Asian Art Museum | Education

The best of Asian art at the tip of your fingers for use in the classroom or at home.
Close

Sign up

In My Resources you can save the content you like all in one place. Get started by creating an account.

Create a new account

Sign up

Explore Resources

Explore Resources

Clear Search
Region: Mongolia [X] Type: Background Information [X]
View: ListGrid
Display: 103060120
Sort by: TitleMost PopularType
Showing all 14 results
Buddha triumphing over Mara, 900–1000
Log in or sign up to save resources

An Introduction to Buddhism

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

Buddhism has deeply influenced the character and evolution of Asian civilization over the past 2,500 years. It is based on the teachings of a historical figure, Siddhartha Gautama, who lived around the fifth century BCE. As it moved across Asia, Buddhism absorbed indigenous beliefs and incorporated a wide range of imagery, both local and foreign, into its art and religious practices. Buddhism continues to evolve as a religion in many parts of the world.

Seated Buddha, 200–300
Log in or sign up to save resources

How to Identify a Buddha

Grade Level: 
Elementary School (4-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12)
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

The earliest surviving representations of the Buddha date from hundreds of years after his death, so they are not portraits in the usual sense. Buddha images vary greatly from place to place and period to period, but they almost always show these conventional features . . .

Map of Asia
Log in or sign up to save resources

What is Asia?

Grade Level: 
Elementary School (4-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

“Asia” is a term invented by the Greeks and Romans, and developed by Western geographers to indicate the land mass east of the Ural Mountains and Ural River, together with offshore islands such as Japan and Java.

The Buddha triumphing over Mara, 900–1000
Log in or sign up to save resources

The Life of the Buddha

Grade Level: 
Elementary School (4-5), Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

The Buddha—that is, the “Enlightened One”—lived nearly 2500 years ago in northern India. His followers have always seen his life as a shining example to all, but what “really happened” is now impossible to know for certain. Even the earliest stories of his life include miraculous events that may seem hard to take literally. Later versions are even more elaborate, and they differ from one another in many details.

Stele of the Buddha Maitreya, 687
Log in or sign up to save resources

What are the main branches of Buddhism?

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

Over the centuries, two main branches of Buddhism emerged: a transmission that traveled to Southeast Asia, and a transmission that evolved in East Asia. A further offshoot of the northern transmission also developed. All three branches began in India, and developed further as they moved across Asia.

 

 

Microscopic cross section of Ritual object (zun), approx. 1600–1050
Log in or sign up to save resources

Detection of Fakes and Copies

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

When we consider acquiring an object for the Asian Art Museum’s collection, our first step is to focus a trained eye on it...

A lama of the Drugpa Kagyu order
Log in or sign up to save resources

An Introduction to the Kingdom of Bhutan

Grade Level: 
College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

Known as the “Land of the Thunder Dragon,” Bhutan is a remote Himalayan kingdom located east of Nepal and west of Burma, between Tibet and India. On its northern border, Bhutan is flanked by some of the tallest mountains in the world.

The Fifth Dalai Lama, 1800-1900
Log in or sign up to save resources

Tibetan Buddhist Orders

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

Over the centuries four religious movements in Tibet evolved into the four religious orders of Tibetan Buddhism. These orders are all based on Buddhism from India, but they have different founders and lineages of teachers, prefer different sacred texts, and practice different methods of reaching their goals.

Mandala Diagram
Log in or sign up to save resources

What is a mandala?

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), High School (9-12), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

A mandala is a geometric meditation map made of nested squares and circles, typically organized around a central axis and symbolically oriented to the east, south, west, and north...

Mandala of the Buddhist deity Chakrasamvara, approx. 1700-1800
Log in or sign up to save resources

Tibetan Thangka Painting (Sacred Pictures)

Grade Level: 
Middle School (6-8), College and Beyond
Resource Type: 
Background Information
Description: 

In Tibet, religious paintings come in several forms, including wall paintings, thangkas (sacred pictures that can be rolled up), and miniatures for ritual purposes or for placement in household shrines.