The Buddhist Monastery, Art and Teachings as a Factor in the Development of North Indian and Central Asian Islamic Practice and Architecture

Abstract

The teachings and practices of Buddhism resonated with many nascent Islamic Sufi orders in the northern Indian and Central Asian contexts, starting with the arrival of Islam to the region in the 7th Century, gaining momentum with the expansions of the Ghaznvid and Ghurid Empires in the 12th Century, and continuing into our own times through philosophies and local customs. The contrasting reputations of the two traditions, with Buddhism often viewed as a peaceful journey towards enlightenment and Islam as a faith bent on military conquest, have restricted historical investigations of Buddhism and Islam’s relationship with one another and have often removed these practices from time and place. This dialogue can be made more fruitful by entering through the specific examples offered by the architecture of the Buddhist monastery structure or sangha and the Islamic Sufi lodge or khanqah between the 12th and 15th Centuries.