 Buddhism in Iran
The first instance
of Buddhism entering Iran seems to have been during the life of
the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni, roughly 5/6th century BCE
Mehrak Golestan
December 15, 2004
iranian.com
During the course of this paper, I will seek to examine the spread
of Buddhism amongst Iranian people, a subject the significance
of which is often overlooked
by modern day scholars. The paper begins with a brief background of the region
and then examines the circumstances under which Buddhism entered the Persian
Empire and how it spread amongst the people of the region. It then looks
at the patterns of cross cultural influence and the mark that Buddhism left
on Iranians and vice versa.
To clarify, the area I am concerned with is not the region of
modern day Iran, rather the area of Central Asia inhabited by Iranian
people from roughly 500 BCE onwards. This would include modern
day Iran Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, as well as parts
of North-West Pakistan and India.
"The process whereby Iranians spread over Central Asia
and the Iranian Plateau can be compared with the later expansion
of the Turkic peoples... As in the Turkification of Anatolia,
the Iranians gave their languages and practises to the aboriginal
population" (Frye 1996). In the middle of the sixth
century BCE, the Achaemanid clan of the Persians was headed by Cyrus,
who ruled, under Median domination, as sub-king of Parsa, or Persis.
In 553 BCE Cyrus led a revolt that resulted in the overthrow
of
the Median ruler and the rise to the power of the Achaemenids.
A close union of Persians and Medes soon followed, and an
army drawn from these tribal groups embarked on a series of
successful
campaigns that resulted in the establishment of the first world
Empire. Inclusion in the huge Achaemenid empire brought Central
Asia into closer contact with Western Iran and the entire near
East which consequentially brought about changes in traditions,
customs and ways of life through exposure to so many different
cultures.
According to a Buddhist legend preserved in Pali (an ancient
Prakrit language, derived from Sanskrit, which is the scriptural
and liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism), the first instance
of Buddhism entering Iran seems to have been during the life of
the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni (roughly 5/6th century BCE. The
legend speaks of two Merchant brothers from Bactria (modern day
Afghanistan) who visited the Buddha in his eighth week of enlightenment,
became his disciples and then returned to Balkh (major city of
Bactria) to build temples dedicated to him. Whatever the historical
validity of this story, there is strong evidence to show that Balkh
did become a major Buddhist region and remained so up until the
Arab Muslim invasion of the 7th century.
Under the reign of King Ashoka of the Indian Maurya dynasty (324-187
BCE), Buddhism was helped to spread throughout the surrounding
region. After his only conquest of Kalinga, Ashoka was so full
of sorrow and remorse that he resolved to refrain from violence,
took the vows of an upsaka (lay Buddha) and dedicated the rest
of his life to helping spread Buddhism to distant parts of his
Kingdom. A great number of Buddhist missionaries were sent to spread
the teachings of Buddha, and rock edicts set up by Ashoka state
that he sent some to his North-West territories.
In 1958, edicts
inscribed on rock pillars promulgating the ethical standards of
Buddhist teaching were discovered in Qandahar, Afghanistan and
in 1962 a long inscription entirely in Greek (later identified
as parts of Ashokas edicts) was found in the surrounding area.
During the first century Balkh was famous throughout the region
for its Buddhist temples and the Greek scholar Alexander Polyhistor
mentions Buddhism's relationship with Iran and refers to Balkh
and its temples specifically. It is widely agreed that without
Ashokas patronage of Buddhism, it would have remained another minor
Hindu sect as opposed to the world religion it is today.
Legend
also attributes the erection of 84,000 stupas (Buddhist memorial
monument or [more likely in this case] a monument or reliquary
representing the enlightened mind) to Ashoka and while this figure
may be somewhat exaggerated, "The famous 7th century Chinese
pilgrim Hsuan-tsang observed a large number of Stupas in the Ashokan
style [which were markedly different from the ones built later
by the Kushanas] in the north-west, three at Taxila, five in Gandhara
three near Jalalabad and dozens in Qandahar" (Emmrick 1983)
The Greco-Bactrian Kingdom was another major force in the development
of the region. "Perhaps the best parallel to the Greek settlement
in Bactria would be the British to India in the 19th century" (Frye
1996). The eventual demise of the Maurya dynasty was followed by
the weak rule of the Sunga and Kanva respectively. The Greek king
of Bactria exploited this period of weak rule and managed to take
Gandhara, the Punjab and the Indus valley while his General Menander
conquered Pataliputra in Northern India.
During his reign there,
Menander adopted a policy of religious tolerance and treated Buddhist
communities under his command with benevolence. He was immortalized
by a grateful Buddhist monk, in a treatise called the "Milindapanha" or
the questions of Menander. There was then the reign of the nomadic
Sakas who absorbed some of the Buddhist religion as can be seen
by the discovery of Buddhist inscriptions they left behind. The
nomadic people known as the Parni, later to become widely known
as the Parthians then came to power around 75 AD but were defeated
by the Kushana Dynasty.
The development of Mahayana Buddhism is
closely associated with the Kushan rule and in particular the development
of "Ghandaran" Buddhist art, an amalgamation of Greek,
Iranian and Indian influences. We will return to examine the phenomenon
of Ghandaran art later as it is fundamental in understanding the
thin line between influencing and being influenced that is so characteristic
of this period and region. So far it seems that Buddhism had met
little or no opposition from "rival" religions of the
time.
This was to change under the Sassanian Dynasty when Zoroastrianism
was declared the state religion of the empire in 224 AD. Under
instruction from the highly influential Mobad (High Priest) Kartir,
Buddhists were persecuted and Buddhist temples were burnt down.
However, contrary to popular belief amongst scholars, there exists
very strong evidence to suggest that around the same time, practising
Buddhist communities continued to exist in places such as Sistan
(where the aforementioned Saka steppe tribe eventually settled),
Baluchestan and Khorasan.
Recent excavations in Khorasan have unearthed
coins bearing the head of Buddha, following the Greek influenced
tradition of coins bearing religious deities significant to the
people of the region. A Satrap of Khorasan known only as Piroz
minted the coins. The Buddhists met even more hardship at the hands
of the White Huns or Hephtalites who invaded in the 5th century.
Buddhism had a period of calm when the White Huns were defeated
by the more tolerant Turks who allowed the religion to continue.
Buddhism eventually demised with the Arab Muslim invasion of
the 7th century. The Muslims considered Buddhists idol worshipers
and
did all they could to destroy "heretical" temples and
deface artwork. Even one of the most famous testaments to Buddhism
in the middle east, the massive Buddha rock carvings at Bamiyan
were vandalized, a task that was tragically completed when the
Taliban blew up what remained of the statues in 2001 with explosives,
tanks, and anti-aircraft weapons.
The colossal Buddhas were cut at immeasurable cost (probably
in the third and fifth centuries A.D.) into the tall, sandstone
cliffs surrounding Bamiyan, an oasis town in the centre of a long
valley that separates the mountain chains of Hindu Kush and Koh-i-Baba.
The taller of the two statues (about 53 meters or 175 feet) is
thought to represent Vairocana, the "Light shining throughout
the Universe Buddha" The shorter one (36 meters or 120 feet)
probably represents Buddha Sakyamuni, although the local Hazara
people believe it depicts a woman.
The two colossi must once have
been a truly awesome sight, visible for miles, with copper masks
for faces and copper-covered hands. Vairocana's robes were painted
red and Sakyamuni's blue. These towering, transcendental images
were key symbols in the rise of Mahayana Buddhist teachings,
which emphasized the ability of everyone, not just monks, to
achieve
enlightenment. While the dates of the statues are somewhat equivocal,
the aforementioned Buddhist monk Hsuan-Tsang, who travelled to
India to bring back to China copies of the original sutras of
the Buddha's teachings, bore witness to the statues in A.D. 630-31.
Iranian influence on Buddhism and Buddhist influence on Iran
As
mentioned before, the relationship between Iranian people and
Buddhism begins very early in the Buddhist timeline, the Pali
legend even claiming that the historical Buddha had two Iranian
disciples. Also, "most of the early translations of Buddhist
texts are attributed to Monks from western central Asia, amongst
them Iranians such as Sogdians and Parthians" (Hinuber 1994).
In the same way that Iranian scholars famously contributed to the
propagation of Islam during the Muslim period, Iranian scholars
were also instrumental in the spread of Buddhism.
According to
Chinese historical sources, the first missionary Buddhist monks
to travel to China were Parsi scholars, amongst them An Shi-Kao
(the name is a Chinese version of the word Arsacid, meaning to
come from Parthia, but as there is no written form of the letter
R in Chinese, it was shortened to An in that language) a Parthian
prince who had bestowed his crown to his uncle after the death
of his father in search of mental contemplation. There are also
several other mentions of Iranian people in Chinese sources;
An Huvan was another prince from the Parthian tribe who has been
praised
for his good morals and motives. An Huvan also preached Buddhism
in China and grew so famous in virtue that was appointed as a
colonel of the cavalry by the Chinese emperor.
 The most obvious example of Iran's influence on Buddhism is to
be found in "Gandharan" the style of art that developed
under the Kushans and is closely linked with the development of
Mahayana Buddhism. Scholars agree that "It seems probable
that both [development of art as well as development of Mahayana
school of thought] arose from the contact between Greek, Iranian
and Indian influences" (Emmerick 1983).
One of the main characteristics
of Gandharan art is that we can see the first instance of the
representation of the Buddha in human form, previously he was considered
beyond
the reach of artists. A main characteristic of Mahayana Buddhism
is that it stresses the idea that the historical Buddha should
be regarded as one of many Buddhas as opposed to the idea of
an unattainable ideal. Also we begin to see the idea of the layman
attaining Enlightenment emerging in Mahayana and this is reflected
in the more frequent portrayal of laymen in religious Buddhist
art.
The oldest dated monument attesting Mahayana Buddhism was found
in Gandhara dating back to the late 1st century AD and is in a
distinct Indian/Iranian Shahnameh style. Also the famous image
of the "Persian Boddhisattva", a Khotanese painted panel
from 8th century AD, stylistically resembles a Bodhisattva while
showing a very strong influence of the Persian art of the period,
the face even closely resembles that of the Persian hero from the
Shahnameh, Rostam.
Iranian influence is also found in the figure of the Buddha Amitabha,
the way he is so closely related to eternal light and endless life
is very similar to the Iranian Time God, Zurvan. Scholars agree
that this notion of Iranian influence is certainly possible especially
during the formative phase of Central Asia when Iranian and Indian
concepts came into close contact.
The process of cultural influence worked both ways and Buddhism
has also left its mark on Iran. The town Bukhara derived its name
from "Bahara" from the Sanskrit "Vahara" meaning
temple or holy place but referring to a Buddhist place of worship
specifically. Sogdians of the time pronounced the phonetic sound "H" as "Kh" therefore
the town became known as Bukhara. There are also many villages
with "Bahar" in their names that still exist to this
day. Buddhism was at one point adopted as the state religion of
the Sassanian court under King Piroz, although this may have been
for more political reasons as the King was forced to flee from
Persia by the conquering Arabs and adopting Buddhism was a way
to gain favour with the Chinese whom he planned to ask for military
assistance.
 Although many ancient sources are fragmentary and it
is at times hard to establish an accurate picture of the past,
it is clear to see not only the influential role that Buddhism
played in the development of Iranian civilization but also the
importance that Iranians played in the development of Buddhism,
an often-overlooked part of Buddhist history.
Bibliography
Allchin, FR, The Archaeology of Afghanistan, London: Willmer
Brothers Limited, 1978
Dabbs, JA, History of the Discovery and Exploration of Chinese
Turkestan, The Hague: Mouton and Co, 1963
Emmerick, RE, "Buddhism amongst Iranian peoples" in:
Yarshater, Ed, Cambridge History of Iran, vol 3.2, Cambridge, CUP,
1983
Emmerick, RE, Book of Zambasta, London: Oxford University Press,
1968
Foltz, R, Religions of the Silk Road: Overland trade
and Cultural exchange from Antiquity to Fifteenth Century, New York: St. Martins
Press, 1999
Frye, RN, The Heritage of Central Asia from Antiquity to
the Turkish Expansion, Princeton, Markus Weiner Publishers, 1996
Hinuber, Oskar v, "Expansion to the north: Afghanistan and
Central Asia" in: The World of Buddhism, London: Thames and
Hudson, 1984
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Buddhism in Iran
