GREEKS AND BUDDHISM
An Intercultural Encounter
DEMETRIOS TH. VASSILIADES
This book examines the inter-cultural contacts that took place between Greeks and Buddhism over the course of approximately two thousand and five hundred years and played an extremely prominent and dynamic role in consolidation of the ecumenical spirit in the Buddhist and European thought.
It is based on the author’s previous essays, enriched and expanded with recent data derived from historical records, popular beliefs and traveling impressions. It includes the early historical contacts from the time of the Buddha up to the rise of the Graeco-Buddhist art, the impact of Buddhism on the Hellenistic Middle East and the formation of the Christian monasticism, and the works of Lafcadio Hearn, Marco Pallis and Nikos Kazantzakis who made the Japanese, the Tibetan-Indian and the Chinese Buddhism known to the Western world.
Its objective is to highlight the way the ecumenical religions of Buddhism and Christianity were formed upon drawing timeless values from the rich Greek and Indian traditions. On this basis, we hope that the book will be a useful instrument to scholars and students of the world religion and civilization.
224 pages, 92
bw ills and 2 maps
ISBN: 978-618-82624-0-9
Second edition, Athens, 2019 (2016)
Price: 18 € + postage
15 € for students and members of ELINEPA + postage
Presentation of the book at the Cultural Center “Flisvos”, Municipality of Palaio Faliro
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
Abbreviations
CHAPTER 1 – Historical Contacts & Influences
The Buddha and the Greeks
Alexander, Megasthenes and the Indian religions
Aśoka and the Expansion of Buddhism
Menander and the Adoption of Buddhism
Gandhāra and the Rise of Graeco-Buddhist Art
Philosophical Influences and Parallelisms
References & Bibliography
Illustrations
CHAPTER 2 – Buddhism & Christianity
Comparative Attempts
The Theory that Jesus Christ Studied Buddhism in India
Buddhism and Gnosticism
Early Historical Contacts
Common Practices in Buddhist and Christian Traditions
Objections and Conclusions
References & Bibliography
Illustrations
CHAPTER 3 – Modern Greeks & Buddhism
I. Lafcadio Hearn & Buddhism
Hellenic Impact on Japanese Buddhism
Lafcadio Hearn ‒ Introduction of Buddhism in Japan
Lafcadio Hearn and Buddhism ‒ Sources and Influences
Buddhist Philosophy in the Light of Lafcadio Hearn
Concluding Remarks
References & Bibliography
Illustrations
II. Marco Pallis and Buddhism
Early Life and Musical Career
Absorbing the Spirit of Tibet by Direct Experience
Pallis’ Writings on Tibetan Buddhism
References & Bibliography
Illustrations
III. Nikos Kazantzakis and Buddhism
References & Bibliography
Illustrations
IV. Buddhist Monks and Institutions
Efstathios Liakopoulos (Lama Khenpo Kunzang Trinley Dorje Tsal)
Bhikkhu Nanadassana Mahathera (Ioannis Tselios)
Other Major Buddhist centers in Greece
Buddhist texts translated into Greek
APPENDIX A
International Buddhist Conclave 2014 ‒ Visit to Holy Sites of Buddhism
References & Bibliography
Illustrations
The Apollonian Smile
About the Author
Index of Proper Names
Publisher
Hellenic-Indian Society for Culture and Development
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