Lost Oasis on the Silk Road, Parts 4-6

This is the second set of documentaries on the ancient Buddhist kingdom of Kucha, which was situated along the Silk Road and in the Tarim Basin.

In these films more time is spent on examining the caves that are found at Kizil, one of the largest Buddhist cave complexes in the world.

The different cave structures, their provenance, and the murals in them all come under scrutiny by experts and scholars from China.

Unfortunately the information given about the Hīnayāna and Mahāyāna is grossly inaccurate at times, and it made me wonder what else in the film may be inaccurate also.

Still we do get to see the murals, which range from stories depicting the Life of the Buddha, and his previous incarnations, and the so-called hetupratyāya stories, which illustrate the workings of kamma, or intentional acts.

There is also substantial information about the different caves, their various designs and the relationship they bear to other cave structures along the Silk Road.