How Ancient Greeks Spread Buddhism to the Known World

Greek Reporter ^ | Arunansh B. Goswa

[nickcarraway]

Buddhism, a religion, or according to some, a path towards experiencing ultimate reality, was founded by Siddhārtha Gautama, a man from India also referred to as “The Buddha”. Buddhism is practiced in various parts of the world and the Ancient Greeks played a significant role in the mission of spreading it.

Buddha, after reaching the state of what is called “enlightenment”, remained under the Bodhi tree, a sacred fig tree under which Buddha is said to have gained such awareness, for another seven weeks.

He then traveled to Sarnath and delivered his first sermon at Deer Park. This event is recorded in history as the ‘Turning of the Wheel of Dharma’ (Dharma Chakra Pravartana).

Buddhism’s Influence on Greek Philosophy

In his book, Pyrrhonism: How the ancient Greeks reinvented Buddhism (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books 2008), Adrian Kuzminski, a scholar, provides plausible arguments to show that Buddhism influenced some of Pyrrho’s central ideas.

Pyrrho was a philosopher who accompanied Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) to India and arrived there around 325 BC. He returned to Greece and founded the school of thought called Pyrrhonism, which may well have been directly influenced by Buddhist ideas, as findings in the aforementioned book suggest.

First European Buddhist was Greek

The greatest Buddhist king of India, Ashoka, chose a Greek monk, also known as Dhammarakita, to spread Buddhism in northwestern India around the areas of Maharashtra. The Greek visited Sopara, an important pilgrimage site in Aparanta, the land between the Sahyadri Hills and the sea in northwestern India.

These areas of Maharashtra have attained an eternal significance in Ptolemy’s Periphus Maris Erythraci and in ancient Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist literature. The Greek Thera, sent by the Third Council to Aparantaka, preached and lectured seventy thousand people and converted thirty-seven thousand persons to the newly formed religion.

The city of Junagadh in Western India was, in fact, a city of the Greeks, the Yonas, which they then named Yonagadh or “Citadel of the Greeks.” For phonological reasons, this became Junagadh over time. The Greeks were known by the name Yona in Pali and Yavana in Sanskrit, originating from the word Ionia because the Ionian Greeks were the first to come in contact with Indians.

The Milinda Panho ‘Questions of King Menander’ is an ancient and much venerated book of the Buddhists, indeed so highly regarded as to be included by the Burmese in the Pali Canon. Menander was born in Bactria but was brought up in Ariana (the Kabul Valley), and in the early years of his rule, he expanded his father’s kingdom to the Indus Valley and beyond—perhaps later establishing his capital at Sagala (Modern Sialkot).

The Bactrian Greeks were staunchly Greek in every aspect. Their culture, religion, and statecraft were all imports from their homeland in the Aegean. Thus, it is intriguing that Menander became interested in Buddhism. The monk who converted Menander was Nagasena, a disciple of the great Greek Buddhist monk, Dhammarakita.

In Plutarch’s book, Precepts of Statecraft, it is mentioned that “when Menander I, who had reigned graciously over the Bactrians, died afterwards in the camp, the cities indeed by common consent celebrated his funeral; but coming to a contest about his relics, they were [with great difficulty] at last brought to this agreement…that his ashes being distributed… every one of them should carry away an equal share, and they should all erect monuments to him” (p. 148).

The popularity and respect that is attributed to Menander in India can be understood from the fact that many people in India still name their children Milinda (meaning Menander) in his honor.

Greeks lead Buddhist mission to Sri Lanka In the Mahavamsa, a key historical text of Sri Lanka written in the Pali language, it is mentioned that during the rule of Indo-Greek King Menander I Soter, Mahadhammarakkhita, the Greek monk, had traveled from “Alasandra” (thought to be Alexandria-of-the-Caucasus around 150 kilometers north of today’s Kabul) with thirty thousand monks.

This purpose of this journey was the dedication ceremony of the Maha Thupa (“Great Stupa“) at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, and it was completed shortly after the death of the Dutthagamani Abhaya (r. 161- 137 BC), the Sri Lankan king. Mahavamsa says that Pandukabhaya (pre-third century BC) set apart grounds near the west gate of Anuradhapura for the ‘Yona’ ( Greeks ). That was the first visit.

Several centuries later, in the time of Dutugemunu (167-131 BC), Yona (Greeks) arrived to celebrate the completion of the Mahathupa. That was the second visit. Kabul was under Greek rule at the time and, according to Mahavamsa, was devoutly Buddhist. It had “shone with yellow robes,” it was said. Merlin Peris asserts that it is from the Kabul Valley rather than from southeast India that the Greeks came to Anuradhapura.

These Greeks would have brought a first-hand knowledge of Greek culture into Sri Lanka. The only trace of this today is in the Greek myths that appear in the Mahavamsa.

Bringing Buddhism to Kashmir, Gandhara, and the Greek Mainland

It is said that the elder Mahyantika was sent to Kashmir, the land nestled in the Himalayas and Gandhara and the land of Indo-Greeks. From here, Buddhism spread to China and East Asia via the Silk Road, which were also areas with strong Hellenic presence.

Although he is not identified as Greek in the Mahavamsa, his name probably means Maha, or ‘great’, and Antika, or ‘Antiochos,’ a common Greek first name as per a theory. Maharakkhita is said to have been sent to the country of the Greeks. He would probably have been Greek, as well, due to the nature of his mission, but this is unconfirmed.

Journey of Buddhism from the Greek World to China and East Asia

Though there are ongoing debates, the first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha himself are often considered a result of the Greco-Buddhist interaction. Hercules with a lion-skin was the protector deity of Demetrius I and “served as an artistic model for Vajrapani, a protector of the Buddha,” as claimed in Religions and the Silk Road, by Foltz.

Japanese Deities Influenced by Greek Pantheon

In Japan, this expression further translated into the wrath-filled and muscular Niō guardian gods of the Buddha, standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples. According to Katsumi Tanabe, professor at Chūō University in Japan (in “Alexander the Great. East-West cultural contact from Greece to Japan”), besides Vajrapani, Greek influence also appears in several other gods of the Mahayana pantheon.

Such is the case with the Japanese Wind God, Fujin, inspired by the Greek Boreas, the personification of the north wind, through the Greco-Buddhist Wardo, or the mother deity Hariti, inspired by Tyche (the Greek deity of fortune and prosperity).

Kushana succeeded the Indo-Greek rulers in Bactria and were highly Hellenized. They used the Greek language and script and assimilated several Greek gods and goddesses in their pantheon. Kushan monks, such as Lokaksema (c. 178 CE), travelled to the Chinese capital of Loyang, where they became the first translators of Mahayana Buddhist scriptures into Chinese.

Two half-brothers from Gandhara, Asanga and Vasubandhu, in the fourth century, created the Yogacara or “Mind-only” school of Mahayana Buddhism, which through one of its major texts, the Lankavatara Sutra, became a founding block of Mahayana and particularly Zen philosophy.

Greco-Buddhist Art

Buddha has been called the “ Light of Asia ” by Sir Edwin Arnold, and, if the question is asked who played an important role in the spread of the message of the Buddha to the world, undoubtedly Indo-Greeks would be among the greatest contributors.

The art of Gandhara evolved from the Greco-Buddhist interaction, and, as per a theory, gave the world the first anthropomorphic statue of the Buddha. It is said that “The Seated Buddha from Gandhara” is an early surviving statue of the Buddha discovered at the site of Jamal Garhi in ancient Gandhara in modern-day Pakistan.

This statue dates to the second or third century AD during the Kushan Empire. The Buddhas of Bamiyan, which were destroyed by the Afghan Taliban, were an example of the Gandhara style of art, also called Greco-Buddhist art. It exhibited the influences of the Hellenistic styles of classical Greek sculptures.

The statues were represented wearing Hellenic tunics, an echo of Alexander the Great’s contribution to the Central Asian mix almost a millennium earlier. From Vajrapani, called Herakles (Hercules) by the Indo-Greeks, guarding Shakyamuni Buddha to other such statues influenced by Greek art, the material remains of Greek Buddhism can still be found in museums across the world.

For Indians, it is a matter of great pride that the Greeks adopted Buddhism and spread it to the world from the Indian subcontinent.

[pepsi_junkie]

There is a lot of overlap between Buddhism and stoicism so this tracks.

[packagingguy]

I took a Buddhism class in university and they never said anything about this.

Thanks.

[chajin]

I forwarded this to a professor at Otani U (Buddhist) who was my high school classmate in Yokohama; I’ll see what he has to say.

By the time Paul is preaching Christ in Asia Minor, Macedonia, and Greece, any Buddhist connections to the Greco-Roman pantheon would have long been forgotten, I think.

[montag813]

Buddhism is cool, but it is NOT a religion, except some have tried to make it one. If you read even a Dummies book on the Buddha you would know he would be appalled to have been considered any kind of deity. He rejected Hinduism for many reasons.

[nickcarraway]

Perhaps, but he isn’t in charge. Even atheism is a religion.

[tet68]

Namu Amida Butsu.

[Jyotishi]

“The Greeks were known by the name Yona in Pali and Yavana in Sanskrit”

A note:

AI Overview

In Sanskrit, “Yavana” (यवन) generally translates to “Greek” or “Ionian,” and can also refer to foreigners or barbarians.

[jjotto]

Yevani is Hebrew for Greek (person). Plural Yevanim is in several Hanukah songs. Mityavnim is the Hebrew word for (non-Greek) Hellenists, the actual bad guys in Hanukah.

[GingisK]

Overheard at a Spartan training center: “You will be ready to go when you can snatch the javelin from my hand”.

[SunkenCiv]

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• Major Buddhist Site Comes To Light [07/10/2007]
• Idiot Compassion [06/06/2007]
• Low caste Indians set to convert (to Buddhism). [05/26/2007]
• The Light of Kucha (Caucasian Buddhist kingdom's contribution) [05/23/2007]
• Fears for Buddha's branch of faith [05/14/2007]
• Mass Conversion (in India) Makes Buddhists (While Christian Priests are Slaughtered) [05/12/2007]
• Rally to demand Buddhism as state religion (Islamic extremism begets Buddhist extremism) [04/19/2007]
• Islam's War Against Buddhism [04/10/2007]
• Evangelicals hope to 'reach' Buddhists [04/05/2007]
• Burma 'orders Christians to be wiped out' [01/20/2007]
• 'There shall be no home where the Christian religion is practised' [01/14/2007]
• Islam in the eyes of the Dalai Lama [01/01/2007]
• 'India's Pompeii' uncovered [12/11/2006]
• Afghanistan - Secret sutra found in rubble of Bamiyan Buddha: report [11/11/2006]
• India enshrines Buddha's remains after 2000 years [10/31/2006]
• For commerce or conquest? [10/24/2006]
• Archaeologists dig up 'monastery' at Kapileswar [09/22/2006]
• Maria Shriver Hosts Dalai Lama At Government Women's Conference In California [08/31/2006]
• Catholicism and Buddhism: Compatible Beliefs? [08/29/2006]
• Buddhist Butchers bomb Catholic Church in Muttur [08/03/2006]
• DUmmie FUnnies 08-02-01 ("Should religion be outlawed?") [08/02/2006]
• Ancient Buddhist temple razed in Himachal blaze [07/15/2006]
• Historic Meeting of Religious Leaders Under Way in Moscow [07/04/2006]
• 2,300-Year-Old Artefacts May Change Ashoka-Buddhist History [07/04/2006]
• Clued and Clueless [06/06/2006]
• Kashmir bronzes in focus: four ninth century idols unearthed [05/01/2006]
• Fleeing a Tibetan monastery [04/27/2006]
• 'Westerners are too self-absorbed'[Dalai Lama on Homosexuality, etc.] [04/21/2006]
• Islam in the eyes of Dalai Lama ( Buddhism disappeared from India under the sword of Islam) [04/21/2006]
• Dalai Lama Meets With Muslims in Calif. [04/15/2006]
• Dalai Lama warns against killing Osama Bin Laden [04/01/2006]
• Killing Bin Laden will inspire 10 more: Dalai Lama [04/01/2006]
• Swiss documentary on Afghanistan: Pakistani, Saudi engineers helped destroy Buddhas [03/19/2006]
• Dalai Lama Wants to Make First China Visit [03/10/2006]
• Buddhist Priest Arrested for Underage Sex (Paid for Sex w/Underage Girl; Blames "Stress") [03/10/2006]
• China's prosperity inspires rising spirituality [03/08/2006]
• Sri Lanka monk says no peace until top rebel dead [02/17/2006]
• Ladakh burns in imported terror (Buddhist-Muslim clashes) [02/16/2006]
• Leh: Curfew imposed as Buddhists, Muslims clash (KASHMIR, India) [02/09/2006]
• Cartoons and Islamic Imperialism [02/07/2006]
• Buddhism and Neuroscience [The spirit helps/owns science! YES! for capitalists] [01/30/2006]
• Zen master (Catholic Priest) tells curious to embrace a new faith [01/22/2006]
• Female Monk Causes a Stir (Madison, WI) [12/25/2005]
• Pilgrims flock to see 'Buddha boy' said to have fasted six months [11/21/2005]
• Bush meets Dalai Lama, ignoring China's objections [11/09/2005]
• US to investigate Chinese looting of Tibet [11/08/2005]
• Dalai Lama endorses just wars but not in case of Tibet [11/05/2005]
• Afghan Buddhas recreated [11/02/2005]
• Are Jesus and Buddha Brothers? [10/30/2005]
• Take a Moment for Yourself (Vanity) [10/27/2005]
• India's RSS urges war against 'evil' of casteism [10/22/2005]
• Malaysia, Thailand swap barbs over Muslim unrest [10/18/2005]
• Dalai Lama calm amid excitement that he generates [09/18/2005]
• Replica of Buddha's tooth stolen from Myanmar temple [08/14/2005]
• Communist China jails Tibetans for carrying tapes [08/13/2005]
• Jihadists unwittingly aiding Red Chinese World Conquest [08/07/2005]
• Dalai Lama rejects theory of clash of civilizations [07/30/2005]
• In Lankan Buddhism, Gods are subordinate to the Buddha [07/06/2005]
• Lankan Police Foil Monks' Attempt at Self-Immolation [06/10/2005]
• Violence at tsunami monk protest [06/10/2005]
• BUDDHIST BUNK [06/08/2005]
• China's miracle in the desert is drying up [05/28/2005]
• Islam and the Quran - (sensational piece on how and why Islam is different from other faiths) [05/27/2005]
• Buddhistic monks make complaints against Security Service of Ukraine [05/15/2005]
• why did you ban me? (ZOT!!! What is the sound of one troll frying?) [05/13/2005]
• China arrests more than 800,000 people for endangering state security (Tibetan monks, etc.) [03/10/2005]
• Abbot glues eyes shut [02/22/2005]
• JESUS SEMINAR WILL FOCUS ON QUESTIONS ABOUT GOD AND [02/20/2005]
• A Theory of God [01/23/2005]
• SAVING THAI CHILDREN FROM A LIFE OF DEPRAVITY [01/22/2005]
• Extremists, Fundamentalists Dispute Christian Relief Efforts [01/12/2005]
• Catholic church set on fire near Colombo (Buddhist extremists are suspected) [12/21/2004]
• Lords of the Rings star embraces Buddhism (Orlando Bloom) [12/09/2004]
• Thailand Says 78 Muslims Died in Army Custody [10/26/2004]
• Will Christianity be replaced by Buddhism? [10/18/2004]
• Nuns in the West (More Insanity from the "Progressive" Mutation of Catholicism) [07/12/2004]
• buddhism under siege in Korea [06/20/2004]
• Muslims in Thailand behead a 63-yr-old Buddhist! Still don't think we're in a World War? [06/18/2004]
• Buddhist monks push to outlaw conversions to Christianity in Sri Lanka [06/14/2004]
• REBUILDING IRAQ Returnees in mass ordination ceremony [04/17/2004]
• Trouble in paradise: Thailand's Muslim insurgents [04/04/2004]
• Religious groups on common ground: Many faiths oppose same-sex marriages [03/14/2004]
• Trekker finds Buddhist Lama mummy in a mountain hideaway in North India [03/04/2004]
• OSU professor translates ancient text for the Dalai Lama [02/15/2004]
• Buddhist group receives funds for worker effort [02/13/2004]
• VIOLENCE IN THE SOUTH Muslims demand to meet PM [02/09/2004]
• Islamic Double-Standards [01/22/2004]
• Could this be the son of God? [09/01/2003]
• Pre-emptive surrender: Why don't some Christians stand up for the One they purport to believe in? [08/01/2003]
• Fast forward into trouble (A culture barely changed in centuries is bombarded by 46 cable channels) [06/18/2003]
• New four-winged feathered dinosaur? [01/28/2003]
• Alternative religions in Marin County (Post-Christian America) [12/02/2002]
• Scholars decipher a stunning find -an unknown canon in an ancient dialect! [10/03/2002]
• Buddha Business [08/30/2002]
• Buddha 'tolerant of gay monks' [08/30/2002]
• Buddhist temple getting garden back [Property tax follies] [08/28/2002]
• If They Believe That [08/24/2002]
• Buried relics uncovered at Angkor Wat. [07/21/2002]
• Buddhists Set Animals Free [06/30/2002]
• Baby Boomer Piety The Dumbing Down of Religious Observance [06/07/2002]

[SunkenCiv]

[Democrat = party of treason]

“IT WON’T BE BUDDHA SITTING ON THRONE...”

[Red Badger]

They misspelled buttism........

[Cronos]

Stoicism borrowed heavily from Theravada Buddhism

[Cronos]

Theravada Buddhism is not a religion, but it is the minor sect of Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism as espoused by Dhammapada and its multitude of Boddhisatvas IS a religion, and much more popular.

Original Buddhism as derived from Jainism is staunchly atheistic, believing there is no creator god, and the deities are just higher evolved beings also subject to karma.

Btw, Gautama didn’t reject Hinduism.

The Hinduism of today didn’t exist. The majority followed Vedic Hinduism, a Veda ritualized religion focused on purely Indo European gods like Indra/Perun/Thir/Tiw, Vasu/Vayu/Wiatr, Agni/Ogien etc and those gods are capricious.

Around 300 AD we see the current form of Hinduism, with a focus on personal gods like Krishna or Rama and the creation of the Hindu trinity: Brahma vishnu Shiva

[Openurmind]

“Even atheism is a religion.”

With all due respect, that isn’t going to fly.

Atheism is just lack of “any religion period”. Atheists do not label themselves or consider themselves as a religion. That false label is forced on them by other faiths without their consent.

Why is it someone can’t just “opt out” of all religion period? Zero zip? Simply choose not to go to the party at all?

Same with Buddhism, it is not a religion it is technically an “education”. But other religions falsely label it a religion.

[montag813]

Thank you for the clarification!

[nickcarraway]

Atheism is absolutely a religion. So, your argument is the government can establish atheism as state "religion" and force everyone to follow it? Since it's not a religion, you are saying the First Amendment does not protect citizens against it being forced on them?

[Openurmind]

Zero forced religion of any kind.

“Atheism is absolutely a religion.”

No it isn’t, it is simply the LACK of ANY religion at all. Atheists do not claim religion. Labeling it a religion is an absolute lie and ignorant myth perpetuated by dishonest radical extreme doctrine. Opting out of all religion altogether is just not allowed by certain faiths and doctrines. They just absolutely have to have a “Religion” to hate... And they can’t justify the hate unless they label it a religion whether it is or not.

Now “environmentalism and Liberalism” should indeed be labeled as religions and should also be separated from State and not forced by State. Because they are truly new Religions...