Silk Routes: Material Cultural Encounters

This panel examines key religio-cultural expressions of Buddhism on the Silk Road in history, highlighting material religion and its relationship to pre-modern India. Addressing the locations of Kucha, Datong and Dunhuang, the papers explore cultural encounters on the Silk Routes through the topics of sexuality and monastic identities, cosmology, burial practices and meditation. Together, the papers consider how cultural practices from Northern India (e.g. Kashmir, Kashgar, Gandhāra) were exchanged on the Silk Routes, from Kumārajīva’s translations to the transmission of Sarvāstivāda cave meditation techniques. Linking material culture and beliefs, embodiment and textuality, the papers combine new research findings for discussion.