Whether it is his unconventional performance art, his photography, or his sculpture, Chinese artist Zhang Huan’s remarkable repertoire is rebellious, eccentric, controversial—and spiritual, particularly in
Since the Meiji restoration in the 19th century, Buddhism in Japan has seen the development of a third category of practitioner in addition to the
The hand gestures, or mudra, assumed by figures of the Buddha and other deities are some of the most fascinating aspects of Buddhist iconography. Similar
Four years ago, one of my best friends visited Hong Kong. The first cultural landmark I took him to was Chi Lin Nunnery, which I
Visitors to Japan’s shrines and temples cannot miss the hundreds of wooden votive plaques hanging on stands in a reserved area outside on the shrine
“You cooked such delicious food for so many people. How many did you cook for?” “We cooked with all sentient beings in mind.” A team
Many scholars and historians have endeavored to discover the latent reasons behind the decline of Buddhism in the country of its birth, India. Although rejected
When looking for the “Walking Monk”—the peripatetic Buddhist monk wandering the east coast of Australia—Kerry Stewart from ABC ventured out only to have every “red or saffron
Anyone unfamiliar with the richness of Buddhist practice in Southeast Asia would do well to visit this unusual exhibition currently on at the British Museum
On the return leg of the Gonsaikunda trek, centered on the famous Gosaikunda Lake in the Langtang National Park in Nepal, I was attracted by
In 1920, a Belgian missionary posted in Inner Mongolia received a mysterious gift from a Mongolian Tibetan-Buddhist monk: 54 painted pages illustrating various Buddhas, bodhisattvas,
In Hindu and Buddhist cosmology, a kalpa is a very long period of time, a concept akin to the aeon. The term was first used
