Were Vikings aware of the Buddha?

Where is beauty greater than Estonia, Russia, Scandinavia, Denmark, Germany, and Belarus?

Bring me back one of those metal statue figurines, Warrior. I'll give you this charmed fruit.

Hey, that guy's Black! Were there really Black Vikings? The media says they were all redheads

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Viking Buddha: Helgo Treasure

Were Vikings Buddhists? First of all, Vikings is a general term that means "Pirates" more than redheaded Icelandic peoples. Second, what would it have taken for them to be Buddhists?

They would have had to understand the language of the Asians with whom they came in contact. It is more likely, given their reputation, that they raided rather than traded.

• The Buddha was Indo-Aryan from Central Asia (the "Middle Country" [between East and West, called the Majjhima-desa in the texts) with a mother from what is now part of Iran (formerly Persia), below his home country of Gandhara (in a Scythian region that is modern Afghanistan), according to maverick Indian historian Dr. Ranajit Pal: Amazing “Viking” treasure featuring gold, silver, and a vase is from IRAN may not be VIKING at all
• 9th-century Viking hoard found undisturbed in Norway
• 'Incredibly well-preserved' arrow older than Vikings found in melting ice
• The surprising answer to, “Were there Black Vikings?”
• Europe’s most extraordinary archaeological discoveries, ranked
• Archaeologists unearth oldest fortified settlement in Europe

Norwegian Olympian with "Viking" spirit

White Buddhists of Europa and Scandinavia

• (Where in Europe is Scandinavia? Upper left)
• The Land of the Vikings
• Buddhism in Sweden
• Buddhism in Norway
• Buddhism in Denmark
• Rampant white-on-white violence: Vikings in Norway were much more likely to die violent deaths than those in Denmark (Live Science)
• Buddhism in Finland
• Buddhism in Estonia
• Buddhism in Scotland
• Indigenous Sami peoples of Lapland Sápmi (Finnmǫrk)
• Buddhism in Iceland
• Buddhism in Kalmykia (only indigenously Buddhist Europeans)
• Buddhism in Europe
• Buddhism in Buryatia
• Buddhism in Belgium
• Buddhism in the Czech Republic
• Buddhism in Russia and Siberia
• Buddhism in Ukraine

We were also interested in art

Archeological discoveries indicate contact with Asia and knowledge of the Buddha, which they would have seen as the "Light of Asia," the "Prince of Peace," a massive figure in the ancient Orient.

That they traded in Asian wares suggests that they knew what they were dealing in, seeing significance in the beauty of figurines and pieces of advanced art from that part of the world.

There is a Viking Buddha, and now we find a ten-year-old piece is actually a much older work of art from Asia found in Scotland.

Viking Guru, the Great, on Audible podcasts

Interestingly, the greatest Viking today is a Buddhist or in any case very friendly to Buddhists. He is the interviewer known as Viking Guru, who has repeatedly interviewed British Buddhist teacher Beth Upton and others.

Here is the latest headline from the Viking Era: A Viking Era vessel found in Scotland a decade ago turns out to be from Asia

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