This is a very important work from the Canadian monk, Ajahn Soṇa, on the cross influences that Greek and Buddhist culture had on each other. It has long been recognised that Greek statuary had a major influence on Buddhist iconic sculpture, which seems to have emerged in Gandhara.
In fact, even the way to run an empire such as Asoka’s, probably came from the Persian and later Greek empires that stretched across Eurasia from the Mediterranean to the edges of India. When the Alexandrian empire retreated it left behind Greek kingdoms bordering India.
Ajahn Soṇa brings out the important point that many other things were probably influenced by Greek culture, such as the idea of writing down texts, the earliest of which are samples recovered from the Gandharan area; and advisory writing on pillars, which was carried out by Asoka.
Beyond this, it is clear from the historical records that there were Greek monks before there were ever Sri Lankan, Burmese and Thai monks, as Greeks like Mahādhammarakkhita and Dhammarakkhita, both Greeks, were sent out as missionaries by Asoka.
This and many other facets of the meeting of East and West are explored in this video, which is well-illustrated with relevant materials from Buddhist history. In my mind it is a must-see for anyone interested in Buddhism.
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to see an album of screenshots click here