Bamiyan and beyond

One of the greatest examples of the dissemination of philosophic and artistic ideas is the spread of Buddhism from the Indian subcontinent to the other countries of Asia.

One of the seeming miracles in the story of man is the spread of ideas, across formidable mountains, vast oceans and national boundaries. The warm acceptance of concepts from distant lands goes to underline the deep similarity of human nature and aspirations everywhere. One of the greatest examples of the dissemination of philosophic and artistic ideas is the spread of Buddhism from the Indian subcontinent to the many other countries of Asia.

The concept of samsara, of maya and mithya, the illusory nature of the material world around us, was crystallised in the Upanishads by the 8th or 9th century BCE. The high purpose in life was to be able to see the eternal truth beyond the veils of illusion. Persons who were able to achieve this were known as Buddhas, or enlightened ones, and Tirtankaras, or victors over the fear of death.

Over the next 2,000 years, this vision of life and of a path to escape from the web of maya spread to many countries of Asia. It pervaded the culture of present-day Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Indonesia, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Tibet, Central Asia, China, Korea and Japan.

Present-day Bangladesh was culturally very close to Bengal in India. In fact, the Buddhist traditions of Bihar, Odisha and West Bengal were deeply connected to those of Bangladesh. Even today there are districts in Bangladesh where Buddhist sites can be found every few kilometres.

Afghanistan is situated at a crossroads on the Silk Route. Owing to its geographical position, it became the meeting point of different people and civilisations. The Chinese pilgrim monk Xuan Zang visited Afghanistan in the 7th century. He mentions that there were many monasteries and Buddha sculptures in Bamiyan.

Bamiyan was also on the trade route linking India with Balkh, in Afghanistan, through which spices, pearls, ivory and cotton were traded.

Benoy K Behl is a film-maker, art historian and photographer who is known for his prolific output of work over the past 34 years. He has taken over 35,000 photographs of Asian monuments and art heritage and made over a hundred documentaries on art history. This series carries photographs from his photographic exhibition on Buddhist Heritage of the World, which is currently on display in Nara in Japan and in the French Reunion Island. It was also displayed earlier this year in London, Washington, D.C., Tokyo, Leh, New Delhi and at the International Buddhist Conclave in Varanasi. The series has photographs taken in 19 countries/regions across Asia and in one part of Europe which has a 300-year-old Buddhist heritage.