BUDDHISM IN CENTRAL ASIA (Buddhist Tradition Series)

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About the Book:

    Buddhism in Central Asia is a saga of Peaceful pursuit by Buddhist scholars from Kashmir and Kabul to propagate the message of the Buddha. This vast region between the Tien-Shan and the Kunlun ranges was the centre of activities of these Buddhist savants. Here people of different races and professions, speaking many languages, were finally blended into a cosmopolitan culture. This created an intellectual climate of high order. In this context, the famous silk trade route was helpful in adding to the material prosperity of the people in this region

    The present study, therefore, is not one of Buddhism in isolation. It equally provides an account of the political forces confronting each other during the course of history of this region for well over a thousand years.

    For centuries the drifting desert sand of central Asia enveloped this civilization and the region connected with it. The late-nineteenth and early twentieth century explorers and archaeologists successfully uncovered it at different centres along the old Silk Route. This has been helpful for a comprehensive study of Buddhism with its literature and art. The finds of hundreds of inscriptions have added to the cultural dimensions of the study.

About the Author:

    DR. BAIN NATH PURI (born 25th January 1916) is one of the leading historians of the country. His two works India in the Time of Patanjali and The History of the Gurjara-Pratiharas earned him the two research degrees of M. Litt and D. Phil of the University of Oxford. His publications number over 25.

    Dr. Puri is widely travelled and was invited to deliver lectures at many universities in Europe. He was for more than five years Professor and Head of the Department of Ancient Indian History and Archaeology at the Lucknow University. He is now a Professor Emeritus.

Experts from Reviews:

... Buddhism in Central Asia is a work packed with information representing great labours among the source material. It describes and summarizes a complex period of momentous import for the development of Buddhism beyond its Indian homeland.

ERIC CHETHAM.
The Middle Way, Vol. 63, No. 3, 1988.

... Dr. Puri has focused on this area (Buddhism) and has brought together a wealth of material in a condensed and compact form

Buddhist Studies Review 9, 1, 1992.

Role of Central Asian Peoples
Ancient Routes
Buddhist Finds - Liberary Texts and Monuments

The Political States of Central Asia
Kashgar
Khotan
Northern Route States
Kucha
Agnidesa or Karasahr
Kao-chang or Turfan
The Regality and Buddhism in the Northern States

Buddhism in Afghanistan, Bactria and Parthia
Buddhism and the Southern States
Buddhism and Buddhist Scholars in the Northern States
Kumarajiva - His Life and Contributions
Kumarajiva and His Contemporaries
Later Buddhist Savants
Buddhism and Other Religions in Central Asia
Brahmanism
Manichaeism, Nestorian Christianity and Buddhism
Some New Trends in Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism
Buddhism in Mongolia and Tibet

Languages
Scripts
Canonical Literature
Tibetan Buddhist Literature

Cultural Integration
Family Life
Food and Food Habits
Dress and Ornaments
Pastime and Recreations
Agricultural Economy
Handicrafts and other Industries
National Economy and Medium of Exchange and Barter
Labour and Transport
Administration and Rural Economy

Miran
The Khotan Complex
The Northern Schools
Kara-shahr
The Turfan Group
Tun-huang
Soviet Central Asia
Afghanistan
Fondukistan
Begram
Hadda
Gandhara Region
Tibetan Art

1. Buddha with Six Monks
2. Bodhisattva Seated on a Throne with a Devotee
3. Two Girl Worshippers
4. Hariti
5. Bust of Buddha
6. Worshipper or Indra
7. The Trimurti with a Small Seated Buddha
8. Cowherd Listening to the Sermon
9. Head of Mahakasyapa
10. Group of Swimmers
11. Goddess and Celestial Musicians
12. buddha and Praying Monk
13. Worshipping Bodhisattva
14. Buddha under a Canopy
15. An Uighurian Prince
16. Bodhisattva