PACIFIC WORLD - The Institute of Buddhist Studies

Davidson: Hidden Realms and Pure Abodes 171of Gåndhår∆ in Chorasmia, the use of Indic writing systems throughout theTarim Basin, the development of regional varieties of Sanskrit in Kucha,Khotan, and Gandhåra, all certainly contributed to the perception of theseareas as somehow Indic. Yet, much the same could be said for Ûr∆ Låçka,Burma, Cambodia, or Thailand. In the former case, not only was Singhaleseto become the official language, but Påli was and is the authoritativereligious language, even though both are Indo-European and doubtlessfrom North India originally. Ûr∆ Låçka, though, never enjoyed the sameaura in South Asian or Tibetan literature, and the cultural memory of Ûr∆Låçka continues to be of an island of demonesses, even if it was sometimesproposed as the eventual residence of Padmasambhava, where he was tolive with his consorts in his palace on Copper-colored Mountain(Tåmraparvata) surrounded by tribes of demons. Other locales, such asPagan in Burma, certainly demonstrated the energy and wealth to beconsidered at least on par with even the greatest artistic and cultural areasof Bamiyan or the KuΩåna kingdoms. The Cambodian employment ofSanskrit as an inscriptional language has rightly been considered one of themore interesting linguistic developments in Southeast Asian history. Evenmore, though, for five centuries (8th–12th) Khmèr monarchs worked inconcert with both Brahmans and ascetics of the Ûaiva PåΩupata tradition,formulating the Angkor kingdom, with its magnificent artistic and literaryheritage. However, back in India, none of these areas were to receive thecredit that was their due. Only the areas of Gandhåra, O∂iyåna, Kashmir,Khotan, and the mythic region of Ûambhala have captured the ancient andmedieval Indian imagination and developed a following among the geographicallychallenged Indian intellectuals of the Gangetic Valley or theirlater followers in the Kathmandu Valley or on the Tibetan Plateau.Each instance of Central Asian authority—of secret knowledge, hiddenrealms, quasi-pure lands, or as the source and conclusion of theDharma—is not in and of itself so very important. In aggregate, though,there is no other area of the world that has maintained a visibility so greatin the literature and landscape of South Asia. It may be because of thewealth established in these domains while silk was the central currency inthe trade between China and Western Asia. It may be because Buddhismcaught on in these zones in a way that was exceptional, but then we shouldsee a similar phenomenon in Ûr∆ Låçka, Burma, or in other Southeast Asiancountries.Instead, I believe that the romantic aura of the desert oasis or isolatedculture, encountered after a period of hard travel by merchants (who weresecured by their own wealth and influence in India), has been an importantfactor. All the influential areas are difficult to visit, easily the objects ofromantic fantasies, and exceptional primarily in the disparities betweentheir verdant cities and the surrounding desert. The lack of understandingof these areas contributed to their legends, and, even now, some Theoso-