Visiting Buddhist-Afghanistan (without a gun)

Edited and expanded by Dhr. Seven and Amber Dorrian, Wisdom Quarterly

Mes Aynak archaeological excavations

Michal Przedlacki (REPORTING)

LOCATION: Southern chapel, Kafiriat Tepe monastic complex, Logar Province, Afghanistan [ancient Gandhara, frontier India]

Gandhara-style Buddha (SF Asian Museum)

Of great interest in Mes Aynak ["Copper Well"] is the association of many Buddhist monasteries with the economic activity of copper mining. There is no doubt that the wealthy decoration of the monasteries is linked to the wealth that people living nearby derived from the mine.

   

In May 2012 I traveled to Afghanistan on an assignment for the Czech edition of National Geographic magazine. I photographed excavation and rescue efforts at the world’s largest archaeological excavation site, located in Mes Aynak (“copper well”) area, Logar Province, Afghanistan.

The Buddha's western face (buddhaskulptur.de)

Being an equally inspiring and unique place, experts on site believe that uncovering the ancient city of Mes Aynak would not only re-write the history of the Silk Route but also the history of Buddhism.

  

[According to maverick Indian archeologist Dr. Ranajit Pal, modern Bamiyan, Afghanistan, was ancient Kapilavastu, India, the Buddha's hometown. We at Wisdom Quarterly agree that the historical Buddhist sites were far west of modern Nepal.]

That is, however, unlikely to happen. At the end of December 2012, the first part of the ancient site will be destroyed [by corporate Chinese interests bent on extracting rare earth minerals, copper, and gold].

Policeman guards excavation (time.com)

Due to the economic interests of China and Afghanistan [the former desperately needs rare minerals for producing electronics like iPhones, whereas the latter desperately needs cash in the face of an invasion by a foreign army that has occupied the country with no end in sight] a massive open copper mine complex just where the ancient city lays will be established. 

  

US strike team soldier drives bulldozer through infrastructure to help make country "safe" for capitalism during US war on and continued occupation of Afghanistan (defense.gov)

  

Marks of a Great Man (en.wikipedia.org)

[The upshot is that this massive Buddhist archeological site located west of India in Central Asia will be destroyed and covered by a massive mining city before it is ever excavated or even fully documented. Afghanistan's Department of Archeology is working as fast as it can with no hope of even describing all of its wonders before the Chinese are contracted to start their demolition of the site. While China may have one billion uncounted Buddhists, it is ruled by an officially atheist Communist regime bent on capitalist riches.]

  

Mes Aynak is also a home to a second-largest unworked cooper deposit in the world.

  

To give you a hint, this earth-covered ancient city -- yet to be excavated -- sprawls across a territory of approximately 1.5 by 1.5 kilometers [distance, perhaps a temple complex a square mile in size. Wisdom Quarterly does not refer to it as "the World's Greatest Buddhist Site" for nothing].

  

Gandharan (flickrhivemind.net)

Recent findings suggest that underneath the 2,600 years-old town [which, not coincidentally, is the exact official age of Buddhism itself -- since Buddhism came to Afghanistan just seven years after Siddhartha's great enlightenment, when as the "Buddha" (Shakyamuni, "the Sage of the Shakya Clan") he visited his home town and converted his father King Suddhodana who entered the first and second stages of enlightenment and continued to rule (reaching full enlightenment on his death bed when the Buddha returned to help him awaken), his stepmother Maha Prajapati who became the first Buddhist nun, his son Rahula who at 7-years-old became the first Buddhist novice, his half-brother Nanda and half-sister Sundari Nanda, and many of his relatives like his cousin Ananda from the royal Shakya clan's territory, shakya meaning "grey earth," a reference to the strangely grey soil in this area of Afghanistan], Mes Aynak was inhabited in an organized manner as early as 5,000 years ago, well into Bronze Age.

• The Shakya Clan: The Buddha Gautama's Family

It is considered a literal missing-link between worlds East and West, a trading hub, a money factory, a place where two civilizations met and interacted. 

Gandhara-style Buddha (SF Asia Museum)

According to international archaeologists on site, Mes Aynak is one of the five most important findings in the entire history of archaeology. It is in the same category as Petra and Machu Picchu. [It is, in fact, the world's greatest Buddhist site -- rivaling Indonesia's Borobudur, Cambodia's Angkor Wat, and Sri Lanka's Anuradapura.]

  

Unfortunately, we will never learn about it. For underneath Mes Aynak City exists the second-largest known unworked copper deposit in the world. MCC (China Metallurgical Group Corporation, a government-owned giant) bought rights to it for about $3 billion. It plans to excavate copper and rare earths for the next 30 years, aiming to extract approximately $100 billion worth. As such, a massive open copper mine visible from outer space will completely destroy this ancient site. 

Fitzgerald (InvisibleHistory.com)

So far only about 15% of the newest archaeological layer has been uncovered. A second earlier layer will never be accessed. The entire city’s history, including its administrative center, Buddhist burial mound/reliquary shrines (stupas), monasteries, nunneries, as well as evidence of its Bronze Age past will be forever lost.
  

CIA-funded Afghan Muslims (uberhumor.com)

Archaeologists say they would require 20 to 30 years to fully uncover and simply document this site -- to say nothing of preserving or restoring it. But they have no power to oppose decisions taken by the [CIA-corrupted Karzai] government of Afghanistan and MCC [just as mere archeologists could neither oppose or prevent the planned ransacking of priceless treasures in the Iraqi Museum, which the West considers the "Cradle of Civilization." A further complication exists: Islamic regimes are in no hurry to uncover their pre-Islamic/Buddhist pasts.
 
So sites in Pakistan, Iran/Persia (where the Buddha's mother, Maya Devi, was likely born, according to Dr. Ranajit Pal, who posits that she was from Seistan-Baluchistan, which is a border area between Afghanistan-Iran-Pakistan), Kazakhstan, and elsewhere go largely unprotected in spite of the meager efforts of earnest archeologists].

• Buddhism in Iran (iranian.com)
• The REAL American history of Afghanistan
• Ancient Western Buddhist art (gandhara.com.au)

Kabul Bank bail out (Huff Po; NPR)

A team consisting of international and Afghan archaeologists is conducting so called “rescue archaeology” -- digging out as much as possible in the remaining few months before demolition begins.
  

Reporting (with text by Jiri Unger and Nicolas Engel) has been published exclusively in the September edition of the Czech version of National Geographic magazine.

  

Application for UNESCO protection

(Nadia, Afghan Treasures) Fantastic news! We have blown past our original goal of 10,000 signatures for our petition to protect the Afghan Mes Aynak site from Chinese mining developers.  Who can imagine these incredible archaeological treasures being destroyed for commercial profiteering?  More than 10,000 signatories think that is a bad idea. As of today, we have collected 10,360 signatures and are stretching the goal to 20,000 [2011]. We will report our progress the April newsletter, which features an exclusive article on Mes Aynak by Prof. Tarzi. (We welcome comments and feedback). Here are three things to do right now:

1. Subscribe to Afghan Treasures.
2. Sign the Care2 petition.
3. Subscribe to the newsletter.

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"In God's Name." A Book Review.

I was recently invited by the National Geographic Society publishing department to read the book, "In God's Name" and do a review of the work. I found the title intreaging and agreed. I was provided a copy of the book and just finished it. It is by Jules Naudet and Gedeon Naudet. The photos are taken by Stephan Crasneanscki and the interviews by Virginie Luc.

The design of the cover was obviously the first thing that I noticed. It has a nice gold colored cover with a complimenting black binding and lovely white script. The mixture of these three colors lends itself well to the noble topic within as gold, black and white are all colors associated with spirituality in many religions.

Then I opened the book and was rewarded with a stunning, brilliant and artistic photo of a trio of Buddhist monks wrapped up in their robes with one monk peering out from around his shroud at the camera. The pictures in this book live up to the standard of photography that the world has come to expect from National Geographic. There is also a wonderful picture of Buddhist nun peering over glasses while reading as well as young Tibetan Buddhist monks playing soccer. The wisdom in her face and eyes is endearing and captivating.

And so this book is worth buying for the pictures alone but the wisdom from diverse religions within is just as worthwhile. The various religions include: Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Shinto and Hinduism. I hope I named them all. So the wisdom is simple but like most simple messages of spirituality that are deeply profound. I will touch on a few of the quotes from other religions but being a Buddhist I will focus more on those.

The Dalai Lama was introduced in this book with him describing the balance between being seen by Tibetan Buddhists as Avalokiteshvara (Kwan Yin) and a sentient being like everyone else. He has such disarming honesty when he says, "I am also ridden with a bit of laziness. So, while talking to other people, I do not give airs to myself. I speak the real fact. That is why people love me. For me too, I have no uneasiness. It is troublesome if I think I am smart and higher." This kind of humility is exactly what makes him such an enlightened being. He is truly living and epitomizing the middle way.

Another spiritual leader in the book that I found fascinating is the Archbishop of Canterbury and head of the Church of England. His answer to the question, "How do you feel the presence of God?" sounded very similar to Buddhism and reminded me how similar we are all despite our different spiritual beliefs. He says, "I am aware of the presence of God every time I'm aware of my own breathing, my own heartbeat. (James: That's very Buddhist to talk of finding peace in one's breath and heartbeat).

Then when asked, "What is the meaning of death" the Dalai Lama said, "If you think that a natural thing has come, tranquility shall prevail. For example, fruits fall down when ripened. There is no reason to be surprised. That is what it is. But if you think that something catastrophic has happened, then a lot of unhappiness shall follow.

When asked, "Can different religions coexist" the Dali Lama responded, "In early times, in each place, people lived in isolation from the rest. It was right for them to abide within a solitary religious milieu. In their isolated milieus, it was right for them to promote their particular religion. We can't decree that this or that particular religion is the most important. I can not say that Buddhism is the best for each one of us." This kind of acceptance is a big reason that I became a Buddhist.

All in all I was enthralled with this book and pleased to have had the chance to read and review it. I would highly recommend this piece of art and would be a great gift. It would be a great coffee table book.

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