GREEK SPIRIT IN BUDDHISM

"According to an ancient Sri Lankan source, the Mahavamsa, Greek monks seem to have been active proselytizers of Buddhism during the time of Menander: the Yona (Greek) Mahadhammarakkhita (Sanskrit: Mahadharmaraksita) is said to have come from "Alasandra" (thought to be Alexandria of the Caucasus, the city founded by Alexander the Great, near today’s Kabul) with 30,000 monks for the foundation ceremony of the Maha Thupa ("Great stupa") at Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka, during the 2nd century BC.."

In order to propagate the Buddhist faith, Ashoka explains he sent emissaries to the Hellenistic kings as far as the Mediterranean, and to people throughout India, claiming they were all converted to the Dharma as a result. He names the Greek rulers of the time, inheritors of the conquest of Alexander the Great, from Bactria to as far as Greece and North Africa, displaying an amazingly clear grasp of the political situation at the time.

The Gandhāran Buddhist Texts (oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered, from ca. 1 CE) are attributed to the Dharmaguptaka school. And some believe that the founder of that Buddhist school was a Greek, named  "Dhammarakkhita (Pali, "protected by the Dharma"), and he was one of the missionaries sent by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka to promote the Buddhist faith. He is described as being a Greek (Pali yona) in the Mahavamsa, and his activities are indicative of the strength of the Hellenistic Greek involvement during the formative centuries of Buddhism. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dharmaraksita) "One of the major missionaries was Yonaka Dhammarakkhita. He was a Greek monk, native of ‘Alasanda’ (Alexandria)". He features in the Pali tradition as a master of psychic powers as well as an expert on Abhidhamma.

The 36 Indo-Greek kings known through epigraphy or through their coins belong to the period between 180 BCE to 10–20 CE.

Isidorus of Charax in his 1st century CE "Parthian stations" itinerary described "Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia" as being Greek:....."Beyond is Arachosia (Old Persian Hara[h]uvati, Avestan Haraxvaiti)). And the Parthians call this White India; there are the city of Biyt and the city of Pharsana and the city of Chorochoad (Haraxvat) and the city of Demetrias; then Alexandropolis, the metropolis of Arachosia; it is Greek, and by it flows the river Arachotus(Harahvati). As far as this place the land is under the rule of the Parthians."—"Parthians stations", 1st century CE.

GREEK ART GIVES BUDDHA HIS HUMAN FORM

 https://greekasia.blogspot.com/2019/04/greco-buddhism-unknown-influence-of.html

The first anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha himself are a result of the Greco-Buddhist interaction. Before this innovation, Buddhist art was "aniconic": the Buddha was only represented through his symbols (an empty throne, the Bodhi tree, the Buddha's footprints, the Dharma wheel). This reluctance towards anthropomorphic representations of the Buddha, and the sophisticated development of aniconic symbols to avoid it (even in narrative scenes where other human figures would appear), seem to be connected to one of the Buddha’s sayings, reported in the Digha Nikaya, that discouraged representations of himself after the extinction of his body.....Probably not feeling bound by these restrictions, and because of "their cult of form, the Greeks were the first to attempt a sculptural representation of the Buddha".

Edited from ~ tibetanbuddhistencyclopedia.com

THE SITTING LIONS OF GREEKS ~ A NATIONAL INDIAN SYMBOL

The Sitting Lions were a symbol of the ancient Greek Kings.
In the Mycenae of Southern Greece, they had been a royal emblem since the Bronze Age, with the Lion Gate being the main entrance to the Mycenae citadel. It was erected during the 13th century BCE  (circa 1250 BCE ) in the northwest side of the acropolis and is named after the relief sculpture of two lionesses or lions in a heraldic pose that stands above the entrance.

Later, in ancient Macedonia, the Sitting Lion decorated the entrances of  houses. After the Battle of Chaeronea in 338 BCE, where Phillip the II, the father of Alexander the Great defeated the Thebans, a Sitting Lion was put up as a memorial to honour the fallen defenders. 

We can also find a similar Lion in the city of Amphipolis, which is also in Northern Greece. The Lion of Amphipolis is an imposing tomb statue, created in the 4th century BCE. It was set up in honour of Laomedon of Mytilene, an important general of Alexander the Great, the King of Macedonia.

In India, the lion as a royal symbol first appeared in the sculpture of the Ashoka Pillars. These were made by Greek craftsmen and are decorated with more Greek symbols, such as of anthemia and rhodaxes. The Sitting Lions at the capital of the Pillars came to be known as the Lions of Ashoka.

Today, the Sitting Lions are the national symbol of India and reminds the Indians their duty to be brave as lions; just like the 30,000 lion-hearted Greek soldiers who fought for 9 years after they overthrew the 200-year-old Persian empire,and liberated  Western India of that era, which suffered for so long under Persian oppression.

GREEK EDICT OF ASHOKA

The  Greek Edicts of Ashoka are among the Major Rock Edicts of the Indian Emperor Ashoka (reigned 269-233 BCE), which were written in the Greek language and Prakrit language . They were found in the ancient area of Old Kandahar (known as Zor Shar in Pashto, or Shahr-i-Kona in Farsi) in Kandahar in 1963. It is thought that Old Kandahar was founded  by Alexander the Great, who gave it the Ancient Greek name Αλεξάνδρεια Aραχωσίας (Alexandria of Arachosia).

The extant edicts are found in a plaque of limestone, which probably had belonged to a building, and its size is 45x69.5 cm and it is about 12 cm thick. These are the only Ashoka inscriptions thought to have belonged to a stone building. The beginning and the end of the fragment are missing, which suggests the inscription was original significantly longer, and may have included all of Ashoka's Edicts in Greek, as in several other locations in India. 

Original Greek text

.εὐ]σέβεια καὶ ἐγκράτεια κατὰ πάσας τὰς διατριβάς· ἐγκρατὴς δὲ μάλιστά ἐστιν
ὃς ἂν γλώσης ἐγκρατὴς ἦι. Καὶ μήτε ἑαυτοὺς ἐπα[ι]νῶσιν, μήτε τῶν πέλας ψέγωσιν
περὶ μηδενός· κενὸγ γάρ ἐστιν· καὶ πειρᾶσθαι μᾶλλον τοὺς πέλας ἐπαινεῖν καὶ
μὴ ψέγειν κατὰ πάντα τρόπον. Ταῦτα δὲ ποιοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς αὔξουσι καὶ τοὺς
πέλας ἀνακτῶνται· παραβαίνοντες δὲ ταῦτα, ἀκ(λ)εέστεροί τε γίνονται καὶ τοῖς
πέλας ἀπέχθονται. Οἳ δ’ ἂν ἑαυτοὺς ἐπαινῶσιν, τοὺς δὲ πέλας ψέγωσιν φιλοτιμότερον
διαπράτονται, βουλόμενοι παρὰ τοὺς λοιποὺς ἐγλάμψαι, πολὺ δὲ μᾶλλον βλάπτου[σι]
ἑαυτούς. Πρέπει δὲ ἀλλήλους θαυμάζειν καὶ τὰ ἀλλήλων διδάγματα παραδέχεσθα[ι].
Ταῦτα δὲ ποιοῦντες πολυμαθέστεροι ἔσονται, παραδιδόντες ἀλλήλοις ὅσα
ἕκαστος αὐτῶν ἐπίσταται. Καὶ τοῖς ταῦτα ἐπ[α]σκοῦσι ταῦτα μὴ ὀκνεῖν λέγειν ἵνα δει-
αμείνωσιν διὰ παντὸς εὐσεβοῦντες.           Ὀγδόωι ἔτει βασιλεύοντος Πιοδάσσου
κατέστρ(α)πται τὴν Καλίγγην. Ἦν ἐζωγρημένα καὶ ἐξηγμένα ἐκεῖθεν σωμάτων
μυριάδες δεκαπέντε καὶ ἀναιρέθησαν ἄλλαι μυριάδες δέκα καὶ σχεδὸν ἄλλοι τοσοῦ-
τοι ἐτελεύτησαν. Ἀπ’ ἐκείνου τοῦ χρόνου ἔλεος καὶ οἶκτος αὐτὸν ἔλαβεν· καὶ βαρέως ἤνεγκεν·
δι’ οὗ τρόπου ἐκέλευεν ἀπέχεσθαι τῶν ἐμψύχων σπουδήν τε καὶ σύντα(σ)ιν πεποίηται
περὶ εὐσεβείας. Καὶ τοῦτο ἔτι δυσχερέστερον ὑπείληφε ὁ βασιλεύς· καὶ ὅσοι ἐκεῖ ωἴκουν
βραμεναι ἢ σραμεναι ἢ καὶ ἄλλοι τινὲς οἱ περὶ τὴν εὐσέβειαν διατρίβοντες, τοὺς ἐκεῖ οἰκοῦ-
ντας ἔδει τὰ τοῦ βασιλέως συμφέροντα νοεῖν, καὶ διδάσκαλον καὶ πατέρα καὶ μητέρα
ἐπαισχύνεσθαι καὶ θαυμάζειν, φίλους καὶ ἑταίρους ἀγαπᾶν καὶ μὴ διαψεύδεσθαι,
δούλοις καὶ μισθωτοῖς ὡς κουφότατα χρᾶσθαι, τούτων ἐκεῖ τῶν τοιαῦτα διαπρασσο-
μένων εἴ τις τέθνηκεν ἢ ἐξῆκται, καὶ τοῦτο ἐμ παραδρομῆι οἱ λοιποὶ ἥγεινται, ὁ δὲ

[β]ασιλεὺς σφόδρα ἐπὶ τούτοις ἐδυσχέρανεν. Καὶ ὅτι ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἔθνεσίν εἰσιν

English translation

"...piety and self-mastery in all the schools of thought; and he who is master of his tongue is most master of himself. And let them neither praise themselves or disparage their neighbors in any matter whatsoever, for that is vain. In acting in accordance with this principle, they exalt themselves and win their neighbors; in transgressing in these things they misdemean themselves and antagonize their neighbors. Those who praise themselves and denigrate their neighbors are self-seekers, wishing to shine in comparison with the others but in fact hurting themselves. It behoves to respect one another and to accept one another's lessons. In all actions it behoves to be understanding, sharing with one another all that which one comprehends. And to those who strive thus let there be no hesitation to say these things in order that they may persist in piety in everything.

Beginning of Edict Nb13

In the eighth of the reign of Piodasses, he conquered Kalinga. A hundred and fifty thousand persons were captured and deported, and a hundred thousand others were killed, and almost as many died otherwise. Thereafter, piety and compassion seized him and he suffered grieviously. In the same manner wherewith he ordered abstention from living thing, he has displayed zeal and effort to promote piety. And at the same time the king has viewed this with displeasure: of Brahmins and Sramins and others practicing piety who live there [in Kalinga]- and these must be mindful of the interests of the king and must revere and respect their teacher, their father and their mother, and love and faithfully cherish their friends and companions and must use their slaves and dependents as gently as possible - if, of those thus engaged there, any has died or been deported and the rest have regarded this lightly, the king has taken it with exceeding bad grace. And that amongst other people there are..."

SOURCE:Wikipedia

BILINGUAL ( GREEK AND ARAMAIC ) INSCRIPTIONS BY KING ASHOKA

The Kandahar Bilingual Rock Inscription, (also Kandahar Edict of Ashoka, sometimes "Chehel Zina Edict"), is a famous bilingual edict in Greek and Aramaic, proclaimed and carved in stone by the Indian Maurya Empire ruler Ashoka (r.269-233 BCE) around 260 BCE. It is the very first known inscription of Ashoka, written in year 10 of his reign (260 BCE), preceding all other inscriptions, including his early Minor Rock Edicts, his Barabar caves inscriptions or his Major Rock Edicts.This first inscription was written in Classical Greek and Aramaic exclusively. It was discovered in 1958.
Greek communities lived in the northwest of the Mauryan empire- modern Pakistan, notably ancient Gandhara near the current Pakistani capital of Islamabad-and in the region of Gedrosia, today's Southern Afghanistan, following the conquest and the colonization efforts of Alexander the Great around 323 BCE. These communities, therefore, seem to have been still significant in the area of Afghanistan during the reign of Ashoka, about 70 years after Alexander.
The Greek and Aramaic versions vary somewhat, and seem to be rather free interpretations of an original text in Prakrit. The Aramaic text clearly recognizes the authority of Ashoka with expressions such as "our Lord, king Priyadasin", "our lord, the king", suggesting that the readers were indeed the subjects of Ashoka, whereas the Greek version remains more neutral with the simple expression "King Ashoka".
The bilingual inscription is kept at the Kabul Museum. 

Transcription ~  Greek text

1. δέκα ἐτῶν πληρη[....]ων βασι[λ]εὺς 
2. Πιοδασσης εὐσέβεια[ν ἔδ]ε[ι]ξεν τοῖς ἀν- 
3. θρώποις, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου εὐσεβεστέρους 
4. τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἐποίησεν καὶ πάντα 
5. εὐθηνεῖ κατὰ πᾶσαν γῆν• καὶ ἀπέχεται 
6. βασιλεὺς τῶν ἐμψύχων καὶ οἱ λοιποὶ δὲ 
7. εἲ τινες ἀκρατεῖς πέπαυνται τῆς ἀκρα- 
8. σίας κατὰ δύναμιν, καὶ ἐνήκοοι πατρὶ 
9. καὶ μητρὶ καὶ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων παρὰ 
10. τὰ πρότερον καὶ τοῦ λοιποῦ λῶιον 
11. καὶ ἄμεινον κατὰ πάντα ταῦτα 
12. ποιοῦντες διάξουσιν. 

English translation

1. Ten years (of reign) having been completed, King 
2. Piodasses (Ashoka) made known (the doctrine of)
3. Piety (ευσέβεια, Eusebeia) to men; and from this moment he has made 
4. men more pious, and everything thrives throughout 
5. the whole world. And the king abstains from (killing) 
6. living beings, and other men and those who (are) 
7. huntsmen and fishermen of the king have desisted 
8. from hunting. And if some (were) intemperate, they 
9. have ceased from their intemperance as was in their 
10. power; and obedient to their father and mother and to 
11. the elders, in opposition to the past also in the future, 
12. by so acting on every occasion, they will live better 
13. and more happily." (Trans. by G.P. Carratelli ]) 

Aramaic

1. שנן 10 פתתיתו עביד זי מראן פרידארש מלכא קשיטא מהקשט 
2. מן אדין זעיר מרעא לכלהם אנשן וכלהם אדושיא השבד 
3. ובכל ארקא ראמשתי ואף זי זנה במאכלא למראן מלכא זעיר 
4. קטלן זנה למחזה כלהם אנשן אתהחסינן אזי נוניא אחדן 
5. אלך אנשן פתיזבת כנם זי פרבסת הוין אלך אתהחסינן מן 
6. פרבסתי והופתיסתי לאמוהי ולאבוהי ולמזישתיא אנסנ 
7. איך אסרהי חלקותא ולא איתי דינא לכלהמ אנשיא חסין 
8. זנה הותיר לכלהמ אנשן ואוסף יהותר.

SOURCE:Wikipedia