"Manichaeism was propounded by a cultural reformer called Mani who was born in 216 AD in Cteshipon in Babylonia which was then part of Persia. Mani proclaimed himself a prophet and the messenger of god in Babylon, although he was not of Babylonian origin, but an Iranian descendant.
Mani was an exceptionally gifted child and he inherited his father's mystic temperament. It is said that communications of a supernatural character came to him. He travelled far and wide including Turkistan (cin), India, Iran etc. with many disciples to carry out evangelism. After forty years of travel he returned with his retinue to Persia and converted Peroz, King Shapur's brother to his teaching. The Zoroastrian priesthood, however, hatched plots against Mani by poisoning the ears of the king. After a brief period of hiding Mani was captured and crucified at the age of 65.
Manichaeism may be regarded as a ramification of Gnosticism. Central to the Manichaean teaching was dualism, conceiving the world and all its creatures in the Great Divide between the good, represented by Light, and the bad, represented by Darkness -and Mani personified Light or was the God of Light. Mani had thus adopted Zoraster's dualistic doctrine of the fundamental struggle between light and darkness, soul and matter. He also drew from the teachings of the gentle and humane Buddha certain lessons for the conduct of life to be acceptable everywhere by mankind. This eclectic character was the strength and the basic nature of Manichaeism.
Mani lifted a leaf from Buddhism. He divided his followers into two categories. First, the Elect or Perfect, who led a life of celibacy and extreme austerity, exemplifying the highest standard of life, and who dedicated themselves to the task of preaching the doctrine. Women as well as men were received into the order. The Elect wore white robes, which covered their bodies entirely. Even the hands were not to be seen unless they had to work -then they need not be covered. Various types of headgear, which indicate the specific ranks of their bearers, were worn in addition to the uniform white robe. There is an interesting painting from Chotscho, that shows a high priest with a distinctive headgear which evidently belonged to the Elect.
The head is encompassed by a solar disc and the crescent moon laid around it. Mani was venerated among the Uighurs as Kun ai tangri, esun-moon-godi. The symbols of sun and moon occupy an important place in Manichaean cosmology and these two celestial bodies emit spiritual light and enlightenment. The second category of Mani's followers comprised the Auditors or Hearers as the laymen of the community were called. Both the elects and hearers are disciplined by Mari's ten commandments. Manichaeism keeps seven seals for its emblem. Four of these were doctrinal, comprising: (1) Love for the god-patriarch; (2) Faith in the sun and moon as the great orbs of light; (3) Reverence for the divine elements in Primal Man; and (4) A recognition of the inspired office of the great revealers of religions. The other three seals were of a moral and ethical nature relating to the standards to be observed in day to day life.
Manichaeism was a typical trans-regional and trans-cultural religious movement. Paradoxically, the writings of Europe from Britain (including the Encyclopaedia Britannica), Russia and other countries hardly mention the influence of Buddhism on Manichaeism. But, the scholars of China and Japan have highlighted this influence. We know that when Mani preached in Turan in India, the local people took him as the Buddha. The Manichaean documents in Sogdian script also described Mani as Buddha. All this points to the hybrid character of Manichaeism which was preached east of Iran as different from its other stream that penetrated into Eurore and northern Africa. We, therefore, can divide the Manichaean religio-cultural movement into two: (1) Western Manichaeism and (2) Eastern Manichaeism. Western Manichaeism did not survive long. By the end of the 6th century there was hardly any trace of it in the Roman Empire. But, Eastern Manichaeism was quite tenacious, lasting beyond the first millennium of our common Era....
The most intriguing thing lies in the two Dunhuang manuscripts collected by Pelliot which were the fragments of the Laozi hua hu jing (The Canon about Laozi's reincarnation in a foreign country). In the first juan (fascicle), it mentions that 450 years after the passing away of Laozi, he flew to a neighbouring country in a gust of air of ziran guangming dao (the natural arJd bright Tao) passing through the Sunyata, and was born as a prince. Then, he left the palace and joined Tao, assumed the title of Momoni and turned the Dharmacakra (the wheel of truth). Then, he preached erzong (Two doctrines) and sanjie(three worlds). This discovery sparked off a warmth of interest among Chinese scholars who made inquiries about the text of Laozi hua hu jing which was authored by a Taoist priest, Wang Fu, during the Jin Dynasty in the 4th century AD. Here, Wang Fu seemed to be using the information from Manichaeism to achieve his aim -making belief that Buddha was an incarnation of the ancient Chinese philosopher, Laozi, who was revered as the patriarch of Taoism.
When was Manichaeism introduced to Central Asia is still a subject of speculation. While we concede Central Asia as the necessary conduit for Manichaean religion and culture to reach Chinese soil, there is also evidence of this religio-cultural movement retracing its footsteps to arrive at Xinjiang from the hinterland of China. In 755 there occurred the An Lushan rebellion against Emperor Xuanzong (reigning from 712 to 755) who fled from the capitals of Changan and Luoyang. The Tang government asked Uighur for help in quelling the rebels. The Uighur troops liberated Luoyang and Changan in 757 but did not withdraw until the following year. During his stay in Luoyang the Uighur ruler Mou Yu made the acquaintance of Manichaean monks probably of Sogdian origin. They must have made some impression on him, because when he vacated the city he took four monks with him. Shortly after this the Khaghan declared Manichaeism as the state religion of the Uighur empire. The whole story is narrated in the famous trilingual inscription of Karabalghasun. This is the first and only time in the history of Manichaeism that it reached such a high status of a state religion. Most of the Uighur nobles became converts to Manichaeism. Archaeological discoveries and systematic studies on the cave temples in Eastern Turkistan throw considerable light on the Manichaean re"gious and cultural activities in this region. Many Manichaean manuscripts were recovered from Turfan. They show that Manichaeism was wide- spread in Turfan during the 7th to 10th centuries. This is supported by the statement of the Arabic geographer" Tarim ibn Bahral- Mutawadi who came to Central Asia some time between the 8th and 9th centuries. He had observed that there were many followers of Manichaeism in Northern and Eastern Xinjiang. Another geographer Jahiz (9th century) has recorded that nine Uighur tribes were converted into Manichaeism by the eighth century....
We may first take up here for discussion the Manichaean Leaf, bearing the Berlin Museum No. Mik III, 4979. One side of it depicts a church ceremony, with a high ranking Manichaean priest in full vestments (but the picture of his head is lost). A red embroidered stole is wrapped around his neck and shoulders. The stole bears a pattern of red lozenges on white background. The priest kneels down with his right leg before a man in full armour who is probably a Uighur king with three attendants. To the priest's left two Manichaean elects stand behind in white garments along with a layman, probably an auditor.
In the foreground of the picture there is Ganesha along with the Hindu trinity consisting of Visnu in Varaha incarnation, Brahma, bearded and pot bellied, and the three-eyed Siva. Facing them on the left are seated two Iranian Manichaean gods. Below these deities the leaf is damaged but paintings of flowers and ducks can still be made out. The artist who has drawn this picture, it seems, is equally conversant with the Hindu and Manichaean pantheons. The Hindu deities depicted here correspond to their descriptions given in the Indian Shilpasastra. The scene perhaps tries to suggest that Mani had been in India and borrowed Indian religious ideas to enrich the Manichaean pantheon which is hinted by the Manichaean tradition. Even if he was never in India, his having come into close contact with Indian culture (including Hindu deities) is beyond doubt."
