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Destruction of the Bamian Buddhas

© Yeshe Chodon

There has been much attention, especially among Buddhists worldwide, to the recent destruction of two statues of Buddha in Afghanistan. These statues were known as the Bamian Buddhas. Bamian refers to the province where they were located. There the altitude is about 8200 feet above sea level. The province is about 205 miles by road north of Kabul.

The two Buddha statues, repectively 36 m (120 feet) and 52 m (175 feet) in height, dated from the fifth and third centuries A.D. They were hewn into solid rock and ovelaid with stucco. They were singular because both were dressed in togas of a Grecian style imported into India by the soldiers of Alexander the Great when he invaded the region in 334-327 B.C. A significant number of tourists from all around the world visited this site before the Civil War in Afghanistan.

The region was also of interest because the walls of the 300-feet high cliffs are honey-combed with caves which served as living quarters of Buddhist monks and are still inhabited today.

The Taliban elected to destroy the statues because of the belief among the Wahabi Muslims that the presence of idols, particularly of another religion, is an affront to Islam. Tanks, cannons and rockets were used and the statues were no more after approximately March 10.

In fact, the statues had been under seige for years before this final assault. At http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/1997/5/24...World Tibet Network News in an article dated Saturday, May 24, 1997 it is documented that the destruction of these statues was being considered 4 years ago.

Since then, there has been intermittent shelling of the faces of these Buddhas, so that they were already partially destroyed. To better understand the politics involved, go to http://www2.rawa.org/buddha.htm Centuries-old Buddha statues under threat in Afghanistan by Jean-Claude Chapon, AFP, or to http://www2.rawa.org/bamyan.htm for two excellent articles detailing who's who in the Taliban, and other factions in Afghanistan. These stories have been brewing for years.

But now that the final blow has fallen, what position does a Buddhist who is by definition non-violent and compassionate take?

Should one, as suggested in a March 3, 2001 email from "Steven" steve@valleystream.freeserve.co.uk , representing an organization called valleystream, contact the United Nations in protest? The Taliban does have an "official" email address - Amujahid@aol.com, and the UN representative, Noorullah Zadran, can be contacted by telephone at (718) 359 - 0457 or by fax at (718) 661-2721.

Or do we bow our heads and view this as just another example of the impernanence of all worldly phenomena?

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