Gandhara and the Silk Road: Daily Life and Buddhist Practice in the Niya Oasis

Speaker: Dr. Stefan Baums, Institute for Indian and Tibetan Studies, University of Munich
 
 
The ancient settlement of Niya (known as Caḍḍ_ota in the local language and as
Jingjué in Chinese) was a major station on the Southern Silk Road connecting
India and the West with China. Abandoned around the 5th century CE and
buried by the desert, it was rediscovered in the early 20th century and has
yielded impeccably preserved artefacts and written documents that provide
insight into the daily life and Buddhist practice of the local community as well
as the political interactions between Niya and the neighboring Silk Road states.
After an overview of the history and exploration of the site, I will focus on the
local form of Buddhism as it emerges from the Niya documents. The talk will
conclude with personal impressions from a recent expedition to the Niya oasis.