The Secritary Speaks

in which Radha/Nefret mentions "Whial in chat, after reading
my profile someone asked me what Hinduism, samurai and Khmt/ Kmt/…"

I will address just the Hinduism and samurai aspect.

Rarely, did cultures exist in complete isolation.

Even during the period of isolation of Japan during the Tokugawa
Shogunate, Japan was still engaged in controlled trade with China
and the Dutch. The trade also kept a steady stream of books coming
into Japan and thus the intellectuals of Japan were not too bored.

Going farther back in time before Japan was "closed", again a
relative term, Japan's ancient history was deeply influenced by
Korea. From Korea, Japan gained Buddhism and with it "Hinduism"
(Hindu is a modern term). It was Korean ambassadors to Japan and
scholars who first brought the Indian belief system to Japan.
Buddhism, Hinduism and Indian culture (also martial arts) ofcourse
entered via the famed silk road. Japanese Buddhist monks however
did not always take the land route to India, they traveled the seas
and visited Vietnam, Java, even Southern Thailand. The Japanese
monks even met Chinese monks heading to India! Thus, cultural
interaction occurred often and travel, although hard, never stopped.

In other words, people new to the field of spirituality may not
right away realize that India was the ANCIENT SUPER POWER alongside
China. When we say "the west" today we think of the Europe and the
USA as the source of modernity. The "west" for Asia was India the
cradle of spirituality and not to mention technology of the ancients.

Japan, via travelers and scholars was "Sanskritized" like the rest
of East and Southeast Asia. In Chinese art, heavenly women (angelic
beings) who are part of the art where flowing clothes and have red
dots on their forehead---the art is entirely a "Chinese version" of
the same imagery from India. What we know of Shaolin martial arts
is similar to yogic based self-defense even down to specific
postures/stances. Some general examples I can easily recall from
memory:

Very old samurai swords even contain Sanskrit on them (the Sanskrit
orthography for Japan is not exactly the same as that seen in India--
-but it is Sanskrit)

Various "native" gods of Japan are in fact imported Hindu gods who
were made Japanese over time. "Benten Daiba" is actually
Sarasvati. The Gion festival of Kyoto when many Geisha show their
refined arts is actually Hindu in origin. This article below
actually discusses the details.

The Gion Shrine and the Gion Festival
Helen B. Chapin
Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 54, No. 3 (Sep.,
1934), pp. 282-289
doi:10.2307/594168

When people say "Zen" you think of Japanese gardens and meditation.
Zen is really "Cha'an" from China which was founded by Bodhidharma,
and Indian monk. Over time Zen was viewed as being very "Japanese"
but like all things there is synthesis and influence. It is
impossible to say that one culture actually "owns" something as the
ancient world was full of fascinating interaction.

Now for samurai. "Bushido" evolved over time and no one text, not
even the Book of Five Rings by Musashi, held constant imminence.
Even Bushido after 1868 was completely "reformulated" what
westerners perceive of as the code of honor is actually a 19th
century creation for the Imperial Army and not as ancient as we
think. The mysterious origins of Bushido can be found under the
Kshatriya ideals/codes which were detailed in various places in the
work Mahabharta (and it's important Bhagadgita "Song of God"). The
term "Kshatriya" is the kingly/warrior "class" however in the
Mahabharata the kings and nobles were more inclined to be fierce and
had martial prowess. It is not simply a "theory" that Japan's
samurai were influenced by the Mahabharata, it is actually a fact
well researched by scholars. However, what is lacking is the
Japanese version of the Hindu religious text/epic. Thus, it is
possible that these ideals from the Mahabharata were mixed in with
Buddhism (not strange) and that is how the Japanese gained these
tenets of conduct.

Thanks for reading.