The Theme of Deer in the Cultural History of Buddhism and Iranian Sufism “Khorasan School”

The meaning of deer in the minds of the nations of the world shows that this symbol has taken a meaningful path from symbolism in the realm of beauty and weakness and fear to wisdom, and has taken a special form in each land. The symbol of the deer in the literary texts of Great Khorasan of the Islamic period illuminates the traces of the social culture of a religious minority that has been marginalized in historiography. It is worth mentioning that the eastern regions of Iran, Great Khorasan, in its multicultural and multilayered history, has at times been host to Buddhist culture. So far, the historical origin of the deer in Khorasanian culture and literature has not been studied. This study shows that many of the themes of the stories in Eastern religions such as deer with the same quality and discourse propositions in the history of the mystics of Khorasan have become impossible. The purpose of this article is to study the cultural influences of Buddhists with emphasis on the deer base in mystical and popular Khorasanian texts in the Islamic period. Khorasan Sufism should be revealed from the allegorical literature of Hindu Buddhist culture.