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Buddhas of Bamiyan

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Post time 25-7-2006 06:49 AM | Show all posts |Read mode
Buddhas of Bamiyan

One of the Buddhas of Bamiyan before complete destruction, AfghanistanThe Buddhas of Bamiyan (Farsi:تندیس‌های بودا در باميان tandis-ha-ye buda dar bamiyaan) were two monumental statues of standing Buddhas carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley of central Afghanistan, situated 230 km (143 miles) northwest of Kabul at an altitude of 2500 meters (8,202 feet).Most likely built in the fifth or sixth centuries, the statues represented a classic blending of Greek and Buddhist art.

The main bodies were hewn directly from the sandstone cliffs, but details were modelled in mud mixed with straw, coated with stucco. This coating, practically all of which was worn away long ago, was painted to enhance the expressions of the faces, hands and folds of the robes. The lower parts of the statues' arms were constructed from the same mud-straw mix while supported on wooden armatures. It is believed that the upper parts of their faces were made from great wooden masks, or casts. The rows of holes that can be seen in photographs were spaces that held wooden pegs which served to stabilize the outer stucco.

History
Bamiyan lies on the Silk Road, a caravan route linking the markets of China and Central Asia with those of Europe, Middle East and South Asia. It was the site of several Buddhist monasteries, and a thriving center for religion, philosophy, and Greco-Buddhist art. It was a Buddhist religious site from the second century up to the time of the Islamic invasion in the ninth century.

Monks at the monasteries lived as hermits in small caves carved into the side of the Bamiyan cliffs. Many of these monks embellished their caves with religious statuary and elaborate, brightly-colored frescoes.

The two most prominent statues were the giant, standing Buddhas, measuring 55 and 37 meters (180 and 121 feet) high respectively, the largest examples of standing Buddha carvings in the world. They were cultural landmarks for many years, the site being listed among UNESCO's World Heritage Sites.

The smaller of the two statues, about 120 feet tall, was built in the 3rd century A.D. The larger one, at 175 feet, was constructed in the 5th century A.D. The statues are believed to have been built by the Indo-European Kushans and Hephthalites at the hey day of their empires. Ironically, the above mentioned tribes also formed the basis of Pashtun ethnogenesis-- the ethnic group from which the Taliban drew its core following [1].

Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Hs?n-tsang (Xuanzang) passed through the area around 630 AD and described Bamiyan as a flourishing Buddhist centre "with more than ten monasteries and more than a thousand monks", and he noted that both Buddha figures were "decorated with gold and fine jewels" (Wriggins, 1995).

A monumental sitting Buddha similar in style to those at Bamiyan still exists in the Bingling Temple caves in China's Gansu province.

[edit]
Destruction
When Mahmud of Ghazni conquered Afghanistan in the 12th century, the Buddhas and frescoes were spared from destruction. Still, over the years Muslim iconoclasts hacked away at some of the statues' details, mostly the facial features and hands. Aurangzeb, the last Mughal emperor distinguished for his religious zeal, employed heavy artillery in an attempt to destroy the statues. Genghis Khan and Nadir Shah too had cannon fire directed at the statues. But over the centuries the statues had largely been left untouched

In July 1999, Mullah Mohammed Omar issued a decree in favor of the preservation of the Bamiyan Buddhas. Because Afghanistan's Buddhist population no longer existed, which removed the possibility of the statues being worshipped, he added: "The government considers the Bamiyan statues as an example of a potential major source of income for Afghanistan from international visitors. The Taliban states that Bamiyan shall not be destroyed but protected." [2]

Afghan's Islamist clerics would begin a campaign to crack down on "un-Islamic" segments of Afghan society. The Taliban soon banned all forms of imagery, music and sports, including television. There is reason to believe that this was in accordance with a strict interpretation of Islamic law [3].

In March 2001, according to Agence France Presse in Kabul, the decree declared, "Based on the verdict of the clergymen and the decision of the Supreme Court of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) all the statues around Afghanistan must be destroyed. All the statues in the country should be destroyed because these statues have been used as idols and deities by the non-believers before. They are respected now and may be turned into idols in future too. Only Allah, the Almighty, deserves to be worshipped, not anyone or anything else."


Remains of one of the Buddhas of Bamiyan after its complete destruction by the TalibanInformation and Culture Minister Qadratullah Jamal told Associated Press of a decision by 400 religious clerics from across Afghanistan declaring the Buddhist statues against the tenets of Islam. "They came out with a consensus that the statues were un-Islamic," said Jamal.

On March 6, the London Times quoted Mullah Mohammed Omar as stating, "Muslims should be proud of smashing idols. It has given praise to God that we have destroyed them." He had clearly changed his position from being in favor of the statues to being against them. During a March 13 interview for Japan's Mainichi Shimbun, Foreign Afghan Minister Wakil Ahmad Mutawakel stated that the destruction was anything but a retaliation against the international community for economic sanctions: "We are destroying the Buddha statues in accordance with Islamic law and it is purely a religious issue".

On March 18, The New York Times reports, that a Taliban envoy said the Islamic government made its decision in a rage after a foreign delegation offered money to preserve the ancient works while a million Afghans faced starvation. The New York Times also added, however, that other reports "have said the religious leaders were debating the move for months, and ultimately decided that the statues were idolatrous and should be obliterated."

Then Taliban Ambassador-at-large, (and current Yale student) Sayed Rahmatullah Hashemi, said that the destruction of the statues was carried out during the famine in Afghanistan after a Swedish government earmarked money to be provided to restore the statues and refused to allow it to be used to aid Afghan Children. Hashimi is reported as saying: "When the Afghani head council asked them to provide the money to feed the children instead of fixing the statues, they refused and said, 'No, the money is just for the statues, not for the children'. Herein, they made the decision to destroy the statues" [4].

On April 19th 2004, in an interview to a Pakistani journalist Mohammad Shehzad, Mullah Mohammad Omar said the following, "I did not want to destroy the Bamiyan Buddha. In fact, some foreigners came to me and said they would like to conduct the repair work of the Bamiyan Buddha that had been slightly damaged due to rains. This shocked me. I thought, these callous people have no regard for thousands of living human beings -- the Afghans who are dying of hunger, but they are so concerned about non-living objects like the Buddha. This was extremely deplorable. That is why I ordered its destruction. Had they come for humanitarian work, I would have never ordered the Buddhas' destruction."

The Islamist Taliban government decreed that the statues, which had survived intact for over 1,500 years, were idolatrous and un-Islamic. During the destruction, Taliban Information Minister Qudratullah Jamal lamented that, "this work of destruction is not as easy as people might think. You can't knock down the statues by shelling as both are carved into a cliff; they are firmly attached to the mountain." The two largest Buddhas faced dynamite and tank barrages and were demolished after almost a month of intensive bombardment.


Calendar commemorating the destructionAccording to UNESCO Director-General Ko?hiro Matsuura, a meeting of ambassadors from the 54 member states of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (OIC) was conducted. All OIC states - including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, three countries that officially recognised the Taliban government - joined the protest to spare the monuments (CNN). A statement issued by the ministry of religious affairs of Taliban regime justified the destruction as being in accordance with Islamic law AFP News. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates would later condemn the destruction as "savage." A Swiss documentary reported that locals claimed to have seen Pakistani and Saudi engineers on site to help with the destruction of the statues.[5]. A Pakistani charity, Al Rasheed Trust, based in Karachi, had published a special calendar with photographs of the destructions to commemorate the destruction.

[edit]
Commitment to rebuild
Though the figures of the two large Buddhas are almost completely destroyed, their outlines and some features are still recognizable within the recesses. It is also still possible for visitors to explore the monks' caves and the passages which connect them. As part of the international effort to rebuild Afghanistan after the Taliban war, the Government of Japan and several other organizations, among them the Afghanistan Institute in Bubendorf, Switzerland (it can be considered as the "Afghan National Museum in Exile" during the Taliban Period) along with the ETH in Zurich, have committed themselves to rebuilding the two largest Buddhas; anastylosis is one technique being considered.

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 Author| Post time 25-7-2006 06:51 AM | Show all posts
Recent developments
In May 2002, a mountainside sculpture of the Buddha was carved out of a mountain in Sri Lanka. It was designed to closely resemble one of the Buddhas of Bamiyan.

In December 2004, Japanese researchers discovered that the wall paintings at Bamiyan were actually painted between the 5th and the 9th centuries, rather than the 6th to 8th centuries as previously believed. The discovery was made by analysing radioactive isotopes contained in straw fibers found beneath the paintings. Further discoveries are expected to be made after comparing the paintings' dates and styles.

The Afghan government has commissioned Japanese artist Hiro Yamagata to recreate the Bamiyan Buddhas using fourteen laser systems to project the images of the Buddhas onto the cliff where they once stood. The laser systems will be solar-powered and wind-powered. The project, which will cost an estimated $9 million, is currently pending UNESCO approval. If approved, the project is estimated to be completed by 2007.

In September 2005, Mawlawi Mohammed Islam Mohammadi, Taliban governor of Bamiyan province at the time of the destruction, was elected to the Afghan Parliament.

Swiss filmmaker Christian Frei made a 95-minute documentary "The Giant Buddhas" (released in March 2006), on the statues, the international reactions to it, and an overview of the controversy. The movie makes the controversial claim (quoting a local Afghan) that the destruction was ordered by Osama Bin Laden and that initially, Mullah Omar and the Afghans in Bamiyan had opposed the destruction (Times of India Mar 27 2006).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhas_of_Bamiyan

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Post time 25-7-2006 08:55 AM | Show all posts
In March 2001, according to Agence France Presse in Kabul, the decree declared, "Based on the verdict of the clergymen and the decision of the Supreme Court of the Islamic Emirate (Taliban) all the statues around Afghanistan must be destroyed. All the statues in the country should be destroyed because these statues have been used as idols and deities by the non-believers before. They are respected now and may be turned into idols in future too. Only Allah, the Almighty, deserves to be worshipped, not anyone or anything else."

Then the issue which Talibans stated that UN gives money for perservation of the Statues BUT NOT for Afghan people is a lie lah. :hmm:

Fact is Taliban already had in mind the destruction of the Statue long before and just making excuses to throw the International Community by stating that they don't receive aids when the money is wasted on the Statue.

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Post time 25-7-2006 09:12 AM | Show all posts







patung dimusnahkan oleh taliban



selepas dimusnahkan....

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 Author| Post time 25-7-2006 08:17 PM | Show all posts
Mau Tanya dong Apakah Umat Budha Di Afghanistan masih ada
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 Author| Post time 26-7-2006 07:00 AM | Show all posts
Soal Penghancuran Patung Budha Di Afghanistan itu bukan perintah pemimpin Taliban Mullah Omar tapi Osama bin Laden & Mullah Omar justru menentangnya penghancuran patung tsb

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 Author| Post time 29-7-2006 12:23 AM | Show all posts
Kenapa Patung Budha itu dihancurkan Taliban
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Post time 31-7-2006 01:25 PM | Show all posts


Afghanistan is called the heart of Asia, while Bamyan is the heart of Afghanistan due to its rich cultural civilizations and even for its important geographical location. In the ancient times Bamyan was the nearest link road between Central Asia and the Subcontinent. Bamyan has been mentioned in Chinese as FAN-YAN or FAN-YENNA and in Pehlavi (Old Persian) as BAMIKAN (1).

Bamyan has not been merely recognized because of its Buddhist civilization in the world, but the characteristics of many other ancient civilizations are also found there. Among these, most famous name is ruins of the city of ZOHAK (MARDOASH) which was considered the biggest city of its time (2).

According to reliable historical evidences after the ritual congregation at PATNA (India) in 247 BC, the great ASUKA (3) sent three Buddhist monks DHAMMARAK-KHITA, MAJAHAN-TIKA and MAHARAK-KHITA for preaching to GANDHARA, Afghanistan and other countries. During that era an important "stupa" (4) was built in Bamyan. Later on, during the period of great Kaniska (5) the most famous ruler of Kushan dynasty (6) the Buddhist sect MAHAYANA got developed and thus the golden age of stone carving were started. In that period Bamyan was selected due to its geographical importance and best geological characteristics, and the work of carving of statues and caves was started. According to well-known French Archaeologists J-Hacking, Mr. &. Mrs. Godard who visited Bamyan in 1922 and 1924, the first statue of Buddha (35 meter high) locally known as "SHAMAMA" was carved during the 1st century AD. At the time the art of stone carving was not advanced and developed, so they carved an other improved statue 600 meters away form the 1st locally known as "SALSAL" which is 53 meters high, (2nd and 3rd century AD) the largest statue in the world. It is considered the most beautiful masterpiece in the art of Sculpturing. Besides that, there were two smaller statues in the meditating position (10 meters each), which were later on destroyed but still the places and signs are visible between these two grand statues. Around these two statues hundreds of smaller and bigger caves have been made, probably for Monks and special guests. Most of these caves had been painted which can be seen obviously.



In its bloom period, no doubt Bamyan was one of the most sacred and holy places for the Buddhists all over the world. Buddha's followers used to visit there every year for ritual purposes. Moreover, Bamyan played the role of the main and nearest link road between the Central Asia and Sub Continent. Therefore, at that time thousands of trade caravans were using Bamyan as junction. For accommodations of these thousands of people some twelve caves were made in FOLADI and KAKRAK passes (10 km away east form main Bamyan Valley) (7).

According to the history, at first in 6th century AD, the White Huns damaged this civilization and after getting revival to some extent, later on the Muslims thoroughly annexed the whole region up to 9th AD. Then they rooted up the Buddhism. The Muslims however didn't much damage except chapping the faces of Buddha's Statues. After them the great Mongol warrior Genghis Khan also came in the region in 1221 AD, and during long besiege of Bamyan city his beloved grand son MOTOKUN was killed by the Hazaras, so Genghis army destroyed the whole famous city GHULGHUL of Bamyan and its surroundings in revenge, but he did not touch any of the statues or painted caves because he had a soft corner towards Buddhism.

During the modern era of Afghanistan this historical heritage was badly damaged during the regime of Amir Abdul Rahman (1880-1901) when Amir conquered this region after a long and sever battle with the Hazaras (1880-1893). He not only killed and forced thousands of Hazara to migrate but also destroyed the whole historical Heritage, specially the Heritage of Bamyan which belonged to the Hazaras, in revenge.

King Amanullah (1919-1929) was the first ruler of Kabul who came to know about the importance of this historical heritage and declared the value of the national heritage of Afghanistan. At first he removed Surrais (hotels) away form the statues, and made vacant the caves by the occupied people and their cattle. Later on he invited French archaeologists for chronological survey of this historical site. Unfortunately after King Amanullah, other Afghan rulers like Nadir Shah, Zahir Shah and Sardar Dawood Khan on political reasons once again put this historical site in complete ignorance. After long time pro-Moscow regime paid attention to the protection of this heritage with the help of UNESCO, but this process was stopped due to civil war in Afghanistan.

In 1990 the whole province of Bamyan was annexed by Hezb-e-Wahdat (Hazara party) knowing the importance and value of this historical heritage. Hezb-e-Wahdat put full attention towards this site. The Old Bazar, which is lying beside the heritage, was being shifted gradually away from the site. The New GHULGHUL BAZAR remained incomplete due to occupation of TALIBAN.

A directorate had been established by Hezb-e-Wahdat under the supervision of Mr. Safwat, but not having sufficient resources, they could not make any major steps towards the protection and preservation of the whole heritage. They did some positive steps towards the safety of the site. Like preventing illicit and unruly digging and encroachments of dwellers.

In May 1997 the Taliban commander Mullah Wahid raised statement that after having held Bamyan city the whole heritage would be blown-up. At that time they did several attacks on Bamyan city. Due to the Taliban bombardments,  the conglomerate floor which lies above the great statues arch, had been cracked.

After one year, in September 1998 when the Taliban held the Bamyan Valley, they made good on their earlier statments and fired several rockets on the Giant Buddha's statues (8) Even though they were told not to damage these giant statues (a cultural and historical heritage of human being specially the people of Afghanistan) by the secretary General of UNO an other well known world leaders.

No doubt that no one can deny the importance of this human grand civilization, which is considered to be the level of Egyptian civilization. But Unfortunately the Taliban is trying to ruin this human heritage on fanatic and prejudicial basis because it is beloved that the two Giant Buddha's where built and growthed Bamyan civilization by the Hazaras. Bamyan known a capital city of Hazarajat and having known as a heritage of Hazaras, Taliban representative of fanatic Pushtun historic and racial enemy of Hazaras are trying to destroy this human heritage on the basis of racial and religious prejudices.

[ Last edited by  Dunhill. at 31-7-2006 01:27 PM ]
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Post time 1-8-2006 08:05 AM | Show all posts
by Dutch-Lady   

Soal Penghancuran Patung Budha Di Afghanistan itu bukan perintah pemimpin Taliban Mullah Omar tapi Osama bin Laden & Mullah Omar justru menentangnya penghancuran patung tsb  

Kalau begitu, yg berkuasa keatas Taliban adalah Osama bin Ladam ... ahem ... Laden.
Akhir2, Patung Bamiyan juga menjadi mangsa.
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 Author| Post time 1-8-2006 08:16 PM | Show all posts
mau tanya dong Apakah Patung Budha Bamiyan di Afghanistan cuma ada 1 ato lebih
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Post time 8-8-2006 09:11 PM | Show all posts
Originally posted by Dutch-Lady at 1-8-06 08:16 PM
mau tanya dong Apakah Patung Budha Bamiyan di Afghanistan cuma ada 1 ato lebih


rasanyer ada 1 ajer ........
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 Author| Post time 6-9-2006 11:24 AM | Show all posts
Katanya sih ada 2 patung nya bahkan ada 3 . yg satunya lagi sdg tidur
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Post time 7-9-2006 12:25 AM | Show all posts
ade terdengar yg buddha adalah salah seorang nabi..tapi telah disalahertikan sampai dipuja2. wallahualam
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hantu1 This user has been deleted
Post time 18-9-2006 04:05 PM | Show all posts
ye..aku pun ada dengar ..berkemungkinan Budha(seorg yg alim) itu nabi krn mendapat
wahyu utk berbuat baik pada kehidupan..dan telah disalah ertikan oleh pengikutnya sbg
Tuhan/dewa...

Wallahualam...
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Post time 18-9-2006 05:09 PM | Show all posts
penganut Buddha x menganggap Buddha sebagai tuhan n x sembah Buddha. Tapi lebih kepada menghormatinya. Ajaran Buddha lebih kepada ajaran yg tidak mempunyai sistem kepercayaan kepada  kewujudan Tuhan. Buddha cuma mengajar penganut ajaran Buddha bagaimana melepaskan diri dari kelahiran semula. Itu saje ...

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Post time 10-10-2006 08:35 PM | Show all posts



Saat saat diletupkan.
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Post time 11-10-2006 11:11 AM | Show all posts
Siapa pula  yang ukir patong budhha ini?.
aku rasa mengukir patong ini memakan masa yg lama maybe satu dekad.
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Post time 24-12-2006 11:14 AM | Show all posts
padan muka taliban jahanam macam ni mampus gak akhirnya.... pasti penganut2 buddha bersyukur atas balasan yang diturunkan atas taliban celaka ni.....
[quote]
U.S. kills high-ranking Taliban official By JASON STRAZIUSO, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 3 minutes ago 24/12/2006 11.00am

KABUL, Afghanistan - A U.S. airstrike near the Pakistan border killed the Taliban's southern military commander, a U.S. military spokesman said Saturday, calling him the highest-ranking Taliban ever slain by American forces.

Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani's vehicle was hit by a U.S. airstrike Tuesday as he traveled in a deserted area in the southern province of Helmand, the spokesman said. Two associates also were killed.

U.S. and Afghan officials said the strike was a major victory. Ahmed Rashid, a leading author on Islamic militancy, said Osmani's death could disrupt planning for a Taliban offensive early next year, designed to extend the recent surge of violence across        Afghanistan.

Osmani played an instrumental role in some of the Taliban's most notorious excesses
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Post time 6-6-2009 01:26 AM | Show all posts
ada pula mengatakan bahawa Nabi Zulkifli adalah seorang Buddha... Buddha hanya betul2 mengalami penyelewengan sewaktu zaman Asoke The Great
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Post time 18-10-2010 03:08 PM | Show all posts
payah ar nk ckp pasal meletupkan patung buddha tu... sbb kat situ masih byk ke penganut ajaran Buddha?.. pastu ikut sejarah Nabi dan para sahabat pun dieorng memusnahkan berhala2 n patung2 semasa kemasukkan semula ke Makkah.... huhu so, pda pandangan aku ar kan... huhu x tau la.. sbb bile fikir blk kalau orang runtuhkan masjid ke ape ke pon mestilah aku marah gak huhuhuhu... entah ar... Allah Maha Mengetahui mana yg baik mana yg x baik huhu{:2_65:}
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