Buddhism in Pakistan

There are no significant Buddhist communities left in Pakistan.

A few Buddhists may still exist in Pakistani Kashmir and a significant community exists in Jammu and Kashmir to the east of the Line of Control. Mostly Ladakhi and ethnically related to Tibetans (plus a few Indo-Aryan Dards), a rough dividing line between Islamic culture and Buddhist culture can be drawn through Mulbekh and Shergol in the Indus valley (to the east of Kargil) and well to the west of Leh, the Nun Kun massif and Rangdum Buddhist monastery at the head of the Suru river valley (a tributary of the Indus) on the Indian Kashmiri side of the line of control.

Historical significance

Standing Buddha, Gandhara, Pakistan, 1st century CE.

The region that is today known as Pakistan once had a large Buddhist population, with the majority of people in Gandhara (present day North Western Pakistan and Eastern Afghanistan) being Buddhist. Gandhara was largely Mahayana Buddhist, and was also a stronghold of Vajrayana Buddhism. The Swat Valley, known in antiquity as Uddiyana, was a kingdom tributary to Gandhara. There are many archaeological sites from the Buddhist era in Swat.

The Buddhist sage Padmasambhava is said to have been born in a village near the present day town of Chakdara in Lower Dir District, which was then a part of Uddiyana. Padmasambhava is known as Guru Rinpoche in Tibetan and it is he who introduced Vajrayana Buddhism in Tibet.

Buddhism was also practiced in the Punjab and Sindh regions.

Most Buddhists in Punjab converted to Hinduism from 600 AD onwards. Buddhism was the faith practiced by the majority of the population of Sindh up to the Arab conquest by the Umayyad Caliphate in 710 AD. After the partition of Pakistan and India, the Buddhists fled to India, similar to other faiths like Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians in the Pakistan region.

Buddhism In Pakistan Media

Standing Buddha from Gandhara, 1st–2nd century CE (Peshawar basin, Pakistan)
Major Rock Edict of Ashoka in Mansehra.
King Milinda and Nagasena.
Amluk-Dara Stupa in the Swat Valley.
Ruins of Dharmarajika Stupa in Taxila. It was destroyed during the Hunnic invasions in the 6th century.
Gautama Buddha statue (5th century CE)
Buddhist Cave city Gondrani, Balochistan.
Photograph of Kargah Buddha in Gilgit; "The ancient Stupa – rock carvings of Buddha, everywhere in the region, point to the firm hold of Buddhism for such a long time."
Buddhist rock carving in Manglawar damaged by the Taliban
A statue of Buddha (at Jaulian, Taxila) with a hole in the navel is an odd artifact. It is called the "Healing Buddha". Buddhist pilgrims put their fings in the navel hole and pray for the ailment of the patients.