'Dharma Day' at Hsi Lai Temple, LA (1/26)

Serving laba porridge to awaken the Buddha

On Dharma Day, Mahayana Buddhism, which prefers ahistorical Cosmic Buddhas like Amitabha, commemorates the historical Shakyamuni Buddha's enlightenment and awakening to perfect wisdom. (Theravada Buddhism has a Dhamma Day called Asalha Puja).

• Laba Festival: Congee Porridge Day
• Buddhism in Taiwan (which is not China)

Thanks to a shepherdess (Sujatha) offering him rice porridge, the wandering ascetic Siddhartha regained enough strength to focus on his cultivation, developing the absorptions then insight, purifying calm followed by contemplation (of Dependent Origination). That is how he became the Buddha, the "Awakened One," the supremely "Enlightened One."

 

Ever since then, Buddhists have celebrated the Buddha's Enlightenment Day by offering laba porridge to all.

WHERE?

• Location: Hsi Lai Temple (MAP)
• 3456 S. Glenmark Dr. (Hacienda Blvd.)
• Hacienda Heights, LA, CA 91745

𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗟𝗲𝗳𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 (𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲) Laba Porridge — dine in

• Opening hours: 9:00 am-3:00 pm

𝗗𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗥𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗦𝗶𝗱𝗲 (𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘁) laba porridge — to go

• Opening hours: 9:00 am-3:00 pm

1. Everyone is welcome to enjoy laba porridge in the Hsi Lai Dining Hall for FREE. No vegetarian buffet will be provided on this day.

2. For to go orders, cups of laba porridge will be prepared.

• INFO: Dharma Day 2026 at Hsi Lai Temple, LA

Eating, regaining his strength, he awakened.

The Dharma (the Teachings of the Buddha) are one facet of the Three Gems (Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha), a core aspect of Buddhism. Through this Dharma Day event, we celebrate the Buddha’s Teachings and their impact on our lives.

This day also commemorates the awakening of an Shakyian [Scythian] prince who renounced the world and what transformed him into the Buddha, "the Awakened One" (Shakyamuni, the "Sage of the Shakyas" [or Sakas, Indo-Scythians]).

Cosmic Buddha worshiped in Mahayana

Please join Hsi Lai ("Going West"), the largest Buddhist temple in the Western hemisphere, for a celebration of Buddhist wisdom taught by Buddhism's original teacher, Shakyamuni Buddha, and the other teachers who followed after being inspired by him.

Enjoy special presentations, lectures, and theatrical performances, focusing on new understandings, real-world applications, and deeper explorations of the Buddha's teachings of compassion, service to others, and spiritual practice that have blossomed in the world.

Students of Hsi Lai's Buddhism classes are encouraged to apply for time to present what they have learned and gained from following Buddhist teachings: Hsi Lai Temple

• WHAT HAPPENED AT THE RETREAT? Fifty to 60 participants gathered at 8:30 am, registered, offered dana, received instructions, and began to sit.

Hsi Lai Temple One-Day Meditation Retreat, January 24, 2026

Let us cultivate together. Open to all.

The One-day Buddhist Meditation Retreat is intended to be a retreat for those who have at least a basic experience of meditation. This retreat features a regimented schedule of sitting, standing, and walking meditation with instructions and Dharma talks.

Please note that sitting sessions are 40 minutes long. It is recommended that applicants start working on lower body flexibility, especially the hips.

Vegetarian/vegan monastic cuisine served in cafeteria (Hsi Lai Temple)

.

RETREAT DETAILS: ◎ Date: Saturday, January 24, 2026. ◎ Check-in: 8:45 am-9:25 am. (Please be punctual. Orientation begins promptly at 10:00 am) ◎ Time: 9:30 am-5:30 pm PT ◎ Ages: 16 years and older. ◎ Location: Hsi Lai Temple (MAP)

COST?  ◎ OPEN DONATION: We welcome kind donations to cover meal, snacks, facility use, uniform cleaning, and general overhead. Kindly bring donation to check-in on Jan. 24, 2026. ◎ Spots are limited to 50 participants. ◎ This is an in-person retreat: hsilai.us/events/dharma-services/saturday-english-dharma-service

• Hsi Lai Temple, San Gabriel Valley, Los Angeles
• Hsi Lai Temple Dharma Services

Diwali: Festival of Lights (Cali, Chi, NJ)

(Encyclopaedia Brittanica) Diwali (Dipa-wali) is one of the major religious festivals in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism [not Buddhism], lasting for five days from the 13th day of the dark half of the lunar month Ashvina to the second day of the light half of the lunar month Karttika.

(The corresponding dates on the Gregorian calendar usually fall on late October and November). The name is derived from the Sanskrit term dipavali, meaning “row of lights.” The festival generally symbolizes the victory of light over darkness. More

(BAPS) Chicago, Illinois temple celebrates Diwali and Annakut

Los Angeles, California Diwali and Annakut Celebration

(BAPSChannel) Experience the lights, festivities, and joy of Diwali and Annakut at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir on the outskirts of Los Angeles, For more details, visit: https://www.baps.org/News/2024/Diwali... #BAPS #BAPSDiwali #diwali #diwali2024 #festivaloflights #na50 #diwalicelebration #diwalifestival #losangeles

On the East Coast, there's the Robbinsville, New Jersey BAPS Temple

We are being controlled by Elites. How?

The Evil Twin of Enlightenment: Social Control

(Asangoham) Oct. 15, 2025: Real "awakening" [Buddhist enlightenment, bodhi] does something extraordinary and, no, it doesn't wipe out our personality or turn us into some kind of blissed-out zombie.

The ego doesn't get annihilated; it just stops running the show. What we thought was solid and separate turns out to have been flowing and connected all along.

When we see this clearly, we don’t have to work to get compassion. It just starts happening. Regular compassion usually works from a sense of distance: I feel bad for you, I want to help you, I'll make sacrifices for you. This kind of caring matters enormously.

However, when the fence between "me" and "you" becomes see-through, compassion flows without anyone directing traffic. It's just compassion moving through whatever's happening, taking care of what needs taking care of.

The Christian New Testament captures this perfectly: "Love is patient, love is kind. It doesn't envy, doesn't boast, isn't proud. It doesn't dishonor others, isn't self-seeking.”

It’s basically describing what love looks like when the ego stops trying to manage it.

Similarly, the Gita says: "The wise see with equal vision a learned priest, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and an outcast." It's what we see when we recognize the same consciousness showing up everywhere.

Explore the thin line between spiritual enlightenment and psychological dissociation in this deep dive into consciousness, control, and awakening [breaking free].

This video examines how genuine spiritual liberation differs fundamentally from trauma-induced dissociation and why understanding this distinction matters more than ever.

Discover the hidden mechanisms of social control through psychological operations, quiet warfare, from declassified documents to modern cult tactics.

Learn how spiritual communities can become vehicles for manipulation and how to distinguish authentic teachers from those who exploit vulnerability.

Topics explored: ✦ Silent Weapons for Quiet Wars: Economic and psychological control systems ✦ MK-Ultra and the engineering of dissociative states ✦ Cult case studies: Aum Shinrikyo, NXIVM, and their manipulation tactics ✦ Enlightenment vs. psychopathy: Understanding emotional detachment ✦ DPDR (depersonalization-derealization) as enlightenment's shadow side (#DPDR) ✦ How genuine awakening generates natural compassion ✦ Zen Buddhism, Bhagavad Gita, and the Dhammapada teachings on presence [mindfulness] ✦ Red flags in spiritual communities and teacher-student relationships ✦ Protecting yourself from manipulation while pursuing genuine growth.

This video draws from Buddhist psychology (Abhidhamma), Vedic philosophy, documented cult cases, and modern neuroscience to illuminate the crucial differences between liberation and dissociation.

Whether one is on a spiritual path or simply interested in understanding consciousness and control, this exploration offers practical wisdom for maintaining psychological sovereignty.

• Script: Sid. Edit: Joana Riza Dela Cruz. Voiceover: Rohit Dave. Original Score: @asangvani

DISCLAIMER 01: All ideas expressed on this channel are for entertainment and general information purposes only. There is no advice on what an individual should or should not do. Any response made by anyone after hearing this communication is his/her interpretation and is his/her responsibility. Ideas expressed by this channel should not be treated as a substitute for medical advice or professional help. If expert assistance or counselling is needed, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

DISCLAIMER 02: All materials in these videos are used for entertainment purposes and fall within the guidelines of fair use. No copyright infringement intended. If you are, or represent, the copyright owner of materials used in this video, and have an issue with the use of said material, please send an email to doseofquotes02@gmail.com.

Copyright © 2025 Asangoham. All rights reserved. #enlightenment #zen #DPDR

• Asangoham, Oct. 15, 2025; Seth Auberon, Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Awakening is greatest human potential

Why awakening is the greatest human potential | Buddhist Wisdom

(Buddhism Podcast) Oct. 1, 2025: Buddhism Explained. What is our ultimate potential?

Buddhist wisdom points to awakening (bodhi, enlightenment, full realization of the Truth). This video explores why it's humanity's greatest birthright: a path to completely uproot suffering through penetrating insight into "not-self" (anatta) and "emptiness" (shunyata).

Discover how meditation and the Noble Eightfold Path lead to boundless compassion, wisdom, and inner peace.

Dive into timeless Buddhist teachings (like mindfulness of the body), philosophy, and psychology for true freedom and healing.

• 00:00 - What is awakening?
• 06:03 - Why is this our greatest potential?
• 10:55 - The path to awakening
• 15:36 - The awakened life

#Awakening #BuddhistWisdom #Mindfulness #Meditation #SelfTranscendence

Beautiful Westerner alone in India

Alone in India

(Millicent Rose) Premiered Aug. 14, 2025: I took a year out from my degree and went to India for six months, alone. It was the most transformative time of my life, I went with a one-way ticket to do yoga teacher training and went on to travel seven states, learn Buddhist meditation, and fully immerse myself in the culture, food, people, and religion(s). These eight minutes barely begin to dream of scratching the surface of the experiences I had, but putting these clips together made the already far away dream feel more of a reality.

Gross and revolting, India has the most beautiful places in the world, too

(Travel With Nom Nom) I traveled across India. What I found will shock you. | Unseen India

(Travel For Phoebe) Is India safe for women? My honest travel experience

• 0:00 Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
• 0:12 Mopa, Goa
• 0:23 Gokarna, Karnataka
• 0:46 Varkala, Kerala
• 1:03 Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
• 2:22 Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh
• 3:06 Jaipur, Rajasthan
• 3:20 Pushkar, Rajasthan
• 4:00 Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
• 4:07 Thar Desert, Rajasthan
• 4:31 Udaipur, Rajasthan
• 4:45 Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh
• 4:51 Rishikesh, Uttarakhand
• 5:27 Bhagsu, Himachal Pradesh
• 5:38 Triund, Dhauladhar Range (Himalayas)
• 6:08 Manali, Himachal Pradesh
• 6:21 Malana, Himachal Pradesh
• 6:35 McLeod Ganj, Himachal Pradesh

What if I go with my friend?

(Janine Freuling) We didn't feel safe in Old Delhi, we left early Vlog#22

Sexual assault exists in India, but maybe just to Westerners?

() Korean YouTuber: Stalked, scammed, and hit by car: My India horror story

• Original video from 유라최고urachoego 🇰🇷: "I hate India!" 불리할땐, 일단 튀고 보자 | If you feel bad, just run away: New Delhi, India 🇮🇳

YouTuber nearly raped in India: My advice; harassment experiences (Travellight Reaction)

• Millicent Rose; Travel With Nom Nom; Travel For Phoebe; urachoego; Travellight is Jordan Taylor (original video); Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Dhr. Seven, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Death, grief, pets, babies (Edgar Cayce)

Edgar Cayce warned: Never keep these objects of the dead

Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E., Virginia Beach): edgarcayce.org

• Debunking Dr. Zahi Hawass: The Search for the Sphinx Chamber Dr. Zahi Hawass dismissed Cayce’s Sphinx chamber claim, but evidence suggests his team drilled at the wrong angle.

What is the purpose of living?

I won $10,000,000 and have never been happier. Oh, wait, I would have burned it if I'd known

Life is short. What’s the purpose of living? | Buddhist Wisdom

(Buddhism Podcast) Buddhism Explained. Life is short — but what is it really for? This video looks into the quiet question many of us carry: Why are we here, and what gives life meaning? Using simple Buddhist wisdom, it shows how our constant chasing and avoiding can lead to deep restlessness. Instead of trying to fix life, we can learn to be fully present with it [to see it for what it really is and, seeing it, letting go and thereby being liberated from it]. The answer may not be something we find, but something we live.

• 00:00 - The question beneath all questions — Why ask at all?
• 04:03 - The Endless Cycle — chasing happiness, fleeing from sorrow
• 08:07 - The ripple of our actions — Why death isn’t an escape
• 14:40 - The Middle Path — walking through life, not around it
• 18:14 - The point is presence — Living the answer in this moment

#LifeIsShort #BuddhistWisdom #PurposeOfLiving

Why is Europe so ANTI-Christian?

Why Europe is insanely anti-religious: (Versed) May 25, 2025: The End of Christianity in Europe. There are many reasons, like rampant child molestation by the Christian Church in all its forms.

Man shall not live by bread (gluten) alone, but many ultra-processed chemicals, too. Amen.

Turn on, tune in, drop out: The Hippie Trail

The Hippie Trail: The Story of the Original Travel Influencers

Our quest will take us high up to the very top

(Alive & Curious) Who were the original travel influencers? This is the story of the Hippie Trail, the ultimate road trip of the 1960s and 70s, a countercultural odyssey that saw free-spirited travelers journeying overland from the U.S. and Europe to Asia in search of enlightenment and adventure.

The journey usually began in Western cities like London, Amsterdam, and West Berlin (with plenty others coming from New York and Los Angeles, San Francisco and New Jersey) before weaving through Istanbul and venturing into Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and finally Freak Street in Nepal.

• 00:00 Introduction
• 00:52 What started the Hippie Trail?
• 04:01 The Hippie Trail routes
• 09:49 Modes of Transport
• 11:01 The Loney Planet story
• 12:53 Drug use and psychedelic rock music
• 13:22 Charles Sobhraj
• 14:21 Why did the Hippie Trail end

Natural class of drugs

Like new the Silk Road for Western Seekers

Entheogens are mind-expanding drugs that are capable of bringing out the divine that resides within. More than mere drugs and far from pharmaceuticals, these natural substances (like DMT, bufo, magic mushrooms, a fungus synthesized as LSD, harmaline, and even cannabis in some uses) may have been the lure -- along with the promise of "free love" -- of the Hippie Trail:

The Hippie Trail: West to East

Bamiyan was a destination the CIA/ISI blew up

The Hippie Trail (or Overland) was a land journey taken by members of the hippie subculture and others from the mid-1950s, all through the 1960s, to the late 1970s [2], travelling from Europe and West Asia through South Asia via countries such as

• Formerly Buddhist Afghanistan (ancient Gandhara, particularly the fabled hometown of the Buddha, Bamiyan),
• Pakistan [3],
• India,
• Nepal,
• Sri Lanka,
• Bangladesh to
• Thailand.

American hippies ruined by Pres. Dick Nixon

The Hippie Trail was a form of alternative (sometimes spiritual) tourism. One of the key elements was travelling as cheaply as possible (on a shoestring, with a knapsack, rucksack, or backpack and a big thumb), mainly to extend the length of time away from home.

Pres. Dick Nixon killed Freak St.

This is part of the trail that started in the U.S.

The term "hippie" became current in the mid-to-late 1960s; "beatnik" (BG) was the previous term from the later 1950s, when everyone was reading Jack Kerouac's Buddhism-infused The Dharma Bums.

• American Buddhist Beat Poet Jack Kerouac

At every major stop of the Hippie Trail, there were cheap hotels, cozy restaurants, and far out cafés for Westerners, who networked with each other as they travelled West and East.

These hippies tended to interact more with the local population than traditional sightseers did [1], really wanting to experience each location fully.

Pink Floyd starring in Dune (Jodorowsky)

Old Freak Street, Kathmandu, Nepal

The Hippie Trail largely ended in the late 1970s primarily due to both the Iranian Revolution resulting in an anti-Western government, and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, closing the route to Western travelers [4, 5, 1, 6].

Nowadays, a handful of overlanders, van-dwellers, and adventure travelers follow roughly the route of the old Hippie Trail [7, 8] -- destination Freak Street (Jhochhen Tole). More

The Beatles destinations Pink Floyd Jimmi Hendrix The Pudding Shop Istanbul the Lale Restaurant Magic Bus Company Goa Volkswagen Kombi VW Combi Van Travel in 1960s Travel in 1970s Role of Psychedelic Music The Bikini Killer Serpent Bangkok Drug Tourism Rishikesh Ashram The Who

• Lunar.latitude (IG), Aliveandcurious, YouTube, Dec. 15, 2024; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly Wiki edit

Paradox: Thinking without thoughts

How wonderful is real silence, inner-peace!

There is such a thing as thoughtless consciousness, bare awareness without commentary, without chatter, inner silence. It can happen. How it happens, what brings it about, that is hard to say. Begin with outer silence. Bring the mind to a single object for long enough, and it may happen. Feel the freedom. There is full knowing, better knowing than when words/thoughts are intervening. But it must be experienced to believe how wonderful the silence and stillness is. (Jhana or "meditative absorption" moves away from the noise toward the sweet silence and sanity of stillness).

The Paradox of Thoughtless Consciousness

(The Mountain) March 28, 2025: The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend. #quantumconsciousness #paradox #selfawareness

• 00:00 Thoughtless thinker
• 00:33 Distance between reality - thought - speech
• 01:13 Time zone difference
• 01:53 Retrospective mind
• 02:31 Meta thinking and language filter
• 04:38 Raw awareness
• 5:27 Is there a state of no-thought?
• 7:16 Surrender of the seeker
• 9:02 How to arrive at no destination

TAGS: Quantum Consciousness, Observer Effect, Reality Fabrication, Perception Alchemy, Thought Manifestation, Mind Over Matter, Holographic Universe, Wavefunction Collapse, Reality Distortion, Dimensional Awareness, Mental Projection, Non-Dual Awareness, Conscious Creation, Observer Reality Loop, Awareness Constructs Matter, Perceptual Engineering, Cosmic Mind, Simulation Hypothesis, Lucid Manifestation, Ontological Design

Blue-eyed Buddha and "Aryan" Path

Blue-eyed Buddha and the Aryan [noble, enlightening] Path

At a glance - Hazara.net

(Robert Sepehr) Premiered 12/12/24: The Buddha, when he was alive in the world, said that he did not want to be worshiped. Instead, he left a practical philosophy (the path, specific instructions, guidance leading to the enlightenment he experienced) from which anyone can spiritually benefit.

Theravada Buddhism has been a significant part of Thai culture and society for over 2,000 years, with an esoteric history that is being forgotten and replaced.

• Aryan Sons of the Kali Yuga
• Ancient Pyramids and Mummies of China
• India's Genetic Ancestry
• Flame of the Light Bearers

ABOUT: Robert Sepehr is an anthropologist and author (Robert Sepehr books)  To supporting Robert Sepehr: buymeacoffee.com/robertsepehr. Robert Sepehr links linktr.ee/RobertSepehr Support Robert Sepehr on Patreon: atlanteangardens.

• "India" has Dravidian culture and Aryan (proto-Indo-Iranian).
• It is very curious and almost inexplicable how Sepehr makes glaring errors. We can only conclude that he has an agenda, a preconceived notion of the truth, to push. For instance:

1. Theravada (Thera = "elder" + vada "teaching" = "Teaching of the Elders") Buddhism does not come from the Sanskrit word Theraveda, if there even is such a word in Sanskrit.
2. And more shockingly the "Pali canon" means the official canon (body of literature) in the Pali language (aka Magadhi, the regional dialect of the Kingdom of Magadha). Pali was the common parlance of the day, the language of the common (non-Brahmin elite) people, the language (one of the languages) the Buddha spoke. It by definition was not written in Sanskrit. (One can also speak of related Indo-European languages, dialects, and mutually understandable tongues like Prakrit and Gandhari).
3. There is a Sanskrit canon, presumably, because there are many Buddhist-Sanskrit texts of the Mahayana/Hindu tradition.
4. Sanskrit was the exclusive language of the Brahmins, a liturgical language (much like Latin compared to Spanish).
5. There are at least three Sanskrits, Old, Middle, and Late just as there are phases of English: Olde, Middle, and Modern.
6. The Brahmin priests controlled spirituality in those day. Their takeover and attempt to absorb or subsume the Buddha's unique Doctrine, the Buddha-Dharma, into the folds of their general Vedic framework, as was done to Jainism but not to other dharmas being bandied about by other shramana teachers (of which there were at least six), was successful in what much later came to be called "Hinduism" (the isms being practiced along and around the Indus River and as far back as the great Indus Valley Civilization).
7. The Old Vedic Religion, which may be referred to as Brahmanism, the mostly secret teachings of the Brahmin priests, communicated to them from heaven through space-visitors, the "gods" (devas and brahmas), was recorded in a heavenly (unearthly) language, Sanskrit, or languages, those as yet undeciphered IVC languages of Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.
8. Sanskrit is the sacred, elitist, and exclusive language of Brahmins, which they use to distinguish and protect their caste distinctions and elite status.
9. Brahmins taught others that "God" (Brahma, Maha Brahma, and/or Brahman) made the caste system and put them on top as the highest, His representative.
10. The Buddha rejected the caste system. It is likely his family and people did, too, either never adopting it from the Brahmins or modifying it to suit themselves by subordinating eggheads and chaplains, seers and yogi-prophets.
11. The Buddha was a Scythian, which the Brahmins considered "barbarians" and "nomads." They would have liked to subordinate them into their religious system and way of thinking, but they could not do so very easily.
12. The Sakas/Shakyas/Scythians came from a neighboring land, the northwest frontier, that recognized social distinctions but held that their nobles/warriors were superior to Brahmins.
13. They employed as counselors, royal advisors, chaplains, and such. It is not really correct to say that all the Sakas/Shakyas/Scythians were kshatriyas ("warrior caste") because the vast majority were regular people carrying out all the functions of a society.
14. The Buddha's father, the "king" was more a chieftain in the Afghan sense, a family clan leader for a great territory (foothold) controlled by an extended family clan (mahajanapada), getting rich because of its location on the Silk Road (which was never an actual single road but a series of trade routes through the region). 

Occult Secrets of Vril: Goddess Energy and the

WARNING: This video and information seem to suggest that the Buddha or his extended family clan (the Sakas, Scythians, Shakyians) were "white," which is a modern social construct. Aryan (noble = enlightened) has nothing to do with race. German Nazis, particularly Goebbels, gave it that racist meaning, appropriating the mythology/reality of an advanced race of beings who live in our Hollow Earth (called Agartha), which is all part of ancient Indian (Buddhist, Vedic, Hindu, Jain, Theosophical, etc.) lore. The Buddha was Central Asian, not what we could today classify as Caucasian. According to maverick Indian historian Dr. Ranajit Pal, the Buddha's mother (Maha Maya Devi and the Buddha's foster mother, her sister, Maha Pajapati Gotami) were from Sistan and Baluchestan, which today is considered part of Greater Iranian/Ariyan territories, so he would have looked to us to have those features claimed by whites as exclusively "white" when it is not. The Buddhist peoples of what is today Bamiyan, Afghanistan, in the Buddha's time called Kapilavastu, Gandhara, are not the Pashtuns there today. (The Yazidis should not be confused with those original Sakas/Scythians, a displaced Buddhist tribe known as the Hazara, as casually watching the video might lead one to assume. There are many light-eyed, light-skinned people from around Asia, throughout Central Asia, North Asia, Turkey, the geopolitical Middle East, as it is not rare in the Eurasian region and Siberia/Russia). Bamiyan was one of three seasonal capitals where the Buddha grew up, which is not named other than Kapilavastu (for the country or mahajanapada name as well as the names of those three seasonal capitals, as if they were all occupying the same spot, when they were spread out over the land we would now call Afghanistan and Pakistan, site of today Gandhara and the very important ancient city of Taxila.

Who were the Hazara of Bamiyan?

Hazara Culture - History Pak

How eerily similar where the Hazara once lived (Bamiyan) and now live (Quetta)

.

Hazara culture refers to the culture of the Hazara people, who live primarily in and around the city of Quetta, which is located in Southwest Baluchistan, Pakistan. The culture of the Hazara people is rich in heritage, with many unique customs and traditions.

A Hazara girl (hazara.net)

It shares influences with Persian [Iranian = Ariyan], Mongol and various Central Asian cultures. The Hazara people make up to 900,000 of the population of Pakistan.

Origin

The origins of the Hazara are disputed, though there are three primary theories. The Hazara could be of Turko-Mongol ancestry, descendants of an occupying army left in Afghanistan by Genghis Khan. A second theory goes back two millennia to the Kushan Dynasty, when Bamiyan in Afghanistan – home to the large Buddha statues blown up by the Taliban – was an ancient center of Buddhist civilization.

Subscribers to this idea point to the similar facial structure of the Hazaras with those of Buddhist murals and statues in the region.

The most widely accepted theory is something of a compromise: The Hazara are mixed-race. Certain Mongol tribes did travel to Eastern Persia and what is modern-day Afghanistan, putting down roots and integrating with the indigenous community.

This group then formed their own community that became the Hazara, with their distinctive facial features, sometimes termed Mongoloid, which bear the origins of their Central Asian ancestry.

Either way the Hazara settled in Central Afghanistan, though in the mid-19th century their brutal history of persecution began when more than half their population was killed or forced into exile.

The Pashtun Amir Abdul Rehman, whom the British termed Afghanistan’s Iron Amir during the Raj, invaded the Hazara homeland in the country’s central highlands, forcing them to give up land, and pushing many into exile in Balochistan. More