Alexander and Buddhism

[Thalestris]

Greetings,Upon encountering the Brahmins, did Alexander meet with Buddhists? Is there documentation that reveals an encounter with him and Buddhist monks? I have read that he had an encounter with a Brahmin.Pax vobiscum,Thalestris

[rjones2818]

Some of the stuff that's coming out of India seems to point toward Alexander's dealing with Buddhists. Look up Ranajit Pal on Google or search on Alexander and Asoka. It's fascinating stuff, although Indology seems to be in its infancy (stunted by the Brits occupation - well, that's the way Pal reads to me). He also has a book, though it's $166 on Amazon, you can order it through Amazon.co.uk for regular prices, but it is one of those 4-6 week deals.Rex

[amyntoros]

I think it's not beyond the realms of possibility. Jona Lendering's Livius page on Taxila tells of Chandragupta conquering the Indus valley in 316 and Taxila becoming a provincial capital. Chandragupta's grandson, Ashoka, "stimulated Buddhism wherever possible" and built two new monasteries in Taxila, abandoning "the existing monastery, which was situated on the other bank of the river." By that reckoning, the old monastery must have been in existence at the time of Alexander's conquest, it being unlikely that it was built after Alexander left India and then replaced as early as 269 when Ashoka took over. There's no way of knowing how active the old monastery was though.http://www.livius.org/ta-td/taxila/taxila.htmThere's also this fromhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greco-Buddhism"When Alexander conquered the Bactrian and Gandharan regions, these areas may already have been under Buddhist influence. According to a legend preserved in Pali, the language of the Theravada canon, two merchant brothers from Bactria, named Tapassu and Bhallika, visited the Buddha and became his disciples. They then returned to Bactria and built temples to the Buddha (Foltz)."The book referred to above is "Religions and the Silk Road" by Richard C. Foltz (St. Martin's Press, 1999). Haven't read it, but it does sound interesting. Best regards,Amyntoros