If you have practiced meditation at one of the world’s many Goenka Vipassana centers, then you have likely heard the name Sayagyi U Ba Khin,
Vajrayana is associated in Buddhist history and legend with the locale of Uddiyana, ruled by wise kings who first practiced tantra after being introduced to
In the years after the Buddha and the conquest of Asoka, the sasana moved east and became widespread throughout the contiguous area made up of the modern
If you were a traveler interested in the history of Vajrayana Buddhism, where would you go? Tibet probably comes to mind, and while it’s an
If the goal of Buddhism is nirvana, or at least to live a life based on Buddhist principles, how does the creation or consumption of
One of the mysteries of Buddhist history is the 400-year absence of an anthropomorphic image of the Buddha. Early scholars argued for a period of
Beginning in the mid-1980’s, American scholars John and Susan Huntington turned Buddhist art history on its head with claims that the first Buddha images were
One of the curiosities of history is the lack of evidence of any image of the Buddha for approximately 400 years after his death. The
Perhaps no religious icon is as widely used and well-known as the image of the Buddha seated in meditation. Yet one of the curiosities of
Who doesn’t recognize the Buddha? His image appears these days on watches, tennis shoes, t-shirts – nearly any kind of manufactured product you might think
The gentle face of the Buddha is respected and loved across the world. However, this famous image has mysterious origins, and didn’t appear as an
