8 BUDDHISM IN CENTRAL ASIA AND CHINA
Central Asia
8.1 The Dharma Travels the Silk Road
C
entral Asia's contribution to the history of Buddhism lies largely in its
role as an intermediary in the spread of the Dharma to east Asia and
Tibet. However, for more than a millennium, beginning with the third
century B.C.E. and lasting in some areas until the eleventh century c.E., people
in the area practiced the religion for their own benefit, created Buddhist art
for their own enjoyment and edification, and spread the Dharma not because
it was an outside force flowing through their territory, but because it had made
such an important contribution to their own lives. Unfortunately, the ravages
of weather and the many military invasions that have swept through the area
have left few remnants of Buddhism's former presence, but those few rem-
nants attest to a vibrant and sophisticated culture of a high order. Undoubt-
edly, there are traces of a specifically central Asian Buddhism still alive in east
Asian Buddhist culture, but barring any major archaeological finds in the fu-
ture, it is difficult to know precisely what those traces are.8.1.1 From the Mauryan to the Ku~ar;ta Empire
The Buddhist history of central Asia can be divided roughly into three peri-
ods. The first begins in the time of King Asoka (see Section 3.3) and lasts until
the fall of the Ku~al).a empire in the third century c.E. Two extant Asokan in-166