Kucha - Kucha and Buddhism

Kucha and Buddhism

It was an important Buddhist center from Antiquity until the late Middle Ages. Buddhism was introduced to Kucha before the end of the 1st century, however it was not until the 3rd century that the kingdom became a major center of Buddhism, primarily the Sarvāstivāda school of the Sthavira or Śrāvakayāna branch, but eventually also Mahāyāna during the Uighur period. (In this respect it differed from Khotan, a Mahāyāna-dominated kingdom on the southern side of the desert.)

According to the Chinese Book of Jin, during the third century there were nearly one thousand Buddhist stupas and temples in Kucha. At this time, Kuchanese monks began to travel to China. The fourth century saw yet further growth for Buddhism within the kingdom. The palace was said to resemble a Buddhist monastery, displaying carved stone Buddhas, and monasteries around the city were numerous.

Kucha is well known as the home of the great fifth century translator monk Kumārajīva (344-413).