Buddhism in Central Asia
The first time I heard about the Taliban destroying the Budha sculptures in Bamiyan Afghanistan in 2001, I must say that I was somewhat befuddled. I was aware of Buddhism spreading from Nepal and India to Srilanka and southeast Asia. I was also aware of Buddhism in Tibet, China, and Japan. But I didn’t know that Buddhism was also present in the north or northeastern region of India. I later learned that Buddhism spread from this region onward to Central Asia and from there then east to Xinjiang China. Looking at the map, it makes sense that the only way to cross the Himalayan Mountain from the Indian subcontinent is via this route.
I now think that my confusion stemmed from my subconscious mind, which thinks in terms of current nation-states boundaries instead of viewing the Indian subcontinent as one contiguous geographical entity somewhat shielded from the Eurasian continent by the Himalayas. My mind also is molded from a young age to think in terms of the current religious map of the continent rather than what it was in history before the advancement of Christianity and Islam. I recognize that I have deprived myself of understanding the cultures and the historical links between the people living next to one another with my mindset. Moreover, I am programmed to think in terms of us versus them with people who have lived in close proximity for a millennium.
The rock is from the Central State Museum of Kazakhstan in Almaty. The plaque says: found in Zhetysu (the southeastern region in Kazakhstan, meaning seven rivers, or Semirecheye in Russian). It has a Tibetan Buddhism inscription on it, “Ommane Padma Khum”, which translates in Sanskrit as “O treasure of Lotus, Amen!”.
The petroglyphs are from the Tamgaly-Tas canyon open-air rock paintings north of the Almaty reservoir. Interestingly, this Tibetan Buddhism artwork of Buddha sitting in the lotus position is from the 17th century, much later than the spread of Islam in Central Asia in 12th century. This region was occupied at the time by Dzungarians from Xinjiang province of China.
