The term Black Buddhist has several possible meanings: 1. * It can be used to refer to one who follows any of the various schools of Buddhism and who is of black or African descent. 2. * It can be used to refer to any of the early communities that made statuary representations of the Buddha depicting what some have interpreted as black or African features. The term dates back to 1833 and was first used by Godfrey Higgins, in his work Anacalypsis. A large part of Higgins' work is an attempt to show the historical existence of an "ancient Black Nation of Buddhists in Asia." Higgins envisioned a once widespread network of communities centered in India and extending from Southeast Asia to North Africa. This view is not recognized by modern historians. The commonly accepted view among m