G A N D H R A A N D TH E S ILK

RO AD
Recap:M auryan Expansion
Kushan Em pire
(c.30-375 CE)
 Elverskogs Project
Telling a different kind of story, which focuses on
economics rather than spirituality
Possibly over-states the importance of economics as a primary
cause
Bear in mind the difference between etic and emic viewpoints;
its seldom the case that one is wrong and the other right
Points of contact: what did Buddhism look like during the
expansion of Islam into Central and South Asia?
Both traditions focused on trade
Of all the professions, only trade is respectable in the eyes of
Islam (17th-century CE Mughal Emperor Jahangir, cit. Elverskog
24)
Isnt that materialist? And isnt Buddhism anti-materialist?
Yes, and yes. Emphasis is on monasticism, but the primary focus
of the laity is material support. Monks and nuns traveled with
caravans, proselytizing particularly to traders.
Back to the Beginning:Buddhism Spreads
Formation of increasingly large monasteries
(vihra) coincides with larger cities and
urbanization (especially 200 BCE-200 CE)
Well talk about urban monastics and
forest monastics next time
Iron was introduced into the Subcontinent
sometime around the time of the Buddha
Surplus of rice paved the way for cities and,
eventually, the Mauryan Empire
Monetized economy, karmic economy
The metaphorical economy of karma is
very early in Buddhism (and not always
metaphorical)
M erchants and trade
Why did Buddhists favor merchants? Why did
merchants favor Buddhists?
Emphasis on both economy and travel: wandering monks,
wandering merchants
Mahparinirvna- stra: treat the teaching like gold
Morality causes prosperity and victory
Buddhists are not caste-aligned, allowing for more social
mobility
Brahmin by deed, not by birth
This changed over time as both groups adapted to one another
and to changing situations
Some monasteries were banks, and minted currency (!!)
Mes Aynak copper mine: coalescence of gold and copper; is
it an old Buddhist gold mine?
Elverskog: Buddhist International wherein ideas,
commodities, and peoples circulated throughout
Eurasia (cit. p. 26)
 Effects ofTrade:Transm ission of
Know ledge,Buddhist Cosm opolitanism

Popular stories spread

Divyvadna, Jtaka tales become
worked into Arabian Nights and Aesops
fables
Buddhas life becomes Barlaam and
Ioasaph story in Islam, Judaism and
Christianity
Royal guidebooks (Artha-astra)
evolve, one product is Machiavellis
The Prince
And lets not forget chess!
 Im ages in Buddhism

Images of Buddha become

widespread c. 1st-2nd centuries CE.
Importance of Buddhas body and
relics.
Some scholars attribute the earliest
images of Buddha to Kanishkas
reign (c. 78-160 CE)
If this is the case, then images are
roughly contemporaneous with rise
of Mahyna in Gandhra
King ofKings,Kanishka the
Kushan (British M useum )
G andhra M aitreya,2 nd century CE
G andhra Buddha,c.200 CE
Bam iyan and M es Aynak
Contemporary Afghanistan
Area was officially Buddhist until King of
Kabul paid tribute to Baghdad by
sending a silver statue of Maitreya in
813 CE
Portions of the populace remained Buddhist,
possibly until the 11th century
Ancient Buddhist monastic complexes
Contemporary copper mines; possibly
suggests gold or copper mining under
Buddhists
W ars over the Silk Road

Sassanids, then Hepthalites (White

Huns) invade
Some Buddhists remain in the area,
but old trading hubs fall into ruin
Kushanas move southeast, take part
in Hindu and Sanskrit culture
Tibetans, Chinese and Arabs fight
over Silk Road routes until the battle
of Talas (751 CE)
G upta Em pire and M ahyna

Buddhists move in all directions: contemporary

Iran, toward the Middle East, China
Buddhism (so the story usually goes) moves
back into Northern India under the
predominantly Hindu Gupta Empire
Sanskrit and Yoga slowly enter the picture
Side note 1: Kmastra, Mahbharata, the
appearance of Hindu deities and the divinity of kings
Side note 2: Buddhism moves from colloquial
languages (Magadhi, Pli) to Sanskrit, which the
Buddha evidently did not intend