End 12th Cent: Mahayana Buddhism

Beginning in the 5th century, Buddhism became a very popular form of religion throughout Asia. Because this was such a diverse and widely followed religion, it introduced many different architectural and innovational developments that had influence from Buddhism, but depending on the region, the styles changed. Also, High officials, like Ashoka, whose’ primary influence came from Buddhism, created practices for his people to follow and live by to bring peace to his kingdom. As this religion was gaining popularity throughout Asia, the transformation that it took was very diverse and long term.

WWI started on July 28, 1914 and ended on November 11, 1918. At the time a man named Woodrow Wilson was president at the time. President Wilson did not want to go to war. In DBQ 16: Why Did We Enter World War I?-Historical Context by J. Weston Walch, it says “People were determined to keep out of the conflict and applaud president Wilson when he asked that his fellow citizens remain “neutral in fact as well as in name.””Then Germany started unrestricted warfare and a telegram was intercepted saying that a few of our states were going to be given to mexico if they helped germany attack the U.S. These are the main reasons why the U.S should join WWI.

Buddhism has been around for over two thousand years, and continues to do so in many countries around the world. This religion originates in Asia and has a very unique adversity, much of its structure arose from the end of World War II, predominantly Asian nations needed to restructure society (RoAT 167). The word ‘Buddha’ means one who has awakened and will no longer be reborn. Thereafter, one who will enter nirvana, the state of being free from suffering.

The Kannon Bosatsu, or Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, is a carved wood statue of a Bodhisattva figure standing about two and one half to three meters tall. This statue shows a high level of detail on the Bodhisattva 's body, and is carved so smoothly that it could be mistaken for a stone carving. The show of skilled craftsmanship can be seen around the shoulders with the interaction of the cloth with the jewelry the Bodhisattva. The statue is placed on an ornate pedestal to cause the figurine to appear taller, giving it a feeling of authority, which contrasts with its calm, expressionless face. While the figure appears to be standing in a meditative state like the Buddha, the jewelry present all over the body of this figure distinguishes this figure as a Bodhisattva instead of a Buddha. In his book, The Story of Buddhism a Concise guide to Its History and Teachings, Donald S. Lopez Jr. establishes the importance of imagery in Buddhism. One major point he makes concerning the worship of Buddhist figures, is that the disciples of Buddhism not only believe that the figures are a mere representation of Buddha, but that the figures actually become and are animated by Buddha, an argument which seems to hold merit as truth.

These 2 statues depict the Buddhist deity whose name is Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The other names for this deity is Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the goddess of mercy. This deity is worshipped by all schools of Buddhism, but is mostly associated with Mahayana Buddhism, which is a school of Buddhism which states that anyone can become a Buddha with practice. The purpose of Bodhisattvas is to guide those seeking to

Whenever I thought of Buddhist I saw bald men or women with orange robes, white socks, and brown sandals. Obviously, not the older woman with gray hair that was now facing me and the other twenty congregants in the meditation room. She was obviously the leader.

The Little Buddha is an amazing, and uplifting movie, and full of positive meaning, yet it also is full of religious meaning. Aspects of life and death are shown throughout the movie, but the film mainly explains three key aspects of Buddhism. Buddhist teachings of reincarnation, impermanence, and enlightenment, are connected deeply to each other and is illustrated throughout the film. The first Buddhist teaching of reincarnation is evident from the beginning of the movie. The audience starts to see these teachings when a Buddhist teacher is making it evident to his student (Lama Norbu) that he is ready to reincarnate, after he passes away. Lama finds out that there are three potential reincarnations of his teacher’s soul. These reincarnates

Bestowing to Mahayana pedagogies, a Buddha is initially born as a Bodhisattva, and later on following many existences, proceeds on to Buddhahood (Gresham and Dunham, 399). Before becoming a Buddha, the actual Buddha was attributed as a Bodhisattva (Rambelli, 207). Another popular Bodhisattva to rise in Buddhist artwork is Avalokiteshvara, who is identified by several aliases in various regions of the Buddhist realm, for instance, Guanyin in China and Kannon in Japan (Gresham and Dunham, 401). Many pictures of this Bodhisattva are observed everywhere in the Asian History Museum, represented in the showrooms of several social

Besides the different actions of the emperors, the Council of State also created policies that allowed Buddhism’s power to rise. During the later half of the seventh century during Kanmu’s rule, it adopted policies to actively promote Buddhism by constructing temples and statues, sponsoring rituals, copying sutras, and promoting monks and nuns. However, before and into the Heian period, the Ritsuryo state existed-- a system that acted as the patron and arbiter of religious cultures, which seeked to control the Buddhist powers. It branched off into three divisions-- the Council for Kami Affairs, Bureau of Yin and Yang, and Office for Monastic Affairs-- each with its own administrative body. In this system, a form of Buddhism called “state Buddhism” emerged, which was sponsored by the state in return for religiously protecting both the emperor and the Japanese region. State Buddhism had three major characteristics that defined it; first, the Ritsuryo state controlled Buddhism by regulating the ordination and promotion of monks and nuns, while also controlling religious and financial activities. Second, the state made copies of

It is because of Hinduism that Jayavarman and his successors were able to claim the throne as god-kings. During the age of Angkor many temples were built in tribute to the gods Shiva and Vishnu. The temples were built using the finest arts and materials. While after Hinduism, Buddhism was the second largest religion in the empire, however it was less prominent. Both Hinduism and Buddhism were very important to not only organizing the empires religious system, but the social and political system as well. The Hindu rite of devarāja allowed for kings to have absolute power over the entire empire. In the 13th century, Theravada Buddhism became prominent in the royal court when it was introduced from Sri Lanka. This led to a decline in the belief of Hindu gods and in the

Even though the Neolithic Revolution, the rise of the Mongol Khanates, and the Crusades can be considered a turning point in world history, Buddhism can be considered a turning point in world history because the theme of state-building, expansion, and conflict; the development and transformation of social structure; and the development and interaction of cultures. Buddhism emerged around the 5th century B.C.E. in India. It was founded by a Brahman Prince named Siddhartha Gautama. Gautama wanted to create a religion that would diversify from Hinduism in India. In the first body paragraph, the development and interaction of culture will be explained.

There are many different definitions and views of Buddhism and many of these views and definitions vary from each other. A quick internet search reveals all the different definitions of Buddhism and some of them may not even be correct or have a scholarly perspective. A five minute Google search reveals one definition which we will take a look at:

Siddharta Gautama was twenty-nine years old when he abandoned his family to search for a means to bring to an end his and other’s suffering after studying meditation for many years. At age thirty-five, Siddharta Gautama sat down under the shade of a fig tree to meditate and he determined to meditate until he reached enlightenment. After seven weeks he received the Great Enlightenment which he referred to as the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path. Henceforth he became known as the Buddha.

Albert Einstein once said, “the religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend a personal god, avoid dogmas and theology. Covering both the natural and spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all natural and spiritual and a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description. If there is any religion that would cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism.”# Many great minds like Albert Einstein have converted or become Buddhists. Many people from the west are turning their attention towards Buddhism because of the Buddha’s simple way to life and the lack of worship or prayer to a divine being.

Buddhism arose in northern India in the 6th century BCE. The historical founder of Buddhism, Siddharta Gautama (c.560-480 BCE) was born in a village called Lumbini into a warrior tribe called the Sakyas (from where he derived the title Sakyamuni, meaning 'Sage of the Sakyas'). According to tradition Gautama's father, Suddhodana was the king of a small principality based on the town of Kapilavastu. His mother, Queen Maya, died seven days after Gautama's birth. Following the death of Maya, Suddhodana married Maya's sister, Prajapati, by whom Gautama was brought up in great luxury and sheltered from the harshness of the outside world.