There are many stories, legends, and religious texts in Indian literature that attempt to teach its reader lessons and morals. In many of these literary works, there is a teacher, known as a guru, who tries to offer guidance in spiritual and philosophical matters. "The Yoga of Knowledge,"" an excer...

My freshman year of high school I went to my friend, Shifali's house for a party. At the party, I saw a statue and alter of a Buddha. Some kids thought it was a toy and started playing with it. When Shifali's mom saw the kids playing with it, she got very upset. None of us understood why...

Two Periods of Buddhist Art in India Less than 1% of the population of modern India is Buddhist. Therefore, it is reasonable to say that India's importance for Buddhism and its art is mainly its historical influence. Not only is India the country where the historical Buddha, Shakyamun...

In Elements of Buddhist Iconography, Ananda Coomaraswamy analyzes the function of three symbols crucial to Buddhism and its representation in art: the tree of life, the earth-lotus and the word-wheel. Coomaraswamy convincingly demonstrates that these symbols can be found before their earliest repre...

When a Chinese official received instructions on a Buddhist scripture from a foreign envoy in 2 B.C , China was already an incredibly advanced civilization with a strong philosophical foundation. This factor gave the country a unique position as the exception in a list of comparatively undeveloped c...

Do human beings live only once, or are we granted the opportunity to return after death and experience many different lives? Reincarnation is an anglicized word of Latin derivation, meaning "reinfleshment," the coming again into a human body of an excarnate soul . Today approximately ...

There had been many different books by numerous authors that have impacted the way one looks at life. The book Siddharta is one of these. This book shows Heese's fascination with eastern religions, legends, and fairytales. It is about an Indian prince name Siddharta who goes on a qu...

Kashmir is a source of conflict between India and Pakistan. The Indus River flows through the region of Kashmir, so whichever nation controls Kashmir will also control the source of irrigation water. Irrigation water is extremely important to both countries that need the water for farming and drink...

Zen Do you have any idea what Zen is or what it is about? "Zen is a religious division of Buddhism, that teaches an approach to life, incorporating harmony between ultimate reality and the world of daily life, cultivating awareness of reality, and finding answers in this life and beyond"...

Karma And Samsara The belief in Karma and Samsara form the basis for the Hindu’s religious worldview. It has been central to Hinduism for thousands of years, and as a result forms a major part in the philosophical thinking of many Hindu’s today. The ideas of Karma...

Indian and Christian religions have different goals. The goal of Christian religions is to go to Heaven. The goal of Indian religions like Buddhism and Hinduism is to attain Nirvana. Heaven is a place. Nirvana is a state of mind. The word Nirvana comes from the root meaning 'to blow out&apo...

THE HINDU CULTURE The Hindu culture is a very complex culture: wich combines rich ethnical and normal beliefs. The view of Hindu culture from the outside as a group or as a society is very much dependable upon our own beliefs and good deeds you do in your life but some say it's too myt...

Indian and Christian religions have different goals. The goal of Christian religions is to go to Heaven. The goal of Indian religions like Buddhism and Hinduism is to attain Nirvana. Heaven is a place. Nirvana is a state of mind. The word Nirvana comes from the root meaning 'to blow ou...

What are the origin and meaning of the word "Hindu"? In Sanskrit, the original language of India, 'Sanatana' means "Everlasting" and 'Dharma', by a crude translation, means "Religion." The term "Hindu" was coined by the Persians after the "Indus" or "Sindu" River. The word Hindu is ...

Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world. It was founded by Siddhartha Guatama (Buddha) in Northeastern India. It arose as a monastic movement during a time of Brahman tradition. Buddhism rejected important views of Hinduism. It did not recognize the validity of the Vedic ...

Gautama Siddhartha was born around 560 B.C. in Lumbini Park near the city of Kapilavastu on the Indian borders of present Nepal. Siddhartha's father was Suddhodana, king of the Sakya. Buddha's mother was named Maya. Maya died seven days after her son's birth; therefore, the child was brought up by ...

The Japanese religions, including Shintoism and Buddhism, are rich and complex, and it contains many contradictory trends which may puzzle a Westerner. In the center of the tradition is Shinto, the "natural" religion of Japan. Also in the center is Buddhism, the Indian religion that was brought ...

Buddhism Buddhism has a very long drawn out origination starting in about 565 B.C. with the birth of Siddhartha Gautama. The religion has guide lines in two forms in which Buddhist followers must follow the "Four Noble Truths" and the "Eightfold Path" There are many aspects of this religion t...

The Buddhist religion was founded by an Indian philosopher named Buddha in the 6th century B.C. Buddhism centered around the doctrines and teachings of Buddha with meditation playing an important part in the worship. Although originating in India, most of the Buddhists today are found living ...

To date, many versions of the life of Buddha have been written. The "Enlightenment of the Buddha" is yet another example of truth turning into fiction through subsequent retelling and embellishment. Although it is difficult to distinguish between fact and fiction, a story that has survived for ov...

Dharma is the world's most ancient culture and the religion of over one billion of the earth's inhabitants. It is often referred to as Hinduism, but more correctly know as the ancient vedic culture. The approximate meaning of Dharma is ¡§Natural Law. This term is not is open to alteration, jus...

BUDDHISM Gautama Buddha, previously known as Prince Siddhartha (before his enlightenment) founded the religion of Buddhism. Gautama Buddha was born to Queen Maha-Maya at Kapilavastu, Nepal, Indian. Buddha taught and organized the Sangha, monastic orders, until his death at Kusinagara, at the a...

"I am not a man. Those evil influences, those lusts, whose non-destruction would have individualised me as... a man, I have completely annihilated. Know, therefore... that I am a Buddha." - Gautama Buddha, from the Pali scriptures (Goddard, page 5) Throughout history there have been hundr...

Buddhism over Jainism Hinduism offers little hope for salvation. Although salvation is possible in Hinduism, the margin for error is so small, that it is almost impossible to ever be released from the wheel and achieve moksha. With that in mind the hunt for a new religion begins. The ...

How Important is the Buddha today? Buddhism has affected many people. At one time, one third of the world was Buddhist at one point. Here are three people, whom the Buddha has affected deeply. Ashoka Ashoka was the Emperor of India in the 3rd century BCE, 200 years after the Buddha. He wa...