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Greco-Buddhism orGraeco-Buddhism was a result of culturalsyncretism betweenHellenistic culture andBuddhism, which developed between the 4th century BC and the 5th century AD inGandhara, which is located in present-dayPakistan and parts of north-eastAfghanistan.[2][3][4] While theGreco-Buddhist art shows clear Hellenistic influences, the majority of scholars do not assume a noticeable Greek influence onGandharan Buddhism beyond the artistic realm.[5][6][7][8][9][10]
Cultural interactions between ancient Greece and Buddhism date back to Greek forays into theIndian subcontinent from the time ofAlexander the Great. A few years after Alexander's death, the Easternmost parts of theempire of his general Seleucus were lost in a war to theMauryan Empire, underChandragupta Maurya. The MauryanEmperor Ashoka converted to Buddhism and helped spread the religion throughout his domain, as recorded in theEdicts of Ashoka. Thus resulting in Buddhism reaching theGreco-Bactrian kingdom, a successor of the Seleucid Empire.
Following the collapse of the Mauryan Empire, Buddhism continued to flourish under theGreco-Bactrian Kingdom,Indo-Greek Kingdoms, andKushan Empire.Mahayana Buddhism was spread from theGangetic plains in India intoGandhara, and then intoCentral Asia during the Mauryan Era, where it became the most prevalent branch of Buddhism in Central Asia. Mahayana Buddhism was latertransmitted through the Silk Road into theHan dynasty during the Kushan period, in the reign of EmperorKanishka. Buddhist tradition details the monk,Majjhantika ofVaranasi, was made responsible for spreading Buddhism in the region by Emperor Ashoka. Later on, theGreco-Bactrian andIndo-Greek kingMenander I, who may have converted to Buddhism, supported the spread of the religion as well.
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The introduction ofHellenistic Greece to central Asia started after the conquest of that region byDarius the Great and his PersianAchaemenid Empire. He and his successors also conquered theAnatolian peninsula, which at the time was inhabited by many Greek cultures. When they rebelled, those Greeks were often ethnically cleansed by being relocated to the far end of the Persian Empire, those central Asian provinces. WhenAlexander the Great conquered Achaemenid Empire and further regions ofCentral Asia in 334 BC, he thus encountered many Greeks already established in the easternmost stretches of its empire. He then ventured intoPunjab (land of five rivers). Alexander crossed theIndus andJhelum River when defeating Porus and appointing him as a satrap following theBattle of the Hydaspes. Alexander's army would mutiny and retreat along theBeas River when confronted by theNanda Empire, thus would not conquer Punjab entirely.
Thanks to relocation by the Persian Empire, there was established Greek culture in the far east of Alexander's empire. He founded several cities in his new territories in the areas of theAmu Darya andBactria, and Greek settlements further extended to theKhyber Pass,Gandhara (seeTaxila), and thePunjab. Following Alexander's death on 10 June 323 BC, theDiadochi or "successors" founded their own kingdoms. GeneralSeleucus set up theSeleucid Empire inAnatolia andCentral Asia and extended as far as India.
TheMauryan Empire, founded byChandragupta Maurya, would firstconquer the Nanda Empire. Chandragupta would then defeat the Seleucid Empire during theSeleucid-Mauryan War. This resulted in the transfer of the Macedonian satraps in theIndus Valley andGandhara to the Mauryan Empire. Furthermore, a marriage alliance was enacted which granted Seleucus's daughter as Chandragupta's wife for diplomatic relations. The conflict additionally led to the transfer of 500 war elephants to the Seleucid Empire from the Mauryan Empire, presumably as reparations for lives lost and damages sustained.
The Mauryan Emperor Ashoka established the largest Indian empire. Following the destructiveKalinga War, Ashoka converted to Buddhism. Abandoning an expansionist agenda, Ashoka would adopt humanitarian reformation in place.[15] As ascribed in theEdicts of Ashoka, the Emperor spreadDharma as Buddhism throughout his empire. Ashoka claims to have converted many, including the Greek populations within his realm to Buddhism:
Here in the king's domain among the Greeks, theKambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras, and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions inDharma.[16]
The decline and overthrow of the Mauryans by theShunga Empire, and of the revolt ofBactria in the Seleucid Empire led to the formation of theGreco-Bactrian Kingdom (250–125 BC). To their north, the Greco-Bactrians were followed by the secession of theIndo-Greek Kingdom (180 BC – 10 AD). Even when, centuries later, theseHellenized regions were conquered first by theYuezhi, then by theIndo-Scythians and theKushan Empire (1st–3rd centuries AD), Buddhism continued to thrive there.
Buddhism in India was a major religion for centuries until a major Hindu revival from around the 5th century, with remaining strongholds such asBengal largely ended during theIslamic invasions of India.
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The length of the Greek presence in Central Asia and northern India provided opportunities for interaction, not only on the artistic but also on the religious plane.
When Alexander invadedBactria and Gandhara, these areas may already have been underSramanic influence, likely Buddhist andJain. According to a legend preserved in thePali Canon, twomerchant brothers fromKamsabhoga in Bactria, Tapassu and Bhallika, visited Gautama Buddha and became his disciples. The legend states that they then returned home and spread the Buddha's teaching.[17] In 326 BC, Alexander conquered the Northern region of India. King Ambhi of Taxila, known asTaxiles, surrendered his city, a notable Buddhist center, to Alexander. Alexander fought a battle againstKing Porus ofPauravas in Punjab, theBattle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC.
TheMauryan Empire would later defeat the successor Seleucid Empire, during theSeleucid-Mauryan War. Resulting in the transfer of thesatraps in theIndus Valley andGandhara, that had been part of theAchaemenid,Macedonian andSeleucidian, to the Mauryan Empire. However, contacts were kept with his Greco-Iranian neighbors in theSeleucid Empire. EmperorSeleucus I Nicator came to a marital agreement as part of a peace treaty,[18] and several Greeks, such as the historianMegasthenes, resided at the Mauryan court.
Chandragupta's grandson Ashoka embraced the Buddhist faith and became a great proselytizer in the line of the traditional Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism, insisting on non-violence to humans and animals (ahimsa), and general precepts regulating the life of laypeople.
According to theEdicts of Ashoka, set in stone, some of them written in Greek[19] and some inAramaic, the official language of theAchaemenids, he sent Buddhist emissaries to the Greek lands in Asia and as far as the Mediterranean. The edicts name each of the rulers of theHellenistic period:
The conquest byDharma has been won here, on the borders, and even six hundred yojanas [4,000 miles] away, where the Greek kingAntiochos (Antiyoga) rules, and beyond there where the four kings namedPtolemy (Turamaya),Antigonos (Antikini),Magas (Maka) andAlexander (Alikasu[n]dara) rule, likewise in the south among theCholas, thePandyas, and as far asTamraparni.[20]
Ashoka also claims he converted to Buddhism Greek populations within his realm:
Here in the king's domain among the Greeks, theKambojas, the Nabhakas, the Nabhapamkits, the Bhojas, the Pitinikas, the Andhras and the Palidas, everywhere people are following Beloved-of-the-Gods' instructions inDharma.[16]
Finally, some of the emissaries of Ashoka, such as the famousDharmaraksita, are described inPali sources as leading Greek ("Yona") Buddhist monks active in Buddhist proselytism (theMahavamsa, XII[21]), founding the eponymousDharmaguptaka school of Buddhism.[22]
Alexander had established in Bactria several cities (such asAi-Khanoum andBagram) and an administration that were to last more than two centuries under theSeleucid Empire and theGreco-Bactrian Kingdom, all the time in direct contact with Indian territory. The Greeks sent ambassadors to the court of theMaurya Empire, such as the historianMegasthenes underChandragupta Maurya, and laterDeimachus under his sonBindusara, who reported extensively on the civilization of the Indians. Megasthenes sent detailed reports on Indian religions, which were circulated and quoted throughout the Classical world for centuries:[23]
Megasthenes makes a different division of the philosophers, saying that they are of two kinds, one of which he calls theBrachmanes, and the other theSarmanes...
The Greco-Bactrians maintained a strong Hellenistic culture at the door of India during the rule of the Maurya Empire in India, as exemplified by the archaeological site ofAi-Khanoum. When the Maurya Empire was toppled by theShunga Empire around 180 BC, the Greco-Bactrians expanded into India, where they established theIndo-Greek Kingdom, under which Buddhism was able to flourish.
Northern India was the Indo-Greek Kingdom, centered approximately aroundAlexandria Eschate. They controlled various areas of the northern Indian territory until 10 AD. Buddhism prospered under the Indo-Greek kings, and it has been suggested that their invasion of India was intended to protect the Buddhist faith from the religious persecutions of theShungas (185–73 BC), who had overthrown the Mauryans.Zarmanochegas was a śramana (possibly, but not necessarily a Buddhist) who, according to ancient historians such asStrabo,Cassius Dio, andNicolaus of Damascus traveled toAntioch andAthens whileAugustus (died 14 AD) was ruling theRoman Empire.[25][26]
The coins of the Indo-Greek kingMenander I (r. 160–135 BC), found fromAfghanistan to central India, bear the inscription "Saviour King Menander" in Greek on the front. Several Indo-Greek kings after Menander, such asZoilos I,Strato I,Heliokles II,Theophilos,Peukolaos,Menander II, andArchebius display on their coins the title "Maharajasa Dharmika" (lit. "King of the Dharma") inPrakrit written inKharoshthi.
Some of the coins of Menander I andMenander II incorporate the Buddhist symbol of the eight-spoked wheel, associated with the Greek symbols of victory, either the palm of victory, or the victory wreath handed over by the goddessNike. According to theMilinda Pañha, at the end of his reign Menander I became a Buddhistarhat,[27] a fact also echoed byPlutarch, who explains that his relics were shared and enshrined.[28]
The ubiquitous symbol of the elephant in Indo-Greek coinage may also have been associated with Buddhism, as suggested by the parallel between coins ofAntialcidas andMenander II, where the elephant in the coins of Antialcidas holds the same relationship to Zeus and Nike as the Buddhist wheel on the coins of Menander II. When theZoroastrianIndo-Parthian Kingdom invaded North India in the 1st century AD, they adopted a large part of the symbolism of Indo-Greek coinage, but refrained from ever using the elephant, suggesting that its meaning was not merely geographical.
Finally, after the reign of Menander I, several Indo-Greek rulers, such asAmyntas Nikator,Nicias,Peukolaos,Hermaeus,Hippostratos andMenander II, depicted themselves or their Greek deities forming with the right hand a benediction gesture identical to the Buddhist vitarkamudra (thumb and index joined together, with other fingers extended), which in Buddhism signifies the transmission of Buddha's teaching.
According toPtolemy, Greek cities were founded by the Greco-Bactrians innorthern India. Menander established his capital inSagala (modernSialkot,Punjab, Pakistan) one of the centers of the blossomingBuddhist culture.[29] A large Greek city built byDemetrius and rebuilt by Menander has been excavated at the archaeological site ofSirkap nearTaxila, where Buddhiststupas were standing side-by-side withHindu andGreek temples, indicating religious tolerance and syncretism.
Evidence of direct religious interaction between Greek and Buddhist thought during the period include theMilinda Pañha or "Questions of Menander", a Pali-language discourse in thePlatonic style held between Menander I and the Buddhist monkNagasena.
TheMahavamsa, chapter 29, records that during Menander's reign, a Greekthera (elder monk) namedMahadharmaraksita led 30,000 Buddhist monks from "the Greek city of Alexandria" (possiblyAlexandria on the Caucasus, around 150 kilometres (93 mi) north of today'sKabul in Afghanistan), toSri Lanka for the dedication of a stupa, indicating that Buddhism flourished in Menander's territory and that Greeks took a very active part in it.[30]
Several Buddhist dedications by Greeks in India are recorded, such as that of the Greekmeridarch (civil governor of a province) namedTheodorus, describing in Kharosthi how he enshrinedrelics of the Buddha. The inscriptions were found on a vase inside a stupa, dated to the reign of Menander or one of his successors in the 1st century BC.[31] Finally, Buddhist tradition recognizes Menander as one of the great benefactors of the faith, together with Ashoka andKanishka the Great.
Buddhist manuscripts in cursive Greek have been found in Afghanistan, praising various Buddhas and including mentions of theMahayana figure of "Lokesvararaja Buddha" (λωγοασφαροραζοβοδδο). These manuscripts have been dated later than the 2nd century CE.[32]
TheKushan Empire, one of the five tribes of theYuezhi, settled inBactria around 125 BC, displacing the Greco-Bactrians and invading the northern parts of Pakistan and India from around 1 AD. By that time they had already been in contact with Greek culture and the Indo-Greek kingdoms for more than a century. They used the Greek script to write their language, as exemplified by theircoins and their adoption of theGreek alphabet.
The Kushan King Kanishka, who honored Zoroastrian, Greek and Brahmanic deities as well as the Buddha and was famous for his religious syncretism, convened theFourth Buddhist council around 100 inKashmir in order to redact theSarvastivadin canon. Some of Kanishka's coins bear the earliest representations of the Buddha on a coin (around 120), in Hellenistic style and with the word "Boddo" in Greek script. Kanishka also had the original Gandhari PrakritMahāyāna sūtras translated intoSanskrit, "a turning point in the evolution of the Buddhist literary canon"[33] TheKanishka casket, dated to the first year of Kanishka's reign in 127, was signed by a Greek artist namedAgesilas, who oversaw work at Kanishka's stupas (cetiya), confirming the direct involvement of Greeks with Buddhist realizations at such a late date.
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SeveralGreek philosophers, includingPyrrho,Anaxarchus, andOnesicritus accompanied Alexander in his eastern campaigns. During the 18 months they were in India, they were able to interact withIndian philosophers who pursuedasceticism, generally described asgymnosophists ("naked philosophers").[34]
Pyrrho returned to Greece and foundedPyrrhonism, considered by modern scholars as the first Western school ofskepticism.[35] The Greek biographerDiogenes Laërtius explained that Pyrrho's equanimity and detachment from the world were acquired in India.[35][36]
Pyrrho was directly influenced by Buddhism in developing his philosophy, which is based on Pyrrho's interpretation of the Buddhistthree marks of existence.[35][37]
Another of these philosophers, Onesicritus, aCynic, is said byStrabo to have learnt in India the following precepts: "That nothing that happens to a man is bad or good, opinions being merely dreams. ... That the best philosophy [is] that which liberates the mind from [both] pleasure and grief".[24] Cynicism, particularly the CynicPeregrinus Proteus was further influenced by the tales of thegymnosophists, particularly the examples set byKalanos,Dandamis, andZarmanochegas.[citation needed]
TheCyrenaic philosopherHegesias of Cyrene, from the city ofCyrene whereMagas of Cyrene ruled, is thought by some to have been influenced by the teachings of Ashoka's Buddhist missionaries.[38]
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Numerous works ofGreco-Buddhist art display the intermixing of Greek and Buddhist influences in such creation centers asGandhara. The subject matter of Gandharan art was definitely Buddhist, while most motifs were ofWestern Asiatic or Hellenistic origin.
Although there is still some debate, the firstanthropomorphic representations of the Buddha himself are often considered a result of the Greco-Buddhist interaction. Before this innovation, Buddhist art was "aniconic": the Buddha was only represented through his symbols (an empty throne, theBodhi Tree,Buddha footprints, theDharmachakra).
This reluctance towards anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, and the sophisticated development of aniconic symbols to avoid it (even in narrative scenes where other human figures would appear), seem to be connected to one of the Buddha's sayings reported in theDigha Nikaya that discouraged representations of himself after the extinction of his body.[39]
Probably not feeling bound by these restrictions, and because of "their cult of form, the Greeks were the first to attempt a sculptural representation of the Buddha".[40] In many parts of the Ancient World, the Greeks did developsyncretic divinities, that could become a common religious focus for populations with different traditions: a well-known example isSerapis, introduced byPtolemy I Soter inHellenistic Egypt, who combined aspects of Greek and Egyptian Gods. In India as well, it was only natural for the Greeks to create a single common divinity by combining the image of a Greekgod-king (Apollo, or possibly the deified founder of theIndo-Greek Kingdom,Demetrius I of Bactria), with the traditionalphysical characteristics of the Buddha.
Many of the stylistic elements in the representations of the Buddha point to Greek influence:himation, thecontrapposto stance of the upright figures, such as the 1st–2nd century Gandhara standing Buddhas, the stylized curly hair andushnisha apparently derived from the style of theApollo Belvedere (330 BC) and the measured quality of the faces, all rendered with strong artisticrealism.[42] A large quantity ofsculptures combining Buddhist and purely Hellenistic styles andiconography were excavated at the modern site ofHadda, Afghanistan. The curly hair of Buddha is described in the famous list of thephysical characteristics of the Buddha in the Buddhist sutras. The hair with curls turning to the right is first described in thePāli canon; we find the same description in theDāsāṣṭasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā.[citation needed] Additionally, the nudity ofJainist sculptures might have been inspired byApollonian archetypes.[42]
Greek artists were most probably the authors of these early representations of the Buddha, in particular the standing statues, which display "a realistic treatment of the folds and on some even a hint of modelled volume that characterizes the best Greek work. This is Classical or Hellenistic Greek, not archaizing Greek transmitted by Persia or Bactria, nor distinctivelyRoman."[43]
The Greek stylistic influence on the representation of the Buddha, through its idealistic realism, also permitted a very accessible, understandable and attractive visualization of the ultimate state ofenlightenment described by Buddhism, allowing it to reach a wider audience:
One of the distinguishing features of the Gandharan school of art that emerged in north-west India is that it has been clearly influenced by the naturalism of the Classical Greek style. Thus, while these images still convey the inner peace that results from putting the Buddha's doctrine into practice, they also give us an impression of people who walked and talked, etc. and slept much as we do. I feel this is very important. These figures are inspiring because they do not only depict the goal, but also the sense that people like us can achieve it if we try.
During the following centuries, this anthropomorphic representation of the Buddha defined the canon of Buddhist art, but progressively evolved to incorporate more Indian and Asian elements.
Several other Buddhist deities may have been influenced by Greek gods. For example,Heracles with a lion-skin, the protector deity ofDemetrius I of Bactria, "served as an artistic model forVajrapani, a protector of the Buddha".[45][46] InJapan, this expression further translated into the wrath-filled and muscularNiō guardian gods of the Buddha, standing today at the entrance of many Buddhist temples.
According to Katsumi Tanabe, professor at Chūō University, Japan, besides Vajrapani, Greek influence also appears in several other gods of the Mahayana pantheon such as the JapaneseFūjin, inspired from the Greek divinityBoreas through the Greco-Buddhist Wardo, or the mother deityHariti inspired byTyche.[47]
In addition, forms such asgarland-bearingcherubs,vinescrolls, and such semihuman creatures as thecentaur andtriton, are part of the repertory of Hellenistic art introduced by Greco-Roman artists in the service of the Kushan court.
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Greek monks played a direct role in the upper hierarchy of Buddhism, and in its early dissemination. During the rule (165–135 BC) of theGreco-Bactrian KingMenander I (Pali: "Milinda"),Mahadharmaraksita (literally translated as 'Great Teacher/Preserver of the Dharma') was "a Greek (Pali:Yona, lit.Ionian) Buddhist head monk," according to theMahavamsa (Chap. XXIX), who led 30,000 Buddhist monks from "the Greek city of Alasandra" (Alexandria of the Caucasus, around 150 km north of today'sKabul inAfghanistan), to Sri Lanka for the dedication of theGreat Stupa inAnuradhapura.Dharmaraksita (Sanskrit), or Dhammarakkhita (Pali) (translation:Protected by theDharma), was one of themissionaries sent by theMauryan emperorAshoka to proselytize theBuddhist faith. He is described as being a Greek (Pali: "Yona", lit. "Ionian") in theMahavamsa, and his activities are indicative of the strength of the HellenisticGreek involvement during the formative centuries of Buddhism. Indeed,Menander I was famously converted to Buddhism byNagasena, who was a student of the Greek Buddhist monkDharmaraksita. Menander is said to have reached enlightenment as anarhat under Nagasena's guidance and is recorded as a great patron of Buddhism. The dialogue of the Greek King Menander I (Pali "Milinda") with the monkNagasena comprises the Pali Buddhist work known as theMilinda Panha.
Buddhist monks from the region ofGandhara, where Greco-Buddhism was most influential, later played a key role in the development and the transmission of Buddhist ideas in the direction of northern Asia. Greco-BuddhistKushan monks such asLokaksema (c. 178 CE) travelled to the Chinese capital ofLoyang, where they became the first translators of Buddhist scriptures into Chinese.[48] Central Asian and East Asian Buddhist monks appear to have maintained strong exchanges until around the 10th century, as indicated by theBezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves frescos from theTarim Basin. In legend tooBodhidharma, the founder ofChán-Buddhism, which later becameZen, and the legendary originator of the physical training of theShaolin monks that led to the creation ofShaolin Kung Fu, is described as a Buddhist monk fromCentral Asia in the first Chinese references to him (Yan Xuan-Zhi in 547).[49] ThroughoutBuddhist art, Bodhidharma is depicted as a rather ill-tempered, profusely bearded and wide-eyed barbarian, and he is referred as "The Blue-EyedBarbarian" (碧眼胡;Bìyǎn hú) in Chinese Chan texts.[50] In 485 CE, according to the 7th-century Chinese historical treatiseLiang Shu, five monks from Gandhara travelled to the country ofFusang ("The country of the extreme East" beyond the sea, probably easternJapan), where they introduced Buddhism:
"Fusang is located to the east of China, 20,000li [1,500 km] east of the state ofDa Han (itself east of the state ofWa in modernKyūshū,Japan). (...) In former times, the people of Fusang knew nothing of the Buddhist religion, but in the second year of Da Ming of theSong dynasty [AD 485], five monks from Kipin (Kabul region of Gandhara) travelled by ship to Fusang. They propagated Buddhist doctrine, circulated scriptures and drawings, and advised the people to relinquish worldly attachments. As a result the customs of Fusang changed." (Chinese: "扶桑在大漢國東二萬餘里,地在中國之東(...)其俗舊無佛法,宋大明二年,罽賓國嘗有比丘五人游行至其國,流通佛法,經像,教令出家,風 俗遂改.")
Two half-brothers fromGandhara,Asanga andVasubandhu (4th century), created theYogacara or "Mind-only" school of Mahayana Buddhism, which through one of its major texts, theLankavatara Sutra, became a founding block of Mahayana, and particularly Zen, philosophy.
Intense westward physical exchange at that time along theSilk Road is confirmed by the Roman craze forsilk from the 1st century BC to the point that theSenate issued, in vain, several edicts to prohibit the wearing of silk, on economic and moral grounds. This is attested by at least three authors:Strabo (64/63 BC –c. 24 AD),Seneca the Younger (c. 3 BC – 65 AD), andPliny the Elder (23–79 AD). The aforementioned Strabo andPlutarch (c. 45–125 AD) also wrote about Indo-Greek Buddhist kingMenander, confirming that information about the Indo-Greek Buddhists was circulating throughout the Hellenistic world.
Zarmanochegas (Zarmarus) (Ζαρμανοχηγὰς) was a monk of theSramana tradition (possibly, but not necessarily a Buddhist) who, according to ancient historians such asStrabo andDio Cassius, metNicholas of Damascus inAntioch while Augustus (d. 14 AD) was ruling the Roman Empire, and shortly thereafter proceeded to Athens where he burnt himself to death.[25][26] His story and tomb in Athens were well-known over a century later.Plutarch (d. 120 AD) in his Life of Alexander, after discussing the self-immolation ofCalanus of India (Kalanos) witnessed by Alexander writes: "The same thing was done long after by another Indian who came with Caesar to Athens, where they still show you 'the Indian's Monument,'"[51] referring to Zarmanochegas' tomb in Roman Athens.
Another century later, the Christianchurch fatherClement of Alexandria (d. 215 AD) mentioned Buddha by name in his Stromata (Bk I, Ch XV): "The Indiangymnosophists are also in the number, and the other barbarian philosophers. And of these there are two classes, some of them called Sarmanæ and others Brahmins. And those of the Sarmanæ who are called "Hylobii" neither inhabit cities, nor have roofs over them, but are clothed in the bark of trees, feed on nuts, and drink water in their hands. Like those called Encratites in the present day, they know not marriage nor begetting of children. Some, too, of the Indians obey the precepts ofBuddha (Βούττα) whom, on account of his extraordinary sanctity, they have raised to divine honours."[52]
Indian gravestones from thePtolemaic period have been found in Alexandria in Egypt.[53] The presence of Buddhists in Alexandria at this time is important, since "It was later in this very place that some of the most active centers of Christianity were established".[54]
The pre-Christian monastic order of theTherapeutae is possibly a deformation of the Pāli word "Theravāda",[55] a form of Buddhism; the movement may have also "almost entirely drawn (its) inspiration from the teaching and practices of Buddhist asceticism".[54] They may even have been descendants ofAsoka's emissaries to the West.[56] WhilePhilo of Alexandria's description of the doctrines and practices of the Therapeutae leaves great ambiguity about what religion they are associated with, analysis by religious scholar Ullrich R. Kleinhempel indicates that the most likely religion the Therapeutae practiced was Buddhism.[57]
In 2022, American-Polish archeologists unearthed an Egyptian temple dedicated to the goddessIsis and godSerapis, containing aBuddhasculpture andHindu gods; this find indicates Greco-Buddhist influence extending to the early Roman period.[58]
Although the philosophical systems of Buddhism and Christianity have evolved in rather different ways, the moral precepts advocated by Buddhism from the time of Ashoka through his edicts do have some similarities with the Christian moral precepts developed more than two centuries later. Similarities of the two religions include respect for life, respect for the weak, rejection of violence, pardon to sinners, and tolerance.
One theory is that these similarities may indicate the propagation of Buddhist ideals into the Western World, with the Greeks acting as intermediaries and religious syncretists.[59]
Scholars have often considered the possibility that Buddhism influenced the early development of Christianity. They have drawn attention to many parallels concerning the births, lives, doctrines, and deaths of the Buddha and Jesus.[citation needed]
— Bentley,Old World Encounters
Saint Jerome (4th century AD) mentions the birth of the Buddha, who he says "was born from the side of a virgin,"[60] and the influential early Christian church fatherClement of Alexandria (d. 215) mentioned Buddha (Βούττα) in his Stromata (Bk I, Ch XV).[52] The legend of Christian saintsBarlaam and Josaphat draws on the life of the Buddha.[61]
The idea of a Greek influence on the development of Buddhism has been particularly advocated byÉtienne Lamotte[62] andThomas McEvilley, who has speculated that “like the Gandharan art style, the Gandharan Buddhist style must have had a prominent Hellenic factor”,[63] although he does not employ the term "Greco-Buddhism" for this. McEvilley's theory has been met by skepticism by other scholars.[64][65][66]
While the Hellenistic influences in Gandharan Buddhist art have been widely accepted[42][67][68] it remains a matter of controversy among art historians whether the non-Indian characteristics of Gandhāran sculpture reflect a continuous Greek tradition rooted in Alexander’s conquests in Bactria, subsequent contacts with later traditions of the Hellenistic east, direct communication with contemporary artists from the Roman empire, or some complex conjunction of such sources.[69] Examples include statues ofbodhisattvas adorned with royal jewellery (bracelets and torques) and amulet boxes, thecontrapposto stance, an emphasis on draperies, and a plethora ofDionysian themes.[42]
Beyond the artistic realm, however, most scholars do not assume a noticeable Greek influence onGandharan Buddhism.[5][6][7][8][9][10][70] Some have identified a need for further research in this regard.[3][71] Olga Kubica has criticised the term "Greco-Buddhism" as "inadequate" since a "reconciliation or union of differing systems of belief" did not occur here. She states that she does "not exclude the possibility that some phenomena within Buddhism may be interpreted as a manifestation of syncretism between Greek and Buddhist elements, but the term Greco-Buddhism applies only to certain aspects and not to the entirety of Greco-Buddhist relations".[2]
The term "Greco-Buddhist art" has also been criticised among art historians.[72][73] According to Peter Stewart, it is "deeply deceptive in several ways and should be avoided".[74]Johanna Hanink has attributed the concept of "Greco-Buddhist art" to a European scholarly inability to accept that natives could have developed "the pleasing proportions and elegant poses of sculptures from ancient Gandhara", citing Michael Falser and arguing that the entire notion of "Buddhist art with a Greek 'essence'" is a colonial imposition that originated during British rule in India.[75][76]
The philosopher Hegesias of Cyrene (nicknamedPeisithanatos, "The advocate of death") was a contemporary of Magas and was probably influenced by the teachings of the Buddhist missionaries to Cyrene and Alexandria. His influence was such that he was ultimately prohibited from teaching.
Certain Indian notions may have made their way westward into the budding Christianity of the Mediterranean world through the channels of the Greek diaspora
The form Būdhīsaf is the original, as shown by Sogdian form Pwtysfi and the early New Persian form BwdysfOn the Christian versions see A. S. Geden, Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, s.v. "Josaphat, Barlaam and," and M. P. Alfaric, ..."
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