Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road

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Copyright 䉷 2010 University of Pennsylvania Press All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of review or scholarly citation, none of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the publisher. Published by University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Elverskog, Johan. Buddhism and Islam on the Silk Road / Johan Elverskog. p. cm.—Encounters with Asia Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-8122-4237-9 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Islam—Relations—Buddhism. 2. Buddhism—Relations—Islam. 3. Islam—Silk Road—History. 4. Buddhism—Silk Road—History. BP173.B9 E48 2010 294.3⬘35095 22 2009044830 For my mother A man came to the Prophet and said, ‘‘O Messenger of God! Who among the people is the most worthy of my good companionship?’’ The Prophet said, ‘‘Your mother.’’ The man said, ‘‘Then who?’’ The Prophet said, ‘‘Then your mother.’’ The man further asked, ‘‘Then who?’’ The Prophet said, ‘‘Then your mother.’’ The man asked again, ‘‘Then who?’’ The Prophet said, ‘‘Then your father.’’ —Hadı̄th of al-Bukhāri, No. 5586 Even if one should carry about one’s mother on one shoulder and one’s father on the other, and while doing so should live a hundred years, reach the age of a hundred years; and if one should attend to them by anointing them with salves, by massaging, bathing and rubbing their limbs, and they should even void their excrement there—even by that would one not do enough for one’s parents, one would not repay them. Even if one were to establish one’s parents as the supreme lords and rulers over this earth so rich in the seven treasures, one would not do enough for them, one would not repay them. What is the reason for this? Parents do much for their children: they bring them up, feed them and guide them through this world. —An . guttara Nikāya, II, iv, 2 ...