Buddhism on the Silk Routes

Education resources for teachers

Key terms

Dharma

Sangha (Samgha)

Spread of Buddhism

Southeast Asia

Theravada Buddhism (Teaching of the Elders)

Central Asia, China, Korea, Japan

Mahayana (Greater Vehicle) Buddhism

Barriers to Buddhist spread to China

1) Differences in language and culture
2) Geography

Silk Roads

Travel through desert

Less risk

Bactrian Camels: Ships of the Desert

Oases: Islands of the Desert

Mountain Snow and Glaciers

Spring and Summer Melt

Birth of an Oasis

Oasis Irrigated Agriculture

Gaochang (Turfan)

Oasis Monastery Network

Bamian

Khotan

Kizil (Kucha)

Dunhuang

Dunhuang: Official & Religious Life

Cave temples

Statues

Frescoes

Kizil Jataka: Buddha Lighting Way for Merchants

Worship and meditation

Way stations

Resident monks

Cultural bridge

Centers of learning

Translations

Kucha

Kumarajiva, 344-414

Tocharian

Sanskrit

Chinese

Rethinking Buddhism's Spread

How does Hansen's article force us to rethink the role of oasis monasteries in the spread of Buddhism?

Kroraina: Settlements in the Desert