For the devout, the veneration of these five [celestial] Buddhas offered a direct path to breaking free of the cycle of rebirth, a goal facilitated by their innumerable manifestations that make up the Himalayan Buddhist pantheon.
Living Buddhas preside over the four directions, residing in celestial Pure Lands where a worshipper could hope to be reborn. These Buddhas and their many emanations personify ideals like compassion, abundance, health, and protection.
By the seventh and eighth centuries, a characteristic Mon-Dvaravati Buddha type had emerged that, once established, would have a major impact on sculptural production across central Thailand.
This is the story of the origins of Buddhist art. The religious landscape of ancient India was transformed by the teachings of the Buddha, which in turn inspired art devoted to expressing his message. Sublime imagery adorned the most ancient monume…
The Gupta period, from the fourth to the sixth century A.D., in northern India, sometimes referred to as a Golden Age, witnessed the creation of an “ideal image” of the Buddha.
On our first day in Nepal we visited the Swayambhunath Stupa, a monument that, while founded in the fifth century to house the relics of the Buddha, has since undergone many restorations funded by the devout.
