Chinese description of Ancient South Asia

[Water Car Engineer]

If you read accounts of India from Greeks, Chinese, Persians, etc they say a lot of same things.

 

[godofwar]

Xuanzang travelled as far as Afghanistan. He has described the Bamiyan Buddhas in his memoirs.

The ones destroyed by Taliban ?

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

Largest statue in the world, the Spring Temple Buddha in Henan Province, China.

Statue of Guanyin in Hainan:

 

[Water Car Engineer]

These are some that gets repeated, from what I can remember.

Dont drink much liquor.
Not a lot of theft.
They live simple lives.
They are charitable.
Dont eat meat.
etc
etc
etc

 

[Chinese-Dragon]

The ones destroyed by Taliban ?

Bunch of f*ckers those Taliban are.

 

[RajputWarrior]

Some pictures of Xuanzang Memorial Hall in Bihar

 

[ghaja]

These are some that gets repeated, from what I can remember.

Dont drink much liquor.
Not a lot of theft.
They live simple lives.
They are charitable.
Dont eat meat.
etc
etc
etc

The society of the Gupta Empire was influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism
and thats the reason why they did not eat meat or drink liquor

 

[Water Car Engineer]

The society of the Gupta Empire was influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism
and thats the reason why they did not eat meat or drink liquor

Even a Greek ambassador to the Mauryan empire says a lot of the same things. Much before these Chinese pilgrims.

 

[ghaja]

Even a Greek ambassador to the Mauryan empire says a lot of the same things. Much before these Chinese pilgrims.

The society of the Maurya Empire was also influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

 

[ExtraOdinary]

The society of the Gupta Empire was influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism
and thats the reason why they did not eat meat or drink liquor

Hindus esp. the Brahmins did consume meat (beef too ) in ancient times. But as the popularity of Buddhism rose 'coz of it's humane preachings (non violence, compassion, vegetarianism), the Brahmins felt threatened and incorporated vegetarianism into Hinduism. There are hymns in the Rig Veda (2000 yrs old approx) describing cow sacrifice.

 

[Water Car Engineer]

They live, nevertheless, happily enough, being simple in their manners and frugal. They never
drink wine except at sacrifices. Their beverage is a liquor composed from rice instead of
barley, and their food is principally a rice-pottage.

Theft is of very rare occurrence. Megasthenes says that those who were in the camp of Sandrakottos, wherein
lay 400,000 men, found that the thefts reported on any one day did not exceed the value
of two hundred drachmae, and this among a people who have no written laws, but are
ignorant of writing, and must therefore in all the business of life trust to memory.

Megasthenes: Indika

4th Century BC

The society of the Maurya Empire was also influenced by Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.

Never said otherwise.

 

[ghaja]

Hindus esp. the Brahmins did consume meat (beef too ) in ancient times. But as the popularity of Buddhism rose 'coz of it's humane preachings (non violence, compassion, vegetarianism), the Brahmins felt threatened and incorporated vegetarianism into Hinduism. There are hymns in the Rig Veda (2000 yrs old approx) describing cow sacrifice.

Yes you are right.
Buddhism had a huge impact on Hinduism

 

[Water Car Engineer]

Yes you are right.
Buddhism had a huge impact on Hinduism

Buddhism was pretty much the dominate religion after the Mauryans. Pretty much all art post Mauryan period up to the Guptas are mostly Buddhist art.

 

[ExtraOdinary]

This happened in 2008

Ancient Buddha Statue Is Discovered in Afghanistan

Archaeologists have unearthed a 62-foot Buddha statue along with other relics in central Afghanistan, Reuters reported. The discovery was made in the central province of Bamiyan, near the ruins of giant statues that were destroyed by the Taliban seven years ago. The statue of the Buddha in a sleeping position dates to the third century. “In total, 89 relics such as coins, ceramics and a 19 meters statue have been unearthed,” Mohammad Zia Afshar, an adviser in the information and culture ministry, told Reuters. He also said the statue was badly damaged. The other relics date back to the Bactrian era and from Islamic and Buddhist civilizations. Bamiyan was once a thriving center of Buddhism.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/09/arts/09arts-ANCIENTBUDDH_BRF.html?_r=0

 

[ghaja]

My parents are both Chinese Buddhists.

I personally am an Atheist, but in cultural terms I still practice rituals of Ancestor worship (during the Qingming festival for instance), and still give my respects to Buddhist deities such as Guanyin and of course Buddha himself.

Thanks for the info
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