Bamiyan monastery, (in) Bamian, Velayat-e Bamian, AF

Raw data

Bamiyan, AF  - a Mahasanghika site?  - Foltz (1999:40)
Input by: tmc,  Apr 25, 2009
 
Bamian, Afghanistan Page
Other names: Bāmīān,Bamyan,Kala Sarkari,Qal`a Sarkarit,Bamiyan,Qal‘a Sarkārit,Qala Sarkari,Qala Sarkāri,Bāmyān
World:Afghanistan:Velayat-e Bamian
Lat 34.8167 Long 67.8167
http://www.fallingrain.com/world/AF/05/Bamian.html

"The Silla monk Hui Chao ["Hyecho (704-787 CE), Sanskrit: Prajñāvikram; Hui Chao in Chinese Pinyin, was a Korean Buddhist monk from Silla, one the three Korean kingdoms of the period."- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyecho], the last to describe Bamiyan's appearance as a Buddhist city, writes that when he arrived in Bamiyan from Ghazni in 726, the ruler belonged to an ethnic group called Hu, with no allegiance to any other nation, but strangely enough, he makes no mention of the colossal Buddhas seen by Xuan Zang. Nearly a century after Xuan Zang's visit, Bamiyan was still a Buddhist city, but Hui Chao notes that both the Hinayana and Mahayana traditions were being practiced in contrast to Xuan Zang's time, when the teachings had been exclusively Hinayana." - Maeda (n.d.)

Bamian - "Opinions about the dates differ: the colossi probably date to the 6th century, and the monastic complex to the 7th and 8th centuries (Godard et al.; Hackin and Carl; Tarzi, 1977; Klimburg-Salter)." [Cited literature: A. Godard, Y. Godard, and J. Hackin, Les antiquités bouddhiques de Bamiyan, MDAFA 2, Paris, 1928.; J. Hackin and J. Carl, Nouvelles recherches archéologiques a Bqmiyqn, MDAFA 3, Paris, 1933.; Z. Tarzi, “Hadda à la lumière des trois dernières campagnes de fouilles de Tapa-e-Shotor (1974-1976),” Comptes rendus de l’Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres, 1976, pp. 381-410.; D. Klimburg-Salter, The Kingdom of Bamiyan. Buddhist Art and Culture of the Hundu Kush, Naples and Rome, 1989.] - Melikian-Chirvani (n.d.)

Lokottaravādin, a Hināyāna school, was popular in Bāmiān; there were also preachers of the Mahāsāmghika school there; and Huei-ch’ao reported about Mahāyāna and Hināyāna supporters." - Melikian-Chirvani (n.d.)

Final data (and their sources)

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200 m from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Bamiyan monastery, AF.

General location of the Bamiyan monastery, AF.
Lat 34.8315 Long 67.8265
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://maps.fallingrain.com), 2009.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?http://maps.google.com/maps?q=34.8315+67.8265+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Bamiyan%20monastery,%20AF)&ll=34.8315,67.8265&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=enn

Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

  • Bamiyan monastery - Foltz (1999:40)

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • Afghanistan:Velayat-e Bamian

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names

[missing data]

4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx, Lat 34.8315 Long 67.8265 - visual identification of the site in maps.google.com, tmciolek, 10 Jun 2010.

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village

7. The settlement's alternative/historical names

8. The settlement's coordinates

9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

  • Hinayna - Melikian-Chirvani (n.d.)
  • in 630 Xuanzang notes the presence of solely Theravadin monasteries - Maeda (n.d.)
  • in 726 - Huichao notes the presence of both Theravada and Mahayana monasteries - Maeda (n.d.)
  • Both Theravada and Mahayana monasteries - Melikian-Chirvani (n.d.)

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • Lokottaravāda - Melikian-Chirvani (n.d.)
  • Mahāsāmghika - Melikian-Chirvani (n.d.)

11. Date-early

[missing data]

12. Date-intermediate

  • 630 - Xuanzang - Maeda (n.d.)
  • 726 - Huichao - Maeda (n.d.)
  • Buddhism in Bamian was "still active as late as the 8th or 9th centuries" - Emeric (n.d.)

13. Date-late

  • 1300's - Final destruction by Ghengis Khan.

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • In 726 Bamiyan was visited by "Hyecho [C. Huichao] (704-787 CE), a Korean Buddhist monk from the Kingdom of Silla."- en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyecho

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • archaeological, pilgrimage accounts, chronicles

16. Additional notes

[missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

[missing data]

end of page

Page tags: 200m afghanistan b cave central-asia huichao lokottaravada mahasanghika mahayana mapped south-asia spot theravada xuanzang
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