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Oḍḍiyāna ༔ Interesting Tidbits
Sile
Veteran
I'm wondering if people would be interested in sharing what they know about Oḍḍiyāna (ཨུ་རྒྱན་)? Also named: Skt. uddiyana, oddiyana, and Tib., u rgyan, o rgyan: Urgyen, Orgyan.
According to Rigpa Shedra, Oddiyana was "one of the twenty-four sacred places, Oddiyana played an important role in the history of Buddhism, especially from the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism. It is believed to be the homeland of both the Vajrayana and Dzogchen teachings, and is said to be the land where Garab Dorje, Vairotsana, Padmasambhava and Tilopa, amongst others, received the transmissions of Dzogchen. Buddhist texts speak of Oddiyana as a beautifully green and fertile kingdom, inhabited by gentle people often clothed in white, who had great respect for wisdom and learning."
Here's an interesting comment about some potential artifacts:
Recently someone had inquired about cultural remains of Buddhist culture in Oddiyana. If Oddiyana was indeed the present Swat valley in Pakistan, I have found something that may be of interest. In the book The Lotus Transcendent by Martin Lerner and Steven Kossak, there are several Buddhist artifacts from Swat
depicted.(1) No. 84, page 114, seated Prajnaparamita goddess in brass 7th century 4&1/8 inches. (2) No. 85 p.115 Standing Bodhisattva - looks like Avalokiteshvara Padmapani- 6 th or 7th century bronze 3 & ¼ inches (3)Nos. 86
and 87 two standing Bodhisattvas - probably part of a larger piece in bronze 6 & 1/8 and 5 & 1/8 inches.(4) the real gem of the group: No.88 p.117 Seated Buddha in bronze - probably Shakyamuni- 8th century or earlier seated in full lotus position on a lotus throne with hands in the teaching position. 8 & 1/8 inches.
There is also a color plate of this image.
These are all small items, maybe from the contents of stupas or small altars. I presume that these were found by treasure hunters during the British rule and more recently (?). Maybe in the archaeological publications of the British period there are references to architectural remains. I read recently that the Taliban had destroyed any
pre-Islamic remains in the valley , but presume that these were only ruins of ruins to start with. Unlike the Pathans in the lower Swat valley who are relative newcomers, the people of the upper Swat speak Dardic languages and may be the descendants of Padmasambhava's people. I also remember seeing a photo of
the interior of an upper Swat mosque and noticed that the wooden pillars were similar to Tibetan ones.
Best wishes. Robert Bunger
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kagyu/message/41095
According to Rigpa Shedra, Oddiyana was "one of the twenty-four sacred places, Oddiyana played an important role in the history of Buddhism, especially from the perspective of Tibetan Buddhism. It is believed to be the homeland of both the Vajrayana and Dzogchen teachings, and is said to be the land where Garab Dorje, Vairotsana, Padmasambhava and Tilopa, amongst others, received the transmissions of Dzogchen. Buddhist texts speak of Oddiyana as a beautifully green and fertile kingdom, inhabited by gentle people often clothed in white, who had great respect for wisdom and learning."
Here's an interesting comment about some potential artifacts:
Recently someone had inquired about cultural remains of Buddhist culture in Oddiyana. If Oddiyana was indeed the present Swat valley in Pakistan, I have found something that may be of interest. In the book The Lotus Transcendent by Martin Lerner and Steven Kossak, there are several Buddhist artifacts from Swat
depicted.(1) No. 84, page 114, seated Prajnaparamita goddess in brass 7th century 4&1/8 inches. (2) No. 85 p.115 Standing Bodhisattva - looks like Avalokiteshvara Padmapani- 6 th or 7th century bronze 3 & ¼ inches (3)Nos. 86
and 87 two standing Bodhisattvas - probably part of a larger piece in bronze 6 & 1/8 and 5 & 1/8 inches.(4) the real gem of the group: No.88 p.117 Seated Buddha in bronze - probably Shakyamuni- 8th century or earlier seated in full lotus position on a lotus throne with hands in the teaching position. 8 & 1/8 inches.
There is also a color plate of this image.
These are all small items, maybe from the contents of stupas or small altars. I presume that these were found by treasure hunters during the British rule and more recently (?). Maybe in the archaeological publications of the British period there are references to architectural remains. I read recently that the Taliban had destroyed any
pre-Islamic remains in the valley , but presume that these were only ruins of ruins to start with. Unlike the Pathans in the lower Swat valley who are relative newcomers, the people of the upper Swat speak Dardic languages and may be the descendants of Padmasambhava's people. I also remember seeing a photo of
the interior of an upper Swat mosque and noticed that the wooden pillars were similar to Tibetan ones.
Best wishes. Robert Bunger
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kagyu/message/41095
1
Comments
Wiki: The Gandhāran cultural area consisted of Oddiyana, Gandhara and Bactria, Tokharistan, across the Khyber Pass.
Wiki: The Gandhāran Buddhist Texts are the oldest Buddhist manuscripts yet discovered, dating from about the 1st century CE.[1] They are written in Gāndhārī, and are possibly the oldest extant Indic texts altogether.
A Gandhāra Buddha:
http://newbuddhist.com/discussion/11592/significance-of-the-gandhari-scrolls-to-mahayana-theravada-split
I've seen a map of the tibetan empire at its peak, and it reached as far west as Kabul, including the far north of Oddiyana.
Bhayea mitra padibhanavamta
bahosuda dhammadhara urada.
Anae dhammam viyigitsa prahae
eko care khargavisanagapo.
One should cultivate a friend who is intelligent,
learned, a master of the dharma, noble.
Having understood the dharma,
and abandoned doubt, one should wander alone like the rhinoceros.
Sayi labhea nivago sahayo,
sardhacare sasovihari dhiro,
aabhibhuya sarvani pariseani,
carea ten' atamana svadima.
If one should find a wise companion,
a well-behaved, strong fellow,
then overcoming all dangers,
one should wander along with him, satisfied at heart, mindful.
No ya labhea nivag(*o) sahayo
sardhacare sasovihari dhiro
raya va ratha viyidam prahae
eko care khargavisanagapo.
If one should not find a wise companion,
a well-behaved, strong fellow,
then like a king who has abandoned the realm he had conquered,
one should wander alone like the rhinoceros.
~
Portion of the Kharosthi Fragments:
A Gandhari version of the Rhinoceros Sutra (Khargavisana-sutra)
Kushan era, 1st century CE
Ink on birch bark paper
http://www.washington.edu/uwpress/search/books/SALGAN.html
Pricey, alas.
http://dawn.com/2012/07/07/gandhara-civilizations-antiquities-seized/
http://www.samaa.tv/samaavideolist.aspx?ID=5168
"We today are able to gain a fairly vivid picture of the ancient Kingdom of Uddiyana, because in the year 630 A.D., a renowned heroic Chinese Buddhist pilgrim, known by the name of Huen Tsiang [Xuanzang], passed through the heart of Uddiyana on his way to India.
Statue of Xuanzang (on right) in Lanzhou, China
The people of Uddiyana, according to Huen Tsiang, were gentle, soft and effeminate. In our imagination he conjures a scene of healthy, tanned people, mostly clothed in pure white cotton. The men have white turbans, the women soft flowing saris, also white. These are a gentle, happy people, rarely endangered by war or calamity. They are a society appreciative of fine culture, and they are all, reported Huen Tsiang, great lovers of learning.
There is another characteristic which our Chinese Pilgrim noted concerning the people of this amazing Kingdom of Uddiyana. In what we take to be a disapproving tone, for Huen Tsiang viewed himself a scholar-monk of the pure Zen (Chan) tradition of Buddhism, he wrote, "They are addicted to the art of reciting charms." In fact, this statement may well be one of the earliest references concerning the Buddhist use of mantra that is known to scholars. Huen Tsiang, an adherent of a form of Buddhism that knows nothing of the Vajra Way, perceived mantra recitation not as a type of yoga, but rather as the utterance of superstitious spells.
It is of great interest to us personally, to see that already by the seventh century the usage of secret mantra, i.e., a system of Tantra, was already prevalent in Uddiyana. For in later ages, the Kingdom of Uddiyana is spoken of as the land of Tantra par excellence. Huen Tsiang's statement shows that Tantra was an ancient tradition in the Northwest, long before it gained popularity in India. "
Xuanzang's route (Google map: http://bit.ly/PbC85e)
"Dhammarakkhita (Pali, "protected by the Dharma"), was one of the missionaries sent by the Mauryan emperor Ashoka to proselytize 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.
A Gandharan bodhisattva, ca. late 1st–2nd century
He went to the Greek-occupied areas in the west of India [Aparanta]. Long ago Przyluski...suggested that Dhammarakkhita be identified with the founder of the Dharmaguptaka school...Since that time two pieces of evidence have come to light that make this suggestion highly plausible.
One is the positive identification of very early manuscripts belonging to the Dharmaguptakas in the Gandhāra region, exactly where we expect to find Yonaka Dhammarakkhita.
The second is that the phonetic rendering of his name in the Sudassanavinayavibhāsā evidently renders ‘Dharmagutta’ rather than ‘Dhammarakkhita’." (http://www.congress-on-buddhist-women.org/index.php?id=62)
Dhammarakkhita is noted to have preached the Aggikkhandomapa Sutta in Aparanta:
"A Buddhist text, the Mahavamsa states that at the conclusion of the Third Buddhist Council (c.250 BCE)...Dhammarakkhita was sent here by the emperor Ashoka to preach Dhamma and 37,000 people embraced Buddhism due to his effort (Mahavamsa, xii.34-6). According to Buddhist scholar A.K. Warder, the Dharmaguptaka sect originated here." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aparanta)
Aparanta region
The Aggikkhandomapa Sutta: http://bit.ly/NFM6Qp
And a wonderful, in-depth analysis, citing additional new linguistic and archaeological evidence in favor of Dhammarakkhita's being the founder of the Dharmaguptaka school: http://bit.ly/Pdebu9
Excerpt: "Thus ‘Dhammarakkhita’ remained a revered elder for the Mahāvihāravāsins for a long time, fondly remembered by them as a distant brother successfully bringing the Dhamma to the Greek areas. This accords perfectly with the existing manuscript and epigraphical references to the Dharmaguptakas, which are concentrated in Gandhāra, long under Greek rule."
Excerpt:
"This new concept of a greater Uddiyana is described most objectively - to my knowledge - by John Myrdhin Reynolds...he concludes that 'perhaps Uddiyana is actually the name of a much wider geographical area than the Swat Valley alone, one embracing parts of Pakistan, Afghanistan, and even Western Tibet (Zhang-zhung)." [1996, The Golden Letters. Snow Lion Publications]
Thus recognized, Uddiyana is not only the region into which the 14th Dalai Lama fled when forced to leave Tibet (an idea based on a personal communication with Jane Sperr), it also includes the very ancient Odiyana Pitha (Bhimasthana Tirtha) much cited by Sircar, as well as Jvalamukhi Pitha (sacred to both Hindu and Buddhist Tantrics); two of the ten most important shrines on the Indian sub-continent dedicated to the pre-Vedic Mother Goddess whose worship survived all attempts at displacing her.
At the same time, this larger definition shows Uddiyana to be the most likely mediator for:
1. injecting Persian concepts into Bön,
2. transmitting Kashmir Shaiva-teachings into Tibetan Buddhism and
3. combining the early Mahayana of India with Tantric teachings and aspects of folk-religion, a mixture that helped shape the later Vajrayana of Tibet and its surrounding regions.
This view of a greater Uddiyana does not exclude the possibility that the kingdom in the valley of the river Swat had perhaps a pivotal role, for example in establishing and training the apparently all-female priesthood of the region (a fact that has been well documented by Miranda Shaw in her Passionate Enlightenment; 1994)."