), who may have "almost
entirely drawn (its) inspiration from the teaching and practices of
Buddhist ascetism" (Robert Lissen).

Coin of the Hebrew King Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE), with
eight-spoked wheel.

>From around 100 BCE, "star within a diadem" symbols, also
alternatively described as "eight-spoked wheels" and possibly
infuenced by the design of the Buddhist Dharma wheel, appear on the
coinage of the Hebrew King Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE). Alexander
Jannaeus was associated with the phil-Hellenic sect of the Sadducees
and the monastic order of the Essenes, themselves precursors of
Christianity. These representations of eight-spoked wheels continued
under the reign of his widow, Queen Alexandra, until the Roman
invasion of Judea in 63 BCE.

Buddhist gravestones from the Ptolemaic period have also been found in
Alexandria, decorated with depictions of the Dharma wheel (Tarn, "The
Greeks in Bactria and India"). Commenting on the presence of Buddhists
in Alexandria, some scholars have even pointed out that "It was later
in this very place that some of the most active centers of
Christianity were established" (Robert Linssen, Zen Living).

A Greco-Buddhist statue, one of the first representations of the
Buddha, 1st-2nd century CE, Gandhara. Tokyo National Museum.

In the areas west of the Indian subcontinent, neighboring Greek
kingdoms had been in place in Bactria (today's northern Afghanistan)
since the time of the conquests of Alexander the Great around 326 BCE:
first the Seleucids from around 323 BCE, then the Greco-Bactrian
kingdom from around 250 BCE.
The Greco-Bactrian king Demetrius I invaded India in 180 BCE as far as
Pataliputra, establishing an Indo-Greek kingdom that was to last in
various part of northern India until the end of the 1st century BCE.
Buddhism flourished under the Indo-Greek kings, and it has been
suggested that their invasion of India was intended to show their
support for the Mauryan empire, and to protect the Buddhist faith from
the religious persecutions of the Sungas (185–73 BCE).
One of the most famous Indo-Greek kings is Menander (reigned c.
160–135 BCE). He apparently converted to Buddhism and is presented in
the Mahayana tradition as one of the great benefactors of the faith,
on a par with king Asoka or the later Kushan king Kanishka. Menander's
coins bear the mention "Saviour king" in Greek, and "Great king of the
Dharma" in Kharoshthi script. Direct cultural exchange is suggested by
the dialogue of the Milinda Panha between the Greek king Menander and
the monk Nagasena around 160 BCE. Upon his death, the honour of
sharing his remains was claimed by the cities under his rule, and they
were enshrined in stupas, in a parallel with the historic Buddha
(Plutarch, Praec. reip. ger. 28, 6).

The interaction between Greek and Buddhist cultures may have had some
influence on the evolution of Mahayana, as the faith developed its
sophisticated philosophical approach and a man-god treatment of the
Buddha somewhat reminiscent of Hellenic gods. It is also around that
time that the first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha are
found, often in realistic Greco-Buddhist style: "One might regard the
classical influence as including the general idea of representing a
man-god in this purely human form, which was of course well familiar
in the West, and it is very likely that the example of westerner's
treatment of their gods was indeed an important factor in the
innovation" (Boardman, "The Diffusion of Classical Art in Antiquity").
Sources
1. "History of Buddhism." Wikipedia, 2005.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Buddhism>
2. "Greco-Buddhism." Wikipedia, 2005.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism>

http://www.religionfacts.com/buddhis...ellenistic.htm

Ashokan proselytism (c. 260 BCE)

The Mauryan king Ashoka (273–232 BCE) converted to Buddhism after his
bloody conquest of the territory of Kalinga (today's Orissa) in the
east of India. Regretful of the horrors brought by the conflict the
king decided to renounce violence, and to advertise the faith by
building stupas and pillars urging for the respect of all animal life,
and enjoining people to follow the Dharma. He also built roads and
hospitals around the country.

Capital of a pillar erected by king Ashoka at Sarnath c.250 BCE

This period marks the first spread of Buddhism beyond India. According
to the plates and pillars left by king Ashoka (the Edicts of Ashoka),
emissaries were sent to various countries in order to spread Buddhism,
as far as the Greek kingdoms in the West, in particular the
neighboring Greco-Bactrian Kingdom, and possibly even farther to the
Mediterranean according to the stone inscriptions left by Ashoka.

3rd Buddhist council (c.250 BCE)
King Ashoka convened the third Buddhist council around 250 BCE at
Pataliputra (today's Patna). It was held by the monk Moggaliputta. The
objective of the council was to reconcile the different schools of
Buddhism, to purify the Buddhist movement, particularly from
opportunistic factions which had been attracted by the royal
patronage, and to organize the dispatch of Buddhist missionaries
throughout the known world.

The Pali canon (Tipitaka, or Tripitaka in Sanskrit, literally the
"Three Baskets"), which comprises the texts of reference of
traditional Buddhism and is considered to be directly transmitted from
the Buddha, was formalized at that time. It consists of the doctrine
(the Sutra Pitaka), the monastic discipline (Vinaya Pitaka) and an
additional new body of subtle philosophy (the Abhidharma Pitaka).
The efforts of Ashoka to purify the Buddhist faith also had the effect
of segregating against other emerging movements. In particular, after
250 BCE, the Sarvastivadin (who had been rejected by the 3rd council,
according to the Theravada tradition) and the Dharmaguptaka schools
became quite influential in northwestern India and Central Asia, up to
the time of the Kushan Empire in the first centuries of the common
era. The Dharmaguptakas were characterized by a belief that Buddha was
separate, and above, the rest of the Buddhist community. The
Sarvastivadin believed that past, present, and future are all
simultaneous.

Hellenistic world

Some of the Edicts of Ashoka inscriptions describe the efforts made by
Ashoka to propagate the Buddhist faith throughout the Hellenistic
world, which at that time formed an uninterrupted continuum from the
borders of India to Greece. The Edicts indicate a clear understanding
of the political organization in Hellenistic territories: the names
and location of the main Greek monarchs of the time are identified,
and they are claimed as recipients of Buddhist proselytism: Antiochus
II Theos of the Seleucid Kingdom (261–246 BCE), Ptolemy II
Philadelphos of Egypt (285–247 B.C.), Antigonus Gonatas of Macedonia
(276–239 BCE), Magas of Cyrene (288–258 BCE), and Alexander of Epirus
(272–255 BCE).

Buddhist proselytism at the time of king Ashoka (260–218 BCE).

"The conquest by Dharma has been won here, on the borders, and even
six hundred yojanas (4,000 miles) away, where the Greek king Antiochos
rules, beyond there where the four kings named Ptolemy, Antigonos,
Magas and Alexander rule, likewise in the south among the Cholas, the
Pandyas, and as far as Tamraparni." (Edicts of Ashoka, 13th Rock
Edict, S. Dhammika)
Furthermore, according to Pali sources, some of Ashoka's emissaries
were Greek Buddhist monks, indicating close religious exchanges
between the two cultures:

"When the thera (elder) Moggaliputta, the illuminator of the religion
of the Conqueror (Ashoka), had brought the (third) council to an end
(...) he sent forth theras, one here and one there: (...) and to
Aparantaka (the "Western countries" corresponding to Gujarat and
Sindh) he sent the Greek (Yona) named Dhammarakkhita". (Mahavamsa
XII).

It is not clear how much these interactions may have been influential,
but some authors have commented that some level of syncretism between
Hellenist thought and Buddhism may have started in Hellenic lands at
that time. They have pointed to the presence of Buddhist communities
in the Hellenistic world around that period, in particular in
Alexandria (mentioned by Clement of Alexandria), and to the
pre-Christian monastic order of the Therapeutae (possibly a
deformation of the Pali word "Theravada"), who may have "almost
entirely drawn (its) inspiration from the teaching and practices of
Buddhist ascetism" (Robert Lissen).

Coin of the Hebrew King Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE), with
eight-spoked wheel.

>From around 100 BCE, "star within a diadem" symbols, also
alternatively described as "eight-spoked wheels" and possibly
infuenced by the design of the Buddhist Dharma wheel, appear on the
coinage of the Hebrew King Alexander Jannaeus (103-76 BCE). Alexander
Jannaeus was associated with the phil-Hellenic sect of the Sadducees
and the monastic order of the Essenes, themselves precursors of
Christianity. These representations of eight-spoked wheels continued
under the reign of his widow, Queen Alexandra, until the Roman
invasion of Judea in 63 BCE.

Buddhist gravestones from the Ptolemaic period have also been found in
Alexandria, decorated with depictions of the Dharma wheel (Tarn, "The
Greeks in Bactria and India"). Commenting on the presence of Buddhists
in Alexandria, some scholars have even pointed out that "It was later
in this very place that some of the most active centers of
Christianity were established" (Robert Linssen "Zen living").

Asian expansion

In the areas east of the Indian subcontinent (today's Burma), Indian
culture strongly influenced the Mons. The Mons are said to have been
converted to Buddhism around 200 BCE under the proselytizing of the
Indian king Ashoka, before the scission between Mahayana and Hinayana
Buddhism. Early Mon Buddhist temples, such as Peikthano in central
Burma, have been dated between the 1st and the 5th century CE.

The Buddhist art of the Mons was especially influenced by the Indian
art of the Gupta and post-Gupta periods, and their mannerist style
spread widely in South-East Asia following the expansion of the Mon
kingdom between the 5th and 8th centuries. The Theravada faith
expanded in the northern parts of Southeast Asia under Mon influence,
until it was progressively displaced by Mahayana Buddhism from around
the 6th century CE. Sri Lanka was allegedly proselytized by Ashoka's
son Mahinda and six companions during the 2nd century BCE. They
converted the king Devanampiva Tissa and many of the nobility. This is
when the Mahavihara monastery, a center of Sinhalese orthodoxy, was
built. The Pali Canon was put in writing in Sri Lanka during the reign
of king Vittagamani (r. 29–17 BCE), and the Theravada tradition
flourished there, harbouring some great commentators such as
Buddhaghosa (4th–5th century). Although Mahayana Buddhism gained some
influence at that time, Theravada ultimately prevailed, and Sri Lanka
turned out to be the last stronghold of Theravada Buddhism, from where
it would expand again to South-East Asia from the 11th century.
There is also a legend, not directly validated by the edicts, that
Ashoka sent a missionary to the north, through the Himalayas, to
Khotan in the Tarim Basin, then the land of an Indo-European people,
the Tocharians.

http://www.insidebuddhism.com/history/03.asp

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