Could you provide the reference(s) for your comments below. Where can I get more information ie where can I read more about it?
Thanks,
Rahula
Though somewhat later, one should also remember that there were definitely
Buddhist followers and monks in ancient Alexandria -- St Clement [fl
150-216CE] (and possibly Origen) met some of the Buddhist monks ("followers
of Bouda") and invited them to his lectures. Origen's (and Plotinus')
teacher was a certain Egyptian (?) called Ammonius Sakkas -- the second part
of his name suggest to some that he was a Buddhist. Also, a surprising
number of small religious etc objects of Indian origin have also been found
in Graeco-Roman period Egyptian sites, though this is seldom mentioned in
any books on Egyptology -- the sort of things that would have been personal
possessions rather than Indian export items.
There is also a theory, a little dubious perhaps, that the mysterious
ascetic and monastic Theraputae mentioned by Philo were in fact Theravadins
(perhaps derived from *Theraputta) rather than a branch of the Essenes as
commonly assumed. Whether this is too far-fetched or not, it is certain
that Buddhism would have been known in Alexandria -- during the 2nd century
CE, over 200 merchant ships per year were making the journey from the
Egyptian end of the Red Sea to India. Who knows, the great Alexandrian
Library may even have had a Tipitaka set !
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