I wonder when human beings lost the ability to live together peacefully and tolerate each other's different beliefs. When did we all start getting so dogmatic especially about religion? I visited the Taxila ruins today at the outskirts of Islamabad, about an hour's drive away. Taxila is said to be founded by Alexander the Great when he first invaded lands now belonging to India, and then through the course of the subsequent centuries, became a part of different empires (Persian, Greek, Kushans and others) until it was finally wiped out by the White Huns in 5thC AD with barely any trace remaining. By the time the Tang dynasty monk Xuanzang travelled to what is presently India to gather Buddhist sutras in 7thC AD, he found nothing remaining of Taxila.
At its heyday, Taxila was an important meeting place of cultures and beliefs, inspiring much learning and transfer of knowledge - a "Silk Road" in all senses. At the ancient Greek city of Sirkap in Taxila, the ruins (now all that remains are stone walls set in a neat grid) reveal a Buddhist temple, Jain temple, Sikh temple and a Sun temple co-existing along a main road. The Taxila museum contains beautiful carvings of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas with Indian faces, alongside Greek and Central Asian figures, in some cases these are donors who have "sponsored" the Buddhist carvings.
All this seems to me to be worth reflecting on in these times where peoples of different religious beliefs turn on each other at the slightest perceived provocation. We need to learn to live together again.
PS. Unusual sighting at the Shah Faisal Mosque in Islamabad today - "abseiling" window washers (check out the pic)
