Middle School (6-8),High School (9-12),College and Beyond
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Background Information
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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.
Elementary School (4-5),Middle School (6-8),High School (9-12)
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Background Information
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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 . . .
Elementary School (4-5),Middle School (6-8),High School (9-12),College and Beyond
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Background Information
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“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.
Elementary School (4-5),Middle School (6-8),High School (9-12),College and Beyond
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Background Information
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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.
Middle School (6-8),High School (9-12),College and Beyond
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Background Information
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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.
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.
Middle School (6-8),High School (9-12),College and Beyond
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Background Information
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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.
Middle School (6-8),High School (9-12),College and Beyond
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Background Information
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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...
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.