Course content
The seminar, led by guest lecturer Jens-Uwe Hartmann from Germany, will deal with the early history of Indian Buddhism, i.e. the time between the 5th century BCE and roughly the 3rd century CE. During this period all the fundamental developments set in which become decisive for the later successful spread throughout Asia: first, the transition from an exclusively oral transmission to the writing down of the religious texts; second, the formation of different traditions and schools, including the origins of what later became collectively known as Mahayana; third, the appearance of a specific Buddhist art with the transition from the so-called aniconic representation of the Buddha to the iconic; and, fourth, the spread beyond the barrier set by the languages and cultures of the Indian subcontinent. These well-known processes will be described and discussed. At the same time they will be contrasted with the new insights derived from the sensational finds in Pakistan and Afghanistan of Buddhist manuscripts. These manuscripts came to light only during the last fifteen years; they were written between the 1st century BCE and the 3rd century CE and represent the oldest Indic manuscripts ever found.