World of Buddha Dhamma:India to Greece and More

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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/buddhism/history/hellenistic.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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