Beliefs

The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, approx. 900–1000. India; perhaps Nalanda, Bihar state. Stone. The Avery Brundage Collection, B63S44+.

The Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara (Chinese: Guanyin). China; Tang dynasty (618–906). Gilt bronze. The Avery Brundage Collection, B60B795.

Learn about the basic beliefs of Hinduism.

The religious fervor and opulence of the Goryeo dynasty (918-1392) can be seen in the intricately hand-copied sutras (the teachings of the Buddha) that date to this period. Korean monk-scribes were commissioned by royals, aristocrats, and individual high-ranking monks to write the sacred words of the Buddha by applying pigments of ground gold and silver to deep indigo–dyed mulberry paper. They began by pictorially narrating the sermons of the Buddha with key episodes within the sutra chapter on the frontispiece (first four sutra panels). The rest of the sutra comprised flowing calligraphy translating the Buddha’s teachings.

A short documentary on The Stupa, a hemispherical mound that represents the burial mound of the Buddha.

Learn how to identify the Hindu deity Shiva and hear a story related to a depiction of Shiva in the Asian Art Museum’s collection.

Learn about the Hindu deity Vishnu and his avatar Krishna, and hear a story about Krishna defeating the serpent Kaliya.

This background information will help you prepare your students for their visit to Yoga: The Art of Transformation (on view at the Asian Art Museum from February 21–May 25, 2014).

Buddhism was introduced into Tibet from India and China beginning in the 600s. Over the succeeding centuries, Buddhism became the dominant cultural form in Tibet, exerting a powerful influence not only over religion, but also over politics, the arts, and other aspects of society. Tibetan Buddhism eventually spread into Mongolia and Nepal, as well as into China, where it received imperial patronage especially during the Yuan (1260–1368) and Qing (1368–1644) dynasties.