Where was the Buddha really born?

Ranajit Pal, Ph.D. (ranajitpal.com)

Bamiyan, Afghanistan, was near Kapilavastu, birthplace of the Buddha (Afghan Treasures)

The fantastic recent find of about 10,000 ancient Buddhist fragments at Bamiyan [Afghanistan], part of which is now in the Schoyen Collection, shows that Buddhism was born here. 

  

The names Tiŝŝa, Siddhartha, and Suddho-dana, of the Persepolis Tablets prove conclusively that Gotama [Gautama Buddha] was from Seistan-Baluchistan. 

  

About the iconography of a beautiful schist stele from Mes Aynak, G. Fussman of the College de France writes that the prince shown sitting under foliage of [a] Pipal [tree] is Siddhartha before his enlightenment. 

  

Sistan-Baluchistan, ancient Indian frontier

Gregory Schopen also writes about a "cult tied to a cycle of festivals celebrating four moments, not in the biography of the Buddha but in the pre-enlightenment period of the life of Siddhartha."
  
Yet neither he nor G. Fussman recognizes the need to integrate the Mes Aynak findings with the priceless inscriptions from the Persepolis Tablets, which mention Tissa, Sedda Saramana (Siddhartha), Sudda Yauda Saramana (Suddodana), and Saman.
  
Schopen's video, entitled "Buddha as a Businessman," is largely based on false Nepalese data. More

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"Buddha as a Businessman" (video)

UCLA Faculty Research Lectures; Wisdom Quarterly

Series: UCLA Faculty Research Lectures [5/2009] [Humanities] [Show ID: 16444]
 

(UCtelevision) Prof. Gregory Schopen, Chair of the UCLA Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, an authority on ancient Indian Buddhism, has been separating Buddhist-fact from Buddhist-fiction [falling on the side of fiction, according to Dr. Pal] for the past 30 years. In this UCLA Faculty Research Lecture, Prof. Schopen explores the Buddha as an astute businessman, economist, and lawyer.

• The Buddhas of Bamiyan, Afghanistan
• PHOTOS: "Grey Earth" of Shakyan Afghanistan
• China's Mo Yan wins Nobel Prize in literature

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Buddhism in Iran

Mehrak Golestan (Iranian.com, 2004); Wisdom Quarterly (2012)

Buddha statues and relics priceless smuggled out of Pakistan and recovered (sfgate.com)

  

Lahore Museum, 500 BC (MOW)

The first instance of Buddhism entering Iran seems to have been during the life of the historical Buddha, Sakyamuni, roughly 5/6th century BCE. During the course of this paper, I will seek to examine the spread of Buddhism amongst Iranian people, a subject the significance of which is often overlooked by modern day scholars. The paper begins with a brief background of the region and then examines the circumstances under which Buddhism entered the Persian Empire and how it spread amongst the people of the region.
  

New borders divide old India (new-pakistan.com)

It then looks at the patterns of cross cultural influence and the mark that Buddhism left on Iranians and vice versa. To clarify, the area I am concerned with is not the region of modern day Iran, rather the area of Central Asia inhabited by Iranian people from roughly 500 BCE onwards. This would include modern day Iran, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, as well as parts of North-West Pakistan and India....
  

Shakyamuni [Bijapuri (Ed Sentner)]

The most obvious example of Iran's influence on Buddhism is to be found in the "Gandharan" style of art. It developed under the Kushans and is closely linked with the development of Mahayana Buddhism. Scholars agree with Emmerick (1983) that, "It seems probable that both [development of art as well as development of Mahayana school of thought] arose from the contact between Greek, Iranian, and Indian influences" (Emmerick, RE, "Buddhism amongst Iranian peoples" in: Yarshater, Ed, Cambridge History of Iran, vol 3.2, Cambridge, CUP).  More

• Buddhism in Pakistani (Gandharan) history
• Western Buddhas in Lahore Museum, Pakistan

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Occupy? "#ReGeneration" (film)

ReGENERATIONtheMovie

Produced by Anonymous Content's Matt DeRoss and Engine 7 Films' Joel and Jeremy Goulder. Directed by Phillip Montgomery.

 

(ReGENERATION-themovie.com) This is the award-winning documentary film that explores the galvanizing forces behind the Occupy Movement and the state of social activism among today's youth. 

  

Narrated by Ryan Gosling, the film features leading social movement experts including Noam Chomsky, Adbusters' Kalle Lasn, the late "people's historian" Howard Zinn, Amy Goodman, as well as influential cultural activists including Talib Kweli with an original score by Sound Tribe Sector 9 (STS9). #ReGENERATION #ThisisanUPRISING.

This is an Uprising! Get involved at ReGENERATION-themovie.com for exclusive content and info about theatrical screenings in your area this spring. #ReGENERATION. Host a screening @ tugg.com/regeneration. Join the conversation on Facebook: ReGENERATIONthemovie.

• WATCH THE FILM

Distraction Media

• NAKED Justin Bieber photos hit the Internet!
• Bieber's Beeb on display after laptop stolen
• New episodes of "Underemployed" (MTV)

How We Are Controlled

• NPR: How to Manipulate People Into Saying Yes (LISTEN)
• Learn more at Pacifica's Uprising Radio

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Jailed Pussy Rioter ordered released (video)

TheWorld.org; Wisdom Quarterly

(LINK)

  

German supporters (Marcus Brandt/AFP/DPA)

The punk collective of female freedom-fighters, "Pussy Riot," went too far insulting Russian dictator Putin, performing in a Russian Orthodox church to shine light on the lack of separation of church and state.

  

They performed their anti-Putin song in Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral and got arrested, not for playing so much as for posting an inflammatory video about playing. Two of the members remain in jail.

  

TheWorld.org wants to share the MUSIC of the band over the din of the movement the collective inspires around the world. Their first notable tune was “Loosen up the Paving Stones” about the Arab Spring: “Egyptian air is good for the lungs,” they sing. Like the Occupy Movement they are calling for a “Tahrir Square on Red Square.” LISTEN

• PHOTOS: Artifacts of life on Mars

• Russia remains divided on the Pussy Riot case
• Pussy Riot jailed members get a two-year jail sentence
• Mixed feelings in Russia over Pussy Riot trial
• CARTOON SLIDESHOW: Pussy Riot sentenced

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