DOCSLIB.ORG

Buddha's Forgotten Country : the History of Buddhism in Afghanistan

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Buddha's Forgotten Country : the History of Buddhism in Afghanistan POETRY ART&mOUGIIT PIKRUN WA FANN 41st cznd) .yeat~ no. 78 (no: 3) November 2003 - May 2004 , Publisher: Goethe-Institute Chief Editor: Stefan Weidner Editorial Board: Manutshehr Amirpur Brigitte Oleschinski Ahmad Hissou G2 Mission Impossible Stefan Weidner A Trip to the First International Poetry Festival in Indonesia Translations: Timothy Nevill Copy Editor: Charlotte Collins Ranjit Hoskote 68 Lool<ing for Anchorage, Assistance with photographic material: and Not in Alasl<a Alone Hella Roth Special thanks to Ratbil Ahang Sh<uriel and his reliable German-Afghan 11<:1.vvuu~-- REVIEWS Layout & Design: Stefan Weidner Graphieteam Köln Bonn 7 2 Saying the Unspeakahle Michael Krupp AGD A NewStory by Atiq Rahimi Printing: Köllen Druck+ Verlag Bettina Prato Publlsher's Address: 7 3 Earning the Right to Watch Goethe Institut Inter Nationes Susan Sonlag's Kennedyallee 91-10~_ "Regarding The Pain of Olhers" 53175 Bonn Germany Stefan Weidner 75 A Pinch of Afghano-Centrism Piease Editor's Address: Nicolas Bouvier's Travels in Afghanistan Art & Thought/Fikrun wa Fann Kasparstr. 41 Michael Thoss ·50670 Köln 77 Khaled Hosseini's Novel Germany "The l<ite Runner" e-mail: [email protected] Slefan Weidner 73 The Swallows of l<abul •: Intern~t: . .. Yasmina Khadra's New Novel www.goethe.de/in/d/pub/fikrun/fikrun.hUnl www.qantara.de Art & Thought is a cultural magazine_ published twice a year by the German Goethe Institute in English,, Arabic ("Fikrun wa Fann"), ·. and Farsi ("Andishe va Honar."), ßO Alighiero Boetti and Afghanistan ~ GOETH!·INSTITUT Jens-Utve Hartmann Buddha's Forgotten Country The History of Buddhism in Afghanistan /1 fghanistan was alw,1ys a completely Is­ Prices rase rapidly and considerable sums are ' lamic countty'. This view was held al­ now paid for such manuscripts - with the out­ rnost everywbere until recently and bard­ come that fresh supplies continue to reach the ly anyone paid any attention to the fact that other West and Japan by way of Pakistan. Opinions are religions must have existed there before Islam was underslandably dividecl. On the one hancl, any established. The fact that Buddhism was one of increase in knowledge that can be clerived fram those religions was basically only known to peo­ manuscripts relating to the histmy of Buddhist ple interested in the histoty of Afghanistan or of writings and of Afghanistan is to be welcomed. On Buddhism, or to the few travellers who chanced the other, the precise circumstances of discovery upon Buddhist monuments when moving through remain unknown, meaning lhat irreplaceable data the country. However, two and a half years ago, in is lost for historians. They would very much like March 2001, when the Taliban set about getting rid lo know where a manuscript originatecl, whether of the two monumental statues of the Buddha in it was cliscoverecl in a former cave-monastery or in Bamiyan Valley, the general public across the a stupa (a Buddhist grave monument), whether it world suddenly became aware thal Islam was by was found in isolation or Iogether with other texts, no means the only religion which had shaped and mucb besides. All such information would tell Afghanistan. As is so often the case, only the irre­ us something about religious life in Afghanistan versible lass of patt of our culturallegacy made its over a thousancl years ago, but up to now we only existence widely known. The blowing up of the have the manuscripts themselves and Iack infor­ Buddhas probably brought about the opposite of mation about where and how they survivecl for what those responsible intended - and one can over a millennium. even be pleased about that. Nevertheless, it is no How clid Buddhism come to Afghanistan? The consolation for the irrevocable deslruction of two political creation we today associate with the cultural monuments of global significance. All the name 'Afghanistan' is relatively recent. 1t is not current ideas about reconstructing the two foundecl on any linguistic or cultural unily that Buddhas seem to me to be of dubious value. can Iook back on a long history. In lhe past, the These doubts arise because there are much more area comprising today's state was usually clivided urgent prablems to be solved in today's into several kingdoms. That was already the case Afghanistan than the recreation of two stone in the pre-Christian centuries, although we do not sculptures, no matter how helpful these monu­ know much about this period. The first relatively mental figures might one day be in pramoting a certain contact with Buddhism can be dated revival of tourism. araund the third century B.C. At that time the A second phenomenon has also contributed in Mamya dynasty was establishing the first major recent years to renewed awareness of Afghanis­ empire in Inclia, the north-west of which also tan's Buddhist past, and this too is certainly con­ inclucled Pakistan ancl parts of modern Afghanis­ nected with civil war. For about ten years now tan. This dynasty's most important ruler, Ashoka, Buddhist manuscripts from Afghanistan have bad inscriptions prominently displayed through­ been an offer an the Western and Far Eastern art out his empire, and the most westerly of these markets. Initially these were probably chance were cliscoverecl in Kandahar. Characteristically, discoveries, possibly in former cave-monasteries lhese inscriptions were not in any Indian script or in which combatants or civilians had sought ref­ language; they had been translated into Creek and uge. Unfortunately, more precise information Aramaic, utilising the Creek alphabet. This shows about the origins and discovery of these manu­ that Ashoka's empire reached as far as a region scripts is not available to date. Specialists quickly where Creek was obviously a lingua franca and recognised how sensational these finds were when used for administrative purposes. This Creek in­ the first manuscripts reached the Western market, fluence had arrived and talk of 'The Dead Sea Serails of Buddhism' with Alexander the Tlie Big /3uclclcllia of /3amiyan, 1931 was soon doing the raunds. This was enthusiasti­ Creat, who advan­ Photo tai<en ftom Betenfee Geoff- cally Laken up by the English-language media and ced as far as Inclia roy-ScluJeiter's !Jook: "Ghanc!ata" many press stories ensured that news of the new in 327 - 326, exten­ With kind pennisstoll of l<ncsebcc/, manuscripts spread far and wide. cling bis empire into Verlag, Munich. Art & Thought 34 the Punjab. His campaign left no Iasting traces in ly true. The oldest depiclion of the Buddha known lndia itself and Alexander's empire began to dis­ to us is on the obverse of a coin showing Kanish­ integrale after his death, bul the Creek cultural ka. On the other hand, coins also demonstrate that influences remained a dominant element in the the Kuchanas clearly pursued a very even-handed Eastern states which then came into existence. policy with regard to religion, promoting all the The most easterly Creek town we know of today faiths represented in their empire. was excavated in the 1960s by a team of French Political stability favours trade, and Irade then archaeologists in the far north of Afghanistan - at generates a flourishing economy, which enables Ai Khanum on the Amu Darya. The influence of the provision of a viable basis for craftsmen and Creek and later Roman culture persisted for cen­ artists as weil as representatives of the various turies, and after the start of the new millennium religions. This laid the foundation stone for made a wonderfut contribution to Lhe emergence Candhara art. Candhara was originally the old of Buddhist art. We will turn to that in a moment. name for the region araund Peshawar. It was Under Ashoka, Buddhism in India seems to however subsequently applied to a considerably have blossomed initially, so it is to be assumed !arger artistic area characterised by a relatively that political stability and the associaled long­ unified style. Indian art scholars Loday use this distance trade also favoured extension of order to designation for a region comprising parts of the north-west of the empire. However, sure signs Afghanistan, the northern part of Pakistan, and of this expansion are only known from the first the extreme north-western corner of India. For century B.C., particularly in the form of dated centmies the Buddha had been represented by inscriptions. Dateabte evidence only becomes symbols such as a footprint, rather than being more prolific in the post-millennium centuries, depicted figuratively. This period is termed the particularly through donor inscriptions, in which 'anti-iconic' phase of Buddhist art. Under the the names of individual Buddhist sects may ap­ Kuchanas, however, the first figurative depictions pear. Buddhism experienced an enormaus up­ of the Buddha were simultaneously produced in surge when a !arge new empire was estabtished northern lndia and Candhara. In northern India in the north-west during the first century A.D. artists based their work on Indian precedents, cre­ A migrant people from Centrat Asia, whose origins ating a unified form of representation. In Can­ are not entirety clear, seized power in Bactria (an dhara, however, artists took the still-presenl forms otd empire incorporating the north of Afghanistan of Creco-Roman art as their model, thereby crea­ with Batq as its capitat). lts ruters belonged to the ting that unique synthesis of Western forms and Kuchana tribe, which gave its name to both the Indian content which has become world-famous dynasty and the empire. They succeeded in conli­ as 'Candhara art'. For portraying the Buddha they nually expanding their sphere of influence, which used the Creek god Apollo as a model, for secon­ eventually incorporated Afghanistan, Pakistan, dary figures other Creek gods such as Hermes or !arge parts of northern India and areas of Uzbekis­ Fortuna, and for Bodhisaltvas, an exceplionally tan, and reached far into Centrat Asia.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Early Pyrrhonism As a Sect of Buddhism? a Case Study in the Methodology of Comparative Philosophy
    Comparative Philosophy Volume 9, No. 2 (2018): 1-40 Open Access / ISSN 2151-6014 www.comparativephilosophy.org EARLY PYRRHONISM AS A SECT OF BUDDHISM? A CASE STUDY IN THE METHODOLOGY OF COMPARATIVE PHILOSOPHY MONTE RANSOME JOHNSON & BRETT SHULTS ABSTRACT: We offer a sceptical examination of a thesis recently advanced in a monograph published by Princeton University Press entitled Greek Buddha: Pyrrho’s Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia. In this dense and probing work, Christopher I. Beckwith, a professor of Central Eurasian studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, argues that Pyrrho of Elis adopted a form of early Buddhism during his years in Bactria and Gandhāra, and that early Pyrrhonism must be understood as a sect of early Buddhism. In making his case Beckwith claims that virtually all scholars of Greek, Indian, and Chinese philosophy have been operating under flawed assumptions and with flawed methodologies, and so have failed to notice obvious and undeniable correspondences between the philosophical views of the Buddha and of Pyrrho. In this study we take Beckwith’s proposal and challenge seriously, and we examine his textual basis and techniques of translation, his methods of examining passages, his construal of problems and his reconstruction of arguments. We find that his presuppositions are contentious and doubtful, his own methods are extremely flawed, and that he draws unreasonable conclusions. Although the result of our study is almost entirely negative, we think it illustrates some important general points about the methodology of comparative philosophy. Keywords: adiaphora, anātman, anattā, ataraxia, Buddha, Buddhism, Democritus, Pāli, Pyrrho, Pyrrhonism, Scepticism, trilakṣaṇa 1. INTRODUCTION One of the most ambitious recent works devoted to comparative philosophy is Christopher Beckwith’s monograph Greek Buddha: Pyrrho’s Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia (2015).
    [Show full text]
  • Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art
    Rienjang and Stewart (eds) Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art Edited by Wannaporn Rienjang Peter Stewart Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art Since the beginning of Gandhāran studies in the nineteenth century, chronology has been one of the most significant challenges to the understanding of Gandhāran art. Many other ancient societies, including those of Greece and Rome, have left a wealth of textual sources which have put their fundamental chronological frameworks beyond doubt. In the absence of such sources on a similar scale, even the historical eras cited on inscribed Gandhāran works of art have been hard to place. Few sculptures have such inscriptions and the majority lack any record of find-spot or even general provenance. Those known to have been found at particular sites were sometimes moved and reused in antiquity. Consequently, the provisional dates assigned to extant Gandhāran sculptures have sometimes differed by centuries, while the narrative of artistic development remains doubtful and inconsistent. Building upon the most recent, cross-disciplinary research, debate and excavation, this volume reinforces a new consensus about the chronology of Gandhāra, bringing the history of Gandhāran art into sharper focus than ever. By considering this tradition in its wider context, alongside contemporary Indian art and subsequent developments in Central Asia, the authors also open up fresh questions and problems which a new phase of research will need to address. Problems of Chronology in Gandhāran Art is the first publication of the Gandhāra Connections project at the University of Oxford’s Classical Art Research Centre, which has been supported by the Bagri Foundation and the Neil Kreitman Foundation.
    [Show full text]
  • Mahayana Buddhism: the Doctrinal Foundations, Second Edition
    9780203428474_4_001.qxd 16/6/08 11:55 AM Page 1 1 Introduction Buddhism: doctrinal diversity and (relative) moral unity There is a Tibetan saying that just as every valley has its own language so every teacher has his own doctrine. This is an exaggeration on both counts, but it does indicate the diversity to be found within Buddhism and the important role of a teacher in mediating a received tradition and adapting it to the needs, the personal transformation, of the pupil. This divers- ity prevents, or strongly hinders, generalization about Buddhism as a whole. Nevertheless it is a diversity which Mahayana Buddhists have rather gloried in, seen not as a scandal but as something to be proud of, indicating a richness and multifaceted ability to aid the spiritual quest of all sentient, and not just human, beings. It is important to emphasize this lack of unanimity at the outset. We are dealing with a religion with some 2,500 years of doctrinal development in an environment where scho- lastic precision and subtlety was at a premium. There are no Buddhist popes, no creeds, and, although there were councils in the early years, no attempts to impose uniformity of doctrine over the entire monastic, let alone lay, establishment. Buddhism spread widely across Central, South, South-East, and East Asia. It played an important role in aiding the cultural and spiritual development of nomads and tribesmen, but it also encountered peoples already very culturally and spiritually developed, most notably those of China, where it interacted with the indigenous civilization, modifying its doctrine and behaviour in the process.
    [Show full text]
  • Ghazni of Afghanistan Issue: 2 Mohammad Towfiq Rahmani Month: October Miniature Department, Faculty of Fine Arts, Herat University, Herat, Afghanistan
    SHANLAX International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities s han lax # S I N C E 1 9 9 0 OPEN ACCESS Artistic Characters and Applied Materials of Buddhist Temples in Kabul Volume: 7 and Tapa Sardar (Sardar Hill) Ghazni of Afghanistan Issue: 2 Mohammad Towfiq Rahmani Month: October Miniature Department, Faculty of Fine Arts, Herat University, Herat, Afghanistan Year: 2019 Abstract Kabul and Ghazni Buddhist Temple expresses Kushani Buddhist civilization in Afghanistan and also reflexes Buddhist religion’s thoughts at the era with acquisitive moves. The aim of this article P-ISSN: 2321-788X is introducing artistic characters of Kabul Buddhist temples and Tapa Sardar Hill of Ghazni Buddhist Temple in which shows abroad effects of Buddhist religion in Afghanistan history and the importance of this issue is to determine characters of temple style with applied materials. The E-ISSN: 2582-0397 results of this research can present character of Buddhist Temples in Afghanistan, thoughts of establishment and artificial difference with applied materials. Received: 12.09.2019 Buddhist religion in Afghanistan penetrated and developed based on Mahayana religious thoughts. Artistic work of Kabul and Tapa Sardar Hill of Ghazni Buddhist Temples are different from the point of artistic style and material applied; Bagram Artistic works are made in style of Garico Accepted: 19.09.2019 Buddhic and Garico Kushan but Tapa Narenj Hill artistic works are made based on Buddhist regulation and are seen as ethnical and Hellenistic style. There are similarities among Bagram Published: 01.10.2019 and Tapa Sardar Hill of Ghani Buddhist Temples but most differentiates are set on statues in which Tapa Sardar Hill of Ghazni statue is lied in which is different from sit and stand still statues of Bagram.
    [Show full text]
  • The Mahayana Doctrine and Art. Comments on the Story of Amitabha
    MISCEIvIvANEOUS. MAHAYANA DOCTRINE AND ART. COMMENTS ON THE STORY "AMITABHA."^ (concluded.) The story Amitabha characterises that phase in the development of Buddhism which may be called " the rise of the Mahayana," or " the origin of Buddhist the- ology." The age in which this process took place is the beginning of the Christian era, and the main events of our story are based upon historical traditions. The General Plan of the Ajant.v Caves. The philosophy of the Mahayana which finds expression in the philosophy of Acvaghosha may be regarded as orthodox Buddhist metaphysics. King Kanishka is a historical personality. His war against Magadha is mentioned in the Records of the Western IVorld, written by the Chinese pilgrim Hsiien Tsang. The con- ditions of peace imposed upon the king of Magadha are related in our story ex- actly as they are mentioned by this Chinese author. 1 See The Open Court for July, August, September. 622 THE OPEN COURT. The monastic life described in the first, second, and fifth chapters of the story Amitdbha is a faithful portrayal of the historical conditions of the age. The ad- mission and ordination of monks (in Pali called Pabbajja and Upasampada) and the confession ceremony (in Pfili called Uposatha) are based upon accounts of the MahSvagga, the former in the first, the latter in the second, Khandaka (cf. Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XIII.). A Mother Leading Her Child to Buddha. (Ajanta caves.) Kevaddha's humorous story of Brahma (as told in The Open Cozirt, No. 554. pp. 423-427) is an abbreviated account of an ancient Pali text.
    [Show full text]
  • Thought and Practice in Mahayana Buddhism in India (1St Century B.C. to 6Th Century A.D.)
    International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. ISSN 2250-3226 Volume 7, Number 2 (2017), pp. 149-152 © Research India Publications http://www.ripublication.com Thought and Practice in Mahayana Buddhism in India (1st Century B.C. to 6th Century A.D.) Vaishali Bhagwatkar Barkatullah Vishwavidyalaya, Bhopal (M.P.) India Abstract Buddhism is a world religion, which arose in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha (now in Bihar, India), and is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama who was deemed a "Buddha" ("Awakened One"). Buddhism spread outside of Magadha starting in the Buddha's lifetime. With the reign of the Buddhist Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, the Buddhist community split into two branches: the Mahasaṃghika and the Sthaviravada, each of which spread throughout India and split into numerous sub-sects. In modern times, two major branches of Buddhism exist: the Theravada in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, and the Mahayana throughout the Himalayas and East Asia. INTRODUCTION Buddhism remains the primary or a major religion in the Himalayan areas such as Sikkim, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, the Darjeeling hills in West Bengal, and the Lahaul and Spiti areas of upper Himachal Pradesh. Remains have also been found in Andhra Pradesh, the origin of Mahayana Buddhism. Buddhism has been reemerging in India since the past century, due to its adoption by many Indian intellectuals, the migration of Buddhist Tibetan exiles, and the mass conversion of hundreds of thousands of Hindu Dalits. According to the 2001 census, Buddhists make up 0.8% of India's population, or 7.95 million individuals. Buddha was born in Lumbini, in Nepal, to a Kapilvastu King of the Shakya Kingdom named Suddhodana.
    [Show full text]
  • The Decline of Buddhism in India
    The Decline of Buddhism in India It is almost impossible to provide a continuous account of the near disappearance of Buddhism from the plains of India. This is primarily so because of the dearth of archaeological material and the stunning silence of the indigenous literature on this subject. Interestingly, the subject itself has remained one of the most neglected topics in the history of India. In this book apart from the history of the decline of Buddhism in India, various issues relating to this decline have been critically examined. Following this methodology, an attempt has been made at a region-wise survey of the decline in Sind, Kashmir, northwestern India, central India, the Deccan, western India, Bengal, Orissa, and Assam, followed by a detailed analysis of the different hypotheses that propose to explain this decline. This is followed by author’s proposed model of decline of Buddhism in India. K.T.S. Sarao is currently Professor and Head of the Department of Buddhist Studies at the University of Delhi. He holds doctoral degrees from the universities of Delhi and Cambridge and an honorary doctorate from the P.S.R. Buddhist University, Phnom Penh. The Decline of Buddhism in India A Fresh Perspective K.T.S. Sarao Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Ltd. ISBN 978-81-215-1241-1 First published 2012 © 2012, Sarao, K.T.S. All rights reserved including those of translation into other languages. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.
    [Show full text]
  • Cultural Heritage Vs. Mining on the New Silk Road? Finding Technical Solutions for Mes Aynak and Beyond
    Cultural Heritage vs. Mining on the New Silk Road? Finding Technical Solutions for Mes Aynak and Beyond Cheryl Benard Eli Sugarman Holly Rehm CONFERENCE REPORT December 2012 Cultural Heritage vs. Mining on the New Silk Road? Finding Technical Solutions for Mes Aynak and Beyond June 4-5, 2012 SAIS, Johns Hopkins University Washington, D.C. 20036 sponsored by Ludus and ARCH Virginia Conference Report Cheryl Benard Eli Sugarman Holly Rehm © Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program – A Joint Transatlantic Research and Policy Center Johns Hopkins University-SAIS, 1619 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 Institute for Security and Development Policy, V. Finnbodav. 2, Stockholm-Nacka 13130, Sweden www.silkroadstudies.org “Cultural Heritage vs. Mining on the New Silk Road? Finding Technical Solutions for Mes Aynak and Beyond” is a Conference Report published by the Central Asia- Caucasus Institute and the Silk Road Studies Program. The Silk Road Papers Series is the Occasional Paper series of the Joint Center, and addresses topical and timely subjects. The Joint Center is a transatlantic independent and non-profit research and policy center. It has offices in Washington and Stockholm and is affiliated with the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University and the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy. It is the first institution of its kind in Europe and North America, and is firmly established as a leading research and policy center, serving a large and diverse community of analysts, scholars, policy-watchers, business leaders, and journalists. The Joint Center is at the forefront of research on issues of conflict, security, and development in the region.
    [Show full text]
  • A Geographic History of Song-Dynasty Chan Buddhism: the Decline of the Yunmen Lineage
    decline of the yunmen lineage Asia Major (2019) 3d ser. Vol. 32.1: 113-60 jason protass A Geographic History of Song-Dynasty Chan Buddhism: The Decline of the Yunmen Lineage abstract: For a century during China’s Northern Song era, the Yunmen Chan lineage, one of several such regional networks, rose to dominance in the east and north and then abruptly disappeared. Whereas others suggested the decline was caused by a doctri- nal problem, this essay argues that the geopolitics of the Song–Jin wars were the pri- mary cause. The argument builds upon a dataset of Chan abbots gleaned from Flame Records. A chronological series of maps shows that Chan lineages were regionally based. Moreover, Song-era writers knew of regional differences among Chan lin- eages and suggested that regionalism was part of Chan identity: this corroborates my assertion. The essay turns to local gazetteers and early-Southern Song texts that re- cord the impacts of the Song–Jin wars on monasteries in regions associated with the Yunmen lineage. Finally, I consider reasons why the few Yunmen monks who sur- vived into the Southern Song did not reconstitute their lineage, and discuss a small group of Yunmen monks who endured in north China under Jin and Yuan control. keywords: Chan, Buddhism, geographic history, mapping, spatial data n 1101, the recently installed emperor Huizong 徽宗 (r. 1100–1126) I authored a preface for a new collection of Chan 禪 religious biogra- phies, Record of the Continuation of the Flame of the Jianzhong Jingguo Era (Jianzhong Jingguo xudeng lu 建中靖國續燈錄, hereafter Continuation of the Flame).1 The emperor praised the old “five [Chan] lineages, each ex- celling in a family style 五宗各擅家風,” a semimythical system promul- gated by the Chan tradition itself to assert a shared identity among the ramifying branches of master-disciple relationships.
    [Show full text]
  • Greece, the Mother of All Religious Art
    GREECE, THE MOTHER OF ALL RELIGIOUS ART BY THE EDITOR. the of eternal principles we may IF revelation means discovery justly declare that the Greek nation has been the medium for the revelation of art to mankind as well as the founder of science. The Greek style of literature, Greek methods of artistic represen- tation. Greek modes of thought have become standards and are therefore in this sense called "classical." We stand on the shoul- ders of the ancient Greeks, and whatever we accomplish is but a continuing- of their work, a building higher upon the foundations they have laid. This is true of sculpture, of poetry and of the basic principle of the science of thought, of logic, and also of mathematics. Euclid, more than Leviticus or Deuteronomy, is a book inspired by God.^ Whatever the non-Euclideans- may have to criticize in the outlines of Euclid's plane geometry, we must say that the author of this brief work is, in a definite and well-defined sense, the prophet of the laws that prevail in the most useful of all space- conceptions. By Euclid we understand not so much the author of the book that goes under his name, but the gist of the book itself, the thought of it, the conception of geometry and the principles which are embodied in it. In our recognition of Euclid's geometry we include his predecessors, whosoever they may have been. The man who for the first time in the history of mankind conceived the idea of points, lines, planes as immaterial quantities, as thought-constructions or whatever you may call the presentation of pure figures and their interdependence, was really a divinely inspired mind.
    [Show full text]
  • The Socioeconomics of State Formation in Medieval Afghanistan
    The Socioeconomics of State Formation in Medieval Afghanistan George Fiske Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2012 © 2012 George Fiske All rights reserved ABSTRACT The Socioeconomics of State Formation in Medieval Afghanistan George Fiske This study examines the socioeconomics of state formation in medieval Afghanistan in historical and historiographic terms. It outlines the thousand year history of Ghaznavid historiography by treating primary and secondary sources as a continuum of perspectives, demonstrating the persistent problems of dynastic and political thinking across periods and cultures. It conceptualizes the geography of Ghaznavid origins by framing their rise within specific landscapes and histories of state formation, favoring time over space as much as possible and reintegrating their experience with the general histories of Iran, Central Asia, and India. Once the grand narrative is illustrated, the scope narrows to the dual process of monetization and urbanization in Samanid territory in order to approach Ghaznavid obstacles to state formation. The socioeconomic narrative then shifts to political and military specifics to demythologize the rise of the Ghaznavids in terms of the framing contexts described in the previous chapters. Finally, the study specifies the exact combination of culture and history which the Ghaznavids exemplified to show their particular and universal character and suggest future paths for research. The Socioeconomics of State Formation in Medieval Afghanistan I. General Introduction II. Perspectives on the Ghaznavid Age History of the literature Entrance into western European discourse Reevaluations of the last century Historiographic rethinking Synopsis III.
    [Show full text]
  • Buddhism.Htm Buddhism
    file:///H|/DG%20Work/Religious%20Services%20TRM/Buddhism.htm Buddhism Religious Practices Religious Items Requirements for Membership Medical Prohibitions Dietary Standards Burial Rituals Sacred Writings Organizational Structure History ■ The Life of Shakyamuni Buddha ■ Early Buddhist Developments (500 B.C.E. - 0 C.E.) ■ The Development of Mahayana Buddhism (0 C.E. - 500 C.E.) ■ Tantra and Ch'an (500 C.E.-1000 C.E.) ■ The Fourth Period (1000 C.E. - present) Theology ■ Buddhism and Common Beliefs in India ■ The Four Noble Truths ■ The Noble Eight-fold Path ■ Concept of Deity ■ The Three Marks of Existence ■ The Nature of the Buddha's Teachings ■ The Paramitas Glossary of Buddhist Terms Religious Accouterments (with Pictures) There are three major Buddhist traditions: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana. Theravada Buddhism is mainly practiced in the Southeast Asian countries of Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Myanmar (Burma). Mahayana Buddhism is primarily practiced in China, Korea, and Japan. Vajrayana Buddhism is practiced in the Central Asian areas of Tibet and Mongolia, and in the Shingon school in Japan. The Dalai Lama is representative of this tradition. In addition, many independent Buddhist groups have formed following the teachings of a specific leader. This is especially true of Buddhism in the United States. To do no evil, To cultivate the good, To purify one’s mind. This is the teaching of the Buddha. Dhammapada, 183 RELIGIOUS PRACTICES Required Daily Observances. Although differences may be seen among the Buddhist traditions, most observe the following: acts of devotion (bowing, making offerings of incense and food, and honoring sacred objects); upholding the precepts and the six paramitas through meditation; and the study and chanting of sacred writings in developing wisdom, compassion, and the attainment of Buddhahood.
    [Show full text]