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...

Talk about irony. Buddhist monks, those shaven-headed figures in gray robes, choose to leave this earthly world (that is, mundane society) in favor of an ascetic existence based on prayer and self-denial. But now their unworldly lifestyle is becoming a tourist product... with the monastics' a...

Most Buddhists, when asked, will tell you that Buddhism is not a religion but a teaching or guide to help one cope with the grim facts of life. In essence, Buddhism is about confronting and accepting death and suffering as an inevitable aspect of life. It teaches that resistence is futile, and ha...