Buddhism At Dunhuang

The area of Dunhuang is a very enigmatic region, not only for silk-road standards but for the rest of the world. Here we have an oasis town at the junction of the northern and southern routes of the silk road. In addition it can be described as a sort of middle-stage, or point of passing regarding China and Central Asia, an in-between and gate for the both of them. Now what does this information allow us to imagine? Surely that throughout time Dunhuang was an area of flowing knowledge.

New ideas and works of art must have been constantly passing through its people and its land as it was the centre of immense scholarly and cultural trade. Many different people's found themselves in that region and they brought with them their own beliefs and ideas, leaving traces behind in one of the thousands of caves at Dunhuang. Buddhism at Dunhuang is centrally important. The Buddhist monks came from the northern silk route and settled in Dunuang, for centuries they collected different manuscripts from the west and stored them in the caves, not to mention the array of art they created over hundreds of years. Yes through time a clear portrait of buddhist ideaology was painted at Dunhuang, one influenced and guided by the population's cultural tendencies.

During those times the Mogao caves must have been beautiful, something like one of our many modern-day musuems. Through time of course, and the actions of certain people, much of this art and literature has been either simply lost or destroyed. Appropriately however we can do much nowadays to restore and preserve ancient works and International Dunhuang Project is thankfully alive and running. Yet still, too much time has passed. Much of what we wish to understand will never be known because it simply happened too long ago.

As our readings showed us, Buddhism in the region was vast and occured as a major part of the town's socio-political situation. We know that monasteries were up and running and respected and that many Buddhist holidays and celebrations took place in the area. Along with this however there is much we will not know like the true effects Buddhism had on every-day life and people's morals and values. This is simply the way it is and we must accept it.

We can think back at life during those times, examine pictures of beautiful Buddhist cave murals on our computer screens, and rest knowing that Buddhism was an important and beneficial system for the people of Dunhuang, as was their humanity and creativity with regards to the development and influence that they had towards the meanings of Buddhism. All in all a great moment in the history of Buddhism, and truly a defining one.

#4

"Do not hold grain waiting for higher prices when people are hungry"

-Zoroaster

Prior to this reading I already had known quite a bit about Zoroastrianism, nonetheless the reading proved to be quite informing as I picked up some new knowledge regarding the world's oldest monotheistic faith. One neat tidbit of information has to do with the Zoroastrian diaspora. I had always known about the Parsis in India but I never realized that they largely benefited Indian society, on the contrary I assumed they were overshadowed minorities. The reading taught me that these Parsis in fact were instrumental in the economic growth and stability of many Indian cities, notably Mumbai.

One belief of the Zoroastrian faith that is worth noting, is their view on God. Unlike most other monotheistic faiths, Zoroastrianism differs in the fact that their God, or Ahura Mazda, is not all powerful. Creator of the world and mankind nevertheless, but not all powerful. If one were to closely examine Zoroastrian scripture they would find that Zoroastrian is deeply rooted with a pseudo-dualistic sense of God. Dualistic in the sense that God has an opposing force, an evil force, but not dualistic in the sense that both are worshipped.

Finally the reading was enjoyable by me because I also learned about Zoroastrian culture and every-day activities. I find it of interest that Zoroastrians pray five times a day standing up and in the presence of fire, and that they hold no dietary restrictions. Of all things I read though, the most interesting would be relating to Zoroastrian corpse disposal. I have never read about cultural funeral practices which involve leaving the body of the deceased on a raised structure known as a Tower of Silence, or Dakhma.

Study of Religion

The overall study of religion is naturally intriguing. The greatest problem that this field of knowledge has encountered is a direct result of its original appeal. Religion at its core deals with supernatural forces and questions of God. Now as science deals with relative validity and observable evidence, it is with no dismay that the two have been at ends since the dawning of the Scientific Revolution. Even furthering confusion, due to the lack of evidence confirming religion, a wholly different question can be inspired: What is religion?

Luckily for us, as students of the 21st century, we can put together our own makeshift guidelines as to what constitutes a religion quite well. We have been fortunate enough to have had the luxury of reading and rereading and yet again rereading the many different definitions of 'religion' put forth by learned individuals. One can agree for the most part that in order for a certain set of beliefs to be deemed a religion, it needs to: have some sort of ideal on the meaning to life (supernatural or not), a collection of scriptures and holy books relating these beliefs, a set of historic symbols and artifacts, a group of leaders administering the preservation of the faith, and finally a body of devout lay persons.

Many scholars, in the fields of religion and otherwise, have added their opinions to the understanding of religion. For the most part most scholars have had negative tendencies towards religion: Freud saw it as an illusion, and Marx saw it as a result of alienation. Rudolf Otto's theories are especially enjoyable to me. This 19th century German Protestant Theologian gained fame and notoriety alike for discussing religious experience. Otto stated that at the core of all world religions was the numinous. The numinous is described as a non-rational feeling whose primary object is outside the self. These mysteries cause fascination and trembling and we try to explain them through our wonder as religious experiences of grace. Such feelings of connected-ness with a higher being or state of being are found in all world religions.

#3

"Those who labor in the earth are the chosen people of God, if ever He had a chosen people."

-Thomas Jefferson

Since we are all as humans fated to live in coexistence it is our roles, as distinct cultures and societies, to bequest knowledge to our many brothers and sisters. Overtime, once a city has developed vastly they will look back to their ancestors with appreciation, for it was them who facilitated their fortune. We live in accordance with this thought as all of our modern technologies have through time been developed by peoples of all nations. Ancient empires, like the Persian Empire, are good examples of this. It is through the intellect of these ancient peoples that we can relish in our modern luxuries.

One such province of the Persian Empire, which contributed to this process, was Sogdiana. It is believed in Zoroastrian scripture, specifically the Vendidad, that Sogdiana was the second land of value created by Ahura Mazda. The capitals of Sogdiana were: Bukhara, Kesh, Khujand, and Samarkand; cities all located presently within Uzbekistan. Their inhabitants however were not Turkic as they are now in modern day Uzbekistan; rather they were an Iranian group of people. Their language Sogdian is an extinct Northeastern Indo-Iranian language of the Indo-European family.

The Sogdians were known throughout the silk road as travelling merchants. They were dominant in the trade of goods along this region from the second century BCE to the tenth century CE. They travelled all along this great path routinely, therefore helping with the introduction of certain goods to areas where they are not naturally present. They are held in high esteem because other than raw products, they brought to new lands culture, philosophies, and religion. Their presence was so beneficial that during this period the region’s vernacular was Sogdian.

Overall, nowadays Sogdiana is thought of as an important historical city as it was the reason for the spread of many common-day necessities. They brought with them silverware from Persia, glass and wool from Rome, and paper and copper from China. The Sogdians were also known to create wonderful art; many such pieces have been unearthed and preserved recently. These are all goods we need in our daily lives so we should be grateful for the existence of the Sogdians. It may seem inevitable for goods and technologies to spread through time, but the Sogdians did so in an intelligent manner.