AHC: Best way to a Buddhist Europe

What's the best way for Buddhism to spread to Europe and eventually become the dominant faith there? Bonus points if you can accomplish this post-Christianity and/or post-Islam.
 
I think the only real conceivable way is that Alexander's empire lasts longer allowing the diffusion of Buddhism west until it establishes a lasting hold in the Hellenistic world. After that, it can spread west along with the rest of Greek culture.

Even then, there will be lots of challenges. As a karmic religion, it presents a solution to a problem that does not exist in the religions of Europe, North Africa, and Mesopotamia. Assuming there is still a Mahayana variant that would be more attractive to people, then it might spread in Europe like it did in China and Japan.

I don't see any potentially plausible way for it to become established after Christianity and Islam are established.
 
Have it spread west by wanking Hellenism. Hellenistic Buddhism could integrate Platonism and Hellenistic cultural memes with the essence of Buddhist dogma, eventually becoming a kind of Western Buddhism/Confucianism -- less a divine religion and more a guideline for life. "Mahayana" Western Buddhism could incorporate gods a la Catholicism.
 
I'm not sure that a survival of Alexanders realm is necessary. It might be enough if you avoid the Parthian incursions and maintain a common Seleucid-Bactrian border with lots of trading and cultural contact across it.

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The time 200 BCE - 200 CE is good for all types of saviour-cults, and the tale of Prince Boddo who has learned the mystieries of India is certainly a story with lots of potential.
It might be more syncretistic and less "pure Buddhism", but as we can see in Thailand, Mongolia or Japan, Buddhism is good in adapting to new cultural traditions and folk lore.

Hellenizing Buddhist thought seems certainly possible, as philosophies like Gnosticism have already useful terminology and concepts.

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That said, you can always have aggressive cultures that are nominally Buddhist and still conquer Europe and force it to convert (at least nominally), like a varaiation of the Mongols.
 
That said, you can always have aggressive cultures that are nominally Buddhist and still conquer Europe and force it to convert (at least nominally), like a varaiation of the Mongols.

This is actually a scenario that's interested me - if nominally-Buddhist steppe empires like the Mongols could devastate Europe much more thoroughly than in OTL, could at least a portion of Europe become nominally Buddhist? I expect that the everyday peasant would continue practicing Christianity, but could we see post-Mongol ruling classes adopting Buddhism out of political expediency?

Love the Hellenistic route, btw. Such a world would be very interesting - maybe a strong Buddhist influence on early Roman civilization? Buddhist missionaries converting the paleo-Balkan tribes, perhaps Buddhism in some form even reaching the Celtic and Germanic lands?
 
This is actually a scenario that's interested me - if nominally-Buddhist steppe empires like the Mongols could devastate Europe much more thoroughly than in OTL, could at least a portion of Europe become nominally Buddhist? I expect that the everyday peasant would continue practicing Christianity, but could we see post-Mongol ruling classes adopting Buddhism out of political expediency?

Love the Hellenistic route, btw. Such a world would be very interesting - maybe a strong Buddhist influence on early Roman civilization? Buddhist missionaries converting the paleo-Balkan tribes, perhaps Buddhism in some form even reaching the Celtic and Germanic lands?

Roman "Zen" Buddhism incorporating Greek philosophy in the way Japanese Buddhism incorporated Chinese philosophy.
 
Old TL??

There's an old TL from (I think) soc.hist.what-if called "Answers for Melindia"? that addresses this one? It's been a long time back.

Anyone recall it?

It had Gothic Buddhists, and a variant on Judaism that looked interesting.
 
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